Understanding Research in Early Education: The Relevance for the Future of Lessons from the Past

Buy Understanding Research in Early Education: The Relevance for the Future of Lessons from the Past 2 by Margaret M. Clark (ISBN: ) from.
Table of contents

• The 13 Key Benefits of Early Childhood Education: A Teacher's Perspective
• The 13 Key Benefits of Early Childhood Education: A Teacher's Perspective | HuffPost
• [Poll name]
• One more step
• Top Authors

This is the discovery where people began to realize that the process of taking a test can and will make you smarter. What started as a breakthrough approach for measuring knowledge and confidence is now moving front-and-center into corporate training centers in the form of a fast and accurate learning methodology.

Confidence-based learning is on the rise among organizations that are transitioning their companies from training organizations to learning organizations. Confidence-based learning is designed to ensure that learning actually takes place and mastery of a topic is achieved. It is much more than simply delivering information to students.

1. Product details.
2. NEA - Research on Early Childhood Education.
3. Why do I have to complete a CAPTCHA?!
4. Science in Early Childhood Classrooms: Content and Process;
5. Under Calcutta;
6. Science Content.

Determining what people need to learn starts by understanding what ignorance, doubts and misinformation presently exists. Unlike traditional learning methodologies that measure only how many questions someone answers correctly, confidence-based learning assesses. Distinguishing between a person guessing correctly and one who answers correctly with confidence can have a major impact.

An assessment process that is built into the system can capture and validate knowledge confidence because of the unique structure of its multiple-choice questions and detailed analysis. With the completion of an assessment, confidence-based learning is designed to close knowledge gaps at the moment users are most inclined to learn — right after being evaluated and their own misinformation and doubt has been exposed.

Archiving Knowledge While rarely viewed as such, education is a system for archiving a culture by passing down the knowledge of one generation to the next. Museums, written documents, books, photos, videos and audio recordings typically come to mind when considering a cultural archive. Craftsman guilds such as tilers and bricklayers are a good example of trades that require hands-on experience. The intricacies and nuances of piecing together building materials into artistic patterns cannot be adequately conveyed through books or even video.

The tactile feel of textures, tapping, testing for hollow spots, and cleaning off excess material are all part of the experiential learning that cannot be conveyed through some other medium. The concept of archiving knowledge is just one of many theories that will emerge as strategies around the new system begin to develop. As we begin to peel back the layers of the system we are envisioning, we will use a number of different descriptors and definitions to describe the nature of the new, new era of learning.

The key to this whole system is an easy-to-use courseware builder that catches the imagination of the general public and inspires participation. Several features will be necessary to give this system both the range and functionality of a truly rich learning environment. We have identified 12 critical dimensions of the future learning system. However, only the first two need to be in place for the revolution to begin. The two critical components that will define education for centuries to come will be a standardized architecture for developing a courseware unit, and an organic distribution system that allows anyone around the world access to it.

In the past, creating a standard was often a long and tedious process where smart people gathered around tables and argued about where to place the comma in a sentence. But times have changed, and so has the development process for standards. Very likely the development of a standard will happen concurrently with the early testing of courseware modules, with the drafting of the standard document happening in parallel to the testing of the architecture.

The final standard may not be finished for several years. Competing standards can be divisive, creating temporary chaos in the industry, and greatly delaying market acceptance. Also, the path to market acceptance would end up being far more expensive. So, what will a standard courseware unit look like? The short answer is that it is too early to know, but we have to have a starting point. For this reason we have put together a list of attributes and features that we think will be necessary components:.

The Courseware Builder — Envisioned as a smooth, fill-in-the-blanks templated process, the courseware builder will carefully step courseware producers through the design, build, and launch phases of each course.

We schedule our time in one-hour units, we plan our days in one-hour units, so building educational modules around one hour units makes sense. Some learning experiences may involve a grouping of 2, 5, or even 10 units, but the majority will be centered around the basic one-hour unit. Modality Agnostic, Language Agnostic — Learning comes in many forms ranging from reading text, to listening to audio, to watching video, to hands-on experiences, and more.

