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Teaching Tips June 1, 2009 |
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by Lori Coeman 
One of the most potent tools in your teaching arsenal is probably one you least expected the OPT tool.
OPT stands for Observe, Play,
and Train.
Take the time this summer to observe your children preferably without them realizing it. What toys do they play with? Toys that make noise? Toys that require manipulation of pieces or using their hands? Toys that require imagination? What types of activities are they attracted to? Group activities, group games or sports, or just being outdoors? Or do they prefer to just hang with friends and talk? Or to curl up with a good book? Or experiment in the kitchen or out in the woodshop? What interests them? How do they spend their time? What do they excel at? What comes harder to them? How do they express themselves? You get the idea. These observations will give you general clues about how your children learn. Chances are the toys and activities they select reflect their preferred sense or modality. The preferred sense be it auditory, visual, hands-on, or moving is the ideal way to present information to each child. Particularly when you are teaching a new concept or skill. Next, play. All work and no play makes mom a dull... make that a burned-out homeschooling mother! Make sure you do something you enjoy doing. Okay, this isn't exactly what is meant by Play in the OPT tool, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded from time to time. Play actually refers to interacting with your children, whether in playtime, reading aloud, field trips, or discussions in the car on the way to some of the summer activities described above. This is where you can get a first-hand feel (pun intended) for how your children think and process information. Do they become engrossed for hours building something? Or do they jump from one activity to another after a short amount of time? Do they describe every tiny detail when relating an event or do they focus on what was where and who was there? Do they spout off statistics or information longer than you think you can endure it? Or do they throw in some strange bit of information that seemingly has nothing to do with what you are discussing or the story you are reading? When playing a game, do your children seem to be more intent on the process, rules, and strategy, or are they more content just being together? Which is more important, the journey or the destination and outcome? Do any of your children seem to take over and direct the activities, while others stand by and are happier just following along? Now use the information you have collected when you train your children. It will help you identify their learning style. And it can help you choose a curriculum or adjust a program in a way that matches how they learn. You can also use the OPT tool when a child is having trouble with an exercise or assignment. Observe. Look to see exactly where the problem is occurring. Is it before they even start the exercise because they don't know how to start or they don't understand what they are to do? Is it over half-way through the exercise, when the problems seem to get harder or shift to a different application? Is it because they are overlooking some detail? What types of mistakes are they making? For instance, is there a pattern to the words that are being misspelled? Or the types of reading mistakes when reading aloud? Are they reading the words correctly but can't remember what they just read? Is it because they are rushing through the assignment and not showing the work? Next, play/interact. Work with them doing the exercise. Walk them through the assignment; let them take the lead and tell you what they know first. Then urge them along by giving them whatever information is missing. If they really can't figure out what to do, do it with them, showing them step-by-step what to do. Then let them try it on their own while you follow along. You may feel as if you are doing the work for them, but what you are actually doing is modeling the skill or learning method for them. Chances are what they are trying to learn is the opposite of their natural way of thinking. You are training the child how to think and building vital connections in the brain for storing and retrieving information. 754 words |
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