Ways We Learn

Hi,

Welcome to my Blog 'Ways We Learn'.

Its a simple title, "so what's it all about?"

OK....Think of the word education......

 

 

 

....and now think of a place where we learn, a context for learning if you like.

 

 

 

got it?

 

Did you think of a place that looked a little like this?

 

 

All lined up in rows in a classroom.

 

 

 

Or maybe you thought of something like this

 

 

 



 

 

Which looks a bit more fun but its still a classroom.

 

 

 

Often when we think of learning we think of children in classrooms, or our own past education, with our wise figure head at the front of the room imparting their knowledge upon us. When in fact learning is taking place throughout all ages, throughout our lives and in a variety of different contexts.

 

In this blog we will be looking at some of these contexts for learning, or if you like , the 'Ways We Learn'

 

Firstly we will take a look at adult learning and how that differs from the ways we learn as children, followed by a glance at some of the different contexts used by schools to develop their pupils interpersonal skills and love for learning. Then in the final blog we will take a look at how Montessori schools promote self discipline.

 

Watch the videos, follow some links and enjoy this brief exploration of some of the 21st centuries contexts for learning.

 

 

 

Lifelong Learning/ Adult Learning

Although there is no specific age range which determines what will be referred to as 'Lifelong Learning' it can often be referred to as 'Adult Learning'. Lifelong learning tends to refer to adults returning to education or

  

training at some stage or repetitively throughout their  lives.

With a job for life no longer guaranteed, an open market for immigrant workers and fast changing technology it has never been more important for adults to view their education as a continuum rather than end target. While no concrete figure has ever been placed on how many times people actually change Job/Career in their lifetime it has been suggested by researchers that it may be up to as many as 5-7 times, with career change being one of the greatest factors involved in returning to education.

In the following blogs we will be looking at ways in which children learn therefore in this blog it may be interesting to look at how adults learn in contrast to children and some of the agreed and not so well agreed theories on the differences. In order to do so we will look to the work of Malcolm Knowles and his 'Basic Assumptions' of how adults learn or 'Androgogy'.

Andrgogy

For Knowles, andragogy is main up of five basic assumptions of the characteristics of adult learners that differ from that of child learners:

          1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being.

2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.

3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles.

4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness.

5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal

Differences between adult and child learning

Lets combine what we already know about Child learners and Knowles basic assumptions to find the basic differences in adult and child learning

Independence of learner: A child remains dependant on the teacher for constant guidance and it will
mostly be the teachers choice as to how and when things are taught. Knowles would argue that an adult will work much better in an independent self directing environment, where a teacher acts as a facilitator to encourage and suggest further learning.

Past Experience: Compared to that of a child, an adult learner will posses a great wealth of past life experience, which they often hold in high regard. This should be allowed to drawn upon in group discussion in new learning environments.

Readiness to learn (a need to Know): Children are often unaware of what they need to learn therefore a curriculum is in place to support their education. However adult learners returning to education will mostly do so to learn something they need to know, possibly for a new job or professional development. therefore they have a much more immediate readiness to learn.

Orientation to learning: Again, children are limited by the curriculum to what they may learn and it is mostly basic around specific subject matter. Where as adult learners may respond better to learning through the practical application of a new subject and are more performance centered in their learning.

Motivation to learn: It is suggested that a child motivation to learn will mostly be extrinsic, to please or conform to parents, teachers and society's expectation. However adult learners will be intrinsically motivated or discovering new knowledge for themselves. Although adults could also be extrinsically motivated to please an employer or gain a promotion at work.



References and other useful links:

Rosenberg McKay, D. How Often Do People Change Careers? Guide to Career Planning since 1997 (2006)

Knowles, M. et al (1984) Andragogy in Action. Applying modern principles of adult education, San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

http://www.infed.org/lifelonglearning/b-andra.htm

School Trips: The Big Pit

 

In order to explore how schools trips and museums can act as an exciting context for learning, a fellow Ed. Studies student Leigh Reece and I headed down to the 'Big Pit' in Blaenavon, the National Mining Museum of Wales. There was mining at Blaenavon from 1788-1980 and the coal face, shafts and lifts remain in place today and can be accessed via an underground tour which is undoubtedly the highlight of any trip to Big Pit. The rest of the buildings and surrounding parts of the mine have been restored or maintained and are now used as various attractions and exhibits for the museum, including the interactive miners galleries tour, winding engine house, miners baths and fan house.

If you have never taken a trip to the Big Pit, do! You'll love it and certainly learn a lot. But in the meantime watch this short clip to get a idea of what a day out or school trip there might include.

 

 

 

This is Bill who took us on our underground tour. We noticed he
interacted particularly well with the children on the tour and
introduced some interesting themes across the core subjects
through his exciting and engaging storytelling.

The 50 minute underground tour takes you 90 meters underground and gives you a chance to discover real life working at the coal face. Its gives the children first hand experience with real mining equipment and they even get to wear actual working miners lamps on helmets. Children are able to get a real sensory feel for the environment. Because it is a real mine there is also real risk so children are learning the importance of following the rules and constantly making their own risk assessments. It is an interactive tour and most of the information and stories shared by the miners are done so through questions and answers with the children. This gives the children a chance to practice and use valuable interpersonal and social skills outside of the classroom.

