How Young Children Learn
It is generally perceived and commonly known that children learn through ‘active learning’. Young children learn most effectively through ‘real’ experiences and by using their five senses: sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch. What does this term really mean? We sometimes use this term loosely and think that when we teach children through flashcards or worksheets and props, it is called active learning. Active learning is, infact, the time when children are discovering things, manipulating material and acting independently without adult command and directions. It is the time when the teacher stops ‘teaching’ and steps back to observe, makes time to encourage conversations and discoveries by children, provides opportunities for uninterrupted play and helps extend children’s natural interests.

When learning is strengthened with practical experiences, it lays a strong foundation for later abstract learning. Through their participation in different activities and play, children learn new concepts, develop skills, learn facts and make sense of the world around them. In short, children and even most adults learn best when they are active learners.

In addition to active learning, another effective way to learn is through conversation. Children are usually expected to listen, sit quietly in class and behave themselves. By listening to the teacher most of the time, how will they get the chance to learn language, an extremely important skill for growing up? How will they learn to talk about, think, reason and solve problems by themselves?

Children also acquire many skills through play. The benefits of play are highlighted in all child development theories and research. Play is an emotional window for a child. Through play children make sense of their world. They become aware of their own and other people’s feelings. Real world pain and fear can be diminished through play and it also encourages social interaction. Through these interactions children develop emotionally, socially and physically, which are essential life skills.

Parents, Schools and Learning
With regard to a child’s learning and curriculum requirements, what do parents in our society generally demand of our school system? What does a pre-school cater to? What does real learning or holistic development mean?

In terms of learning, parents generally want their pre- school child to start reading and writing as soon as possible. They compare children in different schools and measure school standards. The general perception is that the more ‘intelligent’ children and ‘good’ schools are the ones where children learn to read and write sooner than later. They think highly of children spending school-time working in copies and workbooks. The idea of copies loaded with pages and pages of number, alphabet and Urdu writing mastered by their child, is much appreciated. On the other hand the schools or teachers want all the children in one class to be on the same level. They do not understand that at this stage children have individual learning patterns, ability levels and exposure to experiences. These differences should be respected and explored by the teacher. Yet all the children are expected to write the same script with similar sized letters/numbers, without any consideration of past experiences and needs assessment. If a child differs in script and ability level the teacher makes sure they help the child by repeatedly erasing the child’s work, making them rewrite it and completing their work during music or PE lesson. The teacher in turn gets approval by the head mistress when she sees all the children making perfect little numbers and letters, copied exactly as the teacher writes on the board.

Analyze and ask yourself if children are truly benefiting from such teaching practices. Do you as a teacher need to change your approach towards teaching and learning? Do some children in your class seem withdrawn, upset or do not enjoy coming to school? Think about the reasons. What can you do about them?

Meaningful learning keeps in account the concept of holistic development. It advocates the fact that learning, for the young child should not be compartmentalized into subject areas. When most of the child’s day is spent in writing, memorizing and teacher-directed work under specific subject headings, when will they develop holistically?

Holistic development focuses on the ‘whole child’. It means the development of all the areas of learning and development, which alongside cognitive development; also includes social, emotional, physical and language development.