Waarom onze peuters en kleuters meer moeten spelen

Investeren in zorg en onderwijs voor peuters is economisch en sociaal gezien zeer lucratief. Maar de effecten die ons verlekkerd worden voorgespiegeld, staan of vallen bij de kwaliteit die we bieden. In Nederland valt op dat vlak nog een hoop te winnen. 

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Maintaining Sleep Habits during the Holidays Impacts Children’s Physical Activity Levels

Sleep is an important component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in children. Children who maintain recommended levels of sleep across the week, including weekends and holidays, have the most healthy and consistent levels of physical activity, according to new research.

The results, published in Preventive Medicine, also found that maintaining healthy sleep habits enabled children to engage in higher intensity activity throughout the week which also helped them fall asleep quicker. The National Sleep Foundation recommends children partake in regular physical activity to improve sleep quantity and quality.

In the current study, researchers collected sleep, BMI, and physical activity information from 1001 children, aged 10 to 12 years.

The results showed that, on weekdays, children who slept 9 hours or less were not as active and were more often overweight/obese compared to children who attained more than 9 hours of sleep. Additionally, children who maintained recommended sleep (more than 9 hours) on the weekends as well, had higher physical activity levels.

Children who engaged in weekend-catchup-sleep were even less active on the weekends. Children often tend to sleep longer on the weekends and holidays to compensate for sleep loss during weekdays. However, short sleep durations are often associated with higher BMI and lower levels of physical activity.

Parents and caregivers should make a sustained effort to enforce a regular bedtime throughout weekdays, weekends, and holidays. Irregular sleep schedules among school-aged children can have a variety of repercussions, such as increased daytime sleepiness, academic difficulties, moodiness, and behavioral problems.

So, while the weekends and holidays are a time for enjoyment and family time, be sure your child is still getting a good night’s sleep.

Bron: http://neuronetlearning.com/blog/maintaining-sleep-habits-during-the-holidays-impacts-childrens-physical-activity-levels/

Children’s Test Scores are Mostly Determined by Genetics

The degree to which students’ test scores differ is largely determined by genetics, according to new research published in PLoS ONE. Students’ school environment, including the actions of their teachers and peers, had little effect on their academic achievement compared to the students’ genes.

However, this is not to say that academic achievement is entirely pre-determined, nor that environmental factors don’t play a role in students’ educational outcomes, but rather children’s genetic predispositions affect learning abilities.

In the study, researchers compared test scores of over 11,000 identical and non-identical 16 year old twins. Identical twins share 100% of their genes, whereas non-identical twins (or fraternal twins) share around half of their genes. The researchers assumed that if the identical twins had test scores that were more alike than those of the non-identical twins, the difference in the test scores is due to genetics, rather than the twins’ environment.

Overall, the researchers found that genetics explained around 58% of the differences in the students’ test scores for English, Mathematics, and Science. Additionally, 29% of the difference in these core subject scores was explained by environments, such as schools, families, and households.

An important implication of the study offers a new explanation as to why and how children differ in their test performance and abilities to learn. Genetics help to explain the differences between individuals and why some children struggle with learning early on – and perhaps continue to struggle with learning throughout their academic careers.

Thus, teachers and administrators should be mindful of children’s individual needs and  abilities in order to improve educational achievement.

Bron: http://neuronetlearning.com/blog/childrens-test-scores-are-mostly-determined-by-genetics/

Finland is niet het beste jongetje van de klas

Nu het grote internationale PISA-onderzoek naar de kwaliteit van het onderwijs weer is gepubliceerd, zal de traditionele lofzang op het Finse onderwijsmodel weer klinken. Maar dat is niet helemaal terecht. Als je tenminste vindt dat leerlingen het ook leuk mogen hebben op school.

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Afbeelding en tekst zijn afkomstig van https://decorrespondent.nl/home

Music Education Gives Even High Achievers an Edge in Academic Performance

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” – Confucius

Musical training equips students with the foundational abilities to learn and develop greater cognitive skills compared to children with no musical training. The results of a recent study, published in Behavioural Brain Research, further document how music education benefits students by showing how students who practice music achieve higher grades in core academic subjects – even among high performing students.

The participants in the study consisted of students ages 14-17 years old enrolled in a secondary school. Each participant belonged to an academic honor’s program due to their high GPA and academic performance.

