Collaborative and Interactive learning is exactly what it sounds like. It is a learning approach which is done together. By involving parents and children together in the learning process, you create an environment of cooperation where mutual learning and familial growth and development is the natural outcome. One of the most empowering results for the family in this approach is that it encourages young learners to take a commanding role in their own educational journey, as it allows students to determine and take responsibility for their own learning experience. It empowers the student to take the active role in what it is they wish to learn and together, create the learning experience in true collaboration with their parent/s. It gives them the very real sense that their destiny is in their own hands.
Collaboration in the learning process provides children with a hands-on approach to education, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while also fostering creativity and wonderment. This kind of approach not only promote cognitive development, but through the consultative process of creating their own learning experiences, and then living them together, it also strengthens the bond between parent and child. By participating in activities together, parents can gain a better understanding of their child's deepest interests and needs, and feel more confident in supporting their educational and personal growth in their life-path.
Multigenerational learning is a fantastic extra-dimensional aspect of collaborative learning that involves family members of all ages. Grandparents, parents, and children can share their knowledge and experiences, creating a supportive and dynamic learning environment. This kind of learning goes both ways, as children, parents and grandparents can share their unique insights on the world, enriching the overall experience of the way the family sees themselves and the world around them. Collaborative and Interactive Learning are styles that mesh well with Homeschooling, Unschooling, Worldschooling, and Nature-Schooling.
Holistic Collaborative Learning for Child Development
Holistic learning considers the whole child and incorporates various learning styles and techniques to accommodate individual differences. It recognises that education is not just about academics but just as much about emotional, social, physical and even spiritual development. In-The-Moment-Inspiration-Led-Learning, allows parents and children to be inspired by their surroundings as the catalyst for what they are going to learn in the day. This can be as simple as taking a walk in nature and utilising the experience as an opportunity to learn about the world around you and how it practically relates to you and your family’s experiences in life. This approach to education and learning can produce profoundly transformative experiences for a family learning about itself and the world around them. Experiential learning, allows children to learn by doing and actively engaging in real-life situations. This again can promote critical thinking and problem solving skills, all while creating a fun and engaging learning environment, where what is learned has personal significance and relevance to the learner. Both of these styles of learning are enhanced when a collaborative level of personalisation is added to tailor the educational experience based on the child’s personal input and taking into account a child's unique strengths and interests. By incorporating these styles of learning with a family-centred approach to education, a family elevates the learning process from something that is done in school by children alone, to a transcendent family experience of life-long learning, done together.
