This article may contain affiliate links, and when you click on the link, I may be compensated without additional payment.
I recently realized that the last article I wrote about educators or educator skills was in October 2020! How did this happen? I am a full-time educator and love my job. One of the key components of my blog writing is sharing information about learning and teaching. As you know from reading my blog, dawnandhope is an inspirational lifestyle blog that includes areas such as family, self-care, educational skills, and travel. It seems that in the COVID era last year, most of my posts were about family and self-care, so this article is needed. Today, I am writing about the four most important Rs for all students to learn.
Introduction
So, what is the 4 R of learning? Why are they important? In order for students to actively participate in learning, whether in private schools, public schools, or self-study at home, it is important to take participation and innovation as its core. 4 R-Rigor, relevance, relationships and real life experience are the foundation of any type of learning. The old traditional model of teachers acting as saints on stage and students acting as passive recipients on the sidelines is long gone.
Research shows that traditional learning methods do not work. In today’s world, embracing the skills of the 21st century and preparing all our students requires students’ enthusiasm and active participation. Participation and motivation come only from students who are actively involved in the learning process-whether it is project-based learning, cross-curricular projects, design-based teaching or subject units. Educational departments all over the world are adopting the method of connecting with students to make learning real.
In addition to academic study, it is also important to meet the social and emotional needs of students.In my previous post, I wrote about Equality and fairness, Socio-emotional learning with Culturally responsive teaching. Teaching is an art and science. If you are interested, please read the following book by Robert Marzano, who has written many successful books for educators around the world. This item includes more than 50 teaching strategies for reaching and educating children.
Learning 4R
Continue to read each of the following 4 R learnings to ensure that students achieve their fullest ability and potential in their studies.
strict
Rigorous means meeting students and challenging them academically, intellectually, and personally. For example, worksheets and multiple-choice questions are not strict, because students may not have to think beyond their comfort. In contrast, requiring open-ended responses, debating through stance, choosing ways to display items/products, and using dialogue or discussion are some ways to try to make students’ content rigorous. In the field of education, the Zone of Recent Development (ZPD) emphasizes that teachers need to reach the level of students, and then teach them in a way that they understand and understand, so that they are just above their comfort zone. Learning should not be too easy or too difficult.
If you are interested, you can read “Words Strictly Not 4 Letters” by Barbara Blackburn. Click below to buy from Amazon.
Another recommended reading is “Understanding Rigor in Class” by Robert Marzano.
Associate
Relevance or students’ understanding of why they need to learn something is very important. Students without academic challenges may have this question: Why? Why do I need to learn this? This may be a difficult situation for teachers, but finding the relevance and linking it to students’ interests will bring beneficial results to students and teachers. Effective teachers make sure to give examples and demonstrate how and why what they are learning is important and relevant. This leads to better participation and participation of students.
If you are interested, please read Robert Marzano’s book on classroom teaching that can help improve student performance. Click the link below to buy from Amazon.
relationship
I believe that interpersonal relationships are the core and foundation of all learning. This does not mean that all teachers should understand all students on a personal level. No, it is not possible, but it helps a lot to get in touch with the students and spend some time at the beginning of the school year and get to know your students throughout the year! My personal experience working in high school and junior high school supports this data. Sometimes students will only work for you, the teacher, even though what they have learned may not make much sense to them. There are many ways to build relationships with students. The ice-breaking activities at the beginning of the school year, the use of class time to conduct open dialogues with students, conduct study style surveys, and involve parents/community are just a few examples of attempts to build relationships with students.
Read this book to understand how real relationships in the classroom make learning real and relevant. Click on the Amazon link below to buy.
For more information about student participation, you can read this book by Robert Marzano.
Real life experience
Although we cannot take students out of the four walls of the classroom every day, there are many ways to add real life experiences to learning. Real-life concepts make learning fun, attractive and stimulating. Every core subject such as mathematics, science, social studies and English (reading and writing) can be taught in context. It also applies to elective courses, whether it is art, foreign language or even physical health. As I mentioned before, using projects to learn topics and units is a great way to integrate relevance and real life experience.
Thoughtful
Whether you are a parent, teacher, caregiver, or family member, I hope everyone in the society understands the importance of education. In the 21st century, skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication are essential for deep learning and long-term retention of information. When doing hands-on learning, students can use their models to connect them, and the real education begins. I like these words of the Dalai Lama.
Educate young people’s thinking and never forget the heart of educating others
Dalai Lama
wrap up
All in all, true learning happens best when it is rigorous and relevant, and is related to real-life connections and interpersonal relationships. In addition to academic study, it is important to have a comprehensive approach to meet the social and emotional needs of students.
Dear readers, we would be happy to hear from you. Do you or your children have personal experience in education? What attracts your child the most? Share any other skills you may have that can make your child fun and motivated in the learning process. You can leave a comment below or send an email to nishtha@dawnandhope.com.
