Hi there!
Today we are going to discuss about learning environment for young learners.
Based on my own experience, positive learning environment will definitely lead
to their physical and mental development. Just imagine if the children are left
in an unorganized, noisy, and crowded space and they are being instructed to
listen to the lesson, do you think they will be able to pay maximum attention
to the lesson? Obviously, they can’t! This is because some of their attention
is being channeled to other elements of the class that are making them feel
uncomfortable. Thus, it is important to have the right ambiance to optimize the
learning process of young children.
The initial step
in creating a positive environment for infants, toddlers, and preschool
children is to examine how young children learn and develop. As a teacher, I do
realize that each stage of development has unique characteristics that
influence how a child will experience his or her environment.
For example,
infants and toddlers learn about their world by acting on objects and materials
in their surrounding. Thus, their learning environment should be designed to cater
this need by providing them opportunities to explore their surrounding
freely and safely. That is why at LETZHOP, materials (e.g. ball, soft toys) that can
promote such learning to infants and toddlers are stored strategically so they
can easily play and explore the learning materials.
For preschoolers,
their learning generally takes place when there are meaningful activities
that involve doing and moving. For example, when I taught my 3-4 year old students
the word ‘sniff’, I allow them to sniff the smell of a fragrance that the
centre had prepared for the class. Based on my observation, they automatically
understood the meaning of the word ‘sniff’ once they were allowed to do the
action by themselves - sniffing!
Besides
preparing the right materials for optimal learning, areas at LETZHOP’s centre also
clearly communicate to preschoolers what kind of activities occur in a specific
area. For instance, the flower table that they have in the class is their work
station where they can color and draw, while the space in front of the smart panel is
the place where they can watch Elmo’s World as well as sing and dance. When they recognize the
culture of each area, this will definitely encourage and improve their language
interactions, socio-dramatic play, and the construction of experiences based on
their level of understanding.
As a conclusion,
I would like to emphasize that all children have their own learning style and
need and they should be exposed to the right environment to optimize their
attention, thus, their learning ability.
Authored by,
Teacher Zeeda
LETZHOP Bukit JalilTeacher Zeeda
No comments:
Post a Comment