Setting the foundations
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A CHILD’S mind is a tabula rasa – a clean slate awaiting the input of information and sensory data. Decades ago, this was how children came to school, eager to learn and absorb knowledge. A teacher’s job was to impart that knowledge. Much has changed now.
One would be hard-pressed to say that the minds of children as young as three years old who comes to us are tabulae rasae. Most come to us already loaded with information.
These are the children of millennials, so while this may be our 31st year in the education field, we have had to reinvent ourselves several times over to adapt to each new generation of students.
Teachers no longer take centre stage as the providers of knowledge. Instead, they play the role of facilitators, teaching students how to work with knowledge. What better time to start this journey of discovery and exploration than in lower primary?
At elc International School, an open classroom philosophy is practised in lower primary. Where previously students were placed in three separate classrooms, they now study in one combined classroom.
There are various activities prepared in this big classroom, each focusing on one skill. Children learn by playing or working on these activities. Teachers are there to guide students in this new and innovative classroom. This enables children to learn at their own pace.
That said, however, there are established boundaries that ensure the children are kept on track and actually learning.
There are three main zones in the classroom – numeracy, literacy and arts and crafts. Children move
While fairly strict boundaries still exist, they are less evident to the children, enabling them to develop the confidence to explore the many (apparently) play-based activities that focus on understanding and not just the gathering of information. Diane Grimes
freely to other zones once they have mastered the activity at a particular zone.
Of course, they are closely monitored by their teachers, but this is the interesting part – who gets to decide when they are ready to move to another zone? Not the teacher. It is the students who decide, therefore allowing them to take charge of their own learning and become independent.
Parents are often taken aback when this new concept is explained to them. However, their fears are allayed when they visit us on special exhibition days. Children take their parents on a guided tour of the learning environment and explain the activities. Parents come away impressed at this new-found level of independence.
Children are not left entirely in charge of their own learning. About half of the school day is spent on teacher-guided activities such as writing, numeracy, phonics and special topics like road safety.
These are conducted in small groups of five or six students. Teachers readily testify that students gain language skills, numeracy and the confidence to speak in public. Teachers also appreciate the extra time available to listen to children, which in the common classroom can be a luxury.
The fun activities seem deceptively simple to the untrained eye, but teachers invest considerable time and energy into crafting them. The engineers behind this revolutionary approach are elc International School’s head of primary Diane Grimes and her team of lower primary teachers.
Grimes summarises the open classroom philosophy, saying, “While fairly strict boundaries still exist, they are less evident to the children, enabling them to develop the confidence to explore the many (apparently) play-based activities that focus on understanding and not just the gathering of information.”
It is our aim in lower primary to ensure the broad-based development of our students. This means ensuring that all students have the confidence to develop their cognitive, social, emotional, cultural and physical skills to the best of their abilities, preparing them for their further school careers.
It is all about setting the foundations. – By Kumar Nagappan, student welfare director at elc International School