Parents First E-Book

Garry Burnett

• Herausgeber: Crown House Publishing
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2003

Seitenzahl: 143

Beschreibung

Parents First is designed to improve your understanding of how children learn in order for you to help your child face the challenges of our modern educational system. It clearly explains some of the key current research about how the human brain works and provides practical advice on how to apply that research to studying and learning at school. Garry Burnett and Kay Jarvis explore practical ways for you to help your child learn effectively which include: Developing confidence and self-esteem; Effective listening and questioning; Creating an effective learning environment; Building a healthier brain for learning; Improving memory, recall and spelling.

Leseprobe

Praise for Parents First

“This book is a must for every parent - and grandparent - who wants some down-to-earth, practical advice on helping children to learn, to think, and to use their imagination. It is packed with suggestions. But it is also written with a touch of humour and makes the reader think, as well as the child: I am still trying to work out how the detective knew who killed the lady!”

Lord Ronald Dearing, Education Adviser

“Research shows that support from parents is the single most important driver for pupils’ success at school. We don’t know what people may need to learn in the future but if children are motivated and understand how to learn, they will be well-equipped to deal with whatever life holds for them. This book will help parents to support their children in learning how to learn and developing as confident, successful lifelong learners.”

Susie Parsons, Chief Executive, Campaign for Learning

“I wish there had been a book like this when my children were young!

“Parents First gives you all the guidance you need to help your child become a successful and happy learner. It’s full of practical tips and easy-to-use suggestions for: improving self-esteem, confidence and intelligence; thinking clearly and creatively; tackling tasks; answering questions well; encouraging good memorising and spelling habits; and passing tests and exams.

“But there’s more! Kay and Garry explain how children learn. They help you to recognise your son’s or daughter’s unique talents and learning style and they tell you exactly what your child’s brain needs to function fully.

“Parents First is exciting, but it’s also challenging. It asks you to rethink some of your own habits such as listening to your child, admitting you don’t know, asking open questions, and praising more than criticising. It describes the kind of life-style at home that will lay the foundations for success at school. And it sets out the steps that lead to a positive and supportive relationship with your son or daughter, even in those tricky moments - like when their bedroom is untidy … again!

“With its checklists, its down-to-earth activities for the kitchen and car, its helpful hints and its useful summaries, Parents First is a treasure trove of practical ideas for every parent who wants their child to be a successful and confident learner both at school and at home.”

Paul Ginnis, author ofThe Teacher’s Toolkit

Parents First

Parents and Children Learning Together

Garry Burnett and Kay Jarvis

This book is dedicated …

To my parents, Moyra and Brian, who have given me the encouragement and support throughout my life to believe that I can do what I want to do and the confidence to keep trying …

To my wonderful daughters, Vicki and Rachael, whose love and support continue to light up my life. As a parent I know I’ve made mistakes, but we’ve learned from each other and I’ve watched you grow into two beautiful people who enrich the lives of so many others. I am so very proud of you both and love you dearly …

And to my very special friends, Karen, Lyn, Barbara and partner Stephen, who have helped me through some difficult times with their love, understanding and support. Thank you all so very much.

Kay Jarvis

To my parents Maureen and Dennis, and, the proudest parent I know, my wife Louise. Also to Hollie, Laith, Bethany, Grace and William Burnett. My angels.

Garry Burnett

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Part 1 Thinking About Thinking – Reflections on How Parents Can Support Learning

Chapter 1 Developing Confidence and Self-Esteem

What causes success?

Coping with “setbacks” – raising expectations

Magic moments

Chapter 2 Effective Communication

Approaching adolescence

Effective listening

Relationships and disagreements – win–win

Quality questioning

Coping with jargon

Questions for the teacher!

Chapter 3 The Right Conditions for Learning

An effective learning environment checklist

Chapter 4 Building a Healthier Brain for Learning

Health check for your brain

Building a healthy brain – checklist

Part 2 Learning About Learning – Practical Strategies For Parents to Use

Chapter 5Mind Mapping®

Getting started with Mind Mapping®

The uses of Mind Maps®

Chapter 6 Learning Styles

“Preferred” learning styles

Which is the best learning style?

Assess your learning style

How can I help my child?

Chapter 7 Multiple Intelligences

Understanding intelligence

What are the “multiple intelligences”?

Using your intelligences to learn

Chapter 8 Solving Problems

Improving your child’s thinking skills for learning

What is ‘problem-solving?’

