Types of Knowledge
We maintain a very low student to teacher ratio at The Attic, typically averaging 8 to 1. This allows us to work closely with students and to know our students very well. At The Attic our work with children is informed by careful attention to the different types of knowledge and how learners "come to know" in different parts of the curriculum.
Social Knowledge: Must be told/taught, or transmitted, but will be learned more effectively if it is meaningful and seen as useful to the learner. Thus we seek to create authentic contexts for active learning. (This kind of derived knowledge is simple to test and measure, yet easy to forget. It is even possible to "know" this kind of knowledge without understanding it! It is the focus of the psychometric approach to education.)
Physical Knowledge: Children need ample time to explore the physical world. No one can do this for them. Physical knowledge forms the basis for logical-mathematical thinking. Psychometric approach usually doesn't have time for this. It is seen as frivolous "play" and only allowed in preschool or Kindergarten classrooms.
Logical-Mathematical Knowledge: This is developed or constructed within the mind of the learner. Physical knowledge, work with objects, forms the basis for logical-mathematical knowledge. (This fundamental, yet more difficult to test and measure, thus tends to be neglected by a psychometric approach to education.)