 

A school trip to Big Pit is most likely to be part of a big theme for learning being explored in the classroom back at school. A school trip can be used as hands on, experiential context in which to apply the knowledge the children have already begun to grasp in the classroom. It is a great opportunity for children to deepen their understanding of the theme through 'seeing' and 'doing'. With this in mind Leigh and I decided to look at what requirements of the National Curriculum for Key Stage Two might be met here.

 

The following are exerts from the Skills and Range sections of some of the subjects at Key Stage Two, with some examples of how they may fit around a visit to the Big Pit;

 

History

 

Nat Curriculum Range:  “Pupils should develop their historical skills,knowledge and understanding through learning about a range of historical contexts. These should be based primarily on the local area within the wider context of Wales”

• Changes to people’s daily lives in the locality in the nineteenth century

• The differences in people’s daily lives in two contrasting periods of the twentieth century

 

These are perfect topics to be discussed around a trip to the mine. The miners baths and the miners galleries gives a chronological explanation of the history of mining across two centuries told through the lives of the people who lived within that community. References to the daily lives of the community were made during both the Underground tour and the miners gallery tour.


Science 

 

Nat Curriculum Range: Pupils should understand......

 

• "the uses of electricity and its control in simple circuits"

• "the properties of solids, liquids and gases and how the particle model can be used to explain these properties"

During the underground tour Bill gave a great example of a simple circuit in the form of a miners communication system. Children would be able to relate this back to what they have learnt about simple circuits back in the classroom or could possibly be used to create a new topic for discussion back at school. This experience could give them a deeper understanding of the subject. The properties of gases were also discussed in the tour while talking about the dangers of fire in the mines.

Benefits of Trip

A school trip like this can act as a bridge between existing knowledge and new skills, attitudes and knowledge yet to be learnt. Returning back to school with a clearer understanding of the overall concept and a re-ignited enthusiasm for learning the children may be ready then to engage in some reflection and analysis on the theme.


Here is a link to some teaching packs we found online based around trips to the Big Pit:

http://education.scholastic.co.uk/content/821  

Task suggested for the children to do at school include:

• Write a diary as a child in the mine

• Write a letter complaining about the conditions in the mines

• Explore current child labour/ poverty issues

For further information on the experiences available at the Big Pit follow the link below to their excellent website:

¨http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/

 

 

References 

Big Pit Website: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/

National Curriculum Wales: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/schoolshome/curriculuminwales/arevisedcurriculumforwales/nationalcurriculum/?lang=en

What are learning contexts: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu

Big Pit teaching packs: http://education.scholastic.co.uk/content/821

National Curriculum Wales:

 

Developing Social Skills in Forest Schools

What are Forest Schools?   

Forest schools are a unique way for children to build confidence, self-esteem and a renewed excitement for learning through their interaction and exploration with the environment. Since 2000 schools across the UK have been using local woodland areas to create Forest schools for their learners. A typical session and its activities may include, bug hunts, rope swings, building a dam, mud pies, tool work, creating an assault course or even shelter building. Children may visit the forest school once or twice a week, maybe even more depending on access and will continue to do so over the space of a year or maybe their whole duration at a school.

 

“It’s not outdoor education. It’s not environmental education. It’s not play. It’s the unique combination of the three which makes it so very special”. –Julia Sargent, Oxfordshire Forest Schools Project Co-ordinator.
 

The concept of forest schools originated in Scandinavia in the 1950’s and the current system being developed in Wales since 1999 is based on a Danish model. The Scandinavians have a very different stance on early-years education with no formal instruction in reading, writing and maths until past the age of 7 hence forest school is a very big part of their early-years provision. However, Scandinavian students soon catch up and Sweden, Denmark and Finland consistently perform 'Above Average' in the PISA ranking for mathematics and reading leaving the UK well behind in the 'Average' category and often not even in the top fifteen countries.

Developing social skills in Forest School

In a 2008 study of Forest Schools in the UK O'Brien found the social skills development in Forest School to be particularly important. Because most of the tasks performed in Forest school rely on children working together it encourages respect, patience and consideration for others. It could be learnt through something as simple as learning to hold a branch so it doesn’t fly back in another child’s face.

Leanne (4.5 years Oxfordshire) - who had been noted by a teacher as lacking in interpersonal skills. However Forest School encouraged her to participate in helping others by handing out waterproofs and cups at teatime and she gladly did so.

In the same study, Serena (aged 4.5 Oxfordshire) was physically fit but didn’t engage with others. One week she found she couldn’t move a heavy log on her own and this led to her asking for help from other children and then collaborating with others.

O’Brien’s study found that Forest School are a place where;

 

         “Children are encouraged to be part of a team in the pursuit of task that need more than one pair of hands.”
 

“Children gain an increased awareness of other people’s personal space and are able to form new friendships as they identify abilities that are valued by their peers.” 

