Learning Outside the Classroom Atmosphere

 

In today’s world, there are numerous methods and styles of teaching. Education has seen multiple developments and innovations due to the advent of technology. Classroom education is the traditional type of teaching method usually followed by various countries. There are various benefits of classroom teaching that cannot be replaced by technology. Classroom education alone would not be sufficient for the overall development of a student.

Learning outside the classroom is essential, and this would give exposure to the young minds as they get an opportunity to explore different things. It is worth to talk about the various aspects of outside learning and its benefits.

Objective of Outside Learning

 Education is not about acquiring knowledge but it involves several other things that can be obtained only through outdoor learning. This type of learning helps students to frame their learning methodologies based on the things they see. It offers them a capacity to learn and contribute to live a successful life in this society.

Outside learning ads up to the benefits offered by classroom learning, and it is a perfect complement for the same. The primary objective of outside education is that a teacher can make the student understand the difficult concepts very quickly. It gives a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts.

Impact Created Through Outside Learning

The impact created by outside learning is entirely different from the effects of classroom teaching. The brain reacts differently when you go for education beyond the classroom. This type of alternate type of learning is called experiential learning. It is a method of learning that is based on your senses. The things that you see, hear and feel can create a more significant impact on your success. Exploring the things around the world can help in widening your practical knowledge. Beyond the class educational methods maximizes the potential of learning. It gives an overall quality learning experience as it bridges the gap between classroom study and practical study.

Advantages of Outside Learning

There are various benefits that outside learning can offer to the students. One of the main benefits of outdoor education is that you get a practical understanding of the various subjects. It promotes your life skills as you face various types of challenges during your outside learning. Education beyond classrooms can make students achievers in their life as it builds their personal and social skills. Outside learning makes you independent in your learning process.

Outside learning creates interest in the various subjects of the academics, and this keeps the students engaged in their studies. It promotes creativity, and makes one do things differently than others. It is an informal learning process and it more like a play which makes the learning enjoyable and fun. This type of education changes your attitude towards life, and this helps one to get ready in accepting the challenges. The overall confidence of the student gets improved with the practical knowledge gained from outside learning.

One cannot substitute classroom teaching with outside learning; nevertheless both go together in the path to achieve success.

Ways to Develop Math-Motivated Students

 

Math can be an exciting and rewarding subject to learn, but it can also take patience and perseverance to become proficient in math-just as it does to gain phonological awareness for budding readers or math fluency.

Because of this, students often need motivation to stay dedicated to mastering mathematics.

Every Student is Different

What motivates one child may not work for another, as no two students are alike.

Moreover, each student needs a variety of problem-solving skills. In math--as in life--there may be more than one "right" answer.

Taking into account the individual needs of students, what motivators are best to employ?

So, What Motivates Students to Learn Math?

1. Making connections to everyday life

If students think math is irrelevant to their lives, they won't be as excited or motivated.

However, when students see how math in real life situations works, they'll be more willing to stick with a problem.

Teachers need to find ways to demonstrate how math applies to their students' lives, whether it’s telling time, measuring their bedroom, or adding up the price of a desired item--tax included!

 2. A thoughtful environment

Before math can really stick, kids need time to think about the problems they're solving.

Writing in a math journal is one way that students can visualize their math thinking and learn which strategies are most helpful.

Talking over strategies with teachers or peers can also encourage kids to slow down and think about the problem-solving process.

3. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators

Human nature being what it is, sometimes old-fashioned motivators are key to math success. If students finish a particular number of lessons or meet their classroom learning goals in another way, built-in rewards can build confidence and renewed excitement.

For example, Imagine Math lessons reward students with a given number of points upon completion. Students then redeem these points in a variety of ways, from customizing their avatar to gaining extra free time during class.

4. A "mistakes are okay" class culture

It's one thing to say that mistakes are okay. But effective teachers also show students how "wrong" answers are actually just clues to solving a puzzle.

Spending a few minutes reviewing tests, homework, or class assignments can help encourage these productive conversations. Even just a few post-test inquiries about a student's thought process can shed light on where they experienced setbacks and why, opening a space for teachers to provide any additional insights or corrective instruction.

When students see mistakes as necessary to the growth process, they'll feel better about making errors--knowing they're moving along on their individual learning path.

Tapping Talents in Young Kids

     

Each child is born with innate talent that needs honing with time. Parents and pre-primary school teachers can help in tapping into the dormant talents of children at an early age. As children grow and realize their inner potential, it boosts their confidence and helps them in their proper cognitive growth and development.

Indeed, it’s a delight for parents and teachers to see their little ones flourishing and sharpening their skills and interests. But it’s not always easy for children to know where their true talents lie, especially when the options are many and varied these days. Below are 5 ways how as a teacher you can identify and help them grow their natural talents.

