A growing number of people are opting to become “lifelong learners,” developing skills and exploring new areas of study far beyond their college degree.  At GIIS, we believe that lifelong learning is invaluable, and we strive to develop our students into lifelong learners by weaving education into everything we do. Here's a closer look at what lifelong learning is and how it benefits our students.

What is Lifelong Learning?

The University of Wisconsin's School of Education defines lifelong learning as "the continuous building of skills and knowledge throughout the life of an individual." In addition, they define lifelong learning as embracing the idea that people learn by doing. At GIIS, we create the foundation for this active engagement in the classroom so that students can bring what they learned into their lives outside of school.

The American Institutes for Research College Readiness and Career Success Center (AIR) highlight three components critical to lifelong learning:

• Cognitive skills, including critical thinking, problem solving and creativity
• Self-determination,  conscientiousness, mindset and motivation
• Social skills and emotional maturity

At GIIS, we know that students who have a balance of all three, they tend to develop into adults who are lifelong learners. We use our 9 GEMS™ framework to provide a balanced, holistic approach to education to ensure that students develop into well-rounded adults with a lifelong passion for learning.

Through the 9 GEMS model, our students become actively engaged learners who continuously push themselves to excel,  both in and out of the classroom. We prepare our  community of lifelong learners to face any future challenge head-on.

The Right Academic Focus

Creating lifelong learners first starts with our 9 GEMS Academic Excellence model.  Our curriculum is based around collaboration and project-based learning that does not limit learning to the classroom.  This helps students develop the skills they’ll need to lead  successful future careers.

The GIIS project-based model also helps students apply what they learn in the real world.  Our teachers use technology as a key tool to facilitate learning.  Students are able to demonstrate what they’ve  learned through Proprietary Activities, such as the Spell-O-Well competition or the Academic Quiz competition.

In our focus on Academic Excellence, we teach students to take control of their  education and that learning is not passive. This lays the groundwork for  self-determination, mindset, motivation and conscientiousness that AIR states are necessary for lifelong learning.

Building Future Entrepreneurs and Leaders

Teaching problem-solving skills and critical thinking in dynamic ways can be challenging, as traditional academics simply presents information. With this in mind, GIIS focuses on Entrepreneurship and Leadership as one of the 9 GEMS™. We believe that creating students that are ready for the future requires a focus on the skills that make effective and successful entrepreneurs and leaders, what we call the "entrepreneurship imperative."

To that end, we train our students to take responsibility for their own education by taking on leadership roles, both in school and in the community.

With the expertise of leading entrepreneurs, we established the Global Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a curriculum focused on entrepreneurship.  This led to the development of our Entrepreneurship Boot Camp program. Students who enter this program are challenged to take an idea from conception to reality, from product development to pitching investors, giving them valuable real-world experience that any entrepreneur will need.  

Encouraging Creativity and Social Awareness

AIR also cites creativity and social awareness as key components of lifelong learning, and the 9 GEMS model promotes these as well. Creativity and innovation developed through the GIIS Comprehensive Creativity Development Programme teaches our students how to approach problems creatively, using different approaches to find solutions. Through our Personality Development GEM, we encourage students to learn the communication and social skills they’ll need to interact confidently with others and become valuable members of a team.

At GIIS, we understand that developing lifelong learners who are prepared for the future requires a holistic educational approach that not only gives students information in a traditional academic setting but fosters  creativity, leadership and active engagement. Through early exposure to all of the 9 GEMS combined with a focus on learning both in and out of the classroom, we’re creating the leaders of the future.