When I first watched the TED talk by educational scientist Sugata Mitra, “The Child Driven Education” it intrigued me but I did not see a correlation to early childhood education. In his talk Mitra discusses his experiments promoted by the lack of high quality teachers and schools where they are needed most. Mitra’s ‘Hole in the Wall’ project placed computers in a wall in areas such as New Delhi to South Africa to Italy. The children from the area project figured out how to use a computer and internet on their own. In addition these children took it a step further; they taught other children about the computer.
I started to marvel how amazing children are. Here were children who probably never even heard of a computer or the internet yet they managed to learn how to use it and teach others as well. While I am not an advocate for using computers with early childhood children, the story experiment showed a few things. The first is the importance of environment and the second is learning is social. These are two aspects of early childhood we as educators tend to forget.
Recently, there has been a lot of focus on the need for educated teachers in early childhood. Although educated teachers are an asset to learning, Mitra’s experiment proves when it comes to learning a child’s interest is paramount. When children are engaged learning will occur. In NAEYC’s Call for Action states “That high quality early experiences make a difference in children’s lifelong academic and social success . . . Specifically, children who experience high-quality, stable child care engage in more complex play, demonstrate more secure attachments to adults and other children, and score higher on measures of thinking ability and language development” (2014). NAEYC’s statement supports the need for engagement for learning. Although NAEYC’s statement, ‘high-quality,’ implies some environments are better than others, it does not define ‘high-quality’ materials. To engage children we must capture their interests. Young children are no different than adults in that their interests are wide and varied. They also change from time to time. It is essential to a child’s early childhood development and learning that we provide a vast variety of materials with a wide range of uses and possibilities in a way that allows them to explore without prescribed outcomes.
The other aspect of Mitra’s experiment that stood out was that learning is a social event. It is human nature to share what interests them with others. These young teachers had no formal training in the subject matter or in teaching yet they became the teacher. The Montessori programs for early childhood have long been recognized amoung the best available. “One of the distinguishing features of a Montessori Preschool is its mixed-age grouping. Children ages 3 to 6 are placed together and each enjoys a three-year cycle programme. Pro-social behaviour is enhanced and the classroom is a rich learning environment that meets the intellectual levels of all members. Children learn through active engagement with the wide range of didactic materials and there is also much learning by simply watching the work and behaviour of others in the environment” (Choo, 2014). By allowing children to learn from their peers we give the teaching child the opportunity to practice the skills and knowledge they have mastered and build their self-esteem. Montessori herself once said, “there is nothing that makes [one] learn more than teaching someone else” (as cited in Choo, 2014). The learner also benefits. After all “the mind of the five year old is so much nearer than [the adult’s] to the mind of a child of three” (as cited in Choo, 2014). Children can relate to each other better than they can to adults.
Mitra’s experiment shows the disposition children have for learning. They are like sponges soaking up knowledge, scaffolding it with their existing knowledge. They are constantly trying to make sense of their world by nature. Mitra’s experiment showed children having equal results with an ‘untrained’ teacher as the group in a highly rated school. The children did not need to be taught to learn they needed encouragement and opportunity. They worked together to find the answers; through collaboration – the sharing of ideas they found answers.
What would happen if we allowed the children to control the reins of their learning?
As educators are we holding the children back educational despite our intentions of teaching?
Most of our public schools and child care programs are grouped by age. Should we return to the one room school system, mixing age groups allowing children to teach each other?
References
Choo, C. M. (2014, April 5). Retrieved from The Benefits of Peer Teaching in the Early Years: https://suite.io/carolyn-marie-choo/26sm213
Mitra, S. (2010, July). The child-driven education. Retrieved from TED Talks: https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education
NAEYC. (2014, April 5). A Call for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from National Association for the Education of Young Children: http://www.naeyc.org/policy/excellence
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