Having taught Sunday school for children for many years, it is interesting to note what captures children's attention. Attention is a first step in the learning process. This month's blog is on elements that are used to help children learn better. It is easily transferable to your use as an adult. Watch your children learn and you might learn some techniques for yourself.
Being that emotional involvement is a key to education, getting children emotionally involved in a session is of prime importance. Children like drama. One way to create drama is the use of a unique voice (e.g. Dr. Doofensmirtz). Children are enthralled with different sounding voices. Also, asking the children to speak in different manners (e.g. whisper, talk as if you are under water, talk in a real low voice) is attention getting.
Another way is use of attire - especially if the children get to wear it (e.g. wearing garb and pretending to be Jesus mother Mary). Though children are not advanced enough socially to act well on an impromptu basis, just dressing them up and having the leader speak their parts (e.g. stand behind them when their character talks) works. When the leader plays all the parts, the children enjoy it when they change clothes for different characters (and change back when they return to that character).
Props work even better with children than adults. Kids like puppets or talking stuffed animals. Again, with a voice that is unique to that puppet or animal. That being said, appropriate props can work well in adult education.
If you have children, you know that it takes little to get them involved in a game. Children can play games for extended periods of time (normally longer than adults care to keep playing). The right games also work well for adult learning.
Just as with adults, mixing in video in a session works well. It is advisable to keep the videos for adults shorter than for children. Our adult minds can get easily bored.
Kids love to be the one controlling the audio visual. Must be a power thing.
Often we will help children remember by using gestures with words to be remembered. For example, if we were focused on helping remember the scripture: "Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near", we would start with a gesture to remember "Let". An example might be to turn the body sideways as if you are "letting" someone ahead of you. Then we would focus on the word gentleness. We might gesture the gentle rocking of a baby. You get the idea. Then we repeat the words and the gestures several times and having the children volunteer to show us they can remember the verse by doing the gestures and saying the words. This learning technique works particularly well with adults as well.
Involvement is paramount for children's learning. For example, the children read out of the bible in front of the other children. Another example is that they stand (and I remind them to "speak out loud and clear") when they talk to the group. This is giving them an advance start in life on developing confidence speaking in front of a group.
Stories work well with children and adults. Good educators use many stories in their learning programs.
That's it for this blog. I encourage you to pick one of the techniques you are not currently using to help you be more efficient in your ability to learn.
