Emotions + Experience =
Genuine Learning
This week we discussed the roles of imitation and emotions in our classroom. We all agreed that young children watch everything and they often notice things even when we don't realize it. As a teacher, it is sometimes hard to discern whether a student is exhibiting intentional behaviour or if the student is imitating something he or she has seen from another person. One thought-provoking question I got from the reading was: "Do you love learning and do you let your students know that in everything you do?" The students see everything we do, which is not always what we want them to see. We agreed that as teachers we are very important role models for our children.
One practical takeaway from the reading was that our students will only thrive in the classroom if the classroom is a trusted and safe environment for them to learn. The students must know that we love them. If we are always criticizing or point out the wrong, then they won't be motivated to keep learning. However, if we show them love and encourage them when they are excelling, this can make a huge impact on their view of learning.
We also discussed how emotions are very much linked to our brain and how they work. We agreed that we would love to know more about how our students' emotions work. Emotions in the classroom often can be triggered by something small and we do not get to see the whole picture behind the emotions. Each child is different and handles situations in various ways. Some children may not let an argument bother them; however, it may cause another child to break down in tears. The book said that you should use emotion to foster students' learning. We would like to see how this practically works in the classroom without being a distraction. Our students' emotions can often be overwhelming and cause students to be unable to focus on their learning in the classroom.
From the book, here are some practical ways we can improve our teaching:
- Do projects with our children instead of simply instructing them what to do.
- Take students' emotions into consideration and learn how to implement them in the classroom learning.
- Create a nurturing and encouraging environment in your classroom where students can thrive and most importantly, feel loved.
- Link lessons to practical ideas in the world around them.
