By Dr. S. H. Jacob
www.shjacob.io
Author, Your Baby’s Brain, Intellect, and You
Content Writer, SmartBabies App
The Jacob Method
Let’s talk about something called “The Jacob Method” and why it’s important. But first, we need to acknowledge that our educational system has some problems. If we look at the numbers, more than 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the US every year. That means a student gives up on school every 26 seconds! Compared to other developed countries, the US ranks 22nd out of 27 in graduation rates. This makes us wonder why this is happening.
One reason is that many students don’t feel engaged in their learning. They find it hard to see the relevance of what they’re learning and how it can help them in their lives. We need to understand why students are losing interest in learning. And as parents of young children, we should care about this issue. Many young people have stopped trying to learn for various reasons.
The problem isn’t about politics, money, or how schools are run. It’s not because we lack schools, classrooms, books, computers, great teachers, or principals. While these things are important, the main issue lies in our approach to education, which is based on wrong ideas about how we learn, understand things, and create new ideas. Instead of supporting natural ways of learning, our system hinders them. Instead of encouraging critical thinking, our education system expects students to sit quietly, listen, read, memorize, and repeat information. This prevents them from truly understanding what they’re learning.
There are two different philosophies when it comes to education: empiricism and constructivism. Our current educational system is based on empiricism, which also influences the way we teach young children. Empiricism sees the learner as passive, like an empty container waiting to be filled with information from the outside world. According to this philosophy, the way to fill the container is through associating things and rewarding the learner for the right responses. The main focus is on memorizing facts and getting the right answers.
However, this approach has limitations. It is suitable for acquiring habits and learning conventional things like names, dates, and spelling rules. But it falls short when it comes to understanding scientific facts or mathematical truths. It doesn’t explain where new ideas, creativity, discovery, problem-solving, and invention come from. It doesn’t align with how humans actually learn and create meaningful knowledge.
On the other hand, constructivism offers an alternative approach called the Jacob Method. Constructivism recognizes that as parents, we play a crucial role in shaping our children’s learning experiences. We don’t want to repeat the same mistakes as our current educational system. We want to engage our children, encourage their curiosity, and foster their independence as thinkers.
The Jacob Method is based on the philosophy of constructivism, which suggests that knowledge is actively constructed by individuals through their actions and interactions with the world. It emphasizes that learning comes from doing, whether through physical actions or mental processes. The motivation to learn comes from within the learner, and meaningful learning is its own reward.
The Jacob Method draws inspiration from the work of Jean Piaget, a renowned Swiss psychologist who studied children’s development and learning. Piaget’s theories revolutionized our understanding of how children learn and construct knowledge. He emphasized the importance of hands-on experiences and mental representation in the learning process.
In summary, the Jacob Method encourages active learning, discovery, problem-solving, and creativity. It recognizes that learners are motivated intrinsically and don’t constantly need external prompts or rewards to engage in learning. By embracing this approach, we can help our children develop a love for exploration, independent thinking, and the joy of learning.
The Principles of Constructivist Education, as outlined in the text, emphasize the importance of active learning, discovery, and invention in the educational process. Here are the key principles discussed:
- Knowledge Creation: Constructivist education aims to go beyond the transmission of existing knowledge from older generations to younger ones. It encourages learners to actively acquire knowledge created by previous generations and add to it through their own exploration and discovery.
- Active Learning: Children are natural learners who actively explore, investigate, and manipulate their environment to build their understanding of the world. Knowledge is not simply given to them but created through their interactions with the world.
- Assimilation and Accommodation: Learning involves two processes – assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation occurs when new information is related to existing knowledge, while accommodation happens when encountering something new that doesn’t fit with existing knowledge, leading to the creation of new understanding.
- Mentors and Coaches: Parents and educators should act as mentors and coaches, supporting and guiding children’s natural curiosity, exploration, and invention. They should encourage independent thinking, creativity, discovery, and invention.
- Hands-on Activities: Initially, learning activities should be hands-on, allowing children to interact with the world and develop their cognitive abilities. As they grow older, they begin to manipulate ideas mentally, which leads to the development of thinking skills.
- Learning by Doing: Active methods of education recognize that learners learn best when they organize and reorganize their thoughts, building on what they already know. Learning by doing and applying knowledge in real-life situations is emphasized.
- Individuality and Social Interaction: Children learn differently, and their learning should be personalized to match their abilities and interests. Personal interaction with parents and social interaction with peers are both important for cognitive development.
- Focus on Process and Understanding: The emphasis is placed on helping children understand things for themselves rather than memorizing facts. The learning process itself, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and metacognition, is as important as the final result.
- Multiple Intelligences: The development of intelligence is promoted by matching activities and materials to a child’s stage of development, catering to their physical, moral, personal, social, and aesthetic development.
- Discovery and Invention: Constructivist education aims to foster not only the acquisition of existing knowledge but also the discovery of new things and the invention of new ideas or objects. Creativity and independent thinking are valued.
At the heart of the Jacob Method is what I’ve called the CEO Process, which stands for Construct, Expand, and Own. It is a three-step approach for guiding young children’s cognitive development:
- Construct knowledge by exploring and interacting with objects.
- Expand knowledge by relating new information to existing knowledge.
- Own knowledge by using the new knowledge to truly internalize and make it one’s own.
Overall, the principles of constructivist education and the Jacob Method prioritize active learning, discovery, and personalization, aiming to foster independent thinkers and lifelong learners.
