Learning without limits
- 1. Learning without Limits All children can learn Do all parents know how to enhance their children’s capacity for learning? Dr. Dolapo Ogunbawo Executive Director Caleb Group of Schools Saturday, May 23rd, 2015
- 2. Parenting Workshops by Caleb Group of Schools in Collaboration with Sterling Bank Important websites for downloading materials and registering for next workshop www.sterlingbankng.com/parentingworkshop and www.calebschools.com
- 3. 2nd Workshop in the Series Learning without Limits Enhancing Your Child’s Capacity for Learning “The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and wings of independence” Denis Waitley
- 4. Expectations • Duration - 2 hours • Presentation – 1 hour • Light touches on learning theories • Focus on what parents need to do – practicalities • Sterling Bank Message – 10 minutes while you complete question/comment sheet • Response to some questions and comments • Follow up on websites to download materials and register for next workshop
- 7. V. O. R. • Vision – of greatness and positive outcomes • Optimism – every day is a great day • Realism – work with what you’ve got
- 8. Learning without Limits Our ability to thrive depends on our capacity to learn (Bentley 2000) But.... Let’s begin with What is Learning?
- 9. What is Learning? • Learning is acquiring information or ‘knowing a lot’. • Learning is storing information that can be reproduced. • Learning is acquiring facts, skills, and methods that can be retained and used as necessary. • Learning is making sense or meaning of the subject matter and the real world. • Learning is interpreting and understanding reality or comprehending the world by reinterpreting knowledge.
- 10. Learning Theories BEHAVIOURIST Thorndike, Pavlov, Watson, Guthrie, Hull, Tolman, Skinner COGNITIVIST Koffka, Kohler, Lewin, Piaget, Ausubel, Bruner, Gagne HUMANIST Maslow, Rogers SOCIAL AND SITUATIONAL Bandura, Lave and Wenger, Salomon Change in behaviour as a result of stimuli in external environment Internal mental process (including insight, information processing, memory and perception) a result of internal cognitive structuring A personal act to fulfill potential as a result of affective and cognitive needs Interaction and observation in social contexts. Learning is in relationship between people and environment.
- 11. What we know about learning • Learning is ... – Intellectual, social and emotional – Happens by design and by chance – Influenced by context – Different for everyone – Takes time, conscious effort and focused attention – We all do it and take it for granted – Often, we fail to make the most of it
- 12. Learning is making connections • Learning is a constructive process that occurs best when what is being learned is relevant and meaningful to the learner and when the learner is actively engaged in creating his or her own knowledge and understanding by connecting what is being learned with prior knowledge and experience. Lambert and McCombs (1998)
- 14. Making Connections • Learning is seeing patterns in the world around us. Teaching is creating the conditions in which pupils can see the known patterns of our collective understanding. Nobel prize winners see patterns where they have not been seen before. John Polanyi Nobel Laureate Chemistry (1999)
- 15. Developing the Whole Child • Physically • Mentally/Intellectually • Spiritually/Morally
- 16. Our Brain and Learning • Advances in understanding learning comes from neuroscience by seeing inside the brain using brain imaging technologies e.g. Pet scan • The brain is a living organism that grows and reshapes itself as it develops • We make our brains as we use them • The shape or state of a person’s brain is the result of interactions between genetic inheritance and experiences
- 17. Our Brain and Learning • At birth, the brain has all the neurons it will ever have. • The early years are the peak learning years • The brain develops some capacities at critical periods in the early years. • Predispositions open up at points in children’s development and if these predispositions are not used, that section of the brain gets used for something else or dies. • Adult brains remain highly plastic and capable of extensive neural reorganisation throughout life. • There is no evidence that learning decreases with age.
- 18. What All Children Need to Learn The 5 Competences for the 21st Century • Learn How to Learn • Learn the Importance of Active Citizenship • Learn How to Develop and Sustain Relationships • Learn How to Manage Situations • Learn How to Manage Information From UNESCO’s International Commission on Education for the 21st Century (1996): learning to know; learning to do; learning to live together and learning to be.
