By using the local area for this mapping exercise and using the students’ own experience of coming to school, Salamatu showed the students the relevance of maps and mapping symbols in helping any person find their way. This task also stimulated and interested the students because Salamatu used something familiar to extend their thinking and help them move from concrete ideas to more abstract ideas.
Recent research suggests young children learn best by actually doing things and, as they play and do activities, they build up understanding that can help them learn more complex things as they grow and mature. As children learn new things, they need and benefit from the support of those who are more expert or competent than themselves, either their peers or a competent adult or teacher. Salamatu was supporting and “scaffolding” — building up their understanding by moving them from the familiar to the less familiar and introducing new ideas at planned intervals. Using the local environment is a good strategy to engage students’ attention and interest.
Encouraging students to ask questions and giving them choices about their work are both important when you are teaching them to be creative and to solve problems. By conducting their own research on a topic of their choice, they have ownership of the problem and will develop other skills alongside learning about the topic. The work they produce could even be of interest to future employers. Now read how one teacher, Mr. Sesay, encouraged students to investigate issues related to their own local environment; to choose an area of interest and research it in their own time and in their own way.