Child-Centered Method of Teaching in Summer Fields School

In today’s world, child-centered education has started to bloom due to its quality of producing desirable results in students. It is based on the idea that students get to learn at their own pace. This method is a reversal of conventional teacher-centered learning where the focus purely lies on the teacher. 

 

 

Summer Fields School creating an impeccable impact 

 

 

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Summer Fields School has made sure to build a curriculum that stands different from the rest of the schools. One of the main differences is the approach of teaching which is child-centered learning. The school aims to promote interest, analytical research, critical thinking, curiosity, fun, and enjoyment among students to achieve a lifetime education. Further, the school’s goal is also to provide a balanced education of the body, feelings, will, and intellect in preparation for using life’s varying to unearth deep levels of purpose and happiness. 

 

What is child-centered education? 

 

 

Child-centered education is a method of teaching which shifts the focus from teacher to student. It is an “Active Learning” process that helps the child to advance knowledge and skills. This method helps in recognizing the differences in learners, which implies that child-centered education focuses on each student’s learning interests, abilities, and learning styles. It is a gateway to making education more meaningful to today’s children.

 

Child-centered education helps the child to achieve holistic development. The development includes physical capabilities, intellectual activities, cognitive abilities, emotional abilities, and social skills. 

 

Examples are: 

 

1.     Play-way method of teaching 

 

 

The play-way method enables the overall development of a child including feelings, intellect, and skills parameters. It is a very popular method of imparting knowledge to children in preschool prevailing in major parts of India. This method is unique and can be customized according to the child’s requirements. Teachers develop various customized activities by setting a joyous environment. Teachers do make sure to plan activities ranging from simple to complex and so on. Due to the method’s uniqueness, the classroom doesn’t follow a very rigid way of teaching, hence allowing the freedom of expression within kids. 

 

 

Principles of Play-way method

•   A practical approach facilitates easy learning for the child.

• Uniquely customized methods should be curated to suffice the needs of the child.

• Learning methods used should be in terms of real-life rather than books and theories.

•  This method provides opportunities for the children to express themselves freely.

 

 2.      Playdate

 

Playdate is a social gathering arranged for kids to get together or play together for a few hours. It provides children with opportunities to practice social and emotional skills as children learn to interact, share, take turns, adjust, cooperate. Also, playdates enable children to learn basic manners and the way to communicate. 

 

Parents host playdates for kids to become social and make friends. At times, when kids are quite small, parents accompany them to the playdates, hence allowing the parents to make alliances and friends with other parents. 

 

School’s way of implementing Child-centered education

 

 

 

Summer Fields School is a niche school providing a stimulating, sociable, and happy environment to inculcate a life-long love for learning and thus, is committed to ‘Nurturing Excellence’. Following the ‘Education for Life’ curriculum from the early years, the school has prepared the students to face challenges and helped them to achieve balance and harmony in every parameter. To prepare the students to be world-ready from a young age, Summer Field School has designed its primary curriculum to guide the children through a learner-centered approach. 

 

 

The school’s goal using a learner-centered approach or child-centered approach is to bring forth a balanced, relevant, and coherent program of learning in a happy and friendly environment.  Following are the pedagogies that the mentors use continually to ignite curiosity in learners by enhancing their cognitive, social, emotional, fine motor, gross motor, ethical, and communication skills. 

1.    Learning through smart classes

2.    Exploration activities

3.    Roleplay method 

4.    Show and tell 

5.    Circle time

In addition, the school keeps organizing various activities like playdate which was held in October 2021 at Cyber Hub, Gurugram. The activities for the playdate included paper crafts, yoga, trampoline games, aerobics, storytelling sessions, interactive theatre workshop, etc. 

 

 

In crucial times of pandemic and lockdown, Summer Fields School, Gurgaon still managed to interest the children by fun and exciting learning using different play-way methods during online schooling. An enjoyable mathematics week was scheduled where the students learned numbers and shapes using play-way methods. Other likewise methods used by Summer Field School are: 

1.    Monster word: It is a creative game where children are supposed to make colorful monsters using tissue paper boxes. It helps children in gaining creativity and learning phonic skills as they pronounce the letters followed by the pronunciation of the word.  

2.    Treasure hunt: A fun activity that made the little ones curious to find hidden words. This game helps the kids to strengthen word recognition skills and print awareness ability.