Child psychologists are taking an active part in the planning and development of After-School Programs in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines. Teachers and tutors have started their orientation with the different developmental theories of social and emotional learning from formal schools of thought like those of Piaget, Erickson, and Bandura, in order to be better equipped when dealing with children’s learning experiences.
One theory they have focused on is Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. The general idea behind the theory is that individuals learn and acquire knowledge through observation and experience with the environment. The theory also implies that most social and emotional learning are gained through observing and imitating models. Progressive schools that are in the process of developing their curriculum and K-5 After-School Programs know that teaching young school-aged kids have to go beyond the academic and must also tackle other aspects of their development (social, emotional, physiological, cognitive, and moral). That is why character education is part of most after-school curriculum across the Florida state.
There are exactly 4 processes under Bandura’s theory. The first one is attention. The process of developing attention among young children stimulates and encourages exploration and perception. Tutoring programs in Broward County and Dade County, FL, as well as After-School Programs in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines practice this process by alternating paper and pencil activities and outdoor activities. Subjecting kids to everyday desk work cannot provide enough mental and socio-emotional stimulation for the them. Giving them outdoor activities such as insect explorations or mini filed trips to the school lab are some of the ways educators can capture the attention of young learners.
The second process involves memory. The tutoring process is one way of constantly reviewing lessons learned in class, but, tutoring is also one way of embedding non-academic learning for kids for the improvement of future behavior. A story-telling activity is a non-threatening way of continuously reminding kids of good moral values and positive attitude. And since stories are symbolic and visual representations of real situations, kids tend to be more receptive to these information, rather than simply giving them phrases and words to remember. Enrichment Programs in Broward County have these story-telling sessions to teach reading and reinforce character education as well.
The third process has to do with motor development. According to the social learning theory, children learn gestures and motor reactions from their immediate environment (i. e. family members and teachers). Exceptional children who learn to paint or to play the piano by merely watching others do it is a concrete example of the link between learning and observation. Enrichment programs and After-School programs are expected to provide the needed support system for exceptional and gifted kids in order to nurture their skills. Many schools in Broward County have answered this need for a nurturing support system.
Lastly, the fourth process has to do with the concepts of incentives and motivation. This process implies that with the right amount of motivation and a healthy reward system, kids will be expected to give appropriate responses for future situations.
The Social Learning Theory is mostly applied to children with anxiety disorders and aggressive behavior. The use of this theory for problematic kids provide counselors, teachers, and tutors with the right resource for explaining negative behavior and then creating a strategy to effectively deal with the problem. Summer camps that provide intensive counseling services for troubled kids also use this theory as part of their background for interventions and psychiatric therapy sessions. Furthermore, the theory provides the basis for most current behavior-modification interventions in clinical practice.
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