This is How Your Child Actually Learns: The Science of Pedagogy

Our brain is a fascinating creation of nature. It is this organic powerhouse inside our heads that constitutes everything within the spectrum of our perceptions & existence. The human brain possesses incredible power as compared to other organic life. Its ability to comprehend, learn & apply has allowed us to build the modern world as we know it. We will now take a look at how our brain actually learns. 

In this blog, our focus will be on children’s learning capability, how it works, and how the parents & teachers can use the information to the child’s advantage. 

Let us get going!

Senses are the primary mode of learning

Our traditional sense of studies & academics dictates that ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ are the only effective ways to learn something. This is far from the truth. Research indicates that children and teenagers learn by observing, listening, exploring, experimenting, and engaging. The actual scenario is that all the senses of a student affect their mental faculties and the capability to process the information for actionable results. For e.g. A student who only has access to written learning material might not be able to utilize it properly- even with high motivation and will power. 

Engaging a student’s senses is crucial for providing healthy stimulus to the brain. For e.g. Learning through videos, books, gamified activities and self-reflection are important for the overall development of the learning neurons in the brain. 

Pedagogy matters!

If you are new to the term Pedagogy, it is defined as- “The theory and practice of learning, and how this process psychologically impacts the learner.” In short, it is the science of teaching or instructions. Different curriculums & teachers employ different approaches to pedagogy. Some prefer verbal lectures followed by problem-solving, some motivate students for self-studies, some teach visually and some pedagogies require simulation (like flight training). For students in the 6th-10th standard, a Spiral Learning Pedagogy seems to work the best. This includes content familiarization, trial & error, reinforcement, revision, concept practice, test & remedy. For instance, Learnflix is a personalized learning app based on this pedagogic design. 

Pedagogy matters because it influences the way a child student receives the information, processes it, applies it, and recalls it. 

Children have more ‘Neural Plasticity’

A major difference between a child and an adult is Neural Plasticity. Neural plasticity is nothing but the ability of the brain to form ‘new connections and patterns between the neurons.’ Children have a more malleable brain (thus, they are more impressionable!) and adults are less malleable. A child can learn a concept merely by seeing a visual. An adult can do the same, but it will take more effort on their part. For e.g., Adults find it harder to change a habit or even solve a school-standard problem. Whereas, a child can learn to do it instantly if the pedagogy is right! 

It is important to note that the more the senses of an individual are engaged, the stronger the neural connections they form. Neural plasticity is also thought to be the underlying factor of individual creativity. 

Children have different learning styles

Yes! Children, just like adults, prefer different learning styles. This is a natural trait as well as an acquired trait. Some child students prefer to learn through visuals (Visual learners), some by doing (Kinesthetic learners), and some by listening (auditory learners). 

However, in a classroom, there is a mix of preferences with multiple students, but the learning takes via a single path only. To tackle this, personalized learning apps like Learnflix utilize a mix of learning styles to cater to the different preferences of the students and empower them to improve their performance.

Keep the above facts in mind and allow your child to be more creative & critical of the world around them. Enable them to learn at their best with Learnflix!