On October 3rd, SM and University of Dayton Publishing offered Ready, Steady, Grow, a presentation for Primary teachers whose presenter was Ms. Izabella Hearn.
This presentation started with a comment on her work in Africa where she came to know a Masamari warrior who happened to speak five languages, one of them Japanese. When asked how and why he learned it, he replied that there were many visitors from Japan and that they learned languages by playing. As you can imagine, this answer leaves you with a lot to reflect and to relate with the theories behind the way children learn.
Izabella´s presentation was really a workshop since it was full of hands-on practical ideas for teaching but not only that, it also provided the rationale behind the activities- which is an issue that is sometimes forgotten in other such events. I truly believe that a good presentation is more than to keep people entertained, the coffee break and the freebies that are given at the end. It is the personal and professional quality of the presenter that allows us, attendees, to take away inspiring ideas and urge us to try these out in the classroom adapting them to suit our own contexts. In other words, it is not what the publisher or the organizer gives us, it is what we take away with us that matters and Izabella gave plenty of opportunities to do so.
Izabella discussed the use of Multiple Intelligences, CLIL, sensory learning and using both brain hemispheres and presented some activities to demonstrate how they worked with the possibility of adapting them to teaching any level. Read more
Time was really short for all the activities she presented in spite of starting at 4:30 and finishing at around 8:00 p.m. but it was worth every single minute. I would like to finish with this quote that, I believe, sums up the aim of her presentation: "If the child is not learning the way you are teaching, then teach the way children are learning".
M.of Ed.Maria Luisa Mu
mumimaria.blogspot.com
mumimariatefl.blospot.com
marialuisa.mu@customizedtrainingperu.com
Live as if you were to die tomorrow
Learn as if you were to live forever (Gandhi)
