Teaching styles today are a refreshing change from the age-old top-down approaches. The best schools in Singapore have moved away from the traditional classroom teaching style and adopted a more holistic child-centred educational approach. It is believed to be a more appropriate pedagogy for the student’s development of skills and personality.
What is the concept of Child-Centered Education?
Child-centred learning is also referred to as learner-centred education or student-centred education. It incorporates a method of teaching that shifts the emphasis of instruction to the student from the teacher.
Child-centred learning enhances the student’s autonomy by putting the learning responsibility in their hands. They learn skills and pick up best practices that enable independent problem-solving and lifelong learning. In this approach, the student’s role is also critical. They should not only construct meaning from new information but apply it to real-life scenarios.
The students get to choose what they will learn, the pace they will learn, and how to carry out their learning assessment by playing the role of the classroom facilitator. Also, learn about the international kindergarten Singapore fees structure.
This is a contrast to the traditional “teacher-centred learning” classroom, where the teacher adopts the primarily “active” role and the students take on a more receptive, “passive” role. In a traditional teacher-centred classroom, the education is led by the teachers who decide what the children will learn, how they will learn, and their assessment style (examinations, quizzes, assignments, etc.).
As opposed to this, child-centred learning necessitates students to be active and responsible participants in their learning while choosing their own pace.
To successfully implement a child-centred learning environment, the school gives attention to the following aspects of learning:
- The end goal of student activities
- The teacher’s role
- Student’s motivational inclination
- Overall Assessment
- Student interaction
What is the Importance of Child-Centred Education?
Child-centred education makes Learning Fun.
Many international kindergartens in Singapore adopt child-centred learning to enable fun while building responsible individuals. Educators understand that students prefer fun activities; young students can learn and retain so much during their formative years. When a child plays, they are consistently learning by discovering how to plan, experiment and ask questions. Also, search for the s
Interest and Curiosity drive child-centred education.
An exhaustive child-centred curriculum includes numerous fun things for difficult concepts. For example, science experiments are hands-on activities. It drives students to love learning things that spark their curiosity. They learn what they must while enjoying the overall education process. More importantly, when you encourage a child’s curiosity, they are not afraid to explore independently and discover answers.
Children highlight the methodology they prefer to learn best
Everyone thrives in a distinct learning environment; some learn by reading, some are visual learners, and others learn by doing. A good child-centred curriculum presents students with music, images, videos, text, and other engrossing learning ways. It helps them exhibit the learning style towards which they naturally gravitate. Once educators become familiar with the child’s learning style, they can capitalise on the style. They then use it to impart lessons and activities to improve student engagement and retention.
Child-centred education transforms every environment into a learning opportunity
Learning needn’t be limited to a classroom as students are not only naturally curious but also exuberant. A child-centred curriculum takes advantage of school trips, playtime, sports and other extracurricular activities to enhance the student’s education. Taking students out to the garden to show them the different leave’s shapes, taking them to a zoo, encouraging motor skills with obstacle games, etc., is a great way to foster learning in a controlled environment.
It focuses on Each Area of Development
The main principle of child-centred education is helping the child become responsible, independent and confident. Schools adopting this approach cover social, emotional, and physical growth areas by engaging them in an “active learning” process.
It enables an easier transition
Child-centred education helps better transition from school life into college and adult life. The best schools in Singapore are not the ones that constrict students to rigid classroom structures but have a more accessible and less-rigid daily routine. These environments are conducive for students to learn at their speed. The teacher acts as a partner who guides the student on their journey.
It provides the Individual attention needed
The issue with the teacher-centred approach is that it limits the student’s expressiveness. Since it follows a structured learning path, it prepares students for exams rather than fostering a love for learning. Child-centred education motivates students to explore what they are curious about and direct their learning. The student’s preferences, curiosities and ideas are all taken into account.
The student is at the core of everything
Not every course or book will interest a student or be right for them. It is important to enable learning instead of focusing on an exam or test excellence. Child-centred education allows students to guide their courses of study and focus on what interests them. Students create their lesson objectives under the guidance of their teacher, and teachers take cues from the child to understand what they are interested in to help them create appropriate lesson plans.
Role of Teacher in Child-Centred Education
A teacher plays a very critical role in the entire child-centred education set-up:
- Acts as a resource for the students, providing support and answering questions
- Encourages and drives student participation in class activities and discussions
- Provides the required resources to support student development and achievement
- Inspires students to be vigorously involved in their learning and helps them take ownership of their learning and education by creating an environment conducive to questioning and participation.
- Provides instructions on topics relevant to the student’s interests and needs which helps students to learn and grow in their unique way.
- Empowers students to develop critical thinking skills, so they can explore matters on their own, ask questions, form their own opinions and apply what they are learning in real life.
- Assists students in developing problem-solving skills, so they can lead the matter and find solutions to challenging problems. This skill is essential in life and equips students to deal effectively with complications they encounter later in life.
- Helps students develop teamwork skills through cooperative activities like group projects and assignments for students to work together and achieve common goals.
- Provides specific and relevant feedback promptly, highlighting both – achievements as well as areas of improvement
- Promotes responsibility, a sense of community, a positive learning environment, acts as a facilitator and provides freedom and autonomy.
Conclusion
The best schools in Singapore that promote child-centred education. Usually, these are all-inclusive and diverse schools where children can securely nurture who they are and what they want to be. A child is at the core of such policies, and teaching strategies are built keeping the child in mind. Child-centred education facilities give students the apt platform to embark on lifelong learning and self-discovery, allowing them to grow into well-rounded individuals with respect for all and a plethora of wide-ranging knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does student-centred learning look like in the classroom?
Student-centred classrooms are all about collaboration, so the classroom isn’t typical, with rows of desks facing a teacher. Everything is arranged to make collaboration and analysis of projects easy.
What are examples of student-centred learning?
Student-centred learning practices include service learning, advisory, project-based learning and internships.
What are learning-centred principles?
Learner-centred principles encompass how to think, how to solve problems, how to assess evidence, how to analyse arguments, and how to generate hypotheses.
What is the focus of a child-centred curriculum?
The focus of this curriculum is that child is considered fundamental to the teaching and learning process, and the curriculum accounts for individual differences.