Adopt the Child-led Policy:

To nurture the inner possibilities of your child, you must follow his or her lead. Wear the hat of a guide and quietly observe the specific attributes that your child inclines towards.

1.       What kind of activities interests your children?

2.       What do they like to do in their free hours?

3.       What excites them?

Based on your observations, you can suggest the activity options to your children. But bear in mind, it will be your child who will ultimately decide whether he wishes to continue long term or not. However, when you follow the child-led ways, it’s easier for teachers and children alike to maintain continuity in skill development.

Give it time!

Albeit, it’s important to follow child’s cues for identifying and developing a child’s talent but know that children may be fickle minded too. In spite of their talent, they may change their minds and refuse to get their training after a point. Some already talented children may get influenced by their best friends and want to enroll themselves for activities which may not be their cup of tea. Such cases need meticulous handling by the parents. If you think your child has the necessary skills to advance in a particular activity yet refuses to continue it, you will have to devise ways to ensure that your child retains interest in the same. Give a temporary break, if need be, only to make a come-back sooner than later.

Praise your Children

Observe the natural aptitudes of your child and give them due recognition. Also, accordingly guide him or her towards sharpening those special skills. This will boost your child’s self-esteem and motivate him to realize his full potential. Once you notice the hard work put in by the little one, praise him or her for those sincere efforts.

Inform and Enrich

When nurturing a child’s hobby or talent, it’s important that he or she understands the subject, or the topic concerned in depth. For example, if your child is pursuing music, speak to him about the various types of music; introduce the greatest musicians and their achievements and so on. There are many indirect ways to provide background information about the particular activity to sustain their interest and curiosity.

Help them understand what they Love

One child may have multiple talents; another may take time to discover his or her natural talents. There’s no need to fret over this, for each child is unique. How adults can help children to identify and hone their talent is by opening the doors for them to explore various opportunities. Parents should try to ensure that their inherently gifted and talented children enjoy different experiences, be it arts or sports or may be cooking and so on. This will help children to pursue what they enjoy doing the most.

Once your children settle down in the class environment, you may closely start observing their behavior and understand the interests and knacks that he/she is gradually developing. Early childhood is definitely a good phase to realize and guide a child towards his/her natural talents, so that he or she can get trained in their choice of activity and enjoy doing it too, before academic pressure kicks in.

Pointers to Develop Effective Curriculum in Education

 

The frame work of curriculum should leverage on inclusive and equitable, characterized by quality learning, promoting lifelong learning, and relevant to holistic development. Curriculum, in other words, provides the bridge between education and development -and it is the competencies associated with lifelong learning and aligned with development needs, in the broadest, holistic sense of the term, that span that bridge.

The curriculum represents a conscious and systematic selection of knowledge, skills and values: a selection that shapes the way teaching, learning and assessment processes are organized by addressing questions such as what, why, when and how students should learn. More broadly, the curriculum is also understood as a political and social agreement that reflects a society's common vision while taking into account local, national and global needs and expectations.  The curriculum, in other words, embodies a society's educational aims and purposes. Contemporary curriculum reform and development processes therefore increasingly involve public discussion and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The complexity of curriculum development processes and the range of issues informing the 'what' and the 'how' of teaching, learning and assessment present major challenges for policy-makers and curriculum developers.

In confronting these challenges, curriculum developers need to answer many fundamental questions, including, which knowledge, skills and values ​​should be included in our curriculum? Would the acquisition and development of such knowledge, skills and values, and of the associated capabilities and competencies, enable our young people to lead meaningful and productive lives? Does our current paradigm of a set of ‘subjects’ constitute a curriculum adequate? How can we make learning relevant and interesting to students?

 But what does ‘quality’ mean in a curriculum context? What is the quality framework within which curriculum developers can set goals, develop and implement change processes, and eventually gauge their success? Some useful indicators of a quality curriculum have to do with its relevance, consistency,   practicality, effectiveness and sustainability.

 The curriculum is not, of course, an end in itself. Rather, it seeks both to achieve worthwhile and useful learning outcome for students, and to realize a range of societal demands and government policies. It is in and through the curriculum that key economic, political, social and cultural questions about the aims, purposes and processes of education are resolved. The policy statement and technical document that represent the curriculum reflect also a broader political and social agreement about what a society deems of most worth -that which is of sufficient importance to pass on to its children

Key indicators of curriculum success include the quality of the learning achieved by students, and how effectively students use that learning for their personal, social, physical, cognitive, moral, psychological and emotional development. A quality curriculum maximizes the potential for the effective enhancement of learning. Underlying this paper is the premise that educational quality should be understood primarily in terms of the quality of student learning, which in turn depends to a great extent on the quality of teaching. Of prime importance in this is the fact that good teaching and learning are greatly enhanced by the quality, relevance and effectiveness of the curriculum.

