Concept-Based Learning: General Tips to Parents on Inquiry Based Learning

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Hi,
Many of our children are truly gifted and endowed with a range of positive qualities. Most of them are very big thinkers as well! Gifted children can easily look at the bigger picture and relate their lives with that of larger and bigger vision. They can also relate and set up a state of interconnectedness among their peers, different ideas and suggestions and their immediate environment. It is very essential that our children become better thinkers and efficient problem solvers, and not just guzzlers for facts and information. Unfortunately, the immediate environment or ambience where our children grow and study, tend to be extremely negative and counter-productive.

Today's school curriculum and family environment do not allow our children to become better thinkers and efficient problem solvers. Our traditional system of teaching and tutoring is working in such a way that it suppresses our children's natural tendency to inquire, quiz and probe emerging situations and scenarios. Students tend to loose their abilities to inquire and ask questions on how things work, behave, and in what manner one can find out the most plausible and effective solutions to an emerging problem.

Of late, educational and child psychologists are promoting the idea of concept based instruction or inquiry based learning to help your children to learn and understand things and subjects in an efficient manner. The general feeling among these experts is that inquiry or concept based learning is much more effective teaching methods or strategies than those traditional chalk and talk teaching sessions.

Concept based teaching and learning processes seem to be difficult subjects to most of the parents. However, parents may find quite easy to learn and master concept or inquiry based learning methods. The most notable aspect of this training process is the highly repetitive nature of the method; it means that you may need to work on these methods for a longer duration, till such a time when the progress becomes result oriented and truly satisfactory. Have a great week ahead. Take care!

Thought for today:
"The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.. " - Anonymous

Best Regards,
Andrew Loh
Andrew Loh
Publisher & Editor, BrainyZine
andrew @ brainy-child.com

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What is Concept Based Education?
Traditional classroom based education methods seem to suppress a child's ability to think and act in a big way; in fact, children may even lose and destroy their abilities to ask questions, pose queries and think in an inquisitive manner. Concept based learning is a learning process that enhances or supplements a child's capabilities to relate various concepts to their life's experiences and patterns. With concept based learning, your child can connect his or her life with the experiences accumulated everyday.

Concept-based Learning: General Tips to Parents
Parents should supply and provide highly stimulating and progressive learning environment to their children so that they become smarter and wiser, with large range of abilities and talents. Concept-based learning is an intricate process that assists parents to involve their children to learn things and events in an effective manner. Here are some practical tips on how parents can use several benefits of concept-based learning to make their children smarter and intelligent.

Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Beyond the Facts
By H. Lynn Erickson

This book explores concept-based learning on a more in-depth level across disciplines and grade levels. Teachers can use the specific strategies to create a seamless learning program that teaches students the skills they really need to think conceptually and to solve problems in today's complex, changing world.

You will learn how to:

Take learning beyond the facts
Facilitate deep understanding and knowledge
Develop conceptual systems in the brain to process new information
Meet higher academic standards related to content knowledge, process abilities, quality performance, and school-to-work transitions.

The Power of Problem-Based learning
By Groh and Al Duch

Problem based learning is a very powerful classroom process, which uses real world problems to motivate students to identify and apply various concepts and information work together and communicate effectively. It is a strategy that promotes life-long habits of learning. In this book, the authors explore the emotional relationship between parents and children. It is not enough to simply reject an authoritarian model of parenting.

A parent needs to be concerned with the quality of emotional interactions. The authors focus first on the parent and provide a series of exercises to access parenting styles and emotional awareness. The authors identify a five step "emotion coaching" process to help teach children how to recognize and address their feelings, which includes becoming aware of the child's emotions; recognizing that dealing with these emotions as an opportunity for intimacy; listening empathetically; helping the child label emotions; setting the limits and problem solving.

Nurturing Intelligence-The Role of Games, Toys and Puzzles in Development
Turkish Handmade July 23, 2008

Studies have confirmed that the interaction with stimulating learning games along with objects to explore, increases the number of branches on the nerve cells in the brain and can promote better learning. This article sheds light on advanced tools and research in the realms of child brain development and cognitive skills enhancement.

Moms Who Eat This Have Smarter Kids
BlogSpot July 23, 2008

Diet for a pregnant woman: Eat fish. Preschoolers whose mom had a diet rich in low mercury fish have sharper minds than their friends whose moms did not eat it, Reuters reports of a new study from Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The magic amount is more than two servings of fish every week.

Putting a little music in the life of a young one
Bancroft This Week July 22, 2008

It's summer time! It is time for buskers on city streets, outdoor music concerts and singing around the camp fires. For many adults, teens and children, music hits an irresistible chord. It is that way for babies too! Expectant mothers know the frantic kicking that rock music can trigger in their unborn child. Once a baby's ears are formed in the utero, sound is transmitted through the amniotic fluid at about three decibels less than outside the mother's body.

10 Best Findings about Omega-3
BlogSpot July 22, 2008

Omega-3 fatty acids have many health benefits. And for many people, they do. They are found in fatty, cold water fish (salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herrings and sardines) canola, soybean, flaxseed and walnut oils, as well as dark leafy vegetables lime kale and kollard green. You can also get Omega-3 from fish oil capsules. Here are some essential findings about Omega-3 for you reference.

Kids Talk: The brain craves clear and precise information
NWA News July 28, 2008

During the first six years of life, the child's natural development includes the formation of language with the most intense activity occurring during the first two and half years of life. It seems like common sense to say that more words a child hears during those first two years of life, the larger the child's vocabulary and aptitude for language will be.

Early education essential to long-term development and learning, most experts say
Times Free Press July 22, 2008

Starting school at the kindergarten level is so out, area educators said. Prekindergarten is the new kindergarten. "Pre-K is today what kindergarten was 40 years ago" said David Kelly, director of South-East Tennessee Head Start Program. It seems that there is a nationwide drive for pre kindergarten.

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