Children learn informally, through play and interacting with
their world, during their early years, often persisting and tackling new
challenges. All children enter school expecting to succeed.
However, for many children they lose confidence and
motivation when they do not succeed.
Results in poor self-efficacy
Why do some children fail?
Do they stop being able to learn?
Is the fault within the child?
Is the nature of the educational program or the teaching
part of the problem?
It is essential that teachers understand the learning
process and the factors that enhance or impede children's learning. Understanding
how children learn is fundamental for teaching and effective curriculum
planning.
Pedagogical content knowledge suggests –
Select appropriate methods
Knowledge of curriculum content
Steps involved in learning
process
Anticipate difficulties students
may experience
Awareness of learning characteristics of the students
Learning:
◦
process
◦
permanent
change
◦
acquire
new skills, knowledge, attitudes and values
◦
increasing
automaticity
◦
two
neurons communicating with each other
Categories:
◦
knowledge
◦
skills
◦
attitudes
and values
Knowledge /learned information may be acquired incidentally
in daily life. A Sound knowledge base is needed for thinking and reasoning
skills – retrieval and application – automaticity (example - learning to read).
This is most valuable when related to information previously
stored in memory. Intellectual skills = cognitive abilities that allow students
to interact successfully with their environment and successfully complete new
tasks.
Acquire concepts, rules, routines and symbol systems. Thinking,
reasoning and problem solving.
Direct teaching, demonstration and guided practice. Mental
strategies used to approach a learning task or problem. Metacognitive processes
that control our cognition = internal executive processes – plan, monitor and
evaluate performance.
The Lack of appropriate strategies = the cause of learning
difficulties.
Cognitive strategies taught by direct explanation and
modelling, think alouds (self-talk), guided practice and reflection. Affects
personal choices toward object, person and event. There is a significant
association with competence and efficacy as a learner – shaped by the extent to
which students fail or succeed at school. Intentional learning – learner
deliberately working to acquire knowledge, skill or strategy.
Incidental learning does not require conscious effort to
acquire information or skill it is exposure and learning unintentionally. A Combination
of student-centred and direct teaching most effective.
Students with LD require additional direct teaching
approaches.
Observation and imitation.
Requires:
◦
Attention
◦
Retention
- memory
◦
Reproduction
– recall and imitate
◦
Reinforcement
or incentive - motivation
May be intentional or incidental.
Social Learning Theory – learning in
the social environment – self-efficacy, self-understanding.
Important during initial stages of learning key information
(maths symbols and notation, spelling sight words). Meaningful learning
contributes to the development of intellectual skills and cognitive strategies.
Learning hierarchy – each new stage or level of learning is dependent upon
prerequisite knowledge, skills and strategies at a lower level (maths).
Task analysis – determining the learning hierarchy for
specific task.
Stages through which a learner
passes in order to acquire new knowledge, skills and strategies:
1. Attention to task – without
attention no learning
2. Acquisition – demonstration,
prompting and error correction
3. Application – developing competency
4. Automaticity - fluency
5. Maintenance – practice over time
6. Generalisation – teaching across
range of contexts
7. Adaption – independent learning and
usage
Different learners require different
times at each level.
here is a great video about urban learning :)
here is a great video about urban learning :)