Grade School
Steiner/
Waldorf differentiates between skills needing regular practice (foreign
languages, music, maths, spelling, etc.) and the introduction of the new
content. New experiences or
teaching content are often best introduced after a period during which the
assimilation of previously taught material can occur. Acquiring new skills and practicing them until they become
ability are two different processes requiring different rhythms.
Rhythm still remains a key principle adapted in the Lower Grades and is reflected in a process of forgetting and remembering. Main lessons are taken in a period of concentration on a given topic, say 3-4 weeks, this is then dropped and allowed to rest before explicitly raised to consciousness again later. Experience shows a significant ‘settling’ effect, during which knowledge becomes faculty. This can be recalled at a later stage and built upon in a subsequent main-lesson. The ‘re-membering’ or re-integrating of personal experience into a wider context is an important part of the learning process.
The nature of memory itself undergoes metamorphosis, evolving from situational, reflex memory to abstract memory. Steiner Waldorf draws strongly on these different memory types.
Situational memory is strengthened by healthy routine in the younger classes, rhythmical memory is cultivated by such oral work as learning multiplication tables, number bonds, poems, proverbs, songs and foreign language vocabulary by heart. Active recall is a major skill practiced daily in most lessons, as is the remembering and reviewing of complex shared situations. Good memory is based on the individual forming a strong bond of identification to his/her experiences. This is best achieved by engaging the pupils’ interest and stimulating their feeling response.
The other key to memory is context. All knowledge needs to be bedded in a context meaningful to the pupil. Imaginative teaching is crucial in the sense that pupils are enabled to imagine or form mental pictures in relation to what is being taught. Lack of tension is also a help to activate memory, and the teacher attempts to create a mood of relaxed awareness in the class.
In the Lower Grades, main lessons (math, language, nature studies/science, etc.) and in the subject lessons where appropriate, three broad phases of learning can be identified and integrated. Stage one generally takes place over one day- the first day. Stage two usually occurs on the next day-the second day. The third stage, or phase, may take place over the following days, weeks or, in some cases, years, since the guiding aim of the third stage is to explore and consider concepts that are not fixed and finished, but fluid and alive.
By focusing on concepts that are unfinished and organic, the pupils have the time and the space to make them their own through a process of digestion, assimilation and growth. In this manner, the lesson content can be understood by the individual in a differentiated and meaningful way. The teaching is thus transformed into learning.
Rhythm still remains a key principle adapted in the Lower Grades and is reflected in a process of forgetting and remembering. Main lessons are taken in a period of concentration on a given topic, say 3-4 weeks, this is then dropped and allowed to rest before explicitly raised to consciousness again later. Experience shows a significant ‘settling’ effect, during which knowledge becomes faculty. This can be recalled at a later stage and built upon in a subsequent main-lesson. The ‘re-membering’ or re-integrating of personal experience into a wider context is an important part of the learning process.
The nature of memory itself undergoes metamorphosis, evolving from situational, reflex memory to abstract memory. Steiner Waldorf draws strongly on these different memory types.
Situational memory is strengthened by healthy routine in the younger classes, rhythmical memory is cultivated by such oral work as learning multiplication tables, number bonds, poems, proverbs, songs and foreign language vocabulary by heart. Active recall is a major skill practiced daily in most lessons, as is the remembering and reviewing of complex shared situations. Good memory is based on the individual forming a strong bond of identification to his/her experiences. This is best achieved by engaging the pupils’ interest and stimulating their feeling response.
The other key to memory is context. All knowledge needs to be bedded in a context meaningful to the pupil. Imaginative teaching is crucial in the sense that pupils are enabled to imagine or form mental pictures in relation to what is being taught. Lack of tension is also a help to activate memory, and the teacher attempts to create a mood of relaxed awareness in the class.
In the Lower Grades, main lessons (math, language, nature studies/science, etc.) and in the subject lessons where appropriate, three broad phases of learning can be identified and integrated. Stage one generally takes place over one day- the first day. Stage two usually occurs on the next day-the second day. The third stage, or phase, may take place over the following days, weeks or, in some cases, years, since the guiding aim of the third stage is to explore and consider concepts that are not fixed and finished, but fluid and alive.
By focusing on concepts that are unfinished and organic, the pupils have the time and the space to make them their own through a process of digestion, assimilation and growth. In this manner, the lesson content can be understood by the individual in a differentiated and meaningful way. The teaching is thus transformed into learning.
