Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/keeping-learning-alive-no-child-left-behind/5016728/
The child moves into the block area. At first he stands and watches two of his classmates as they work together to build a tower. As the tower gets taller and taller, the anticipation of a collapse builds visibly within the children. Finally, with the one too many block, the tower falls to the “whoas” of the children. He moves closer to the pile of fallen blocks and makes appreciative remarks. His hands reach for a block; and he begins to rebuild with his peers, creating a better design, experimenting with balance and architectural stability, designing symmetry and beauty into their creations.In another area, children are gathered around a small tub of pond water. They hold small magnifying glasses and are looking for signs of movement from the tadpoles. As they spot one, they glance at the bulletin board behind the table that shows the stages of development of a tadpole. “I think it’s already at stage four.” “No, that one is more like stage three.” They discuss and negotiate, making arguments for their cases, predicting how long it will be until the tails disappear altogether.
In this classroom, children are constructing their knowledge from real life experiences. Instead of completing a ...