A child identifying the abilities of their peers can be particularly beneficial towards the inclusion of learners with additional learning needs (ALN). In the Following video link from Teacher’s TV a boy called Emin who has behavioural difficulties is shown climbing a very high tree, something which his classmates can’t do. He later described to a teacher the pride he felt at being able to show the other children how to do something and how good it made him feel that they all talked about his tree climbing later on that day.

 

“One great thing about forest school is it gives children who are perhaps quite disruptive in the classroom a chance to succeed at something in front of their year…and they can gain an awful lot of self-esteem from that”-Gill Senior, Year One Teacher and Forest School Leader

Video Clip on a Forest School in Oxfordshire:

 

 One of the most important aspects of Forest school is that the children learn the lessons for themselves often through interaction and out of necessity. This gives them a strong ownership of the new communication and social skills they learn and this encourages them to transfer those skills back to the classroom and even home life. Teachers and parents often see great improvements in the social skills of pupils who have been regularly attending forest school.

 

References and other useful links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17283190

http://www.forestschoolwales.org.uk/

http://www.forestschoolsuk.co.uk/about-forest-schools/what-is-forest-schools.aspx

Liz O'Brien (2009): Learning outdoors: the Forest School approach. Education

3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 37:1, 45-60

Self-discipline: The Montessorri Approach

Maria Montessori 1870-1952 was the founder of an approach to education which would later become known as the first holistic, child centered approach to learning. Montessori believed the first six years of a child's life to be extremely important and great emphasis should be made placed on developing all aspects of the child. Maria Montessori developed her own set of resources to use in her own schools and these tools are still used widely today, not only in the 600+ Montessori schools here in the UK.


Maria Montessori was the first
women to graduate from the University
of Rome Medical School

 

"The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth." - Maria Montessori
 

Among the key principles of the Montessori approach is the promotion of self discipline. Montessori believed the best way to promote self discipline is through role modelling and a child's freedom to choose their own activities.

"...an individual is disciplined when he is master of himself and he can, as a consequence, control himself when he must follow the rule of life." - Maria Montessori
 

For example, in a Montessori Nursery children have the freedom to choose which task they will participate in, which are often laid out in separate trays on shelves. However there may only be one of each task. a child is free to use the the tools for as long as they wish but they must pack away each task and return it to the shelf for other children to use before they begin a new one. This gives children the chance to work alone or if they so wish, invite others to join them in the task. This also teaches children patience and how to wait their turn. The freedom given to the child satisfies their innate urges and promotes deep engagement in the task. Then from this secure place for learning in which the child feels comfortable and free, self-discipline can emerge.

In this video children can be seen choosing their own tasks and involved in practical work both independently and with others.

 

"A child gains self-confidence as he feels able to participate usefully in the society around him... In practical work self-discipline and competence are gradually developed. they come as the child and adult live in mutual respect..." - Covington Packard
 

In a Montessori primary school self-discipline is promoted through the child's involvement and contribution to their own daily and weekly learning plan. Children have certain tasks to complete in an agreed time frame. Through learning to balance their social life and education within this setting, children learn that they have a responsibility to themselves and to those around them. Babara Isaacs, Academic Director at Montessori Colleges International (MCI) argues that adolescents who have learnt this self-discipline and responsibility for themselves are likely to find their teenage years must less challenging.

Last April, Prime minister David Cameron was criticised for suggesting that children should be made to stand when an adult or teacher enters to room. In an attempt to address the discipline problems in UK school Cameron wanted to see;

 "Children who stand up when their parents or teacher walks in the room. Real discipline, rigorous standards" 

 

 

Critics responded that Mr Cameron had overlooked the fact that disruptive behaviour is more likely to be the result of children mirroring the attitudes of parents who have little or no respect for authority or the education system.

Creating a harmonious environment and a level of mutual respect is something which is fundamental to beliefs of the Montessori approach. Last year in March the DfE recognised the potential for the Montessori to have an effect in the role modelling of children by their parents and the Montessori charity was awarded a tender to provide the 'Free 0-5 years Parenting Classes' in the London Borough of Camdem as part of a wider government pilot scheme across four areas of the UK. Barbara Isaacs of MCI suggests that the real solution lies in 'working in partnership with parents.... and creating a shared ethos'.

Unfortunately one year on from the launch of the free parenting classes an assessment has shown that as few as 2% of eligible parents have taken advantage of the scheme and one in five do not complete the course. For more information on this see the following link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/mar/24/free-parenting-classes-scheme?CMP=twt_gu



References and other useful links:

Isaacs, B., 2012. Understanding the Montessori Approach. 1st ed. Oxon: Routledge.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/20/pupils-should-stand-up-teachers-classroom-david-cameron_n_1440123.html

http://www.montessori.org.uk/mci_training/about_mci

http://www.montessori.org.uk/news/news/parenting_success_for_montessori!_montessori_st_nicholas_is_delighted_to_announce_that_it_has_won_a_dfe_tender_to_provide_free_0-5_parenting_classes_in_the_london_borough_of_camden