The Learners' Way

The Learners' Way: Time-Tested and True

by Anne Forester and Margaret Reinhard

The image of an ideal primary class conjures up pictures of a room filled with active, eager learners ready to try their hands and brains at new tasks and to interact positively with the teacher and each other. As that picture includes a classroom filled with books and art supplies, writing materials and hands-on math manipulatives, plants, animals and materials collected on field trips, the variety of work is endless and the children's natural curiosity keeps them too busy and excited about learning to waste time on acting out. If that scenario sounds overstated, it is nevertheless the one that Margaret created in her K-1-2 class over twenty five years of fitting her teaching ever more closely to the children's ways of learning. Like so many dedicated teachers, she shifted from highly structured teacher-centered work to learner-centered work that set literacy and numeracy teaching into contexts that the children could easily relate to and apply. A vital component of that shift was setting a learning climate that was free of anxiety and inculcated positive social learning along with the academic work. As we point out in our book, we call it "a climate of delight" and both learners and their parents react to it with enthusiasm.

Since ours is a partnership between a researcher - Anne - and a classroom teacher - Margaret - we have continued to look closely both at learners and teachers in class and at the research and findings of all who are concerned with learning. To our delight, our own research and practice are confirmed and enriched by a broad range of research into how people learn (NRC, 1999).

How the Brain works
Research into how the brain reacts to learning tasks affirms the complexity and integrative nature of its functioning (Caine & Caine, 1991). Setting learning into meaningful contexts brings that integrative function into full play activating many parts of the brain at once - not forgetting the emotions. Creating a "climate of delight" not only prevents the brain's fight-or-flight shutdown signal but actually governs the storage and retrieval of items in memory. Movement and sensory input are revealed as crucial to the brain's full development, and the active open classroom that encourages exploration and hands-on work nurtures that aspect of the growing brain. As learning flourishes, so does the growth of dendrites, the "little trees" of the brain as Diamond (1998) calls them. Throughout the primary grades the young brains are definitely under construction and need the active, joyful involvement of learners in their learning environment.

Constructivism
As the brain is under construction, so is the learning itself. Even at the primary level, young learners are ready to construct their own learning and make it theirs at a level far deeper than any drill-for-skill exercise has ever been able to achieve (Brooks & Brooks, 1999). Developing a number sense through use of math manipulatives, learning about constructing sentences during news times, collating a repertoire of writing styles from the variety of books and readings in class all become building blocks that young learners use to construct their personal inner computers which they then bring to bear on further learning and problem solving. Learning is so much more than storing bits of information when children are free to find, select, and assemble their learning from a variety of sources.

Multiple Intelligences
Variety is also affirmed in the realm of intelligence (Gardner 1985, 1991). Next to linguistic and logical intelligence, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, and environmental intelligences are fully acknowledged. Along with special abilities, confidence is built as children find their very personal intelligences valued and nurtured. Group projects, center time, field trips, physical education and reader theatre are but a few of the areas that plant and nurture neural trees to enrich not only the special intelligence but the child's whole brain and its functioning.

Emotional Intelligence
Though treated separately, emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995) is part of both intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences and it affects the learners' social development The open communication in class teaches effective interpersonal skills and caring while it encourages reflection on one's own needs. Humor, a sense of drama, sadness and joy all find their expression and children learn not only to voice or show their emotions but to share them in appropriate ways. That kind of social learning is so easily neglected in a highly structured classroom where communication is carefully controlled. When you have to wait till the teacher calls on you, a lot of bubbling excitement can get lost.

Tapping the Joy of Learning for Teacher and Student Alike
Now that Margaret has retired from active classroom teaching, she is supervising student teachers for the University of Victoria. In the classrooms she visits to work with her students, she encounters wonderfully effective teachers and many teaching styles, but the classroom where teachers are fitting their teaching to the learners' ways of learning sparkle with excitement. Teachers and students are co-learners as they explore the learning materials together and enter into the joy of discovery. Children learn to make choices and to participate in the decision-making process about projects and rules of conduct. They have the freedom to express their opinions and learn the give and take of conversation. Cooperation is the hallmark of interactions as children develop a sense of independence in moving from one task to another. Their confidence extends to their interactions with adults and they connect their school learning freely with the outside world. Sharing the responsibility for laying down rules of conduct and inculcating positive ways of communicating relieves the teacher of the strain of "keeping control." She and the students are sharing the joy of working the learners' way.

References:

Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon and Martin G. Brooks. 1999. In Search of Understanding: The case for Constructivist Classrooms. Alexandria, Va.: A.S.C.D.

Caine, Renate Nummela and Geoffrey Caine, 1991. Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain. Alexandria, Va.: A.S.C.D.

Diamond, Marian Cleeves and Janet Hopson. 1998. Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture your Child's Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth Through Adolescence. New York: Dutton.

Gardner, Howard. 1985. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, Howard: 1991. The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach. New York: Basic Books.

Goleman, Daniel. 1995. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.

National Research Council. 1999. How People Learn. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

About the Author:

Anne Forester is a learning specialist, researcher, and consultant. For over twenty years, she has research principles of learning and theories of management. She has recently retied as a college educator of reading and study skills, and now devotes her time to research, writing, and sharing her expertise with educators throughout North America. Her email address is a.forester@telus.net.

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