See What Children Know
Click on thumbnail to watch inside our video library. Watch this 2-year-old child explore the buttons on a music synthesizer and take note of what she learns about the conditional logic of the button functions; that is, how the lower button, B will turn on the drum cadence or turn it off but only if the power button, A is in the “on” position. We can define this conditional logic as follows: If A is x then B can be x or y. If A is y then B can only be y. By reflecting carefully on her play she discovers this conditional function (B’s function is conditional on, or determined by, the settings on A).
Piaget would call this video an example of “self-regulated learning.” We should not reduce this form of learning to the common phrase “trial and error.” To the child’s credit she understands which “trials” will give her the most information. So her trials are not random. What she decides to try comes from her assumptions about possible patterns, possible contingencies.
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If you subscribe to our streaming video library, look at “Not Just Play” as another example of self-regulated learning.
Notes from the Field
Boulder Journey School early childhood educator, Alex Cruickshank, recently shared her views on the current state of education in the US. Her riveting speech was presented to an audience of 1,700 at a TEDxBoulder event that was held on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. TEDxBoulder organizers, recognizing the relevance of Alex’s message, rewarded her with a donation of $1000, payable to Hawkins Centers of Learning, a non-profit organization that inspires educators world-wide. To view this presentation, click here.
