Since 2023, at Fundación Alma, we have been providing ongoing support to students at the Clara Parada de Pinto Teacher Training School in Trinidad. Throughout these years, we have developed workshops and training programs tailored to each stage of their training, with the goal of strengthening their pedagogical skills and providing them with concrete tools for their community-based educational practices in schools.
Today, in the 2026 academic year, this process takes on special significance. In February, we began workshops with fifth-year students, who are in the final stage of their training. What makes this moment particularly valuable is that many of them began this journey with us in their second year. In other words, we have shared four years of continuous learning with this group.
This journey allows us to look back, but also to look ahead. Beyond the content covered, today we face a key opportunity: to begin to see if, after this time, our approach has been integrated into their way of thinking and practicing teaching. This year, we not only provide support but also observe with anticipation how this learning translates into their actual practice.
From the beginning of this term, something has particularly caught our attention: the close relationship we’ve built with the students. This is reflected in the messages they send us, the questions they ask, and their active interest in the materials. Even before the workshops began, several students had already contacted us to ask how we would be working on Curriculum Planning this year, request examples, or access Alma strategy guides to help them better prepare their teaching practice.
These gestures, though they may seem small, are profoundly significant. They show us that we have managed to build a bond of trust. The students not only recognize us as workshop facilitators but also as a resource they can turn to for guidance, to resolve doubts, and to strengthen their pedagogical work.
It is still too early to speak of concrete results this term. However, these signs allow us to anticipate a promising process. We are confident that the sustained support and the relationship built over these years will be key for these future teachers to consolidate meaningful learning and face their professional practice with greater confidence, sound judgment, and commitment.
This group, which is about to graduate, also represents an open and hopeful question: what happens when a teacher’s training is consistently supported? This year we are beginning to see the first answers.
By: Leonel Saavedra Caceres
5th Year Students
ESFM Clara Parada de Pinto
Critical Thinking Workshop 2026