The Power of Naming: Enhancing Learning Through Imagination and Observation
QtPi Robotics
Plug Play & Innovate I NEP 2020 co-creation platform for Grade 1-12 on Coding, AI & Robotics offering to 65K+ worldwide
Why is it important to imagine and name things you see for the first time? Why do we ask, "What is it called?" We have integrated these aspects of learning by naming the building blocks, sensors, and structures students design while building a project. As author John Hennigar Shuh rightly mentioned, learning with objects gives every child a chance to develop their capacity for careful, critical observation of their world. Our 9+ years of experience at QtPi support this thought. We are grateful to all the schools and consumers who have given children this opportunity.
We ask questions such as, "What do you see?" and "What do you have in your hand?" We wait for responses to name each block, sensor, model, and so on. This process, which can take up to a week, also touches upon design thinking. These activities always happen concurrently. Early educators and parents know the importance of numbering and naming. We observe that students love this free form of play, naming based on their assumptions and imagination. Older students tend to name based on reality, conscious of whether their naming is 'correct.' We remind them that each individual in the class has a name, and we welcome any name they give. As educators, we know that the foundations of language and mathematics are based on naming and numbering. In subsequent days, we show them the names we use and explain why. We encourage and allow students to call the building blocks by their desired names as long as it evolves from abstraction to logic. We believe every individual in the class must experience a new understanding of the world.
Critical thinking, one of the 4Cs of 21st-century skills, develops by allowing students to engage in critical observation. This is done through probing questions that lead students to explore reference material. Our experience has shown that objects in the classroom or lab provide a great opportunity for both students and teachers to think and learn.
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*John Hennigar Shuh, Teaching yourself to teach with object