It was once thought that newborn children came into this world as “blank slates”. People believed that children had to be taught and that they did not actively participate in their own learning. But over the years researchers discovered that young children are actually active learners. They gather and organize materials that lead to their own cognitive development and early-on develop an understanding of basic biology, physics and numbers. Over the past few years, these researchers have provided many insights into how children learn. Some of their findings are as follows:
- Children are born with a natural inclination towards learning certain areas, such as, science, numbers and languages. These are their “privileged domains”.
- Outside of these privileged domains, children like all other learners have to use will, ingenuity and effort to learn.
- As they mature, children develop different methods for learning and understanding. As such, children learn in different ways and there are many ways of being “intelligent”. By understanding this we can help children learn by working with their strengths.
- While a lot of learning by children is self-motivated and self-directed, we as parents and teachers, play a major role in helping the development of learning in our children. Other tools, such as, books, television and computers also play an important part in the learning process.
By understanding how children learn, we as parents and caregivers can have a huge impact on the lives of our children by providing an environment that supports their learning.
This post is based on the book “How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School”. Visit the PicabooLane store to purchase or read this book for free online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6160.
