"Learning to learn" with the Waldon Method
The Waldon Approach: Learning to Learn
Fundamental Elements for Learning to Learn:
The focus of the Waldon Method is to foster and develop the skills of 'learning to learn':
- effortful engagement
- staying focused
- to keep going with interest in an activity
Non-verbal capacities must be learned FIRST
Das Besondere am ‚Lernen lernen‘ Ansatz ist, daß er non-verbal vorgeht, – denn so lernen kleine Kinder, um ihre frühen mentalen Kapazitäten zu entwickeln. Denn diese lassen sich NUR durch ihre eigenen Bewegungen und körperlichen Erfahrungen erlernen. Nicht durch Sprache. Verbales Sprechen entwickelt sich aus dem primären Verstehen, das das Kind sich selber und aktiv im Umgang mit seiner Umwelt erarbeitet hat. Ohne dieses fundamentale Verstehen von ’so geht das‘, sowohl seines eigenen Körpers als auch der Welt der Gegenstände, ist keine sinnvolle Sprache möglich.
HANDBOOK: Learning to Learn
Anyone interested in learning more about the Waldon Method will find Merete Hawkins' book very helpful, - both to better understand this little-known approach and as informative guidance for putting it into practice with children
The 'Learn to Learn' Session
In a 'learning to learn' session, the adult prepares activities that resemble a child's early learning situation, guiding the child through the movements and directing the child to handle, and play with, the objects.
The child learns to focus and engage in these play sequences by means of activities and play materials that can be easily adapted to the child's particular stage of development and progress.
LEARNING MORE about 'Learning to learn':
The Waldon Approach is a theory about the most fundamental elements of human learning and development, about how understanding arises and how a child learns to understand. How we learn to adapt and survive. The educational application of these ideas is called the Waldon approach and can be used in many different settings, with people of all ages and ability levels. It is most commonly used by parents and professionals ... Read more here: The Waldon Association, UK
