BETTER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
July 15, 2015
UNICEF in its discussion of a “Child Friendly Learning Environment” defines the term as:
To survive and succeed, children depend on the support of their parents and families, of their teachers, even of each other.
More than a half century of research clearly shows that greater family involvement in children’s learning is a critical link to achieving high-quality education:
• What PARENTS do to help their children learn matters more to their children’s achievement than family income or education.
• What SCHOOLS do to encourage parents to participate in their children’s education matters more to parental participation than parent income or education.
A growing number of public schools are recognizing that — because of the many advantages of multi-sensory learning — they can do more to support children and families.
To achieve their goals, a significant number of school systems have implemented a “family technology resource center” concept. The list below covers many of their realizable objectives:
• Offer instruction via state-of-the-art technology, including multi-sensory learning programs n academic (Reading, Writing, and Math) vocational and technical areas.
• Expand the hours of school to include evenings and weekends in order to accommodate the family educational needs.
• Provide technology-based instruction for preschool through adult needs.
• Offer free child care services by a licensed child care provider.
• Utilize the existing computers and tablets that are already in the schools.
• Prepare parents for productive employment in the world of work.
• Increase student achievement by providing parents with an opportunity to improve academic, vocational, and/or technical skills while encouraging parent-child learning, and increasing time-on-task for all students.
• Offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from a local Community College to those adult participants who complete a full curriculum.
Advances in our public education system usually trail those made by corporate training but with these visionary programs our children, their parents, and the schools themselves will all profit through increased learning, retention, and quality of life.
“The goal of Community Learning Centers is to support student achievement, revitalize neighborhoods and maximize the community’s return on their financial investment.” (Julie Doppler, CLC SES Coordinator, Cincinnati Public Schools)
More on Monday – – –
— Bill Walton: co-Founder, ITC Learning
www.itclearning.com/blog/
(Mondays & Wednesdays)
“THE WORLD RELIES ON THE HANDS OF ITS MEN AND WOMEN”