The Standard Courseware Unit needs to accommodate all modes of sensory input and learning experiences. Test scores that are lower than minimum required proficiency levels will force students to repeat portions of the learning experience until students have achieved mastery.

Smart Profiler — In addition to the basic name and address type of information found in most profiles, students will be asked to participate in regularly scheduled assessment surveys to determine primary and secondary areas of interest. The smart profiler will continually expand the profile of the student throughout their life, recalibrating topical interest levels, building a comprehensive understanding of the individual student as they evolve over time. The Smart Profiler will feed information directly to the Personal Recommendation Engine for prioritizing course selections.

Multi-Dimensional Tagging Engine — Much of the system usability will be driven by the multi-dimensional nature of the tagging engines. Personal Recommendation Engine — Each time the student completes a course, the Personal Recommendation Engine will present a number of possible future courses based on personal interests and past courses.

This engine should offer an expanded view of possible directions the student can take, listing a variety of learning options as well as the certification endpoints. Certification Inputs — Every profession, personal skill, or area of learning has logical points where experts in that field would consider the necessary learning to be sufficiently complete. But every profession or skill is different. Most professions and skills will use a combination of courses completed and a certification exam to validate student proficiency.

New Achievement Standards — Descriptors like grade-level, graduate-level, and undergraduate-level will begin to disappear from our vocabulary. Initially, a set of equivalency units will be used to describe achievements equivalent to sixth grade, or equivalent to a BA degree. While many people will think that a government-run archive is the best solution, the best possible record-keeping system will be one that transcends governmental boundary lines. Participative Wealth Pricing — The revenue stream generated by each courseware unit will be divided between the courseware producer, distribution company, transaction company, system operations company, and the official record keeping system.

Courseware prices need to be kept low to make courseware accessible to anyone interested in learning. Global Distribution System — Think of the nature and functionality of iTunes with the following features:. Before a child can tap into a system with courseware as described above, a certain number of skills must first be in place — ability to read, follow directions, and respond to questions. However, once basic motor skills have been mastered, it is conceivable that very young children can begin this type of learning with the aid of some future design of the early childhood workstation.

Creating the initial Standard Courseware Units will be time-intensive, poorly understood, and topically spotty. People creating the first units will most likely be educators working on a tiny budget. Budget limitations will cause courseware development to happen slowly, and this will leave gaps in many topical areas. Gaps will include areas such as craftsman trades that use more of an apprentice-style approach to learning, personal interest topics such as gardening and home repair, and social system education on topics like water law and import-export laws.

For example, a Courseware Unit using a combination of video animation, expert interviews, and advance mathematical modeling will naturally provide a superior, content-rich learning experience over a standard text-based course and could therefore be eligible for a larger grant. With this approach there should be a sufficient critical mass of courseware to inspire other people to begin creating their own courses without grants.

We are on the verge of radical shifts in our education systems, and not everyone will be happy to see them develop. Teacher unions and other people dependent upon the existing education system will provide much of the early resistance. Because of the many facets of the architecture outlined above, the system will not be created all at once. It will be phased in, starting with the courseware builder and distribution system, and later followed by the official record keeping system and various groups providing inputs. Adoption will be spotty at first. We see home schoolers and foreign students as being some of the earliest adopters, followed by private schools and charter schools, and later public schools.

Initially these courses will be used to supplement traditional classroom-based courses, but will later develop into a complete learning curriculum. Learning Camps Many kinds of learning camps are already in existence, but we will go through an explosive growth in this area. Many kinds of learning are best achieved through hands-on touch and feeling experiences.

Marine biology is best learned through working with marine life in all its many forms. The best way to learn history is to travel to the battlefields, take tours of the castles, walk through the ancient ruins, dress up in the ancient clothing, and sleep overnight in a wigwam or cliff dwelling. The best way to become a plumber is to work with a skilled plumber and perform hands-on work-related tasks to fix real world plumbing problems. Learning camps, ranging from one-day camps to multi-week camps, will begin to proliferate around specific topics.

