Educational basis

Until the age of four and five, the mentioned halves of the brain develop equally. In the following ages one of the hemispheres becomes the dominant one. Therefore, different styles of learning are developed, wherefore different types of learners exist file:///C:/Dokumente%20und%20Einstellungen/FSE/Eigene%20Dateien/Grundschullehramt_%20UniKarlsruhe/Paper_Academic%20Research%20and%20Writing/Ganzheitliches%20Lernen.htm. One distinguish between three different types of learners – the auditory, the visual and the kinesthetic one. The majority of the learners mix these three learning styles while learning. But there is always a predominant method for every child/ learner.

The visual learner learns by seeing things. They have to look on graphics such as diagrams or mind maps. Although you explain something to that person, the visual learner does not understand it hundred percent before he/she can’t see it with his/her own eyes. To learn something, it is useful to draw diagrams or mind maps, to use flash cards for learning, and to rewrite the professors notes in his/her own words.

The auditory learner learns the most efficiently when he/she hears what the teacher is saying. These people may not understand something that is shown them in pictures. For that type of learner it is useful to tape lectures, having discussions with students, reading things out loud.

The kinesthetic learner learns by doing. For a kinesthetic learner it is important to underline texts with different colors, to repeat what he learned while walking and jogging, as well as creating practice tests for himself.

The early one find out the learning type of the children, the better one can support the pupil in learning. With the perfect learn methods, which address the right senses, the children learn easier, faster and more efficiently.

Practical Examples

To demonstrate how teacher can use the presented facts of sensual perception and the different learning types, some practical example will be shown. The most common way to integrate senses in class in primary schools are games and experimental activities. In the following some inspirations will be given.

Games

The first example is based on the Montessori method. It is the so called “matching game”. Children have to choose a word cart (e.g. cat, hat, rat etc.), they have to read it out loud and choose the matching picture cart (e.g. cat, hat, rat etc.). Finally every child has a movable alphabet (single letters) and has to copy the word he/ she read on the word cart and saw on the picture cart (Imagine Our Life, creative living with a toddler)

Different senses are used in this activity. The word carts, the picture carts and the movable alphabet help the children to learn a new word holistically. They see the picture, which is matching to the word card. By reading the word, the pupils learn the sound of the word and by using the movable alphabet to rewrite the word they see on the word card, the children learn to put the right letters together to create the word. Finally, the new word can be memorized much better and will be placed in the long- term- memory, because almost every part of the brain was used to learn the word.

Another practical example to use different senses to learn new vocabulary is the “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”- song. It is a very useful method to learn the different parts of the body and the new vocabulary, which is needed. The song is about heads, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Every time the specific part (e.g. head) is mentioned, every single child touches the part on his/her body (e.g. head). The teacher can vary the song by singing it faster and slower, loud and quietly.

A lot of senses are used with this method of learning new vocabulary. The children hear the word, they sing it and learn the right pronunciation. Finally they even touch the part of the body and learn the new word holistically.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16