What is fem tec!

 

fem tec!

The main goal of the Fem tec! activities is to encourage students to see taking the initiative as a way of living their lives. We start by recognising non-formal education as a tool for transmitting concepts and values and for preparing young people for life.

These activities promote experimentation on topics that are attractive to young people and adolescents, and they promote the joy of discovery as a motivation to learn.

In addition, the Fem tec! activities are designed from a neuroeducational perspective, with the goal of optimizing students’ capacity for attention and encouraging them to learn about values, abilities, attitudes and skills.

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TEC is the acronym for Treballem l’Emprenedoria a Classe (working on initiative in the classroom) or Treballem l’Emprenedoria al Carrer (working on initiative in the street).

We chose the title Fem tec! because it fits well with the life phase and the expectations of the young people these activities are meant for. As an expression, in Catalan it can refer either to success in games or, figuratively, in other areas:

fer tec (Diccionari.cat)

1 RECREATION To hit a target. To hit one ball with another, earning a point

2 fig To be successful, to achieve an objective, reach an agreement

In addition to having an educational purpose, these activities promote the development of multiple skills such as searching for information, expressing feelings and recognizing states of mind, reasoning, imagination, creativity, or communication. In addition, especially in activities where students work as a team, they promote things like taking on a role, assertiveness, empathy, responsibility or respect.

Activities involving reflection provide an opportunity to work on skills such as the association of concepts and actions, active listening, critical thinking, creative thinking, etc. In the end, they’re about practicing skills such as reflection using our own observations or experiences, argumentation or critical thinking in order to provide suggestions that our young people can use to change what they don’t like about their surroundings.

Play provides achievable goals in a stress-free environment, promoting attention and motivation as ways of encouraging the learning process. In addition, a playful setting makes students more receptive and promotes creativity, communication and spontaneity.

In addition, scientific evidence for the plasticity and extraordinary development of our brains during adolescence (and until the age of 20-25) justifies working with young people to acquire skills and abilities that are useful for the creation of an adult personality and the development of their own moral compass.

Some of the neuroeducational principles applied in fem tec! activities are:

  • Multiple activities are provided so that educators can choose those that best adapt to the different interests and learning-teaching styles of their group of students.
  • The search for meaning in the experiences is innate, so active reflection is promoted in each activity on topics associated with the interests and personal experiences of students. Activities are also designed to become personal experiences that lead to learning.
  • Work on emotions is considered a basic part of the learning process, and essential when working with life experiences.
  • We suggest activities that stimulate multiple senses in order to favour different mechanisms for learning and retaining what is learned.
  • We propose activities that focus especially on executive functions, stimulating the development of the pre-frontal section of the brain.