In 2002 the UNESCO sponsored a report, written by the International Academy of Education, on how children learn. This report issued 12 key principles governing how children learn, based on education and child psychology research. Since 2002 many countries and organisations have been seeking to develop their education systems using these principles and new emerging knowledge. In short it has spawned a revolution in how we conduct the education of children and in particular in Early Years settings.
The 12 principles can be grouped and summarised as follows [to view the full report click here]:
[Also check out our blogs on this topic in the Parent Resources section]
This is about creating environments that promote the optimal learning capability for children using the follow 3 principles:
1. “Active Involvement” – to be active rather than passive learners via hands on activities and experiments (learn by doing) and discussions and observation, rather than via lecturing. This means children are more interested in what they are learning and therefore retain the knowledge better.
2. “Social Participation” – to encourage children to collaborate with classmates in learning activities, sharing resources and engaging with trusted adults. Children learn from everyone around them and by sharing both ideas and resources they also learn from each other.
3. “Meaningful Activities” – is about schools and teachers using tasks and materials that are meaningful for the children rather than purely academic or contrived. Real life, locally relevant, examples or situations are more meaningful than writing equations on a blackboard for instance.
The next 7 principles focus on cognitive factors (ways the brain works when learning). These principles are about how children process new things, relate them to things they already know and remember them.
The focus is on thinking about a topic and understanding it in context rather than memorisation via drilling, so-called rote learning, which often goes into temporary memory and is harder for children to use later in a different context. To be clear, practice and repetition remains an important part of learning as this repeated activity strengthens brain pathways (see section on neuroscience) but practice once understanding has been achieve is far more durable. Understanding how, why, etc is the key to learning and memory retention as well as promoting the ability to use the learning in new and different ways (i.e. creativity and adaptability).
This area also deals with breaking misconceptions that can be a blocker to learning. Children may think the Earth is flat, because that is what they experience, so they must relearn that the Earth is not flat to open their mind to other learning about planets, the Sun and solar systems.
The final two principles are about assessing and leveraging a child’s individuality and what motivates them: what they enjoy doing, what they are especially good at and what they feel is rewarding. Everyone is a bit different, some are good at mathematics and science, others favour languages and socially orientated activates, there are people who like more physical pursuits like sports and those who express creativity in music and art.
Clearly a rounded education must encompass all of these elements but early learning can be tailored somewhat to personal preferences and strengths through self-selection and free-play periods built into the timetable. The key is for schools to offer a range of learning opportunities to cover all developmental areas. Ultimately the end goal is not just to educate but to motivate children to keep learning as they move through life. This is only possible if they enjoy the pursuit of knowledge and the acquisition of new skills, learning must not become a chore but rather a passion that is rewarding and self sustaining. Cultivating resilient, motivated, lifelong learners is the ultimate goal of education, especially in Early Years.