Good quality curriculum development is an ongoing and continuous process, not least because curricula need constantly to respond to change. Good curricula need to keep pace with a world in which knowledge is rapidly expanding, communication technologies are broadening access to information, and, as a result, the skills needed by students are constantly changing or being invented. A well-planned and systematic curriculum development process is therefore best conceived as a continuous dynamic cycle of development, implementation and Evaluation, which leads to and informs a new cycle. There are implications for adopting this cyclical approach to curriculum development, particularly those related to development costs teacher education and professional development   and support materials development and resources.

The fundamental purpose of a subject syllabus is to provide a coherent and consistent program of learning, which takes account of the way young people learn, and which has the flexibility to adapt to local circumstances and students' needs, and to be adapted over time. A syllabus should ensure that planned and progressive program of learning activities is constructed to develop understanding over time, this program is consistent with the way children's cognitive, emotional and physical abilities develop, there is consistency of approach between subject areas, and with the values ​​and principles that have been articulated, inter-disciplinary links are established between the subject textbooks, other learning materials and assessment practices.

Ways to Introduce Global Learning in the Classrooms

 

Global learning can definitely happen during one time events- like an International Week or night- but when we drop pebbles along the way, we dive into deeper learning. Teachers already have their standards that they cover throughout the year and can expand them slightly to include a wider perspective.

Here are some ways to seamlessly integrate global lessons into existing curriculum.

Five Senses learn more about a country by using your five senses.

Water Cycle Follow the route of snow melting in the mountains to the tributaries of major rivers, such as the Amazon, Yangtze, and Nile, and back to the sea.

Families/Communities what differences and similarities do you find in families and communities? Look at schools, homes, children (how many, how they are treated, how long they live at home, what jobs they are expected to do around the house), and sports around the world.

Famous People Include inspiring people from around the world (such as Wangari Maathai, the “Mother of the Trees”from Kenya) when you study biographies.

Healthy Eating Learn about where in the world our foods come from; investigate healthy multicultural cuisine. Look up slide shows of school lunches or breakfast around the world.

Animals/Plants Discover native flora, fauna, and habitats around the world; discuss hibernation (related to weather patterns) and migration routes with maps, such as this lesson on monarch butterflies.

Celebrate a new holiday or tradition!

Celebrations are so fun for kids! Learn about traditions and customs for festivals, celebrations, holidays, and birthdays, and select some favorites to celebrate.

There are countless holidays around the world to choose from like

Día de los Muertos (Mexico and a handful of other Latin American countries)

Diwali (India)

Chinese New Year (China and many, many other countries in Asia)

Start with some research about the background of the holiday, where, why, and of course how it’s celebrated. The best way to learn is from someone who celebrates the specific festival, but you can also watch clips on YouTube, or read books to learn more.

It is really fun to have special visitors to help celebrate: we have invited a mariachi band to our school, West African drummers, and a lion dance troupe for Chinese New Year, and a wonderful Hanukkah storyteller. It is also super fun to make crafts and snacks (who doesn’t love food!?). Be creative and enjoy learning with your students!

Read your way around the world.

As parents and teachers, we read to our kids all the time. By carefully choosing the books, we can:

Incorporate multicultural folktales and fiction while also exploring culture in nonfiction books that feature kids’ real lives. Include characters of a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds so our kids are reflected in the stories and have role models and pride for their heritage.

Join the Global Read Aloud. This worldwide book club uses Twitter, Skype, Edmodo, their wiki, email, regular mail, Kidblog, Tackk, and any other tools you can think of to make connections and discuss the book. There are several books to choose from, and kids in kindergarten through college can participate!

Map the settings of the books you read and make sure you are covering all continents.

Read books that defy stereotypes by showing more than one side of the story. For example, when learning about communities, include books from other countries. Read about kids in urban, suburban, and rural South Africa so that kids realize Africa is not just a vast rural stretch of land with abundant wildlife (which does exist but is not the whole story).

Compare literature and learn about cultural values from Cinderella around the World, Gingerbread Stories around the world, and Little Red Riding Hood around the world, or the “Trickster Tales” around the world.

Collaborate- Connect- Communicate with classes around the world.

The reality today is that our kids are growing up in an interconnected world community. No matter how rural or homogeneous our local neighborhood may be, we can connect with peers around the world using the internet. Classes can Skype, tweet pictures, share what they’re learning via a blog post, or send emails, letters, or artwork to each other. There are many places to look for pen pals for your class, but the safest and most popular site is ePals.

No matter how we decide to make the connection, this global collaboration is an opportunity for kids to communicate, solve problems, discuss issues, and learn about each other via technology.

