How Children Learn


Book Description

From the preface by Deborah Meier: "We have a long way to go to make John Holt's dream available to all children. But his books make it possible and easier for many of us to join him in the journey." In this enduring classic, rich with deep, original insight into the nature of early learning, John Holt was the first to make clear that, for small children, "learning is as natural as breathing." In his delightful book he observes how children actually learn to talk, to read, to count, and to reason, and how, as adults, we can best encourage these natural abilities in our children.




An Open Book: What and How Young Children Learn From Picture and Story Books


Book Description

Looking at and listening to picture and story books is a ubiquitous activity, frequently enjoyed by many young children and their parents. Well before children can read for themselves they are able to learn from books. Looking at and listening to books increases children’s general knowledge, understanding about the world and promotes language acquisition. This collection of papers demonstrates the breadth of information pre-reading children learn from books and increases our understanding of the social and cognitive mechanisms that support this learning. Our hope is that this Research Topic/eBook will be useful for researchers as well as educational practitioners and parents who are interested in optimizing children’s learning.




Understanding how Young Children Learn


Book Description

Ostroff highlights processes that propel learning (including play and collaboration), distilling the research into the most important ideas teachers need to design pedagogy and curriculum.




How Children Learn the Meanings of Words


Book Description

How do children learn that the word "dog" refers not to all four-legged animals, and not just to Ralph, but to all members of a particular species? How do they learn the meanings of verbs like "think," adjectives like "good," and words for abstract entities such as "mortgage" and "story"? The acquisition of word meaning is one of the fundamental issues in the study of mind. According to Paul Bloom, children learn words through sophisticated cognitive abilities that exist for other purposes. These include the ability to infer others' intentions, the ability to acquire concepts, an appreciation of syntactic structure, and certain general learning and memory abilities. Although other researchers have associated word learning with some of these capacities, Bloom is the first to show how a complete explanation requires all of them. The acquisition of even simple nouns requires rich conceptual, social, and linguistic capacities interacting in complex ways. This book requires no background in psychology or linguistics and is written in a clear, engaging style. Topics include the effects of language on spatial reasoning, the origin of essentialist beliefs, and the young child's understanding of representational art. The book should appeal to general readers interested in language and cognition as well as to researchers in the field.




Children Learn What They Live


Book Description

The timeless New York Times bestselling guide to parenting that shows the power of inspiring values through example. A unique handbook to raising children with a compassionate, steady hand—and to giving them the support and confidence they need to thrive. Expanding on her universally loved poem “Children Learn What They Live,” Dorothy Law Nolte, with psychotherapist Rachel Harris, reveals how parenting by example—by showing, not just telling—instills positive, true values in children that they will carry with them throughout their lives. Addressing issues of security, self-worth, tolerance, honesty, fear, respect, fairness, patience, and more, this book of rare common sense will help a new generation of parents find their own parenting wisdom—and draw out their child’s immense inner resources. If children live with criticism they learn to condemn. If children live with sharing, they learn generosity. If children live with acceptance, they learn to love. And more wisdom.




What If We Taught the Way Children Learn?


Book Description

Strengthen the connection between child development and learning We often teach our children in ways contrary to what we know about their development. What if our learning environments honored children’s natural inclinations and used them to enrich their lives? To help students experience joy and discovery, while also preparing them for future schooling, we need to understand the connection between how they develop and how they learn. Pica brings decades of experience in education to advocate for this change. Written as a follow-up to the bestselling What If Everybody Understood Child Development?, this book includes: 31 easy-to-read chapters on topics including disruptive behavior, creativity, self-regulation, screen time, and mental health Suggested next steps and resources in every chapter Real-life examples from the author′s and others’ experiences Evidence from brain science research Easy-to-read format perfect for PLCs, book studies, and parents The straight talk in this book inspires readers to generate change so that children can have the lives and education they deserve.




How People Learn


Book Description

First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.




How Children Learn (New Edition)


Book Description

An ideal introduction to the pioneers of educational theory for anyone studying childcare, child development or education – whether at further or higher education level. The first edition of this book has been a best-seller for almost a decade, identified as one of the top ten books for students of child development or early childhood care and education. In this new edition, there is an increased emphasis on both what practice based on particular theories of learning looks like and on criticisms of each theory. A glossary is included in sections highlighting words and concepts particular to the theorist in question. Full-colour photographs are used to illustrate some aspects of each theory or approach. How Children Learn looks at a wide range of theorists and practitioners who have influenced current understandings of how children learn and what this means for work with young children. The book summarises the findings and ideas of famous giants such as Montessori and Piaget as well as the more recent ideas of writers and thinkers such as Howard Gardner and Margaret Donaldson. It begins by looking at the work and life of Comenius who is widely described as the father of modern education and looks at the theory behind different approaches to early childhood care and education such as Steiner Waldorf education, HighScope and Te Whariki. You will find this book invaluable in giving you a clearer picture of how ideas about children's learning have developed over the past four centuries.




How Children Learn Language


Book Description

Adults tend to take language for granted - until they have to learn a new one. Then they realize how difficult it is to get the pronunciation right, to acquire the meaning of thousands of new words, and to learn how those words are put together to form sentences. Children, however, have mastered language before they can tie their shoes. In this engaging and accessible book, William O'Grady explains how this happens, discussing how children learn to produce and distinguish among sounds, their acquisition of words and meanings, and their mastery of the rules for building sentences. How Children Learn Language provides readers with a highly readable overview not only of the language acquisition process itself, but also of the ingenious experiments and techniques that researchers use to investigate his mysterious phenomenon. It will be of great interest to anyone - parent or student - wishing to find out how children acquire language.




Oops!


Book Description

The book also shines a spotlight on the role of the teacher and how he or she can do the right things to get the absolute best from students. Some of the best learning takes place when, rather than imposing on young people a pre-determined curriculum, you find the stimulus that is relevant and engaging for them and build from there. Then the curriculum starts to emerge in a way that simply hooks students into learning almost despite themselves. There is nothing for them to push against ('What's the point?!', 'This is boring..!') as they have helped shape the direction of the lesson in a way that makes it real and useful to them. All this without them even realising what is going on! They have been 'lured into learning' and the process is shared with teachers in this book, with examples as to how it can be done and how the author has done it. Reading this book will support teachers in developing ideas that motivate everybody in the classroom, from infants to secondary and beyond. Whether you're new to teaching or have vast experience you will find in this book inspiration to raise achievement, improve behaviour and enhance creativity in the classroom; and you will change the way you approach lesson planning forever. Shortlisted for the Education Resources Awards 2013, Secondary Resource - non ICT category Oops Book Launch, Waterstones, Sheffield, May 2012: Photography by Jane Hewitt www.janehewittphotography.co.uk