How We See Progress

Knowing more, solving harder problems, and earning a higher grade are the usual signs that a person is learning. In Integral Education those signs are not the whole picture. We also watch how the person's attitude toward other people, the group, and the learning itself is changing.

At the beginning of a course, a person may be focused on their own knowledge, opinions, achievements, and difficulties. Over time, another movement can appear.

• They listen more.
• They become more aware of how other people are.
• They can say what they think without overriding someone else.
• They begin to use differences as material for development.
• They ask what is good for them, and also what will let the group keep its connection and move forward together.

Watching that change across time is part of seeing progress.

One person may speak less today than a month ago and still be much more attentive to the group. Another may still struggle to communicate, and for the first time recognize the difficulty and work on it on purpose. A third may not show outstanding academic results, and may have learned to cooperate, accept feedback, and take other people's interests into account. That is progress too.

An Integral Educator looks at what a person can do now, and at the path behind it. Who were they before? What has changed, and which way is the change going?

Used this way, assessment is a way to understand how a person is developing, rather than only a way to rank people against one another.

The purpose of Integral Education is to help each person develop their abilities while learning how to build better connections with others. It does not aim to make everyone the same.

Progress here is seen, talked about, supported, and guided. That attention is part of an Integral Educator's responsibility. Recording a result is only part of the work.