5. Pedagogical approach: learning by example

This manual adopts the classic inductive approach of teaching and learning through concrete ex-amples. By studying or experiencing one or several examples, pupils may grasp a general, abstract principle or insight. This manual demonstrates the three steps that teachers need to take when teaching by example:

1. The careful selection of one or more appropri­ate examples; deciding on the best medium and method to introduce the example(s).
2. The creation of carefully moderated phases of discussion and reflection during which the pupils – using a given example – develop their general knowledge of a topic and its key con­cepts. In phases of discussion and reflection, the pupils develop their general understanding and come to grasp the key concepts that the example has demonstrated.
3. The creation of appropriate opportunities to use newly acquired knowledge and categories by applying them to new contexts (knowledge transfer).

To support the teacher in carrying out step 2, a matrix is used in all the units. This matrix ad-dresses the three dimensions pertaining to demo­cratic citizenship and children’s rights education that are important to the unit described. Key ques­tions are suggested to guide the pupil’s reflection in class. This effort of reflection on the part of the pupils is important, as learning objectives should not stay at the back of the teachers’ or pupils’ minds, but need to be expressed by the pupils in their words, as something they have understood, experienced, trained in, or wish to do in future. By sharing their insights in class, pupils will benefit from one another, as will the class community as a whole.

Processes of learning will become most powerful and effective if the pupils know why and for what they are learning certain pieces of Information, concepts and categories, skills, or modes and prin­ciples of behaviour in democratic communities. Phases of reflection and discussion should there­fore not only draw general conclusions from con­crete examples, but also address the whole pro­cess of learning. In terms of constructive learning, the pupils will become aware of their own personal approach to learning in general, and they will find out what type of learner they are, and what specific strengths and learning needs they have. Teaching in the spirit of human rights (“through”) encourages teachers to give learners the space and time to learn according to their needs. We may then be­come aware of our profiles as learners as part of our identities.

Viewed from the perspective of democratic lead­ership, the teacher should not keep the learning objectives at the back of his or her mind but share them with the pupils, which in itself turns lesson planning into an exercise in democratic decision making.

Finally, this form of meta-learning in children’s rights classes gives a model of how to teach pupils to organise their own processes of learning. In modern societies, processes of change – for ex-ample, technology, economy, globalisation or the environment – are becoming more dynamic and complex. This poses new challenges for future generations: in order to succeed in their jobs and to participate in decision making, they will engage in a lifelong process of learning, having to tackle problems no one in school can anticipate today. Our pupils therefore need to become experts in co-operative learning, project work, process assess­ment and problem solving. In this manual, we have suggested some small steps for children at the be­ginning of their lives as learners.