The Royal Academy is a co-educational, residential school under the Druk Gyalpo’s Institute and consists of students from Grades VII to XII. It is located in Pangbisa, Paro and currently consists of 307 students and 28 teachers. The Royal Academy aims to create a student community that is balanced and diverse in terms of socio-economic and cultural experiences and currently has representation from all 20 Dzongkhags from Bhutan. The Royal Academy started in 2016 as the first school to implement the Bhutan Baccalaureate. The Learning Process of the Bhutan Baccalaureate sees education as a 'holistic' learning journey that extends far beyond the mere acquisition of knowledge in order to develop constructive, contributory citizens of a just and harmonious society. It strives to break down the ‘silos’ in which schools often function. It aims to ensure the development of a learner in the Five Areas of Development (Cerebral, Emotional, Physical, Social and Spiritual). These Five Areas of Development form the basis of the Learning Process in which each area is recognised as an integral part of a child’s overall development. The ever-evolving nature of our world demands that individuals possess the ability to respond to the changing needs of society by becoming active, dynamic, independent learners. Focusing on learning how to learn rather than just mastering content knowledge, the Bhutan Baccalaureate Learning Process equips learners with important Skills, Processes, and Watermarks to become architects of their own growth in the Five Areas of Development as they continue to raise the bar in their quest to actualise their innate potential. In the Bhutan Baccalaureate, the curriculum is not an end in itself but a means through which learners can develop important Skills, Processes, and Watermarks. Skills are the capabilities or mechanisms used by learners to learn, interpret, analyse, and synthesise both existing knowledge and new knowledge. Skills are functional, oriented toward a result, and are often embedded and interlinked. Some examples of Skills include critical thinking, collaboration, and decision making. Processes are the means by which learners acquire skills and knowledge. Processes help the learner make connections with existing knowledge and experiences and create new knowledge. Processes also help the learner apply and transact this knowledge with others in the community. Some examples of Processes include reflection, exploration, and collaboration. Watermarks are the inner qualities, character and personality traits, and attitudes that manifest in a learner in specific situations or conditions. Some examples of Watermarks include rigour, self-awareness, and resilience.
Our first year as part of the Global Accelerator Programme was a great learning experience for us. At The Royal Academy, mentorship is one of the cornerstones of the Bhutan Baccalaureate Learning Process and every student is attached to a teacher (mentor) throughout their learning journey in school. A mentor-mentee group is roughly made up of 10-12 learners from grades 7-12, and every mentor-mentee group is required to meet every Saturday afternoon. We initially began implementing the programme by piloting it with one mentor-mentee group to see how impactful the programme would be, primarily utilising the Benchmark platform. The mentor-mentee group would meet once a week and they would focus on developing one skill at a time. We then proceeded to have all mentor-mentee groups use the Skills Builder platform and eventually dedicated specific time periods for the students to completely focus on developing essential skills on the platform. Overall, the Skills Builder platform has greatly benefited our students and teachers in several ways. We found that the initial assessment from the platform was constructive and helpful - it showed our students where they needed to improve and also helped reinforce their areas of strengths. This allowed them to focus on developing the essential skills which would align with their goals in their Roadmaps. Our learners enjoyed the flexibility to learn at their own pace and revert back to topics whenever they needed to. In this way, the learning content and video tutorials were intriguing and easy for all learners (including teachers) to follow. At The Royal Academy, we believe that assessment is the engine that drives learning and the assessment and tracking system of the Skills Builder platform helped reinforce this belief - it helped our learners feel motivated and made sure that they were on track with their learning goals. The improvements we have seen in our learners is significant. It is our goal to ensure that every student aims to become self-directed learners and pursues to actualize their potential by constantly learning and growing. As our students progressed in the programme, they became more confident with the skills they had acquired, which enabled them to become better at communicating, working in teams and solving problems. The benefits of using the Skills Builder platform greatly aligns with our learning philosophy and it is our aspiration that we continue to improve embedding the Skill Builder programmes into our own learning process.
The cultivation of Skills, Processes and Watermarks are a crucial part of the Bhutan Baccalaureate Learning Process and is emphasised throughout the curriculum, learning experiences and a student’s entire learning journey at The Royal Academy. Thus, in a way the curriculum is not an end in itself but a means through which learners can develop important Skills, Processes, and Watermarks, through the Domains (subjects) and on the basis of the Five Areas of Development. Our emphasis on community and community engagement throughout learning cycles also encourages the use and practice of essential skills in real world situations. For example, in the nearby communities of Pangbisa and Paro, our students participate in plantation and harvest activities of agricultural produce with the local community members thereby helping them develop essential skills like teamwork and listening.
At The Royal Academy, we have seven internship programmes. These are Space and Technology, Culinary, Textile and Design, Mountaineering, Carpentry and Woodworking, Agriculture and Livestock, and Start-up Hub. The seven Internship Programs provide learning opportunities to enable the students to keep pace with the rapidly changing work environments brought about by technological progress. The seven Internship Programs are an experience that a student goes through which helps them understand the world outside of school. It provides an opportunity for the students to experience the world of work, and serves as an extension of the Learning Process at The Royal Academy. Moreover, every mentor-mentee group in The Royal Academy is required to go for two Nature Retreats during the year. Nature Retreats are usually a week long and dedicated to learning essential skills outside of the classroom and in the open wilderness. Through the Internship Programmes, the Nature Retreats and engaging with the community, students learn to understand how the cultivation of skills are an integral part of personal development for life and not merely for their life in school.
Based on our learnings from our first year, we now realise that a combination of dedicating specific timings during the week (learning experiences) and utilising the time allotted for mentor-mentee meetings (Saturday afternoon) is the best way to go forward. In doing so, every student will be mandated to go through the Skills Builder programme during the allotted learning experiences and also will have the opportunity to seek guidance from their mentors during their mentor-mentee sessions.