Some camps will be more academic-related areas of study such as math and science, while others will deal with more skill-related topics like woodworking or auto repair. Each camp will have its own identity, use its own in-house experts, and will focus on a specific learning experience that is tied to courseware with a built-in testing system to validate competency.

• Two Coots in a Canoe: An Unusual Story of Friendship!
• Rocks and Plants (Gods Creation Series)?
• Helen Pearson: Lessons from the longest study on human development | TED Talk.
• Editorial Reviews.
• Visual Language Theory (Ernst Schering Research Foundation).

When a classmate asks a question, the whole class learns. These are pieces of a learning environment that may disappear if the learning process becomes too hyper-individualized and too much of a solemn, one-person experience. Technology has a way of isolating people. As an example, many young girls today grab their cell phone and start talking as soon as the final classroom bell rings.

This makes them unapproachable to boys who would like to find a good time to strike up a conversation with them.



• The Google+ Book: How To Use Google Plus For Yourself & Your Business.
• E is for Elephant (eAnimal Alphabet Book 5).
• What can I do to prevent this in the future?.
• Navigation rapide.
• Site Navigation?
• Rockhounding Montana, 2nd: A Guide to 91 of Montanas Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series).

Sitting at a classroom computer or watching a video are other forms of technology isolation created by placing social barriers around individuals. However, lasting relationships are based on common, shared experiences, and any learning system that does not address the need for building social relationships will be missing a critical dimension of the learning environment. Learning camps are only a partial answer. Courseware designed around strengthening relationships may address this problem, but the power of socialization and the need for building relationships cannot be underestimated.

We see the existing school systems going through a complicated transition which may not always be smooth. Below is a description of some of the anticipated changes that will happen to students, teachers, buildings, and school districts or systems. Students — Perhaps the people who will be quickest to adapt to the new system will be the students.

Instead of being forced to learn specific courses that are often of little interest to them, students will be free to select the topics that they are most interested in. Most students will have the opportunity to travel to various learning camps around the country. As more and more students begin using the system, the demand for new courses will cause more and more people to develop courseware.

School Buildings — Some school buildings will transition into learning centers that are open 24 hours a day, accommodating both child and adult learners, providing support staff to assist people who struggle with the system or on a specific topic. Other school buildings, or portions of buildings, will transition into production centers filled with the tools and equipment for people to produce new courseware. Staff people will also be on hand to assist in courseware design and creation. Teachers — Teachers will have many good options to consider as the changes begin to happen.

Some teachers will remain with the school buildings and work more as guides, coaches, and tutors for students needing help. Others will move into event planners and experience designers as each facility experiments with re-engineering the social side of learning. Other teachers will choose to develop their own learning camp or series of camps. Learning camps will specialize in a specific experiential topic that is tied to specific courseware.

These teachers will effectively operate their own enterprise with revenues driven by the number of students opting to go to their camp. Some of the more entrepreneurial-minded teachers may choose to become full-time courseware producers. The techniques for creating good and effective new courseware will be an iterative process going through multiple evolutionary stages as new and better tools become available.

So how does all this get funded, and how do the existing revenue streams change to accommodate the new era in learning? Because of the sheer volume of students that will be involved, it is recommended that the price point for courseware modules be kept very low — as low as 99 cents per module. Some of the more specialized areas of learning will likely charge a higher amount, but general courseware should be pushed to the lowest possible price point.

Initially people will pay for their own courses, or the courses completed by their children. Later, systems for grants and loans will allow a broader range of students to participate.

[Poll name]

Eventually government money will begin to shift and cover student expenses. Because the learning camps will demand a more aggressive involvement of people and technology, the pricing of camps will be done on a camp-by-camp basis according to market demand or according to some district or state pricing schedule, possibly with matching funds available to cover costs. Once those credits have been exhausted, the students would automatically enter into a loan arrangement where any additionally used credits would have to be paid back over time.

