Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing The Science Of Child Development To The Classroom Ebrary

Human beings are born to learn. During the last few decades, developmental science has exploded with discoveries of how, specifically, learning happens. This provides us with an unprecedented window into children's minds: how and when they begin to think, perceive, understand, and apply knowledge. Wendy Ostroff builds on this research and shows you how to harness the power of the brain, the most powerful learning machine in the universe. She highlights the processes that inspire or propel learning--play, confidence, self-regulation, movement, mnemonic strategies, metacognition, articulation, and collaboration--and distills the research into a synthesis of the most important takeaway ideas that teachers will need as they design their curriculum and pedagogy. Each chapter has suggested activities for exactly how teachers can put theory into practice in the classroom. When you understand how your students learn, you will know how to teach them in ways that harness the brain's natural learning systems. Dr. Wendy L. Ostroff is Associate Professor in the Program for the Advancement of Learning at Curry College. Because little kids can't tell you how their minds work and what makes them learn, you need this book about new scientific discoveries that explain how young children learn and what teachers can do to use those findings to enhance classroom teaching. Discover where the desire to learn comes from and what occurs during children's development to wire their brains for attention, language, curiosity, and memory. Included with the author's clear explanations of how young children learn are examples of classroom strategies that enhance children's motivation, attention, and memory. Learn why and how to: (1) Encourage children to take intellectual risks; (2) Plan an "outrageous lesson" and occasionally add surprises to your classroom; (3) Provide children with choices and avoid high-stakes situations; (4) Incorporate meditation and free play into lessons; (5) Schedule time for children to let out their physical energy; (6) Use storytelling for conveying new content; and (7) Add emotional hooks to lesson and unit plans. Even seasoned teachers, who already know through experience how young minds work, need this book to bolster their practice with scientific evidence on effective teaching of young children

Human beings are born to learn. During the last few decades, developmental science has exploded with discoveries of how, specifically, learning happens. This provides us with an unprecedented window into children's minds: how and when they begin to think, perceive, understand, and apply knowledge.

Wendy Ostroff builds on this research and shows you how to harness the power of the brain, the most powerful learning machine in the universe. She highlights the processes that inspire or propel learning--play, confidence, self-regulation, movement, mnemonic strategies, metacognition, articulation, and collaboration--and distills the research into a synthesis of the most important takeaway ideas that teachers will need as they design their curriculum and pedagogy. Each chapter has suggested activities for exactly how teachers can put theory into practice in the classroom.

When you understand how your students learn, you will know how to teach them in ways that harness the brain's natural learning systems.

Dr. Wendy L. Ostroff is Associate Professor in the Program for the Advancement of Learning at Curry College.

Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction to Learning, Teaching, and Developmental Science Chapter 1: Understanding Children’s Motivation Chapter 2: Understanding Children’s Attention Chapter 3: Understanding Children’s Memory Chapter 4: Understanding Children’s Cognition and Action Conclusion References Index About the Author Related ASCD Resources Search this Book