What’s the problem? Analysis and synthesis

Sequencing – solving problems by putting things in order

Coming up with new ideas – hypothesising

Prioritising – choosing the relevant information

Sifting through text for relevant information

Helping with reading – “DIAL” an answer

Making comparisons

Using problem solving skills in different situations

Chapter 9 Memory and Recall

Why is memory important?

Memory CAM (Chunking Association Mnemonics)

Key principles of making a strong memory

Putting it all into practice

Reflecting on the way you learned

Chapter 10 Help Your Child to Learn to Spell

How to learn to learn to spell

Chapter 11 Summary – Making Learning Effective

Stage 1: Preparation – the frame of mind

Stage 2: Get the information

Stage 3: Explore the information

Stage 4: Make a “memory”

Stage 5: Show that you know

Stage 6: Think about the whole process

Conclusion

Appendix

Glossary

Answers

Bibliography

Copyright

Acknowledgments

I’d like to acknowledge and thank the following people, without whom this book wouldn’t have been possible:

Garry Burnett, who, along with the Learning Development team at Malet Lambert School, first inspired me with his infectious belief in “Learning to Learn”.

The Hull School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, who have funded the research and development of the Parents and Children Working Together Project jointly with City Venture. Especially Don Blackburn for his continuing support and belief in the project and Joe Waller and Christine Sutcliffe, with whom the initial idea of working with parents originated.

I’d like to thank the headteachers of the schools involved in the project for sharing my belief in working in partnership with parents, especially Lynda Cook, who was first to pilot the course and is still very supportive of the project.

And of course the parents who have made this project so successful and my job a pleasure.

Thank you.

Kay Jarvis

I would like to acknowledge the magnificent, pioneering work of Malet Lambert School’s Learning Development group (Louise, Kevin and Ellen) which has inspired not only this book, but everything I do and write in this field.

Garry Burnett

Foreword

Parents are a child’s first and enduring teachers. They play a crucial role in helping their children learn. Family learning is a powerful tool for reaching some of the most disadvantaged in our society. It has the potential to reinforce the role of the family and change attitudes to education, helping build strong local communities and widening participation in learning.

DfEE (now the Department for Education and Skills, DfES), Excellence in Schools, p.53

It is a commonly expressed view from local and national politicians that some parents “have little or no interest in their children’s education”. However, this project began from what is known from research and also from our own experiences in working in local communities and schools – that is that parents are overwhelmingly interested in their children’s education. What they may not have is a very positive experience of schools themselves, or they may not know what they can do to help their own children.

This programme arose from fairly unspectacular and commonsense beginnings in collaboration between parents and teachers in Kingston upon Hull and academic staff at the University of Lincoln. The initial idea was that children and parents in schools in Hull should have some experience of the possibilities in higher education, once children have finished the compulsory part of their education.

The first idea was to take children into the university to work with mainly information-technology-based sessions, with parents watching the learning process through one-way mirrors (with the children’s consent). The initial programme of visits between schools and university for both children and parents soon developed into a more focused programme for parents. In discussion with parents, it was suggested that they would like to take part in the teaching sessions themselves, and their children wanted to observe them. This proved to be so successful in engaging both parents and children with the processes of learning that it was decided to develop a formally recognised programme of study involving both parents and children, which is based on the belief that parents will be more likely to support and value their children’s schooling if they understand the benefits of education personally, through gaining academic credit for their work.

There is little doubt from the evidence that children and parents have gained hugely from the learning experiences in the project. This is also partly due to the enormous enthusiasm of Kay and Garry, who have both invested a significant degree of effort and commitment in the programme. This is also visible in the materials that they have developed. However, rather than flattery from me, I think that the test for them lies in the responses of both children and parents to the opportunities for learning about learning that are present in these materials.

The experience of the project completely undermines the view that there is a high level of parental apathy about learning. Quite the reverse: there is a clear need to develop more programmes of this kind that satisfy the significant levels of interest that parents have in their children and the process of learning.

Best wishes in using these materials, and we hope that you get as much pleasure from the process as we have.

Don Blackburn Head of the Hull School of Health and Social Care University of Lincoln

Introduction

What do you want for your child?

A study done on mothers around the world asked the question, “What do you want your child to be when they grow up?” Mothers in Japan almost always answered, “to be successful.”… When American mothers were asked exactly the same question, you can imagine what the answer was: “We want our children to be happy!” I was raised in an old-fashioned Italian family. I don’t think my father really cared whether I was happy. Oh, I suppose it was of concern to him, and I’m sure that he also wanted me to be successful. But if you had asked my father, and especially my mother, “What do you want your son to be when he grows up?” both would have answered, “We want him to be good.”

