Less is more

It has been said that "children are not empty vessels waiting to be filled but lamps to be lit." The well-intentioned desire of teachers to “cover” more curriculum leads to student confusion, stress and often a sense of failure on the part of a child who can’t possibly understand all that is being presented in a rapid seemingly random fashion. The goal of “finishing the book” creates unnecessary pressure for both students and teachers. Most teachers agree that the “tyranny of the clock” and the pressures caused by an increasingly detailed curriculum are affecting the learning process in deleterious ways.

People learn best by making connections between previous experience, prior knowledge and new challenges. Spending more time studying fewer topics in depth and making serendipitous connections between those subjects has been shown to increase student understanding and promotes a student’s sense of themselves as a competent learner.  By focusing on thematic curriculum units and expecting more student input, student achievement will increase.

Learning is child-centered

The classroom should be primarily focused on learning, not teaching. Children should be encouraged to pursue their interests and construct knowledge in their own style. Teachers should provide students with a rich assortment of learning opportunities, guidance and activities designed to connect new content knowledge with the experience and interests of the child.

Teachers should be free to seize the teachable moment and help students learn new things when serendipitous opportunities arise.

Students should feel good about themselves as learners and be intrinsically motivated to learn more.

Learning is doing

Since knowledge is a consequence of experience, it is the role of educators to create rich and varied learning experiences suited to each child. The most valuable form of educational assessment is also the easiest to conduct by asking the simple question, “What did you do today?” A successful student will be able to talk about his/her learning experience and produce artifacts of their activity.

Learning is social and collaborative

Students should work with other children and adults in collaborative situations as often as possible. This models real-life learning and creates opportunities to enhance personal knowledge while contributing to the learning of others. Students should be encouraged to share strategies, ideas and expertise, in a variety of ways, as a regular part of the learning process.

Opportunities to collaborate with other children should be encouraged. Access to expertise, mentoring and apprenticeship are critical. There are also opportunities for rich collaborations via the Internet.

Learning is joyful

The learning environment should harness a student’s natural curiosity, imagination and personality to create rich learning experiences designed to inspire each student to learn more.

Learning is meaningful

Learning should occur in a context in which it makes sense to the student through immediate use, application and connection to previous experiences and prior knowledge. We do not subscribe to what Paolo Friere called the “banking model,” in which you are taught something because you may need to use it at an unspecified date in the future.

Resources should be used efficiently

This applies especially to the resource of time and personnel. Independent reading or research does not need to occur when a teacher is present. The student should be responsible for finding and using such time independently. When a teacher is present the time should be maximized for collaboration, experimentation, explanation and guided experiences.

Learning takes time

Think about the things people are good at. They require a long time to learn and may never be completely mastered. The joy of learning is based on the balance of hard work and fun – the goal is difficult to achieve while desirable. Learning does not happen in thirty-minute blocks of time. Learning is often richest when a student has sufficient time to try multiple strategies, grapple with a problem, make discoveries, conduct research or invite the contributions of others. Sometimes the conditions are right for immediate understanding. At other times it should be the goal of teachers to create engaging opportunities for students to think and express themselves.