Abstract:

Nowadays communication among students and teachers is “breaking the walls” of the classrooms. The time of the paternalistic approach students-teacher is old-fashioned and not applicable. Children, pupils, students are growing up with the technologies. This is a potential that we have to use in education. Teaching methodologies also have to be adapted to the changing needs of the students and their future job realization. Interactive methodologies are the contemporary approach. Herewith is presented a sustainable educational model which has been built on the worldwide experience of the interactive teaching, like problem-based learning, suggestopedy, practice-based education etc. The proposed innovative pedagogical model, called by the authors - SEEM (Sustainable Educational & Emotional Model) is a design based on teaching practices and learning experiences. SEEM is a highly simplified model of the complex relations among teachers/tutors and students which are trying to conquer together the content of a subject using interactive methods and positive emotions. The model incorporates three main fields: context, content and methodologies as well as the actors. Context is about the ultimate educational environment in which we live and work. Our educational system is oriented towards the supply of a huge quantity of theoretical knowledge. On the other side, the challenge of a modern teacher is to transfer to the new generations of students not only facts and figures, but also skills and competences which they can apply in real-life settings later in their life. We need to prepare a successful young people ready to adapt to the changing working market. Moreover, a lot of students are working bellow their intellectual capacities because of stressful educational environment. Actors are the tutors and students. Content is the theory of a concrete subject. A case-example will be given from the field of engineering graphics.

Methodology is sustained by 3 pillars:
1) interactive teaching – there are many educational methods which have been applied for years like problem-based learning, suggestopedy etc.
2) technology application;
3) positive emotions (positive education approach) – jokes are obligatory and sense of humor is a cult.

Instead of setting students to compete against one another, learning is viewed as a cooperative process where teachers respect their students and each student’s input is valued. The effective communication during classes is possible if the tutor is a person with a field-experience, a professional who can freely give practical examples. SEEM is an alternative of the old ‘dry’ methods of teaching. SEEM breaks down difficult concepts into simple, logical steps. An example is provided from the field of engineering graphics. Though applied in technical disciplines, SEEM has the ambition to be an universal model and starts with the premise that "all students can learn effectively, to their fullest potential, only if they enjoy”. In Bulgarian “SEEM” means “we plant”.

Keywords:

Interactive methods, Suggestopedy, Sustainable Educational and Emotional Model (SEEM), Engineering Graphics.