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The continuous process of learning
February 27, 2013, Wednesday
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CHILDREN'S first experiences at school set the tone for the rest of their education: will they be interested and inspired? The direction lies in the hands of their teachers.
"Children are inspired to learn when they are led on a journey of discovery, rather than when they are subjected to passive, rote learning," says Elizabeth Randall, superintendent of Early Childhood Education (ECE) at Yew Chung International School (YCIS). "In order to lead this journey, teachers need to know how to develop enquiry, and they must understand how children learn."
In other words, teaching is also a continuous process of learning.
The unique enquiry-based learning approach at YCIS has been developed over the years with a great deal of input from cutting-edge researchers, leading educational experts and on-the-ground YCIS teachers. Add to this the ongoing professional development that is integral at YCIS, and the result is a fully rounded, robust ECE program.
"Even experienced teachers may never have seen how enquiry-based learning is truly developed, and how children are taken on a learning journey," explains Randall. That's why the YCIS ECE program holds a conference before the beginning of each school year, with the purpose of reinforcing the schools' philosophy and objectives, and to review teaching methodologies that lead to learning journeys.
Keeping up with cutting-edge research is also part of the mission of YCIS educators. Staying current with the latest findings globally is a key imperative at YCIS, notes Randall. "We stay abreast with research all around the world - including connections at Oxford and Cambridge."
YCIS maintains close contact with early childhood education experts, including Dr Kathy Sylva, professor of educational psychology at Oxford, Lillian Katz, professor emerita of early childhood education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Thelma Harms, developer of the early childhood environment rating scale, among others.
YCIS ECE teachers attend conferences around the world, and with the leadership of Dr Betty Chan, director of Yew Chung International Schools, play a prominent role in the Alliance for International Education. Dr Chan established the China Chapter of the Alliance, which holds regular conferences to further its goal of advancing international and intercultural understanding through education.
"We are a research-based organization," says Randall, and this shows up both in the application of research findings to the classroom, as well as in the approach of teachers. Randall shares an anecdote from a teacher: A group of boys had dropped a car through the slats of a rainwater drain. Instead of going to a teacher for help, they discussed and tried various methods to retrieve the car. When those didn't work, they happened to spy a maintenance man, and they explained the problem to him. While all of this was happening, the teacher kept a watchful eye on the students - not wanting to disrupt their journey of discovery - and making observations to later lead students in a lively and in-depth conversation about their discoveries.
"Professional development for teachers used to focus on the theme, 'what are we going to teach the children'," says early childhood expert Lillian Katz, but now, there has been a paradigm shift to "what should children do that best serves their development and learning in the long term?"
Schools like YCIS maintain their position at the forefront of this shift "by focusing on how children learn, rather than purely on what subjects teachers should be teaching. We make the learning journey enjoyable and effective," says Randall," and we can only do this through professional development, and by staying versed in the latest research."
"Children are inspired to learn when they are led on a journey of discovery, rather than when they are subjected to passive, rote learning," says Elizabeth Randall, superintendent of Early Childhood Education (ECE) at Yew Chung International School (YCIS). "In order to lead this journey, teachers need to know how to develop enquiry, and they must understand how children learn."
In other words, teaching is also a continuous process of learning.
The unique enquiry-based learning approach at YCIS has been developed over the years with a great deal of input from cutting-edge researchers, leading educational experts and on-the-ground YCIS teachers. Add to this the ongoing professional development that is integral at YCIS, and the result is a fully rounded, robust ECE program.
"Even experienced teachers may never have seen how enquiry-based learning is truly developed, and how children are taken on a learning journey," explains Randall. That's why the YCIS ECE program holds a conference before the beginning of each school year, with the purpose of reinforcing the schools' philosophy and objectives, and to review teaching methodologies that lead to learning journeys.
Keeping up with cutting-edge research is also part of the mission of YCIS educators. Staying current with the latest findings globally is a key imperative at YCIS, notes Randall. "We stay abreast with research all around the world - including connections at Oxford and Cambridge."
YCIS maintains close contact with early childhood education experts, including Dr Kathy Sylva, professor of educational psychology at Oxford, Lillian Katz, professor emerita of early childhood education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Thelma Harms, developer of the early childhood environment rating scale, among others.
YCIS ECE teachers attend conferences around the world, and with the leadership of Dr Betty Chan, director of Yew Chung International Schools, play a prominent role in the Alliance for International Education. Dr Chan established the China Chapter of the Alliance, which holds regular conferences to further its goal of advancing international and intercultural understanding through education.
"We are a research-based organization," says Randall, and this shows up both in the application of research findings to the classroom, as well as in the approach of teachers. Randall shares an anecdote from a teacher: A group of boys had dropped a car through the slats of a rainwater drain. Instead of going to a teacher for help, they discussed and tried various methods to retrieve the car. When those didn't work, they happened to spy a maintenance man, and they explained the problem to him. While all of this was happening, the teacher kept a watchful eye on the students - not wanting to disrupt their journey of discovery - and making observations to later lead students in a lively and in-depth conversation about their discoveries.
"Professional development for teachers used to focus on the theme, 'what are we going to teach the children'," says early childhood expert Lillian Katz, but now, there has been a paradigm shift to "what should children do that best serves their development and learning in the long term?"
Schools like YCIS maintain their position at the forefront of this shift "by focusing on how children learn, rather than purely on what subjects teachers should be teaching. We make the learning journey enjoyable and effective," says Randall," and we can only do this through professional development, and by staying versed in the latest research."
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