Holt Howard

23 Feb, 2009 in art pottery by admin

Holt Howard

A Look at Learning Theories

Educational theorists, from philosophers like Socrates and Rousseau to researchers like Howard Gardner today, have addressed theories of learning. Many of their ideas continue to influence homeschoolers as well as traditional educators. A little familiarity with some of the ideas most popular among homeschoolers will help you make sense of the wealth of available materials when you begin to make choices for your family.

Jean Piaget and Cognitive Development

He proposed that children go through several distinct stages of cognitive growth. First comes the sensorimotor stage (birth to two years), during which the child learns primarily through sensation and movement. At the pre-operational stage (ages two to seven), children begin to master symbols such as language and start to be able to form hypotheses based on past experiences. At the concrete operational stage (ages seven to eleven), children learn to generalize from one situation to similar ones, although such reasoning is usually limited to their own concrete experience.

Finally, at the formal operational stage (eleven years older), children can deal with abstractions, form hypothesis and engage freely in mental speculation. Although the rate at which children progress through the stages varies considerably, the sequence of stages is consistent for all children.

Therefore, to be appropriate and effective, learning activities should be tailored to the cognitive level of the child.

Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf Schools

Steiner divided children's development into three stages: to age seven, children learn primarily by imitation; from seven to fourteen, feelings and emotions predominate; and after age fourteen, the development of independent reasoning skills becomes important. Waldorf education tends to emphasize arts and crafts, music, and movement, especially at younger ages, and textbooks are eschewed in favor of books the students make for themselves. Waldorf theories also maintain that the emphasis should be on developing the individual's self-awareness and judgment, sheltered from political and economic aspects of society until well into adolescence.

Montessori and the Prepared Environment

Italian physician Maria Montessori's work emphasized the idea of the prepared environment: Provide the proper surroundings and tools, so that children can develop their full potential. Montessori materials are carefully selected, designed to help children learn to function in their cultures and to become independent and competent. Emphasis is on beauty and quality, and that which confuses or clutters is avoided: Manipulative are made of wood rather than plastic tools are simple and functional, and television and computers are discouraged.

Charlotte Mason: Guiding Natural Curiosity

Charlotte Mason was a nineteenth-century educator advocated informal learning during the child's early year contrast with the Prussian system of regimented learning then in vogue. She recommended nature study to develop both observational skill and an appreciation for the beauty of creation and extended that approach to teaching history geography through travel and study of the environment rather than as collections of data to master. She felt children learn best when instruction takes into account their individual abilities and temperaments, but she emphasized the importance of developing good habits to govern one's temperament and laying a solid foundation of good moral values.

Holt and Unschooling

Educator John Holt wrote extensively about school reform in the 1960s. Although he originally proposed the word "unschooling" simply as a more satisfactory alternative to "homeschooling." Unschooling now generally refers to a style of homeschooling, in which learning is not seperated from living, and children learn mainly by following their interests. Children learn best, he argued, not by being taught, but by being a part of the world, free to most interests them, by having their questions answered as they ask them, and by being treated with respect rather than condescension.

Gardner and Multiple Intelligences

Psychologist Howard Gardner argues that intelligence is not a single unitary property and proposes the existence of "multiple intelligences." He identifies seven types of intelligence: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Because each person has a different mix of these intelligences, learning is best tailored to each individual's strengths, rather than emphasizing the linguistic and logical-mathematical approaches traditionally used in schools. A bodily kinesthetic learner, for instance, might grasp geometric concepts presented with hands-on manipulative far more easily than she would if they were presented in a more traditionally logical, narrative fashion. A teaching approach that recognizes a variety of learning styles might encourage many individuals now lost by conventional methods.

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Who would be on your all-time NFL dream team?

QBs: Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Jim Kelly
RBs: Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson, LaDanian Tomlinson, Walter Payton, O.J. Simpson
WRs: Jerry Rice, Torry Holt, Marvin Harrison, Chad Johnson, Andre Reed, Fred Belitnikoff, Don Larsen, Lynn Swann
TEs: Antonio Gates, Jay Novacek, Pete Metzelars
OTs: Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden, Jackie Slater
OGs: Will Sheilds, Joe Delamalliure, Steve Huchinson
Cs: Kent Hull, Tom Nalen. Olin Kreutz
DEs: Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Julius Peppers, Dwight Freeney
DTs: Warren Sapp, William Perry, Tony Siragusa, John Henderson
OLBs: Derrick Thomas, Lawrence Taylor, Jack Hamm, Darryl Talley
MLBs: Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary, Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher
CBs: Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey, Rod Woodson, Nate Odoms, Ty Law
FSs: Ronnie Lott, Roy Williams
SSs: Ed Reed, Lawyer Milloy
K/Ps: Morton Andersen, Adam Vinatieri, Brian Moorman, Lou Groza
KR/PRs: Desmond Howard, Devin Hester, Dante Hall, Jermaine Lewis

QB: Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, John Elway
RB: Ladainian Tomlinson, Barry Sanders, Jerome bettis
WR: Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, Randy moss(old moss), Marvin Harrison
TE: Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow Sr., Tony Gonzalez
OT: Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden, Willie Roaf
OG: Bruce Matthews, Steve Hutchinson, Larry Allen
DE: Julius Peppers, Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Michael Strahan
DT: Jamal Williams, Alan Page, Kris Jenkins, Joe Greene
OLB: Lawrence Taylor, Dick Butkis, Shawne Merriman, Jurnior Seau
MLB: Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Mike Singletary
CB: Champ Bailey, Mike Haynes, Deion Sanders, Darrell Green
S: Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, Rodney Harrison

Mr. Holt, Howard and Barbara