Traditional
Learning
In
my kindergarten classroom following the rules is crucial for the students to
understand. This structure is based on the Learning
as Pursuing Rewards and Avoiding Punishment model. The teacher has her classroom
management stated clearly and is constant with it. She rewards students who do
what is expected and beyond. She also punishes those students who get more than
two warnings by sending them to the thinking chair or keeping them in from
playing outside at recess. The students know that there are consequences for
their actions and they are molded to formulate responses in this type of
environment. I always try to praise my children instead of being negative
because the classroom environment that I want my children to learn in is a
positive one. Of course, I also follow the traditional model of awards and
punishment because I too believe that students should act like well behaved
students and the only way to instill this is to reward them or punish them if they
are not being obedient. Why should students who are being off task receive the
same benefits as everyone else? Then the rest of the students will question and
begin to act the same as the disobedient child. I believe that there should be
some kind of assertiveness in the classroom or else the teacher loses all
control.
Our
math curriculum follows Enlightenment ideas because it allows the students to
manipulate objects in order to go more into depth of understanding. For
example, Locke believed that, “young children should learn from contact with
real objects, investi- gating for
themselves rather than being given verbal instruction (pg 45).” This is true
with our curriculum because it allows students to handle concrete objects
rather than just memorizing facts over and over again. In the more traditional
ways of teaching the students would have to learn through memorizing. They did
not engage in any of the activities and were not given opportunities to explore
the skills given to them. As we see in the reading children spent their time memorizing, reciting, and
reproducing their lessons to demonstrate that they had acquired knowledge (65).
Contemporary
Learning
The
Enlightenment movement was the beginning of people trying to understand the
meaning of knowledge and learning. It was not so much about going out and
finding knowledge it was more about understanding that knowledge was in us all
along. It is up to us to explore our own knowledge and all the possibilities of
learning that can come from it. In our current curriculum there are times where
students have to memorize and recite, however most of the time the students are
allowed to practice the skills they are taught. There are activities produced
to allow students to explore phonemic awareness and math skills on their own
through literacy centers and math centers. This follows the contemporary theory
by Piaget, “According to Piaget, children, like
"little scientists," investigate and learn pretty much on their own,
using the environment as their laboratory. Like real scientists, their
explorations are partly self-directed and partly random or unplanned. Throughout
childhood, they are curious and Inclined to experiment. They not only take
advantage of learning experiences but also create these learning opportunities
for themselves (pg 69).” I believe that every student is a little scientist and
should be given ample opportunities to act like a scientist. They take in so
much information and retain it, however as teachers we should allow them to dig
deeper and practice the skills given to them.
