"A positive learning climate in a
school for young children is a composite of many things. It is an
attitude that respects children
.
It is a place where children receive guidance and encouragement from
the responsible adults around them. It is an environment where children
can experiment and try out new ideas without fear of failure. It is an
atmosphere that builds children's self-confidence so they dare to take
risks. It is an environment that nurtures a love of learning."
Carol B. Hillman
ICT AND THE PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM
PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING |
DEFINITION OF THE PRINCIPLES |
The child’s sense of wonderand natural curiosity is a primary motivating factor in learning |
The child’s sense of wonder at the complexity of the world, the desire to understand it, and the spontaneous curiosity to explore it through play is the heart of the learning process and provides the purest and most valuable motivating factor in the child’s learning. It is in cultivating the sense of wonder that the curriculum can provide the most fulfilling learning experience for the child and foster an appreciation of the value of learning. |
The child is an active agent in his or her learning |
The child should be an active agent in his or her own learning. The structure and content of the curriculum are designed to provide opportunities for active engagement in a wide range of learning experiences and to encourage children to respond in a variety of ways to particular content and teaching strategies. |
Learning is developmental in nature |
Conceptual development is not necessarily a linear process. Having dealt with particular knowledge, ideas and skills at a simple level, the child should have the opportunity to return to them at regular intervals in order to deepen his or her understanding. In this way the curriculum allows for the complexity of the learning process and for a coherent expansion of the child’s conceptual framework |
The child's existing knowledge and experience form the base for learning |
It is a fundamental principle of the curriculum that the child’s existing knowledge and experience should be the starting point for acquiring new understanding. The curriculum enables the child to move from the known to the unknown, from the simple to the more complex, from the concrete to the abstract, benefiting from a learning experience that is effective,coherent, and relevant. |
The child’s immediate environment provides the context for learning |
The child’s environment is an important context for his or her development. First-hand experience that actively engages the child with the immediate environment and with those who live in it is the most effective basis for learning. |
Learning should involve guided activity and discovery methods |
The principle of guided activity and discovery and the importance of the teacher in providing the most effective learning experiences for the child are central to the curriculum. In order to ensure that learning is fully productive, the teacher needs to identify particular stages of development in the child’s understanding and then choose the sequence of activities that will be most effective in advancing the child’s learning. |
Language is central in the learning process |
Language has a vital role to play in children’s development. Much learning takes place through the interaction of language and experience. Language helps the child to clarify and interpret experience, to acquire new concepts, and to add depth to concepts already grasped. |
The child should perceive the aesthetic dimension in learning |
The curriculum enables the child to perceive the aesthetic dimension in every area. This enriches the learning experiences for the child and the different aspects of conceptual development. The uniqueness of the child is perhaps most apparent in the innate creativity of each individual, while valuing the child’s creative response and expression of perceptions, insights, interpretations and knowledge is an important principle of the curriculum |
Social and emotional dimensions are important factors in learning |
It is widely recognised that the child’s social and emotional development significantly influences his or her success in learning. This is addressed most effectively through a school ethos that is characterised by a caring, interactive relationship between teachers and pupils. It is also a central concern of learning in every curriculum area. |
Learning is most effective when it is integrated |
For the young child, the distinctions between subjects are not relevant: what is more important is that he or she experiences a coherent learning process that accommodates a variety of elements. It is important, therefore, to make connections between learning in different subjects. As they mature, integration gives children’s learning a broader and richer perspective, emphasises the interconnectedness of knowledge and ideas and reinforces the learning process. |
Skills that facilitate the transfer of learning should be fostered |
One way to judge the effectiveness of learning is to look at the child’s ability to apply what he or she has learned in dealing with problems, choices, situations and experiences that are unfamiliar. The acquisition of this ability to transfer learning is a central feature of the curriculum. |
Higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills should be developed |
In the curriculum the child is encouraged to observe, collate and evaluate evidence, to ask relevant questions, to identify essential information, to recognise the essence of a problem, to suggest solutions, and to make informed judgements. These activities help to foster the higher-order thinking skills, such as summarising, analysing, making inferences and deductions, and interpreting figurative language and imagery |
Collaborative learning should feature in the learning process |
While it is important that children experience a variety of classroom organisational frameworks, working collaboratively provides learning opportunities that have particular advantages. Children are stimulated by hearing the ideas and opinions of others, and by having the opportunity to react to them. Collaborative work exposes children to the individual perceptions that others may have of a problem or a situation. These will reflect the different personalities and particular abilities of other members of the group and make for an interactive exchange that will help to broaden and deepen individual children’s understanding. |
The range of individual difference should be taken into account in the learning process |
The curriculum allows for differences in capacity and in the range of individual intelligence. It also takes account of many other factors of difference, such as urban and rural environments, single-class and multi-class school organisation, variations in socio-economic background, and family and community expectations. The breadth and flexibility of the curriculum, the choices it offers in the selection and sequencing of content and its focus on the developmental needs of children ensures its adaptability to the diversity of children’s circumstances and experiences. |
Assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning |
Assessment assists communication about children’s progress and development between teacher and child, between teacher and parent, and between teacher and teacher. It helps the child to become more self-aware as a learner and to develop powers of self-assessment. It also helps to ensure quality in education. |