A second dimension of funding may be an annual amount of credits that could be spent on learning camps. Since prices of the camps would vary, student would be allowed to roll over funding from one year to the next. Existing streams of funding for school district will not go away, but will be scaled to appropriate levels for staffing and maintaining buildings as each phase of the transition takes place. The pace of change mandates that we produce a faster, smarter, better grade of human being. Future education systems will be unleashed with the advent of a standardized rapid courseware-builder and a single-point global distribution system.

Information is growing at exponential rates, and our ability to convert that information into useful knowledge and skills is being hampered by the lack of courseware. We refer to this phenomenon as a courseware vacuum. Once a rapid courseware-builder has been created, and the general marketplace has put its stamp of approval on it, a series of standards will be developed. With tools for producing courseware becoming widely available, people around the world will begin creating it, and we will see a courseware explosion similar to the dramatic rise of content on YouTube and iTunes.

Learning will become hyper-individualized with students learning what they want to learn, when they want to learn it. Study after study after study reaches the same conclusion: Early childhood education is about honing and molding the holistic child, which will eventually form the basis of their lifelong journey. From my professional experience of more than 35 years as a preschool teacher, I have identified 13 essential benefits of early childhood education:. Socialization with people other than the child's family in a safe environment is an essential foundational element to the below areas.

As parents, we intuitively understand that it's important to introduce our children to other children and support their transition into their own friendship groups. The earlier we do this, the better, as it helps children overcome shyness and gain self-confidence. If we leave this too long, we actually hinder their social development. Learning how to share, cooperate, take turns and persevere within a safe learning environment, guided by professionals who have the children's best interests at heart. This is especially important for the first child, who may not be used to sharing with their siblings at home - while it can be a difficult lesson, it's so crucial to learn it early.

The approach taken to build a strong foundation for a child's emotional, social, physical and mental development, which will prepare them for a lifetime. Early childhood educators are trained in identifying areas where support is needed for each child and building programs and activities around these. Their peers are also extremely important in this regard, as preschoolers are usually helpful, cooperative and inclusive. Lessons should be given in a fun and exciting way that will encourage children to be effective learners. We need to inspire a thirst for learning with eagerness and enthusiasm.

Grasping the value of learning and education by setting an example as role models and by providing actual experiences. While parents will always be the most important influence on a child's early life, introducing them to a preschool environment provides them with a new perspective on the importance of education that will remain with them throughout their schooling journey.

One more step

It also demonstrates that you value their education highly. Research has also identified young children in direct-instruction programs can experience negative effects. These include stress, decreased motivation for learning, and behaviour problems. This is particularly so for children who are not yet ready for more formal academic instruction. As with traditional approaches, play-based early years programs are focused on teaching and learning. In such programs, play can be in the form of free play activity that is spontaneous and directed by the child , and guided play also child-directed, but the teacher is involved in the activity as a co-player with intentional teaching.

To capitalise on these benefits, an optimum play-based program will provide opportunities for both free play and guided play. This motivates the child to gain mastery over their environment, promoting focus and concentration. It also enables the child to engage in the flexible and higher-level thinking processes deemed essential for the 21st century learner. These include inquiry processes of problem solving, analysing, evaluating, applying knowledge and creativity. Demand for people skills is growing faster than demand for STEM skills.

Play also supports positive attitudes to learning. These include imagination, curiosity, enthusiasm, and persistence. The type of learning processes and skills fostered in play cannot be replicated through rote learning, where there is an emphasis on remembering facts. The inquiry-based nature of play is supported through the social interactions of teachers and children. Children are supported in developing social skills such as cooperation, sharing and responding to ideas, negotiating, and resolving conflicts.

In this way, children acquire and practice important academic skills and learning in a playful context.

Top Authors

For example, research indicates the increased complexity of language and learning processes used by children in play-based programs is linked to important literacy skills. These include understanding the structure of words and the meanings of words. Teacher-led learning and direct instruction methods have their place in educational contexts. But the evidence also points to the benefits of quality play-based programs for our youngest learners.

In play-based programs, time spent in play is seen as important for learning, not as a reward for good behaviour.