Human Learning! Good Teaching is Good Teaching - NO Fluff Required!
- May 23, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 11, 2024
Adapted from Edutopia Facebook Feed! All content is intentional and worth repeating repeatedly until teaching and learning put students on a personalized pathway. To those who make the big decisions, please READ!
How Learning Happens
These techniques have resonated with educators everywhere: They are focused on taking advantage of the incredible opportunity to help children reach their full potential by creating positive relationships, experiences, and environments in which every student can thrive. In fact, the science is beginning to hint at even more dramatic outcomes. Practices explicitly designed to integrate social, emotional, and cognitive skills in the classroom, the research suggests, can reverse the damages wrought by childhood trauma and stress—while serving the needs of all students and moving them onto a positive developmental and academic path.
Introduction
The research indicates that strong relationships with educators are crucial for students to develop the cognitive skills they need to thrive. Tailored strategies for children who have experienced trauma benefit all students.
Starting With the Adults
Dedicating one day a month to provide staff with training and support can better equip adults to care for the young people they serve. Research shows that hiring staff that reflects the demographics of the children they serve has a powerful impact.
Cultivating a Belonging Mindset
Encouraging both academic thinking and social connectedness through classroom discussions can foster confidence and growth in high school seniors.
Fostering Positive Relationships
Greeting students as they come into class bolsters a feeling of belonging and readiness to learn. Providing informal time with a trusted educator supports the emotional well-being and academic growth of struggling students.
Building Academic Confidence
Accommodating different processing needs through quick assessment strategies encourages more student participation. Allowing students to choose books to read helps develop a sense of autonomy and ownership over their learning.
Developing Foundational Skills
Makerspaces build cognitive abilities while fostering independence, perseverance, and self-regulation. Explicitly modeling the process of prioritizing tasks builds students’ ability to organize and manage their time.
Establishing Positive Conditions for Learning
Meeting students’ mental, emotional, and physical needs increases their likelihood of loving school and learning more. Short movement breaks have been shown to help students stay focused, improving skill-building and knowledge retention.
Learning Beyond the School Day
Exploring learned concepts outside the classroom can deepen students’ understanding of science, themselves, and the world. The hours after school can be a great opportunity to build in lessons around self-regulation and decision-making. Sports can be a powerful way for young people to build self-regulation skills, set goals, and develop confidence.
Citations:
November 16, 2018
Updated February 22, 2024
How can schools better align their practices with what the science says about human learning? Our popular video series—featuring Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of Learning Policy Institute, Pamela Cantor, MD, founder and senior science advisor of the Center for Whole-Child Education (formerly Turnaround for Children), and Karen Pittman, partner at Knowledge to Power Catalysts and cofounder and former CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment—pairs research insights with a variety of illustrative strategies from schools, all grounded in the science of human learning and development.
FILED UNDER
Comments