Page 12 - Education Feature Issue 2 2021

Learning their way

Child-centered teaching and the self-paced model

By Natasha Marot, Head of Marketing, HeronBridge College

If the last year and a half has taught us anything, it’s that teaching
can no longer be approached in the way that it once was.

chool closures, restrictions and illness Teachers in both public and private schools, With the bulk of the timetable taken up
have required schools to adapt to across junior and senior grades, are likely to by only three subjects: Maths, Additional
Sa more flexible model, compelling mention that the past two years have caused Languages, and ‘Discover’, students are
teachers to switch between remote and on- gaps in childhood development. Children taken on the journey of learning through
site learning, as well as driving an insurgence are experiencing the world differently, and exploration, working towards progress and
of online schooling products. so need to be taught differently - taught in a mastery of concepts instead of academic
way that makes sense to them. benchmarks. Whiteboards are rarely used,
But the practical implications of what has teaching is collaborative, and assessment is
been required from schools is just the tip of Now more than ever, we need to secure based on skills development, application, and
the iceberg. Schooling during a pandemic their emotional stability before attempting to areas of growth.
has highlighted the fact that children have unlock their mental ability.
needs that require a more child-focused Kareem Farah, co-founder and CEO at The
rather than academic-focused approach Self-paced learning is a model that offers Modern Classrooms Project, talks of the
to teaching. Anxiety has increased, children a chance to grapple with concepts outcomes of self-paced learning as being
vulnerabilities are at the forefront of society and academic setwork in a way that is both intrinsically linked to a craving for learning
and children are still reeling from the relevant to the modern context as well as and an enhancement of human connection
changes that have been forced upon them their lives right now. Most importantly, if we [and thus, human improvement]. As a school,
due to the global pandemic. manage to deliver it correctly, it bolsters the it is our aim to create a place where our
strength of their emotional make-up. children want to learn, and feel safe and
confident enough to do so.
At HeronBridge College, we have been
incorporating concepts of self-paced learning Children are instinctive learners. They
into our classrooms for the last few years. possess a natural curiosity and motivation
At the start of 2021, we took the great leap to explore the world around them. As
to adopt the model completely across our educators, we have a responsibility to
Grade 5 classes. provide an environment that allows for that
to happen naturally, that makes space for
questions, and enables children to excel in
the talents that they have been gifted.

Irish poet William Butler Yeats said,
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but
the lighting of a fire.” No longer is standing
in front of a classroom with a setwork
going to light that fire. If we, as educators,
are truly invested in the outcomes of
nurturing human beings, then we must
be intentional about catering to their
needs, not ours. We first need to secure
their emotional well-being, so that they
can develop their thinking in a balanced,
curiosity-inspired manner. Only then, can
the learning truly happen.

www.heronbridge.co.za

Education | August 2021 | 10