The methodologies of education are changing worldwide. More than ever, education is evolving at a rapid pace trying to catch up with the needs and demands of today’s generation’s needs for physical, emotional, and intellectual growth. ABL (Activity-Based Learning. is one of the most popularly pursued methods of learning worldwide. If you are wondering how ABL works and what makes it so popular, we are here with all the answers for you!. Let’s get started on our ABL knowledge!
What is Activity-Based Learning?
Let’s get a little historical, shall we? Activity-Based Learning, also called ABL, was pioneered by Mr David Horsburgh, a British educationalist, and it was formulated as a way of learning in which children learn at their own pace, through various supervised activities.
ABL is touted as an engaging and interactive way of teaching children by helping monitor certain skills in children such as motor skills, coordination, speech, social skills, and more.
The ABL method has been found to boost the development of children’s brains by prompting them for responses and also providing them with constant stimuli. The three main ways in which activity-based learning is achieved are experimentation, exploration, and expression.
Also, read about transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches in teaching
Types of Activity Based Learning
Let’s find out more about the two main types of ABL.
The first type is the child-centric approach, which keeps the student as the main focus, keeping them in mind; the second type is the teacher-centric approach, wherein the teacher is given the lead role, guiding students through the entire process.
Benefits of Child Centric Approach Activity Based Learning
Are you curious to know more about the benefits of a child-centric approach to activity-based learning for children? Then, read the following mentioned.
1. Cultivating inquisitiveness and independence
ABL encourages children to think more analytically, which would instil curiosity and encourage them to be active listeners. ABL also helps children to become more observant as the child-centric approach of ABL focuses on learning by doing. As ABL encourages children to work in small groups or on their own, students are allowed to think more critically, be independently inquisitive, and learn from their own experiences.
2. Development of social skills
ABL’s child-centric approach has been shown to improve the confidence of children, testing their cooperation levels when they study and work in groups. ABL has also been shown to build the communication skills of children.
Children are allowed to continuously challenge themselves and also to come up with innovative and creative solutions. ABL also helps children develop social and teamwork skills to enhance their social and work lives in later years.
3. Memory enhancement
As ABL’s child-centric approach focuses on doing rather than just listening or reading, it gives children the opportunity to enhance memory retention, making their recall rates higher. Children can better understand and remember learning materials if they gather knowledge through experimentation and personal experience.
4. More space to express freely
Through the child-centric approach of ABL, children can understand their own emotions better and also better convey them. This allows for the encouragement of children’s creative capabilities to express their knowledge and vision effectively. Students are allowed to express what they learned through the act of verbal presentation and also by doing.
5. Continuous engagement
One of the most impressive benefits of the child-centric approach of ABL is the continuous engagement of students in all activities. This avoids the possibility of attention. Children are made sure to participate in all activities.
6. Easy accommodation of learning weaknesses
Not every student can grasp the concepts at the same time, pace, and degree. In their ability to learn, each child is unique. The child-centric approach of ABL is very focused on promoting learning that is according to the pace of each child. This kind of approach eliminates the stress of traditional learning, allowing students to enjoy the process of learning more.
7. Emphasises the relevance of educational materials
In the case of traditional learning methodologies, children often do not understand the relevance of the learning material. ABL, on the other hand, helps children understand the real-life relevance of learning material by encouraging them to solve and explore realistic problems and scenarios.
8. Results in motivation
With ABL’s child-centric approach, each student gets to experience a real sense of accomplishment when performing each activity. The achievements will make them more motivated and also enhance their confidence, allowing them to believe in their abilities more. This creates a positive environment for their emotional, physical, and intellectual well-being.
Give your child a great future by choosing activity-based learning!
ABL’s child-centric approach has proven over the years to be the perfect teaching approach, especially for children. It has become so widely popular that even toy companies are employing this approach for designing activity-based educational toys.
Introduce your child to ABL and secure their future!