One of the pillars of the Synapse Methodology is planning based on learning goals so that each teacher selects a goal from the Synapse Goals Matrix and plans how to conduct the activities every two weeks. This way, in a connected and contextualized manner, teachers can make the most of the available audiovisual resources.

To facilitate the learning process for students, who are at the center of the learning process in the Synapse Methodology, teachers use students’ life context along with the available resources to address Portuguese Language and Mathematics skills and competencies in the literacy cycle of the early Elementary School years. This strategy also allows teachers to monitor students’ performance regarding their understanding of the content and enable them to advance or revisit topics based on this observation.

The development of this Social Technology started in 2010, and it continued until the end of 2015 when the first effective and applicaple version of Synapse was achieved. This version consisted of a Pedagogical Notebook, Lesson Plan, Digital Platform, and playful resources for classroom use (Pedagogical Support Materials). The whole process was carried out collaboratively, involving The Human Project team and a group of teachers from public schools in Santa Luzia do Itanhy, Sergipe (SE).

At the end of 2015, a partnership between The Human Project (THP) and the Sergipe State Department of Education (SEED) enabled a scalability test with the reapplication of the Synapse Methodology across all public schools in 13 municipalities in the Baixo São Francisco region, in the northern part of the state. The effectiveness of this model ensured that, by 2018, the Synapse Network involved more than 110 public schools with the participation of 300 teachers and benefiting 6,500 students. Most importantly, the project continued into 2019, even without external support.

In August 2019, we began the reapplication experience in another Brazilian state, Maranhão. The project lasted 20 months, and initially involved 60 teachers, five pedagogical coordinators, and 25 school managers from 15 schools, benefiting 984 students.

From 2019 to 2024, the methodology crossed new frontiers and is now present in 54 municipalities in 7 Brazilian states: Sergipe (SE), Maranhão (MA), Minas Gerais (MG), Ceará (CE), Paraíba (PB), Pará (PA) and Rio Grande do Norte (RN), having trained 2,423 teachers and impacted 51,800 students.

Synapse Methodology Components:

• Pedagogical notebook to support teachers;
• Lesson Plan to support the teacher’s lesson planning, focusing on the pedagogical goals of the Synapse Goals Matrix.

The Synapse Early Childhood Education Program (Synapse EI) is a branch of Rede Synapse’s social technology, focused on literacy with a specific methodology for early childhood education. Both social technologies center on the child/student in the learning process, starting with the professional development of teachers and, thus, creating a network of qualified educators.

During the Synapse experiment in the municipalities, it became evident that pedagogical practices promoting learning in the classroom should address not only cognitive aspects but also non-cognitive skills, such as attention, perseverance, creativity, sociability, and impulse control. These skills are crucial for developing the ability to face challenges related to daily school life and social and cultural relationships. Throughout this experiment, teachers participating in Synapse reported that students entered the first year of Elementary School with serious learning problems, including motor, socio-emotional, and cognitive issues.

Furthermore, studies by American economist James Heckman were considered, which says that to reduce social costs, address delays in child development, and improve student performance in the early years of Elementary School, it is crucial to invest in Early Childhood Education.

From this perspective, between 2018 and 2021, through a collaborative process, The Human Project, in partnership with a group of Early Childhood Education professionals from the municipal school system of Santa Luzia do Itanhy, Sergipe (SE), began developing a social technology aimed at improving the quality of Early Childhood Education and the holistic development of children. This was achieved through the Synapse Early Childhood Education project aligned with Synapse social technology.

Throughout this collaborative development of the Synapse Early Childhood Education program social technology, essential pedagogical resources were created for the effective application and reapplication of the methodology, including the Integrated Planning and Pedagogical Notebook, the Pedagogical Support Materials for Early Childhood Education, and the Methodology Reapplication Booklet.

In 2022, Synapse Early Childhood Education social technology began its first scalability experience, reapplying the methodology in schools in the municipalities of Campo do Brito, São Miguel do Aleixo, Santa Rosa de Lima, and Nossa Senhora de Aparecida. From this, there was an increase in the number of Early Childhood Education schools benefiting from the Social Technology in Santa Luzia do Itanhy, Sergipe (SE). This experience led to the development of the reapplicators: Lícia Muniz and Nataly Almeida, kindergarten teachers in Santa Luzia do Itanhy(SE), whose potential was highlighted during the development of the technology.

The reapplicators’ understanding and in-depth knowledge of the methodology were crucial to identifying new teachers with reapplication potential while validating and improving the reapplication model.

Currently, Synapse Early Childhood Education program social technology operates in 6 municipalities in Sergipe (SE), and it has benefited 191 Early Childhood Education teachers, and, consequently, impacted an average of 2,667 Early Childhood Education children in the classroom.