My approach to teaching and learning

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I take an approach to teaching and learning based on Cognitive Constructivism. Piaget's theory of constructivism claims that children produce knowledge and form meaning based upon their experiences. In this context, the role of the teacher is very important. The practitioner serves as a guide; a facilitator whose role is to aid the student. 

That said, I use some tools that help me achieve this approach:  

• Collaboration: children work in groups, sharing materials and responsibilities. It helps them build interpersonal skills. 
• Integration: connection to what is been teaching in one lesson to other lesson of the same subject (intradisciplinary) or other subjects thus making the approach interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.  
• Narratives: storytelling allows children to explore the symbolic potential of language, create and use their imagination. 
• Play: children learn through playing.
• Experiments: hands on activities allow children to learn by doing, one of the ideas supported by Piaget.

Hands on activities are good examples of tasks that can be done to foster student's full development. During my practice at Woodville I introduced a few activities children were very enthusiastic about.

As the thematic unit was “bugs” I took two real crickets to the classroom. Children were able to take a closer look at them by using magnifying glasses. This activity not just contributed to their language acquisition, but to their naturalistic and interpersonal intelligences.

Another activity that worked on their different intelligences building a big group web using yarn and their own bodies. The idea was to emulate a spider and learn a little bit more about how it spins its web. Children were able to use spatial and motor skills in this task.