What is Co-Learning?

All teachers are learning partners with children and work in the community to support children and families. The philosophy of education we follow often defines what co-learning means to us. All perspectives of co-learning are part of the teaching practice.

What are the practical elements of co-learning?

I will share ideas about co-learning from research and my practice as a school-age educator. Your experience and thoughts about co-learning may be different. We all have unique life experiences we bring to our work in the classroom. You may work with younger children or older children. The variables in your program will determine how you approach your co-learning relationship.

In my practice as a school-age educator, three elements define co-learning, free play, community, and construction of knowledge. All three aspects of co-learning blend together. One is not possible without the other.

Play is the foundation for our work with children.

Play is art and science. Children exchange and manipulate materials in play to bring new creative ideas to life. Children experiment with ideas and work to find answers to their questions. Educators and children learn from each other in play. As educators play with children, we engage in social interactions that help build knowledge and community. In play, we share ideas and invent processes with children to test a theory or create a work of art. All children develop understanding through engagement in activities they choose. Regular participation in activities helps us connect to the children’s work and thinking. We join the children in play as co-learners by opening our mindset to the possibilities of the work before us.

We all learn best in community.

Humans need each other. We are born with a desire to connect with other humans. In education, we construct knowledge through a process of working with others. Because of societal messaging, we may believe that learning is a competition, but individuals learn better in connection to others. In my classroom, we work side by side with the children daily and move between the role of observer, mentor, and hands-on participant. The needs of the children determine how often we move between each position. Some children want more support than others. The amount of support or co-learning we engage in with each child changes. As children become older, they increase collaborations with other children and transform our role in the classroom.

Our school is a laboratory for wonder, experimentation, and discovery.

Our classroom space is full of different projects and investigations at one time. The work of the children (play) is the foundation for learning. Educators support children by joining them in learning how to learn. Educators encourage the children’s learning journey through our active participation. In our classroom, educators move between projects to support and document learning. Co-learning is about joining the learning journey where our work with children has a direct connection to learning outcomes.

The co-learning journey is complex. The nuances of co-learning take time to master. Our openness to begin the journey is where co-learning begins. We do not need to know about co-learning to believe in its power to transform learning. We only have to be willing to try. The foundation for our development as educators directly connects to our co-learning journey. All the best memories and skills I have acquired in my teaching career developed while working with the children as a co-learner.