“If children have enough time to go through
the cycle only once, they’ll miss out on the most important part of the
creative process.”
First of all, I'm amazed that the students were able to articulate to others the processes they used to create their projects. I never thought about Kindergarten having a different approach to learning than the other grade levels. However, if I think about it. I've never heard anyone say that they didn't enjoy Kindergarten or that they never learned anything during that time. All I hear is how students wish they could go back to Kindergarten. This research article was a good idea.
It is essential for students to go through the "Kindergarten process" more than once. If they don't, then they may be stuck with failure, or stuck with an end result that is less than their full potential. Constant revision and advice is neccessary to become better at anything. I love to learn with someone, because we are able to bounce ideas off each other and learn from one another. Students aren't given this option very often in school. Teachers are too afraid of students' lack of effort to allow collaboration on projects and papers.
Other Resources:
I liked the following resource, because it talks about what active learning is and how you can use it within a classroom and in online courses. It also discusses how active learning relates to Bloom's Taxonomy and why it is so important.
NWIACOMMCOLLEGE. (2011, February 8). What is Active
Learning? Retrieved from Youtube.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UsDI6hDx5uI
Seeing and hearing students collaborating on projects together is one of my favorite parts of teaching. I believe (most of the time) students work better together than alone, because they have others to talk through the problems and solutions with. There is also the motivation of working in a group, because you don't want the others to be upset if you're not contributing. I can also access better if students are getting it, because I can hear them talking to their groups members about the content.
ReplyDeleteassess, not access...sorry :)
DeleteWhat I like most about this article is that it provides a good reminder that learning IS FUN! Children enjoy learning! Too often I hear educators say things like, we need to make learning FUN so student DON'T know they are learning. The problem is that students are not enjoying school because they do not feel like they are learning...or at least learning things they find relevant or meaningful.
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