Empowering Education

"In a classroom where participation is meager, the low performance of students is routinely misjudged as low achievement. But the actual cognitive levels of students are hard to measure in teacher-centered classrooms where students participate minimally... in a participatory process, where students codevelop the course, teachers can learn better the actual cognitive levels of students from which to design forward development."

Empowering Education by Ira Shor was definitely worth the read. I decided to pick this quote to talk about, because I feel like this concept is often looked over in the classroom. For early childhood educators, meaning teaching grades pre-k through second, this may seem like a difficult process. How can a teacher partner with three, four, and five year olds? How can a teacher go about this process without creating chaos in the classroom? Considering Early Childhood Education is my major, I have thought of a few examples I think might work for the younger ones.

. Ask the children how they are enjoying a certain assignment, and keep track of what activities are successful/unsuccessful
. Encourage talking stations (Have certain pictures the children can pick from [animals, food, etc]. What is happening in the image? Do you like the picture? Have you seen something like this before?) This is a great activity for cognitive and social development.
. Ask the children what they think before giving the answer. (Sometimes it is easier, and faster, to give the answer right away, which is something you want to avoid)
. Encourage that "thinking time". A lot of these concepts are new to these children, let them take a minute or two to try and solve a problem. Work with them and ask them to share their thought process, rather than point to the answer right away.
. Sit back, and watch! Sometimes it is better to just let the kids run the show and to observe. Let the students solve problems on their own, and work things out without your guidance.

Here is an idea for cognitive development that can be useful for younger children;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEoNHp6IYfs

With all that being said, "In a curriculum that encourages student questioning, the teacher avoids a unilateral transfer of knowledge. She or he helps students develop their intellectual and emotional powers to examine their learning in school, their everyday experience, and the conditions in society".