Understanding Learning: How Recent Research Supports Natural Affinities

Fielding questions from parents about the beststudents emerged. Perhaps this model was
way to "teach" young children, I often revert tothought to be important during the industrial age
research that supports integrated and emergentwhen training people for the labor market was a
education models. However, parents influenced bypriority. But we now know that the world is a
marketing trends and imprudent educationfast-changing, increasingly open and global society
mandates are often skeptical by what they viewwhere individuals need to be confident, flexible and
as hackneyed analysis. How thrilling to comeindependent thinkers and learners. The importance
across leading edge research, such as David A.of nurturing these qualities cannot be understated.
Sousa's, "How the Brain Learns", which presentsWe're finally beginning to understand that a child is
evidence of brain development in the first fivenot "behind" or "learning disabled" if certain
years of life and the potential this has in the areaconcepts do not emerge in a specified timeline. It's
of early childhood education and beyond.the teachers and parents that are "teaching
An exciting revelation of brain research is thatdisabled" when they believe this to be true.
educators get to rethink the long-standing "tabulaOne of the great detriments of current
rasa" theory. This refers to the thesis thateducational precepts is the idea that we
individuals are born with no innate or built-in mentalcompartmentalize information like ABC's and
content, and that their entire resource oflanguage and reading in the early years, or as we
knowledge is built up gradually. Researchers nowmature, math and writing and geometry, etc.. This
know that children are ready and motivated tois contrary to recent findings, and challenges our
learn, not by being fed knowledge, but bynotions of the way people truly learn. Academic
discovering the world around them. It's up to thesubjects that are presented as interrelated can be
teachers, parents and caregivers in their lives tosynthesized in a more meaningful way, thus
provide the inspiration and facilitation. And insteadretained and applied appropriately and in context.
of a mandated curriculum, it's creativity andAccording to David Whitebread, author of The
individuation that will best ensure a student'sPsychology of Teaching and Learning in School,
lifelong success."This natural and powerful way of learning is
Children's curious nature and natural motivation tovastly inhibited when we are presented with new
learn, instinctively facilitate them to walk, talk,information or experience which does not relate
master manipulative tasks and do numerousto what we already know".
activities that others, from whom they learn, areBrain development research is confirming that
doing. Educational experiences that allow studentsallowing children to continue learning in ways that
to continue learning in the ways that helped themare organic and inspiring is what true education is
master these important skills are far moreall about. Imposing a curriculum with disregard for
beneficial and sustainable than standardizedpersonal capacity and preferences is an outdated
academic programs.framework in education, parenting and training in
Parents can be erroneously concerned aboutgeneral. It's thrilling to see research support the
children learning "the basics". But what is meant bybenefit of fostering an individual's innate capabilities
the "basics?" Sometime during the last century orthrough a holistic, rather than pigeonholed,
so, a misguided theory of what is important for allapproach.