Learning and Teaching Model for Children
For teaching and to learn something new, children must become aware and be able to explore, inquire and apply. This is one process which occurs over time and reflects movement from learning that is informal, spontaneous and governed by the child’s own rules to learning that is more formal, refined and more reflective of conventional rule systems.
The Model of teaching and learning to be discussed has been adapted from NAEYC and NAECS/SDE “Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment for Programmes Serving Children Ages 3 Through 8”, (1990).
1. Awareness
Awareness as used here is a broad recognition of the parameters of the learning. These parameters include events, objects, people or concepts.
a) Children’s Activities
This model recognizes the need for children to experience, acquire an interest, perceive and recognize broad parameters among others.
b) Teacher’s Role
The teacher is expected among other things too:
- Create the environment
- Provide the opportunities by introducing new objects, events, people etc.
- Respond to child’s interest.
2. Exploration
Exploration is the process by which children figure out components or attributes of events, objects, people or concepts by whatever means available.
It is also the process whereby children bring their own personal meaning to their experiences.
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a) Children’s Activities
In exploration, children are expected to observe, explore materials, collect information, discover, represent, figure out components, construct own understanding, apply own rules, create personal meaning etc.
b) Teachers’ Role
Teachers have the responsibility to:
- Facilitate and extend play
- Support and enhance exploration
- Ask open-ended questions, such as “what else could you do?”
- Allow for constructive error.
3. Inquiry
Inquiry is the process of developing understanding of commonalties across events, objects, people or concept. Children at this point, begin to generalize their own concepts or ideas and adapt them to more adult ways of thinking and behaving.
a) Children’s Activities
At the inquiry stage, children tend to examine, investigate, propose explanations, compare their thinking with that of others, generalize, relate to prior learning, and adjust to conventional rule systems.
b) Teachers’ Role
Teachers are expected to:
- Help children refine understanding
- Guide children, focus attention
- Ask more focused questions, such as “what else works like this? What happens if?
- Provide information when requested
- Help children make connections
- Allow time for sustained inquiry
4. Utilization
Utilization is the functional level of learning, at which children can apply or make use of their understanding of events, objects, people or concepts.
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a) Children’s Activities
At this stage children are expected to use what they learn in many ways, represent learning in various ways, formulate new hypot Children’s peat cycle.
b) Teachers’ Role
Teachers are expected to:
- Create opportunities for application in real world
- Help children apply to new situations
- Provide meaningful situations to use learning
In conclusion, it therefore becomes important for the teacher to identify the necessary parameters to guide decisions about the appropriateness of learning programmes.
The concept of developmental appropriateness comprises age and individual appropriateness. Awareness is broad recognition of the parameters of the learning events, objects, people or concepts.
At exploration stage, children bring their own personal meaning or interpretations to their experiences.
At inquiry point, children begin to generalize their personal concepts and adapt them to more adult ways of thinking and behaving. Children use learning in many ways; learning becomes functional.
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