- 19. Promoting Intellectual Development • Understanding learning and the process of intellectual development • Stimulation/motivation • Structure and discipline – setting boundaries • Teaching thinking and reasoning skills • Developing an enquiring mind with critical and creative thinking skills
- 20. Understanding Learning • Read the theories of learning • Learning is more than schools or teachers • Learning is continuous adaptation • Learning is building on children’s prior knowledge • Learning requires children’s engagement • Learning is progression to higher order tasks • Learning requires second chances
- 21. Stimulation & Motivation • Biological, developmental, cognitive, social, psychological and emotional factors influence learning • Children must be exposed to as much stimulation as possible to grow intellectually. Parents can provide stimulation and motivation by: – Making tasks interesting, relevant and challenging – Maintaining high expectation – Making room for imagination and fantasy – Using cooperative instead of competitive strategies – Recognising the important roles of language & reading – Encouraging self image as successful learner – Encouraging risk taking – Forstering independent learning
- 22. Structure and Discipline • Establish a firm boundary with consequences • Ensure a safe physical environment • Nurture positive relationships • Be fair and respectful • Be consistent and reliable • Actively promote positive behaviour • Control frustration and risks • Maintain the pursuit of the goal
- 23. Learning and Thinking • We need thinking skills in order to learn effectively • A new field of cognitive education teach children how to think more effectively • Children who are unable to learn from experience are usually suffering from cognitive deficiencies meaning they have not learned to think coherently • Instead of considering new problems and thinking them through with the benefit of past lessons such children react impulsively or become inert in the face of challenging tasks
- 24. Learning and Thinking • Learning is thoughtful action • Often we're not aware of our thinking - it happens automatically - but if we stop to ponder what's going on then we become more efficient and more creative • Critical Thinking is the process we use to reflect, assess and judge the assumption underlying our own and others’ ideas and efforts • Creative Thinking is the process we use to develop ideas that are unique, useful and worthy of further elaboration • The Marshmallow Test - delayed gratification or self control • http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/22/us/marshmallow-test/
- 25. PHASES OF CRITICAL THINKING • Trigger Event: An unexpected happening that prompts a sense of inter-discomfort and perplexity • Appraisal: A period of self scrutinizing to identify and clarify the concern • Exploration: Search for ways to explain discrepancy or to live with them • Developing alternative perspectives: Select those assumptions and activities that seem the most satisfactory and congruent • Integration: Becoming comfortable with, and acting, on new ideas assumption and new ways of thinking
- 26. Critical Thinking Habits • Confidence: Assurance of one's reasoning abilities • Contextual Perspective: Consideration of the whole situation • Creativity: Intellectual inventiveness to generate, discover, or restructure ideas, imagining alternatives • Flexibility: Capacity to adapt, accommodate, modify, or change thoughts, ideas, and behaviors • Inquisitiveness: An eagerness to know by seeking knowledge by exploring possibilities and alternatives
- 27. Critical Thinking Habits • Intellectual Integrity: Seeking the truth through sincere, honest means, even if the results are contrary to one's assumptions and beliefs • Intuition: Insightful sense of knowing without conscious use of reason • Open-mindedness: Characterized by being receptive to divergent views and sensitive to one's biases • Perseverance: Pursuit of a goal with focus and determination to overcome obstacles • Reflection: Contemplation of a subject, action or behaviour for the purposes of deeper understanding and self-evaluation
- 28. Practical Solutions 1. Choose your children’s schools wisely: • It is not always your children who lack aspiration or drive to achieve • Sadly sometimes the schools you have placed them lack belief in those they are teaching • Ensure you have smart methods of discerning the "type" of school that complement and fit your vision and values • If your child is not happy at the school, find another
- 29. Practical Solutions 2. Create a home environment that is both stimulating and conducive to learning: • No matter how great your child’s school is and how fantastic the teachers are, they cannot do it all • You need to understand there is a major part the parent plays in the child’s development and learning • Consider a variety of factors that are pertinent to your child’s learning like language, reading and thinking and develop strategies to foster and develop them • It is your responsibility to raise your child and you cannot delegate that responsibility to another
- 30. Practical Solutions 3. Maintain an amicable and robust relationship with your child’s school and teachers: • Whether you like the teachers and/or principal or not you still need them! • Make sure you are always positive when speaking about the school, teachers and principal because your child is listening! • Keep communication channels open and friendly and ensure you correspond regularly • Always attend school functions to teach your child school is important and high on your value priorities
- 31. Practical Solutions 4. Quality mediation: • Stuff happens! • And when it happens between school and home, it is important to create dynamic avenues to restore peace and justice • Your child is not always right or perfect! • For this reason, ensure you listen to what the school tells you about your child with an open mind so that rifts can be resolved and not left to linger or degenerate
- 32. Practical Solutions 5. Focus on relationship and remember that happiness is important: • Develop meaningful and effective relationships with your child • Also remember that it is important to teach your child that relationship matters • Happy relationship = happy life, so happy children = happy family • We are human and therefore relational beings. We are designed to function in relationships • If you get this right you can radically increase the level of engagement, aspiration and productivity of your child
- 33. Think About This
- 34. REMEMBER..... Children Learn What They Live
- 36. Reflection • What has extended or deepened your learning? • What has challenged your thinking? • What do you intend to follow up on and how?