For some reason, the students that I work with get younger and younger each year (actually, they stay the same age, I suppose that it is me that is getting older and older). What I notice with each passing school year is that students are expected to learn so much more - before they enter school that it causes many parents to hyperventilate knowing that their five year old needs to finish a mini-dissertation for their Kindergarten exit exam.
My only saving grace when working with this new generation of "wired kids" is that they still like to have fun. This older article from Time shows a different approach to teaching that I have come to embrace more than the dose of coffee that is in my hand when I am working with a student.
"Experiential learning" as defined by Wikipedia, is:
"the process of making meaning from direct experience.[1] Simply put, Experiential Learning is learning from experience. The experience can be staged or left open. Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them."
I am a very intuitive learner and learn by emotion. The classes in college that I enjoyed the most were the ones in which I knew my professors were in it to help us become better individuals. They came to university with the intention of enriching the minds of young people - and I am very happy to say that they accomplished their task. When I work with a child, that is the one thing that is constantly on my mind as I become fixated on solving their educational challenges.
One student of mine was working on some high level analogies when she had to determine what the relationship between a circle and a sphere was. It was the perfect opportunity for us to learn something right there and then. Instead of drawing a one dimensional picture on a piece of paper, I had her stand up and we walked over to where I had placed my lunch and I pulled out an orange. I showed her that the shape of the orange is not a circle, but rather a sphere however, if you pay attention closely and slice the orange - it is in the shape of a circle.
Given that my students allow me the privilege of learning with them (over and over again), I stop to see the "A-ha" moment in their eyes as they understand the concept. Learning is not boring if done correctly. She learned something more than shapes that day. She learned how to enjoy the act of acquiring knowledge in an active way!
My only saving grace when working with this new generation of "wired kids" is that they still like to have fun. This older article from Time shows a different approach to teaching that I have come to embrace more than the dose of coffee that is in my hand when I am working with a student.
"Experiential learning" as defined by Wikipedia, is:
"the process of making meaning from direct experience.[1] Simply put, Experiential Learning is learning from experience. The experience can be staged or left open. Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them."
I am a very intuitive learner and learn by emotion. The classes in college that I enjoyed the most were the ones in which I knew my professors were in it to help us become better individuals. They came to university with the intention of enriching the minds of young people - and I am very happy to say that they accomplished their task. When I work with a child, that is the one thing that is constantly on my mind as I become fixated on solving their educational challenges.
One student of mine was working on some high level analogies when she had to determine what the relationship between a circle and a sphere was. It was the perfect opportunity for us to learn something right there and then. Instead of drawing a one dimensional picture on a piece of paper, I had her stand up and we walked over to where I had placed my lunch and I pulled out an orange. I showed her that the shape of the orange is not a circle, but rather a sphere however, if you pay attention closely and slice the orange - it is in the shape of a circle.
Given that my students allow me the privilege of learning with them (over and over again), I stop to see the "A-ha" moment in their eyes as they understand the concept. Learning is not boring if done correctly. She learned something more than shapes that day. She learned how to enjoy the act of acquiring knowledge in an active way!
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