Activity-based learning: A source of effective learning
Activity-based learning is a major challenge now a days, it involves students being engaged with a variety of activities including reading, writing, talking, thinking, explaining, applying, testing, building in a classroom.
One major aspect of high quality in education is attainment of high learning outcomes in the various academic skills and knowledge and when such education is able to include students with disabilities as much as students without disabilities irrespective of their socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Individual difference among students in a classroom is a well-known fact. Understanding of these individual differences has increased tremendously due to advances in the fields of psychology and cognitive neuroscience. In addition, cultural backgrounds and socio-economic backgrounds pre-dispose students to different privileges and create differences in academic advantages. The cumulative effect of these factors leads to differences in individual needs for learning effectively.
Elementary education is the first stage of the school education, which sets the higher education. Our education system, therefore must build in students the essential skills and knowledge base that will enable cognitive growth and development through using these essential skills. These basic skills are reading, writing, listening, communication, mathematical skills and observation skills.
To understand the educational experiences of the child, it is very necessary to identify and understand the factors that influence the educational experiences of the child. For learning to take place, it is necessary that the student understands and engages with the information to be learnt. It is also important that the student processes the information with higher level thinking such as comprehension, analysis, synthesis, application, and metacognition. When this happens, the student is able to relate the information to any life situation, connect it with past learning, build his or her own knowledge.
Activity-based learning will helpful in developing methods to involve students in the teaching – learning or instructional processes and engage them fruitfully for the effective ideas and thoughts for the academic curriculum and growth as an individual too.
Happy Learning!
Chetna Sharma Tiwari