Encouraging Critical and creative thinking in the classroom

Critical and creative thinking is essential for students to become successful learners.

Critical and creative thinking

This general capability has 4 main parts:

·         Posing questions, gathering, organizing and processing information and ideas.

·         Imagining possibilities, suggesting alternatives, seeking solutions and putting ideas into action.

·         Talking about and giving reasons for their thinking and applying knowledge in new situations.

·         Applying logic and reasoning, drawing conclusions and designing a course of action, and evaluating procedures and results.

During their primary and high school years, students develop critical and creative thinking as they imagine possibilities, consider alternatives, and create innovative solutions. They apply logic and reasoning to develop a course of action, and weigh up the consequences.

Examples

For example, in design and technology, grade 9 and 10 student’s analyses social, ethical and sustainability factors that have an impact on their designed solutions, including the production processes involved.

Another example is in the learning area of humanities and social sciences, where students consider social, environmental, and economic and community issues and makes plans for personal or group action. For example in geography, grade 7 students think critically and creatively to propose actions to create future water security.

In mathematics, students learn that there is more than one way to approach mathematical problems, and develop and use a range of different strategies for problem solving. Students pose questions, and organize and summaries data sets. They interpret their results and draw conclusions based on the evidence. For example, in grade 5 students may collect and analyses data about traffic around their school which might inform the local council about the need for a school crossing.

You can help your students develop critical and creative thinking by:

·         Encouraging them to explore, be curious, come up with questions and investigate how things work.

·         Asking them to think of different ways to solve problems.

·         Providing choices of activities that involve planning and decision making.

·         Asking them to describe their thinking and give reasons for it.

·         Showing them it is OK to make mistakes.

·         Sharing your mistakes and what you learnt from them.

·         Valuing their ideas and efforts.

Raising an Independent Thinker

Let’s face it: no matter how much parents and teachers complain, they love to be needed by their children. So, it’s only natural for a child’s growing independence to be a hard pill to swallow for parents and teachers of today.

But fostering independent thinking skills in your child is an important task for parents and Teachers. You can support their process by inviting them to ‘imagine’ another idea or way to do something. This allows them to move into the realm of creative thinking and the teachers and parents need to   take a ‘risk’ without fear of being different or wrong.

If you think that schools are the best places for kids to learn how to be independent thinkers, our thinking should undergo a metamorphosis. And the current 'teach to test' system which most schools follow is setting our children up for failure. One of the biggest problems seen around the country is that students are being sat upon; they must check their creativity at the classroom door. Independent thinking and innovation, which have been key ingredients throughout our country's history, are becoming just that... history.”

Because of this, teachers must help to fill in the gap. We can look for ways to nurture their individual learning styles and independent thinking skills at School. And there are lots of fun ways you can do that. Here’s what the experts suggest:

Talk

First of all, encourage your child to talk in descriptive terms. Start by  picking an everyday activity – such as running, jumping, doing a somersault or cartwheel – and have your kids  explain to you howhe/ she feels while doing that activity. Or you can pick a color, and ask your kids to describe what he/she thinks about when he/she sees that color.

Other ideas: ask your kids  to describe her/his ideal vacation spot, talk about what one of her/his toys is thinking, or tell you what they like about their best friend.

Listen

Next, engage your child’s listening skills, and teach him /her how to pay attention to what others are saying before sharing his/her own thoughts on the matter.

It is important to expose children to diverse ideas and approaches to life and living. For example, it is wonderful for a young child to listen to and participate in open classroom discussions where many different viewpoints and opinions are both encouraged and respected.

Think

It’s often tempting to jump in and show our children how to do something “right”, but that doesn’t help them learn to do things, or to think for themselves.

Encourage children to try and solve their own problems instead of doing it for them. And when they do... be sure to ‘label’ what they are doing by saying, ‘You are thinking!’ This will help children recognize the value of thinking for them.

Write

Writing practice doesn’t have to be just about putting words to paper, although it can if your child is old enough; otherwise, get her telling her own made-up tales in the ancient verbal story telling

Try making up a story together, taking turns coming up with the next few sentences, instead of reading a story to your class. You could also pick three random words, and let your kids write or tell you a poem about those words. Remember, poems don’t need to rhyme!

Another idea is to pause during a book or movie to ask your kids what they would do or say to the character in the plot if they just walked into that scene. This is a fun way to get kids thinking for themselves, and you can discuss the potential outcomes if it were handled one particular way or another. “I like to think of this as a sort of dress rehearsal for real life. If kids play out various situations with characters that they have already bonded with in a book or movie, they are more likely to suggest something out of compassion instead of going with the crowd. And as a result, I have seen this play out the same way in real-life situations.