At this particular high school, music courses were required during the first two years of students’ school curriculum. Over the third, fourth and fifth years, music courses were optional and students had to choose between painting and sculpture, dramatic art, or music.

During the first two years of schooling, students’ academic performance was similar in this highly selective program; however, differences in students’ grades emerged in later years between students who continued to enroll in music classes compared to students who had not chosen music as an optional course.

Students who continued with their musical training had higher grades and test results in math, science, physics, English, history, chemistry, and Spanish compared to students who no longer selected music as a course of study.

The findings demonstrate that despite equally high initial achievements, students who continued to enroll in musical courses outperformed their academically equivalent peers. Musical training, therefore, further facilitated children’s overall scholastic success.

Musically trained children are shown to have greater auditory, phonological, and working memory skills. And so, whether your child is ahead or behind, enrolling your son or daughter in music classes at a young age and encouraging them to continue in those classes could help give them an edge in primary and secondary school.

Bron: http://neuronetlearning.com/blog/music-education-gives-even-high-achievers-an-edge-in-academic-performance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=music-education-gives-even-high-achievers-an-edge-in-academic-performance

Meer vrijheid voor leraren in kleuteronderwijs om tekorten tegen te gaan

We stevenen af op een enorm lerarentekort in 2025. Volgens Erica Ritzema en Elly de Wildt moet het onderwijs grondig omgegooid worden om het voor leraren werkbaar en interessant te houden. Zij richten zich vooral op het kleuteronderwijs waar volgens hen beter voor opgeleid moet worden en minder regels en prestatiedruk moeten worden opgelegd.

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Docenten en experts uiten kritiek op rekentoets

Leraren voelen zich niet erg betrokken bij de invoering van de rekentoets. Ook hebben ze er, net als veel deskundigen, veel kritiek op. “Het leger van rekenvernieuwers laat een slagveld achter in het primair onderwijs. Dit giftige medicijn willen ze nu op middelbare scholen aanbieden”, aldus docent Karin den Heijer, wiskundelerares op het Rotterdamse Erasmiaans Gymnasium over de rekentoets in het voortgezet onderwijs.

Dat bleek gisterenmiddag tijdens het rondetafelgesprek in de Tweede Kamer. Daar lieten deskundigen hun mening over de ontwikkelingen rondom de rekentoets horen. Ook leraren uit het voortgezet onderwijs, het basisonderwijs en het middelbaar beroepsonderwijs waren aanwezig.

Toetscircus
Opvallend was de kritiek op 'het toetscircus' in Nederland, maar ook op de inhoud van de rekentoets. De vraagstelling zou te suggestief zijn en het niveau te laag. Emeritus-hoogleraar wiskunde Jan van de Craats, trapte als eerste af en noemde de vragen ‘gekunsteld en absurd’ nadat hij zelf de toets had gemaakt. “Die toets moet van tafel”, zei hij tijdens het gesprek. Ook riepen de meeste leraren op om de beste methode vooral aan scholen zelf over te laten.

Vanaf 2013-2014 is de rekentoets al verplicht in het eindexamenjaar van het voortgezet onderwijs. Tot 2014-2015 kunnen leerlingen niet zakken als ze de toets niet halen. Eerder maakte staatssecretaris Dekker van Onderwijs al bekend dat het cijfer voor rekenen op een bijlage bij de cijferlijst wordt geplaatst, zolang het nog geen onderdeel is van de slaag/zakregeling bij het eindexamen. Dit was een wens van de Tweede Kamer.

De hoorzitting en de kritiek op de rekentoets waren voor D66-Kamerlid Paul van Meenen aanleiding om het debat hierover te willen heropenen. “We doen anders geen recht aan de hoeveelheid informatie die we hebben gekregen.” 

Bron: http://www.aob.nl/default.aspx?id=12&article=50085

RTL Nieuws: "De Vrije School wordt alsmaar populairder..."

De Vrije School wordt alsmaar populairder. Dat blijkt uit het stijgende aantal leerlingen dat zich aanmeldt. En die stijging is opvallend omdat op andere scholen in ons land, het aantal aanmeldingen daalt.

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Bron: http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/editienl/laatste-videos-editienl/vrijeschool-iets-voor-uw-kind