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A
Practical Guide to Education Chapter 4
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HOW CHILDREN LEARN AND BEHAVE
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Teaching requires not only knowledge of the subject, but also knowledge
of how best the learners will learn. It is important to remember that
a six year old does not think or learn in the same way as a sixteen year
old. They are at different levels of physical development. They are also
at different levels of cognitive and emotional development. Many classes
will include children of different ages, even though they may all be in
the same grade. The teacher must be aware of the differences between children
in their class, and utilize different teaching approaches and class management
techniques in helping them to learn well.
4.1
How children learn This section summarizes some characteristics
of children in different age groups: (1) young children from 6 to 10 years
of age; and (2) adolescents from 11 to 18 years of age.
The
Young Child (6 - 10 years of age) Learning should begin with
the child's experiences, with what the child already knows. When children
come to school, they have already acquired some knowledge - they know
a language, they know how to relate to members of their own family, and
they know quite a lot about society and the world around them. The teacher
can determine what knowledge and skills the children have already developed
and then build on that. For example, you can encourage the children to
speak about their lives and draw on what they already know.
At
this age children are able to think logically about concrete problems.
They are becoming more comfortable working with symbols, such as numbers
and letters, although they still need many opportunities to work with
real materials and objects. For example, they can more easily learn to
count when they have leaves or stones to count, rather than doing it in
an abstract way - in their heads or by writing numbers. Children in this
age range need a great deal of practice before they can master a skill,
and this practice has to be spaced over a long period. You should provide
many different opportunities for children to practice and utilize knowledge
and skills that have been introduced.
Play
is very important to young school-age children. They like to play games
with rules, such as sports or card games. If given the opportunity, they
like drama and role-play. Their play is often gender-segregated, which
to some extent may reflect different interests of boys and girls (Mitchell,
1992). Young children often model themselves on adults around them. They
see the teacher as their role model because of their daily contact. Therefore,
it is important that the teacher provide positive modeling of behavior,
knowledge, and skills. For example, use of corporal punishment by the
teacher will often lead children to imitate this type of behavior with
other children.
PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS: Some ways to organize lessons for young children
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21.
Have a lot of materials for children to use in the learning process. Children
can collect some of these materials themselves, and these can be kept in
the classroom. Readily available materials include sticks, stones, leaves,
plants, and pictures. |
22.
Provide a variety of ways for the children to express what they have learned.
Some effective, practical, and entertaining forms of expression include
role playing, drama, and games (for more information see section 4.2 of
this chapter). |
23.
Children learn better by seeing and doing than only by being told. Instead
of telling them a fact, find ways in which they can see these facts for
themselves. For example, you can organize visits to nearby places, such
as farms, forests, and rivers; or introduce project work, such as interviewing
others and recording these interviews, finding out information from books,
and exploring issues in small groups. |
The
Adolescent (11 - 18) You may have older children in primary
school, many of them adolescents. Remember that children of different
ages have different interests and also think in different ways, so the
teacher will have to teach the older children rather differently from
the younger children. Adolescents are no longer tied to concrete reasoning
about objects. They can begin abstract thought, and their skills in scientific
reasoning increase. Data can be organized by classifying and corresponding.
The results of these operations facilitate the students' logical thinking.
Students can now reason hypothetically and enjoy "if-then" types of problems.
During this stage learners tend to question and criticize more than younger
children. They may not accept authority very easily and will be more influenced
by children of their own age, such as their friends and peer group. They
are more likely to be disruptive in class than younger children. At the
same time, they may be able to learn much more quickly and in more abstract
ways than the younger children.
If possible, these older children should be placed in classes with their
age mates. However, where this is not possible and where a teacher may
find 6 year olds in the same class as 15 year olds or even 18 year olds,
it is wise to divide the class into smaller groups, with older children
sometimes working together, and at other times placing more advanced and
sympathetic older children as leaders for groups of younger children.
Making older children compete with younger children, particularly older
girls competing with younger boys or older boys competing with younger
girls, may be discouraging and intimidating to both the older and the
younger child.
PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS: Some ways to organize lessons for teenagers
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- Teenagers
have different interests from young children. Find out what these interests
are and utilize them in your teaching. For example, teenagers will be
more interested in what they will do as adults, either in their careers
or in their social relationships. They are often more interested in
expressing their personalities through their habits or language. Utilize
these interests in your lessons.
- Teenagers
would like to be more independent, to do things for themselves, to learn
on their own, and to be more responsible for themselves and their learning.
Use their wish to be more independent to enable them to learn better.
For example, let them find out information for themselves through interviews,
reading, and research on their own. Let them do more project work. Let
them apply their knowledge and skills to the reality around them, such
as by drawing maps of their home, school, and surroundings.
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4.2
Classroom discipline and management In the discussion in section
4.1 about how children learn, suggestions were made for how teachers should
model learning behavior and how best young and adolescent children learn
knowledge and skills. In this section, we take a more psychological perspective
in discussing child development and how that development affects behavior.
We will look at why discipline and management are so important to children's
well-being, and will provide concrete suggestions for positive ways to
discipline and manage children.
Discipline is what you say and do to teach an individual child acceptable
behavior and guide him or her to practice that behavior. Discipline is
not simply punishment. Management includes techniques that teachers use
to guide the behavior of a group of children. Discipline and management
will help you meet three important goals:
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- Keeping
children physically safe. Young children are impulsive. They often move
and respond without thinking of the consequences of their actions. Older
children can also get carried away when playing and endanger other students
and themselves.
- Promoting
children's sense of self. As they define themselves as separate people,
children test limits. You are there to help set limits when necessary
and allow children to feel safe. Knowing that you are there to insist
on some limitations will lessen children's fears of losing control and
encourage them to explore their independence.
