Effective Characteristics of Learning
What children learn is important, but how children learn is even more important if they are to become learners for life in today’s society. Beyond what we learn about, in our earliest years we are also building habits of mind that will support us to continue to learn and be successful throughout our lives.
At Annabel’s Early Years we plan well thought out play opportunities. Teachers help children to discover the satisfaction of being interested and involved in activities that challenge them. We build the children’s confidence to experiment and try new things, helping to teach our students that we can learn from what goes wrong as well as what goes right, and that we shouldn’t give up easily when we encounter problems.
We try and help our students to not just react just from instinct, but to make decisions about their actions based on thinking about possible consequences and judging the best way to reach their goals. Effective Characteristics of Learning or “Learning to learn” has been identified by the Education Council of the European Union as the most important competence which people need through their lives for work, everyday activities and decision-making. The emphasis in education has moved away from simply handing down information, an approach which doesn’t take account of the rapidly changing world where we can not predict the type of knowledge that will be needed within a few years, let alone a lifetime.
Competences for learning are emphasized because they go beyond skills and knowledge, they look at how someone functions in real life situations, taking into account the whole person – feelings, attitudes, values, capacities and processes.
The competence of learning to learn also sees the person in relation to others, with the individual developing an identity as an active learning agent within a community, where they can feel a sense of purpose and feel recognized and values in the group for their individual contributions and potential. (How Children learn, characteristic of effective early learning, Nancy Stewart,pg104)
We support the children at Annabel’s to build stronger identities as learners, and foster their capacities to learn. How children are learning is intertwined and interwoven with skills necessary to help them in every aspect of their day.
Further details of how we support effective learning will be provided when you visit Annabel’s.
19 Ekamai,10 Sukhumvit Soi.63, Bangkok, Thailand.
Tel: 02 391 8181
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