viernes, 17 de julio de 2009

People who contributed to the Analysis of Literature for Children

KIERAN EGAN



In 1942, Ireland, a very revolutionary man in terms of education was born. He was conceived under the name of Kieran Egan, someone who gradually could make his own conclusions about how to establish the best condition for learning.

He received educational formation in England, and studied history in 1966 and also got a teaching certificate at the University of London. Then he moved to the United States where he went on studying obtaining a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education at Cornell University. He published an untold number of works including books and articules not only as an author but also as an editor and co-editor. The most famous are“Teaching as Story Telling: an alternatiive approach to teaching and curriculum in the elementary school”(1989), “Imagination in Teaching and Learning” (1992), “The Educated Mind: How cognitive tools shape our understanding” (1997) and”Teaching literacy:engaging the imagination of new readers and writers” (2006).

This author proposed a new approach for learning giving importance to the historical background every human being has and supporting that our minds have a natural development of understanding which is manifested through a process formed by four stages that built upon each other: mythic(the mythical accounts that helps to comprehend the world thruogh stories) , romantic(when someone discovers the relationship between what was told and his/her own experience), philosofic(when person organizes the knowledge that carries with him/herself taking into consideration a logical model scheme), ironic(has to do with details a person can modify in order to improve certain habits already incorporated).

As from these features he expanded his explanation adding that this cognitive development could not be carried out without the stimulation, use and development of cognitve tools(the characteristics of the mind that makes understandable the world that surrounds us) , specially during the earlier stages; the tools can take form of stories, metaphors, rhyme and rhythm, vivid images and jokes involving two components, imagination and literacy with a mixture of hopes, fears, passions,wonders, fantasy, magic, justice and the appreciation of the good and the evil.

A final point he emphazises has to do with the educational purposes teachers should bear in mind, that underlies his theory as well. They are:-To cover the need of academic education-To create an enviroment in which student could develop their learning as autonomus learners, and -To allow students could develop social interaction.

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario