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The purpose of Oakedu's program is not only to teach
the student everything there is to know, but also to establish in the
student a habit of mind which instinctively knows how to learn new material
when the formal schooling process is only a faint memory. The student
is taught not only WHAT to know, but also
HOW to think. The structure of any given OakEdu
course is two-fold:
- Content: the "particulars", the keywords, the elements, the bricks,
the vocabulary.
- Dialectic: the relationships of these particulars to one another, the
grammar, how the elements are interacting with each other, the dialog,
conflict between elements...
Studies show that Learning goes in four phases,
and this is how OakEdu proceeds:
- first you don't know that you don't know, unconscious;
- second, you discover that you don't know, that's conscious awareness;
- third, you actively gather information to fill the gap, you start knowing
that you know, consciously;
- fourth, you know and it becomes automatic, unconscious, that is fully
learnt.
With OakEdu's curriculum, the main intellectual weaknesses of the student
will gradually emerge and become more obvious. The student will be clever
in some ways, thick-headed in other ways. This will initiate a particular
attention from OakEdu's tutor: to make the student feel conscious of what
exactly is to be improved.
The intellectual ability of the student develop according to its natural
pattern, which begins in observation, concrete experiences and self-directed
activity, then which moves toward the comprehension and the formation
of abstract ideas (cf. Pestalozzi).
OakEdu's tutors know:
- How to make the student know exactly what are her/his own best learning
processes, be it auditive, visual, kinesthetic, people, location, action,
material, anchor, mnemotechnique
- How to increase the level of attention and focus given to the learning
- How best to manage the timetable, time windows assigned to learning
- How to detect when learning time is wasted because there is saturation
- How to insist when facing difficulties and when the solution is just
within grasping distance
- How and when to find help and resources
According to Marzano1992, learning first happens best when the attitude
is positive. It then consists in getting exposed to the new knowledge
up to achieving a level of understanding and integration. At first, the
level of mastery is low but it is dynamic and, with mishaps and success,
it gradually increases, gets refined, up to becoming a skill, ability
to perform meaningfully the proper
behaviour / action. Refining consists in Comparing, Classifying, Abstracting,
Inductive reasoning, Deductive reasoning, Constructing support, Analyzing
errors and Analyzing perspectives.
A good student with a bad attitude has no place at OakEdu. For example,
the student should believe "Learning is useful and good", she/he
has to acknowledge when she/he makes mistakes (work ethics, good faith,
fair play) and has to complete the assigned homework. If not complying,
see misbehaviours.
Successful learning occurs only when the student feels the need to learn,
actively searches, receives and assimilates the information, then applies
the new knowledge into life. Learning occurs only when the student is
physically ready, has a clear alert mind. It means good nutrition, ample
rest, physical activities, independence from addiction. It also means
emotional peace, no worry, feeling safe, socially accepted not as a loser.
Learning occurs in a proper environment, good light, fresh air, temperature,
humidity and no distracting sights/sounds.
Learning occurs mainly when the student is motivated. If not, to spark
the motivation engine, sometimes
the OakEdu tutor proposes a stimulating fun game
or chatting, engage into any activity that is grasping the interest of
the student. This is because the positive feeling will help rebalance
the mind and is transferable to the serious learning. When student's learning
is difficult, the tutor can focus on special topics in which the student
has a consuming interest, in order to capture the full attention of the
reluctant learner; the good intellectual processes developed there are
transferable skills that can be applied to less interesting topics. The
student is ready for learning when she/he is sincere and continuously
expresses interest.
The student learns if she/he is perceiving a need to know. The tutor pinpoints, identifies
and puts the stress on this ignorance and all the things that the student
cannot do because of this.
While the student is trying to understand, some elements can be unclear,
like background concepts, word meanings, new symbols. The tutor explains
each of them as the need arises.
The new idea can derive meaning as it is related to prior knowledge through
induction (reasoning from particulars to general principles) and deduction
(reasoning from generalities to particular outcomes). The tutor refreshes
prerequisite knowledge so that the student is recalling all of it.
Learning occurs when the student spends enough quality time over the task
with proper efficient studying techniques (for example, reading from printed
material). The student should experience the relationship between her/his
effort and her/his achievement. The school work becomes more purposeful.
Learning is facilitated when the teaching fits the particular learning
style of the student, on three filters:
- behavioural / intellectual / feeling,
- visual / verbal,
- sequential / global.
All activities of OakEdu are stimulating those 3 dimensions (called metaprograms
in NLP). The pedagogy features a variety of
presentation, task and environment formats, like computer-based, in the
study room, around a table, silent periods, dialogs, diagrams, laughs,
detail oriented, overview, with a lot of interaction and feedback. Sometimes
field trips are organized to experience things first-hand (holiday
camp, schedule outdoor). When the student
repeats aloud and writes at the same time, the memory retention is better.
All children benefit from a visual perception,
a material showing the word or the item / idea / concept. Some children
need to write down or draw, physically on a paper / keyboard, grasp or
touch. That is fun! It is stimulating as many senses as possible, thus
multiplying the perception entry channels into the brain memory.
When the tutor is encountering an unknown concept to explain to the student,
the tutor and the student learn together. The learning process is then
shared, the student observes how the tutor is learning. There is a dialog,
an hypothesis, a test in a learning loop. Then there is an understanding
of how it works. The process usually consists in opening books, dictionaries,
browsing internet, asking somebody, practicing and experiencing how the
challenging task behaves when given certain stimuli.
When new concepts are built upon prior learning, when essential questions,
key skill sets and habits of mind are carried forward from session to
session, students know what they are doing, why they are doing it and
how to do it. |
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