- Teaching
children to develop self-control. This process takes a long time, and
through it the child learns beliefs, values, and a sense of right and
wrong. Over time, children will no longer need to be reminded to behave
"correctly," because they will act on their own belief as to what is
the right thing to do. Self-control is important for two reasons in
particular: (1) people with self-control feel good, confident and proud
of themselves; and (2) people with self-control are more responsible
members of a group - at the same time as they voice their own opinions
and beliefs, they respect those of others.
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Remember that every child is an individual and that the children in your
class will be at different levels of development, even if they are the
same age. Here are guidelines and suggestions for teachers to meet the
goals above:
- Match
your expectations of behavior to children's developmental level.
Young school-age children, for example, are fairly capable
of self-control. They understand why there are rules and they can begin
to generate their own rules. As they develop mentally, they will show
aggression more verbally than physically. They will call each other
names, and they need your help to learn that this behavior is hurtful
and unacceptable.
- Show
children respect even though you may not approve of their behavior.
Be careful not to attack children's self-esteem. You should focus your
disapproval on the behavior, not on the child.
- Provide
a routine.
Children respond very well to routine activities, such as singing a
morning song to start the day and to signal lunchtime. Also, remember
to explain to children what is going to happen next, for children find
it unsettling to be in transition or without limits. For example, you
might say, "After this activity, we will play a game."
- Offer
alternatives.
Be flexible with your lesson plans, for behavioral problems often arise
when children are bored or find tasks too difficult. If the children
are having difficulty with an exercise, be ready to alter it or offer
a different exercise, rather than forcing the children to continue.
Help children understand others feelings. Recognizing how their behavior
makes others feel will help children begin to learn to control their
own behavior. Young children have not developed the skill of perception,
so the teacher might have to point out that, "your friend is upset because
you hit him" or "she is angry because you won't let her play with you."
- Involve
the entire class in problem solving.
If there is a problem affecting the whole class, ask students to brainstorm
ways to solve it. Brainstorming means letting everyone suggest solutions
without discounting any, and the teacher should keep track of the suggestions.
When they run out of suggestions, go through the list and eliminate
suggestions by giving good reasons why they will not work. If the children
do not come up with any reasonable solutions, you can offer solutions
as well. This encourages teamwork and creativity in problem-solving.
- Acknowledge
children's positive behavior.
A smile or comment of encouragement will go a long way toward promoting
desirable behavior. For example, "I like the way you two cooperated
to decide who was going to draw first."
- Encourage
children to talk about their feelings and frustrations. Listen
to what children's words and actions tell you about their feelings.
They may need your help in finding words to name their feelings. Help
them to explain to other children that they are feeling angry, sad,
frustrated, excited, etc.
- Keep
your sense of humor.
A joke, a silly song, or a funny face can give everyone a much-needed
sense of perspective when things get tense.
- Be
aware that who you are can influence your expectations and responses
to children's behavior. Your
own childhood experiences, your personality, and your beliefs and values
influence how you treat children. It is especially important for young
children that the norms you set for the learning space are appropriate
and not just a repetition of how you were raised.
- Communicate
your philosophy about discipline and management to parents. It is
extremely important that children do not receive strongly conflicting
messages from the various caregivers in their lives. The teacher must
work with the parents to develop mutually acceptable management techniques,
while recognizing that the management needs in the learning space tend
to be unique as they must always encourage learning. You may want to
hold regular meetings with parents to discuss behavior and discipline,
and you may encourage parents to adopt your behaviors, such as treating
children with respect even when you disapprove of their behavior.
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PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS
Complaint Box
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A
traditional complaint box with a slot in the top can help you to stay on
task with your teaching since students can complain all they want without
taking up your time in doing so (they might even get some writing exercise
in the process). Read through them at the end of the day; the important
ones are kept to be dealt with as you see fit (hopefully you've been able
to see and deal with hitting and other physical things immediately). The
more insignificant ones are usually ignored since the student already achieved
what they were needing to do: just get something off their chest. In those
cases they likely forgot all about it by the time you read about it. |
From:
Http://www.teachnet.com/manage.html
Guidelines
for handling class disturbances
There are a number of general guidelines which many teachers have found
to be effective (Hoover, 1987). However, there is no fixed procedure in
class disturbance.
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Disturbing conversation. Sometimes such a disturbance can be
ignored. If it threatens to spread, the teacher can move to the area
of disturbance. He/she may offer to help students get started on an
assignment. If the teacher is talking to the entire group, a pause or
a question to one of the disturbing students can effectively solve the
problem. Although some teachers are quick to separate students who disturb,
this is often an inadvisable procedure. The practice may create resentment
and serve to spread the problem to other parts of the room.
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Over-dependence of one child on another. This is a problem which
usually will work itself out. The students sometimes need each other
until wider social acceptance is possible. Wider social acceptance is
encouraged through emphasis on group work.
- Hostility
between individuals and/or groups. Talk with each of the participants
individually. Try to find the cause prior to any drastic attempts at
reformation.
- Cheating.
Cheating may occur as a result of overemphasis on grades or the
establishment of unrealistic standards. For example, if the task is
too hard for the students, s/he will be forced to meet the requirement.
- Temper
tantrum. When a child in the classroom has a temper tantrum, everyone
in the classroom should avoid giving the child an audience. The teacher
may need to remove the child from the classroom so that other children
will not give him an audience. The teacher may find out what caused
the child to have a temper tantrum and then try to help the child to
see his/her behavior in a different way. This may prevent it form happening
again.
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