FOSTERING EARLY LEARNING

There are many different methods of innovative and aspiring approaches to learning.  I interviewed at a job where they use nature to teach the children.  When I was interviewing during the winter, they were preparing the classroom for a rain forest.  They had already begun designing the walls for the rain forest and it was beautiful.  The owner explained that they are not a traditional school and that they use nature as well as music to teach the children. I also observed a classroom where the teacher had songs about language and would play the songs.  I noticed the students singing along to the songs which meant they had heard them several times.  At the end of the songs, she would write on the board questions about English Language Arts.  She also would allow students to take turns asking questions of their classmates.  This encouraged the students to think more and also gave them aspirations in leading the class the next day.  As the students began answering the questions, I could tell they were paying a lot of attention to what was being said in the songs.  Some of the things I missed in the song, the students caught.  It was very enlightening.

In the resources for this week, I went onto the site edutopia.com.   The site gives tons of information about innovative teaching methods.  One of the methods which I thought was interesting was the one about gaming.  It lists several reasons and methods for making games educational.  When deciding to choose games for the classroom, you must choose those which serve multiple purposes including the following:

“Powerful games in the classroom often include from www.edutopia.org:

• Multiple levels or challenges
• A compelling or intriguing storyline
• A personalized, unique experience for each learner
• Rewards such as unlocking certain capabilities based upon achievements
• Additional rewards and feedback from the teacher or classroom”.
  This article also gives information on how to reward students for winning games.  It goes from crazy costume boxes to crazy prize boxes.  There is so much information here on how students can not only have fun but have fun learning.  Even the reward system gives students merit points for encouraging classmates and for lending a helping hand in the classroom.  So many of these things will better enhance the classroom.  In this day, I believe you have to be creative to get the students’ attention.  They have become so accustomed to game systems and cellphones and other technology that it is difficult to keep their attention very long in the classroom. 
  
  
• I am interested in learning of any of my classmates have been in a classroom where there were more innovative methods of teaching.
• What struck your attention when you saw these innovative methods being done?
• Did you feel that the students were losing the method of teaching in the innovation?
• Was it a rewarding experience?
• Did you feel the students were grasping the teaching part of the innovation?
  
  
• Edutopia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org