What a child learns first

I am keen to get into a bit more detail in understanding what the child learns first and how they come to terms with the new world around them.

Before a child learns basic concepts (for example, animal, soft, dirty, etc), they make more fundamental discoveries about the world around them: that objects exist, they differ from one another and they have permanence. That one thing happens because of something else (cause and effect), that objects are positioned (concept of space) and that activities occur at measured intervals (concept of time).

Jean Piaget (an important developmental psychologist) was of the view that every act of intelligence is an attempt to interpret something in our external reality, a taking in of what the child sees or hears and subjecting it to a meaning system in the brain. You can think of a newborn’s gaze at the mother or other people in the family wondering ‘who are these?’ As such the newborn child is not an empty vessel into which knowledge is poured. He participates in the learning.

Let us take a look at the idea (concept) of permanence.  You can try this out with a five-month old baby.

Place a ticking clock within the child’s reach and he will try to reach for it.  But if you cover the clock with a cloth, the baby withdraws their hand. As they do not understand permanence at this stage, they consider that the clock no longer exists.

When the child is at least a year old, they will lift the cloth to reveal the clock. But they still have not grasped that objects exist independent of their actions upon them. If you put the same clock under another cloth on the opposite side of the room as the child watches, they will still look for it under the cloth where you first placed it. At birth a baby is only aware of the space it occupies or acts upon. It does not see itself as one sharing space with other objects.

It is only when the child discovers that objects are displaced relative to one another that they can attribute permanence to them. As in the case of the clock, then they understand that the clock exists regardless of where it has been placed.

Here is an inspirational video where Jonathan Drori speaks on the value of allowing children tinker with things at home in order to learn (as we have suggested in the previous post)

Gardening, music, travelling: these are part of the learning environment

This is a continuation of the previous post in which I gave suggestions for activities that make for a conducive learning environment. Here is a follow-up for the next age-group.

For children 3 to 4 years

• Give children age-appropriate jobs as you work with them. One of my friends recently joked that his son is the minister of transport at home. He sees to the washing of his car. Another has asked his 4-year-old son to make sure everyone has a seatbelt on in the family car. This prepares children to assume responsibility for themselves and for others.

• Encourage the child to work with you in the kitchen, of course taking precautions against injury. You may want to avail a worktop suitable for the child. The child will have an opportunity to practice being orderly, careful at work and to clean up afterwards

• We have previously mentioned the need for a child to have opportunities to engage with nature and play outdoor. Now give them the opportunity to grow something in an outdoor garden (beans, corn, etc). They will learn some concepts in science and also develop patience and responsibility.
• A family that keeps pets may also consider having the child assist in the care of pets. This also fosters a sense of responsibility and duty of care for others.  The child may also take a pet of their own to look after.
• At this stage, learning and singing a variety of songs will be of great help to the child. Get the child to clap or match along as a song is sung.
• Whenever you are going on a trip, it is useful to prepare the child by telling them what will happen at the destination. For instance, a visit to the doctor may involve telling the child what to expect at the doctor’s office and why the visit is important. Children love going out and talking about the experience afterwards can increase the value of the day-out.

In the next post, I will consider some more activity ideas for children 4-7 years.

What is the critical learning stage of children?

I have come across another interesting definition of learning in the context of this blog: learning is the process by which babies become humanized (we can examine this idea in more depth in future). As you read on you will realize that the earlier we get the learning going the better.

Here are some interesting figures from studies of Benjamin Bloom (in Stability and Change in Human Characteristics)

• Of general intelligence, about 50 percent of development takes place between conception and four years of age, about 30 percent between ages four and eight and about 20 percent between ages of eight and seventeen.

• As far as vocabulary development, reading and general school achievement, 33 percent of academic skills children have at 18 years develops between birth and age six, 42 percent between age six and thirteen, and 25 percent between thirteen and eighteen. One of my professors (Prof Mel West) would say it is very difficult to change the tide for a child who does not understand the place of school at age 13.

Please note: these statistics do not confirm all children will turn out this way. Some children are resilient and can be very unpredictable. At age 10 they may appear mediocre, only to realize they are on top of their class four years later.

Here are some words of caution: there are many parents and educators who believe the best way to avoid failure in life is to keep their children longer in school. It is time to shift the emphasis from post-14 year-olds to age 2-6. This is a time when intellectual development is likely to have greater impact immediately and in the long term.

Your child’s learning environment

In the previous post we dealt with the role of parents, let us now take a look at the environment. What does an environment conducive to your child’s growth and learning look like?

Early learning depends to a great extent on the people and things in a child’s immediate environment. Some of the factors that contribute to a positive environment include personal acceptance of the child’s behaviour by adults, a predictable environment and reduced external stimulation.

There are things that make early learning difficult: fear and uncertainty (sometimes brought on by adults in the home) and passive absorption of continuous sensory stimulation (such as television), among others. You will probably have come across homes where busy adults leave a child sitting in front of TV for extended periods. You probably know how a busy maidservant can give your child a bottle and leave them in front of a TV while they work away in the kitchen.

