How Children Learn

1. How Children Learn Basic Learning Styles: I. Field-Sensitive: Children who are more interactive with others; volunteering, assisting, and helpful, they also try to gain attention. II. Field-Independent: Children who are more independent and prefer to work on their own. They enjoy competition as well as individual recognition. III. Visual Learners: A child who depends a great deal on the sense of sight. This child will notice small visual changes in the environment. IV. Auditory Learners: A child who learn best through hearing. This child is the first to hear a fly in the classroom or a snow plow outdoors.

2. HOW CHILDREN LEARN -Nobody learns anything sitting on their bottoms! Developmentally Appropriate Behaviors

3. What should you teach a 3 year old? • colors • Shapes • Matching • Categorizing • Seriating • Self help - dressing

4. What should you teach a 4 year old? • ABC‘s • Numbers • Address • Phone # • Write name

5. PREREADING SKILLS: • Matching • Sorting, classification, categorizing • Sequencing • Patterning • Seriating – small to large • Teaching these skills instead of reading is called Developmentally Appropriate learning (DAP) All kids reach the same level of reading by Grade 2

6. "All I Ever Really Needed to KnowI Learned in Kindergarten"Robert Fulgham Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. These are the things I learned.. Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we. And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living. Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

7. Feeding a Child’s Brain- How a child Learns - • The more work the brain does, the more it becomes capable of doing. • Provide more opportunities for mental effort done by the child • A wide variety of stimuli • (Multi-sensory: hearing, seeing, doing) • In a conflict free environment where the child is not being pushed or forced to do something and the only competition is with himself. • Plenty of time is given to learn and discover. • Frustrations are turned into learning experiences.

8. Feeding a Child’s Brain- How a child Learns - • Repetition: “AGAIN!!” • Active Exploration and Investigation • “We have enough color by number people. We need more kids playing experimenting and running around.” Bev Boss • New Challenges or mysteries to solve on their own. • Adults help kids too much. • It all begins with PLAY!!! • Where does it say that our age says we “can’t”. Nobody does enough “baby stuff” anymore.

9. Feeding a Child’s Brain- How a child Learns - • Surrounded by Concrete and relevant experiences. • Questioning, new ideas, and differing of opinions are invited and encouraged. • Success is anticipated. • Design an activity or curriculum where there is no right or wrong • Encourage a willingness to be different, to risk, and to be creative • Stop cleaning up after or fixing the result. • All children learn at different rates! • Basic units of learning = Wonder, Discover, and Experience

10. THIS IS……..DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE(DAP)

11. D Inappropritate P OR DAP

12. DAP - Developmentally Appropriate is……. Taking into account everything we know about how children learn and develop and match that to the content and strategies planned for them. Age appropriate Predictable sequence of stages used as a guideline Individual appropriate Each child is unique in personality, learning styles, and family background Recognizing a child's capabilities and challenging their capacity to develop and learn.

13. Why it Works • Tell me…. I forget • Show me…. I remember • Involve me…. I understand

14. DAP Activities Are: concrete Relevant Real Includes: -respecting the children -Accepting the children -Encouraging the children. -A variety of stimuli to encourage uninhibited exploration.

15. DAP Curriculum Includes: Social Emotional Cognitive Physical experiences. Children are evaluated according to their individual differences. Multi cultural and Non- sexist materials and equipment.

16. DAP Play Activities Play should be child initiated child directed teacher supported. Adults interfere too much. Will the child learn from this? Can they grow? Will the world come to an end if I let this act go? Too many rules of play. No child can hurt themselves No child can hurt others No child can hurt property.

17. DAP Learning takes place: Combining creative, self-directed interaction with materials. With pictures, stories and tangible objects that are appropriate learning aides. PLAY • Using a variety of activities and materials to challenge child • As an interactive process between Adults, Child, and materials.

18. DAP time schedule Time to explore as long as the child wants. Free choice in which the child can move freely between activities. Balance of rest and active movement throughout the day.

19. DAP Atmosphere: Instead of quietly listening children should be expected to actively participate. High quality play is often noisy with laughter, questions, and talking. If the children are not questioning, commenting or interrupting,(appropriately) something is wrong.

20. 5 ingredients for ACTIVE Child Initiated Learning • Materials…. For each child to use • Manipulation…. Of the materials by the child, hands on interaction • Choice…. By the child of what to do with the materials • Language…. From the child talking about what they are doing, seeing, thinking • Support…. From adults and peers. Silent Observe Understand Listen -As adults we do too much talking and interfering

21. QUALITY DAP TEACHERS KNOW THATChildren are Active (not passive) Learners so they.. Give children opportunities for gross motor activities each day. Keep inactive segments short. Provide free-choice periods. Adapt to differing styles and abilities Provide many opportunities for children to communicate Facilitate successful completion of tasks. Recognize that children learn through trial and error.

22. QUALITY DAP TEACHERS KNOW THATChildren are Curious so they.. Build activities around children’s interests. Provide many chances for children to explore. Encourage children to pose problems and investigate solution. Facilitates development of self control Allow for increasing independence as child acquires skills

23. QUALITY DAP TEACHERS KNOW THATChildren are Playful so they.. • Integrate play throughout the day. • Provide variety of props and manipulative objects. • Encourage children to create and use their own ideas. • Create a classroom design and schedule that allows children to move about freely. • Recognize that high quality play is often noisy. • Make it fun by teaching with excitement and enthusiasm for learning. • Risk looking silly, loosing perfect discipline, and showing emotion. • Experience it with the child because learning should be a walk of discovery, not a race to the finish line.

24. QUALITY DAP TEACHERS KNOW THATChildren are our Future so they.. • Respond quickly to each child’s needs • Be alert to signs of stress in children’s behavior. • Build self-concept by • Respecting, • Accepting, and • Comforting the child regardless of the behavior

25. QUALITY DAP TEACHERS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN: • CHILD DIRECTED • Child decides what to do, the idea and the material to use. • Adult follows the child's lead. • ADULT INITIATED • Child has creativity, but adult initiates the idea of making something and chooses the supplies to be used. • Ie: paper, cotton, glue.. Now use these to make… • ADULT DIRECTED • Teacher decides what to do and how to do it. Pre-cut, pre-drawn, instructions on how to assemble it. • File folder games • If children are exposed to Adult directed, it teaches them to be non-risk takers, non-thinkers, and that they are incapable and dumb.

26. A Quality DAP Teacher: • ENGAGE: Create interest & curiosity • EXPLORE: Encourage learner to work, act as a consultant. • EXPLAIN: Learners explain and justify learning. • ELABORATE: Apply & expand to alternate explanations. • EVALUATE: Observe and assess learners and learners can assess their own learning. Teacher Student Student Student Teacher In each category, who is doing most of the work?

27. CONCLUSION: Write a paragraph discussing your honest reaction to DAP standards. Do you feel that they are credible or do you question their validity (dare to be critical) What kind of impact would they have if you used them? What if this method was used in the public school system, even in high school?

28. Sample ABC Card