Mexico’s Knotion, a leading EdTech company with a nearly five-year partnership with the HeartMath Institute, has established itself as one of the world’s most innovative learning ecosystems. Their challenge-based approach empowers learners to become agents of positive change. Equipped with iPads, students become very engaged when tackling real-world challenges that address community and global goals. The result is increased socio-environmental awareness and responsibility from a young age.

Serving more than 300 schools (mostly private) and 90,000 K-12 learners throughout Latin America, Knotion’s community encompasses 250,000 people.

By weaving subjects like healthy living, social-emotional intelligence, sustainability, and financial literacy into their curriculum, Knotion is developing well-rounded learners with a broader knowledge base. Their students consistently perform way above average on standardized assessments, which demonstrates the validity of their approach. This, coupled with their focus on social-emotional learning and responsible citizenship, positions Knotion as a new paradigm in education, raising the consciousness of their educational communities and the broader world.

HeartMath research and techniques are embedded within their framework, allowing Knotion schools to focus on improving students’ self-regulation, emotional intelligence and clearer communication and expression.

Professional Development

Through staff development, Knotion makes sure all school staff members understand core concepts such as coherence, heart communication, and the interconnectivity of humanity. Each school community is supported by a Kn·Heed Activator, whose role is to uphold the school’s socio-emotional learning (SEL) principles and implement HeartMath techniques.

Partnering with HeartMath as Citizen Scientists

Because of Knotion’s global outlook, they were inspired to have 8 of its schools partner with the HeartMath Institute as citizen scientists. They are exploring the impact of heart coherence in their communities using innovative HeartMath-related technologies.

Currently, approximately eight Knotion schools have installed Random Number Generators (RNGs).

Teen Voices on Well-being: A Six-Week Focus Group

This spring, Knotion and HeartMath ^® Institute joined forces for a unique six-week initiative. Approximately 40 teenagers from those Mexican schools that were equipped with Random Number Generators (RNGs) participated in the focus groups. The goal was to deepen understanding of the science supporting the technology and build on the self-regulation techniques students were using.

Most importantly, the staff wanted to listen to the teenagers’ perspectives on the global state of teen well-being, seeking their thoughts and ideas about what adults and schools can do to mitigate academic stressors.

Led by Jenna Moniz, HeartMath Institute’s Educational Specialist, and Yolanda Principe, Knotion’s Kn·Heedfulness Specialist, the six-week focus group engaged with two groups of teenagers weekly. Yoli, a HeartMath certified trainer, has long studied and practiced mindfulness and coherence.

Weekly meetings with the teen groups were complemented by sessions with parents to discuss their thoughts, questions, and concerns as parents of teenagers in a rapidly changing world. School staff also attended a workshop designed to dive deeper into heart rate variability and support students using HRV technology.

The groups of teenagers came from various regions surrounding Mexico City. Most of the participating teens were meeting each other for the first time through Zoom. Despite this, their new relationships did not hinder open sharing and vulnerability about emotions, beliefs, and concerns about their peers’ well-being.

Students shared from the heart when discussing their emotional states, sources of stress, and the heart qualities they want to see more of in world leaders. They also shared their unique gifts intended to contribute to their communities. "Honesty, never giving up on goals, empathy, intellectual and emotional intelligence" were just a few qualities they pledged to share. The global vision statement these students co-created gives hope for our world with them as future leaders:

Knotion and HeartMath are proud to continue their mission to nurture a new generation of conscious humans. This six-week focus group wasn’t just about technology or academic stress. It was about listening to the next generation and fostering a collaborative approach to teen well-being and a brighter future.