It is what the child takes to school and not what they get there that enables learning. A stable home and family provides a good foundation for education in the future.

Some practical suggestions for parents

From birth to 18 months

• Most teaching happens as you go about household duties. Help your child develop senses with which to learn (touch, hearing, sight, etc)—mimic sound of animals, let him play in water, see flowers, listen to music and so on.
• A restricted playpen may be used from time to time, but allow freedom in the house or outside.
• Sing to your son or daughter, play recordings of lullabies. Bath time or bed time is a great opportunity to play quiet music.
• At 3 months you can take baby on tour of the house to show him/her objects of various sizes, shapes, colours, textures
• When the weather allows, take the child outdoors to explore nature and other objects outside
• Have a special activity time (20 or 30 minutes) every day, if possible.

1 year to 3 years

• Allow the child to work with you. In their world, there is no difference between work and play. This may require you to work slowly and with patience, but it is the best preschool education you can give them.
• Give the child finger food to eat and teach them to chew thoroughly
• Encourage independence: have the child help dress, undress and bathe him/herself.
• The child should learn to care for his clothes and keep his drawer neat.
• Shortly after 2 years, the child should be able to wash own hands and brush his teeth. They can also put away their toys.
• Introduce the child to rhythm and melody by using bells, clapping hands and moving hands.
• The child needs to sleep 12-14 hours daily.  (Source: Raymond S. Moore, et al, “School can wait”, Brigham Young University Press)

We shall consider some more suggestions in the next post.

How parents support early learning

Before delving into the range of matters in which children need to grow, let us shed some light on the role of parents in early learning.

‘A current trend is for young children to learn more and more about the world in which they live from people outside their own family in environments theoretically prepared for teaching and learning’ (Raymond Moore, et al, “School can wait”, 1979). Moore wrote this more than three decades ago and we can see how much children are learning from television and the internet while parents are away.

A child relates to people and to the world mostly through interaction with parents or parent-figures. It is this relationship that enables the child to define him or herself as an individual separate yet united to others by bond of family or community. This relationship and quality of care have a tremendous influence on learning from birth and into the school years. It is this affectional bond that gives rise to stability in a child’s life in the face of an uncertain future. I recall by asked by an elderly lady in East of England (in 2008) what kept me motivated and cheerful. Without thinking very much, I told her it was the thought that I have parents I can depend on and with whom I share communion in sharing family meals and celebrations.

In order for parents to ensure a positive environment and motivation for their child’s learning, the first responsibility of parents is to understand their own relationship to their children and their children’s developmental needs.  Parents can be helped to make a contribution as their children’s earliest teachers. This blog, by a father-to-be and educator has been started to meet this need.

Of course parents will not be able to teach children all they need to cope in today’s technological culture, but they offer a very useful foundation. 

How children learn

Learning and approaches to learning

We use the term ‘learning' every now and then. So what is learning?

Learning may be defined as a change in experience or behavior resulting from purposeful observation, overt activity or thinking and accompanied by motivational-emotional reactions (Arden Frandsen, How children learn: an educational psychology, p.43)

Learning is primarily an experience. We shall delve into this experience bit some other time.

How children (and the rest of us) learn

There are three approaches: conditioning, trial and error or insight.

In conditioning, a child sees a given reaction to a range of stimuli leading them to learn to make a given response when similar situations recur. For example, when crying is met on several occasions with a bottle of milk, a child may learn that if they want to eat, they cry.

In the trial and error approach, a child meets new situations in which they do not know how to respond. They then find out an appropriate response using a series of provisional tries. For instance, when a child is learning how to play with a new toy that makes sounds when pressed, they may begin by hitting it on the ground or putting it to the mouth until they press and it produces the unexpected sound.

The third approach usually starts out with trial and error and finishes in insight. Insight is achieved when a child sees the ‘point of a situation’ through organizing and reorganizing patterns in a situation in relation to a particular goal.

Scope

Here's an idea of the sorts of things we shall be dealing with on this blog. There will be a range of issues including the way a baby recognizes symbols, learns a new language, tells good food and learns about safety to matters of social relations and sportsmanship.

In the next article, we shall start out by describing the role of a parent in early learning.

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Your child's headstart

Welcome!

This blog is out here for all parents, but especially new parents who would like to work consciously on building a firm future for their children's education.

If you have read Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers', you will recall his reference to the headstart that many would be outliers receive in their early years. That headstart is often in the hands of parents or a guardian.

But even with the best of intentions, parents often find themselves without the needed background knowledge in education or psychology to provide the stimulus their children need.

Forget about the outrageous suggestions of reading to children in the womb. You will find ideas on reasonable steps to take to help children learn as they grow and to remain mentally well adjusted.

We shall deal with all matters to do with development of children as far as teaching and learning (and growing to maturity) are concerned. Parents have the first duty to educate and this is an opportunity to live that commitment to your children.

As I'm not a fountain of all good ideas, you can expect guest writers from time to time.

Good reading.