Learning Systems for Children
Every child's learning potential is directly affected by the learning systems and strategies being used in his or her instruction. Instructional systems and practices should be modified to meet the needs of all children. Learning systems and strategies should be explicit, research-based, differentiated and engaging. Most importantly, the progress of all systems and strategies regarding student achievement should be monitored.
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Explicit Instruction
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Explicit instruction for children is the most effective way to meet their educational needs. Systems should have a definitive focus. Simply teaching a child to read by handing them a book and having them read along is ineffective. You must break up the different components of reading and explicitly teach each one. For example, reading is a skill using five different strategies: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and finally comprehension. In order for a system to address a student's reading needs, the system should address each and every one of these five skills. Explicitly teaching each skill will allow the child to learn more efficiently and effectively.
Research-Based Strategies
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Teachers must use research-based strategies in the classroom in order to maximize student achievement. Using old systems or made-up lessons is not effective in student achievement. A system must be research-based in order to address the specific needs of each and every child. For example, in young children, phonemic awareness drills (the understanding of each individual sounds in a letter or word) are effective in learning language. Research shows that by using these drills a student will learn language and words sufficiently. Research- based strategies and systems are developed specifically for certain learning deficiencies as well as learning benchmarks.
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Differentiating Instruction
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It is useless to most children for a teacher to simply teach to the middle of the classroom. It is very important that a teacher be aware of the different needs of each child. In a classroom, many children may develop academically at a normal rate. However, some children in the class may not develop at that same rate. Instruction should reflect this by being diverse. Basically, differentiated instruction provides students with multiple options for learning and expression, without assuming a separate learning level for each student. It provides different ways to acquire content, process ideas and develop products for effective learning.
So many strategies and systems are available for differentiated instruction. For example, learning centers can be used to address diverse needs of students. Higher to lower level centers can be used so that higher functioning students are challenged while lower level students are getting the support they need. These centers can take place at the same time in the classroom, and each student has his or her academic needs met simultaneously.
Engaging Students
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Engaging students is an important part of academic development. In order for a child to learn, a system must be interesting to the student. Technology in the classroom is an important system to have in place for student learning. SMARTboards, mimio boards, computers and projectors are all tools that can help facilitate student involvement in learning. By making the lesson interesting with these tools, a student is much more likely to stay on task and enjoy his or her learning experience.
Progress Monitoring
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Progress monitoring is when teachers assess students' academic performance on a regular basis (weekly or monthly) for two purposes: to determine whether children are profiting appropriately from the typical instructional program and to build more effective programs for the children who benefit inadequately from typical instruction. Every student must have his or her progress monitored in order for good instruction to work. Data collection and even portfolios are formal ways to track student achievement. However, informal tracking is also sufficient. Simply looking at scores or watching students can be a great way to track whether or not a lesson is working for all students.
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