España
Italia 
United States 
Brasil 
Chile
Ecuador
Mexico
Colombia
Perú
United States
Location: La Garriga, Spain / Numbers of students: 293
Grades using Innovamat: Elementary School / Using Innovamat since: 2018
Teresa loves her profession. A teacher to the core, she retired a few months ago, and today she walks through the corridors of Els Pinetons de la Garriga school (Barcelona), her previous home, hugging former students and colleagues.
We have come here so that she could tell us her story, which, to be honest, is slightly linked to our own. It Teresa who, in 2018, one year after Innovamat was created, opened the doors of the school to us as head of studies and decided on bringing us into her math classrooms.
“Here I really thought: “As head of studies, it would be so nice to use this project.”
In 2018, Els Pinetons de la Garriga (Barcelona), started using Innovamat in first and second grade. In 2019 they added third and fourth grade, with Teresa teaching the latter grade. And, as she explains, “the icing on the cake was in March of the ‘19-’20 school year, we were in lockdown. The pandemic arrived. Here I really thought: “Wow, as head of studies, it would be so nice to have this project.” Because it was really hard. And you were really there for us.
Many students were at home, but the families were also working from home, so they couldn’t be with their child… and, then, as a teacher you could guide them, but because we had you behind us, it really worked”.
Aside from highlighting this very dark period for all of us, during which we put our hearts and souls into helping, Teresa refers to the change that Innovamat also meant for families, and remembers the first meetings with them. She points out that one of the big changes in mentality was that they no longer had to explain anything at home, “we do it in the classroom. Really listen to the children because sometimes they see things in a way that isn’t as clear for us adults.” That is why we also relied on Maria, their teaching advisor at Innovamat, who held several meetings with families at the school to clear up any doubts.
“It went really well, because the parents understood it more, and when the meeting was over some were even saying: “Why didn’t they explain it to us like this?”.
We are about to finish when Teresa stopped us for a moment. She wanted to tell us something else. “We feel that we are part of this project because you allow us to be part of it.” You pay a lot of attention to us. We are the ones who see if something works, if it doesn’t work, and we can tell you.”
