Time after time our team hears the same thing from children attending our triannual camps and school programme. And that is how much more they learn during their time with us. Be it music class, arts and crafts or reading practice...they get so much more out of getting involved and interacting with teachers and other classmates alike. And this is especially true of the children with pre-existing learning difficulties. Instead of trying to learn in a traditional classroom with little support, our ‘learning-by-doing’ approach gives them the opportunity to learn in a supportive and caring environment.
Fast forward to our most recent camp last month! During the week-long retreat every child was encouraged to have a go at each of the activities on offer. Through active participation each child seemed more engaged and appeared to absorb and remember what they had learned much more easily. And in both the classroom and field based activities they seemed to learn from each other as well as the teachers. This seems to have also been noticed by the Whitby School in Connecticut who have found “that play can help enrich learning and develop key skills such as inquiry, expression, experimentation and teamwork”. It was for this reason we offered a specific variety of activities using our ‘learning-by-doing’ approach during the camp.
Then there is our after-school programme in disadvantaged communities like Tambaya and Korogocho. In these poverty-stricken areas where the pressure to drop out of education is the greatest, our approach has worked spectacularly well. The children who have participated in this education initiative have spoken about how they have benefited from the personalised approach that ‘learning-by-doing’ provides them. In fact, according to Lifehack, “the personal connection is more important as it encourages exploration and curiosity from learners”. And in the long-run this method has encouraged scores of children to remain in school for longer, which has given them a fighting chance of breaking the cycle of poverty they have experienced for their entire lives to-date!
Find out more about our work here.