Tony Campolo, Let Me Tell You a Story (2000)

When asked this question, it is very likely that one of your responses will be, “For my child to be successful”. Without a good education a child’s life choices are limited and, naturally, most parents are anxious that their children will achieve their fullest potential.

But many well-meaning parents feel frustrated because they don’t know how or where to begin to help them to do so!

We believe that parents and carers are the key to raising aspirations and educational achievement in their children.

You can and do make a difference!

For most parents their understanding of the education system is based on their own experience of schooldays and, for many, these weren’t always “the best years of their lives”. Many remember the negative experiences more quickly than they remember the positive!

School experiences may vary from person to person, but one thing is consistent – teaching and learning methods have changed over the years.

The purpose of this book

Parents First: Parents and Children Learning Together aims to explore how to learn effectively in order to enable you to develop a deeper understanding of how to support your children with confidence through their school years, and especially through times when they are faced with the challenge of learning in new environments when methods – and expectations of them – may not be as familiar as they were previously.

Natural-born learners?

The range of skills and knowledge you have already taught your child is likely to be extensive. The important point is that you were your child’s first teacher and have taught them so much already. This need not change during their time at school. Parents have so much to offer in supporting and encouraging their children in “lifelong learning”.

A home that nurtures a learning culture teaches children that education is important and is to be valued. We hope that the following exercises and information will equip you with the confidence, skills and understanding you need to help your children to succeed and to develop a dynamic learning culture in the home.

!Remember: You were your child’s first teacher and have taught them so much already!

So what is “Learning to Learn”?

Parents First: Parents and Children Learning Together is a book designed to improve your child’s self-esteem and self-motivation in order that they might feel confident to take on new challenges. It is also about understanding and applying a little of the current research into how the human brain and mind work and to learn ways to “reflect” on how we learn effectively. It explains effective strategies for improving memory, for developing our intelligence (of which there are several different types) and for sharpening up thinking skills for learning, answering questions and preparing for examinations. It also explains how we might improve our own abilities to learn more effectively.

We hope that this book will interest and involve you in the learning process and provide you with the skills needed to help your child learn confidently and effectively. In organisational terms the book is very much made up of two halves, the first part looking at and reflecting on past and current learning experiences and the second part offering practical strategies for supporting your child with their learning. The book provides plenty of advice and activities to help you and your child learn to learn and put our ideas into practice. Each tip or activity is indicated by one of three symbols defined below:

Every time you see this symbol it means that there is an activity you may complete yourself or with your child.

Next to this symbol you will see words of advice, quotes or slogans.

This symbol is placed next to advice which is rooted in modern brain research and is designed to allow your child to learn more effectively and naturally.

! Remember: If you demonstrate to your child that education matters to you then she will grow up believing it is important for her!

“After completing the ‘Learning to Learn’ course, I’ve a more positive approach about things in general and patience with my children. I now know that my input can make a difference to their success.”

John Wilkinson (2002), parent of two teenagers

So how do I begin to help?

Aquestion that parents often ask is, “How do I help my child with homework when so much has changed since my own schooldays?” You don’t have to know everything to begin helping your child, just to be practical.

It takes confidence to say to a child, “I don’t know”, because as adults we often feel we should know. It is important to accept that we don’t have to have all the answers but we do need to know how to help our children to find out.

! Remember: Always respond to questions from children or they may learn to stop asking!

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re probably right!”

Henry Ford

Parents First: Parents and Children Learning Together will help you to support your child in all stages of the learning process and equip you with valuable insight into how to learn effectively, for life.

A parent’s view: “‘Learning to Learn’ gave me the confidence to realise that I had the ability not only to learn myself, but to help and support my children in a positive way. Their confidence and self-esteem has grown so much that we now enjoy learning together.”

Susan Moon, parent of four children

Part 1

Thinking About Thinking – Reflections on How Parents Can Support Learning

Chapter 1

Developing Confidence and Self-Esteem

What causes success?

Have you ever been anxious (perhaps overanxious) that your child should “get it right”? What have been the consequences?

Children desperately want to please adults and love the praise and attention that success brings, but they also try to avoid disappointing them! If a child experiences negative feedback from the parent, he will inevitably start to hide his setbacks and limit his “risk-taking”, which in turn can have a negative effect on his self-esteem.

! Remember: Praise all achievements, not just the academic ones!