OUR APPROACH
Subordination of Teaching to Learning
The subordination of teaching to learning means, in short, that teaching is guided by learning. It was introduced by Dr. Caleb Gattegno with his approach to mathematics, literacy and teacher development, and detailed in his book What We Owe Children: The Subordination of Teaching to Learning.
Caleb Gattegno
ABLe uses resources and approaches that support the Subordination of Teaching to Learning to allow students’ innate learning skills to flourish. The materials we use provide criteria for students to discover the subject matter for deeper learning, and the role of the teacher is to guide students as needed.
Dr. Gattegno’s broad set of insights extended to educational solutions in first language instruction, foreign language instruction in dozens of tongues, mathematics at all levels, and supporting the learning of persons with disabilities, particularly deafness. Having founded what he described as the Science of Education, he created materials, techniques and activities that provide teachers the tools to practice his “subordination of teaching to learning,” where the focus in all subjects, he insisted, should always be placed on learning, not on teaching.
He believed learning involves the following stages, and designed teaching materials and techniques to complement these natural learning attributes.
Awareness – encountering and noticing something unknown
Exploration – experimenting through trial and error, and drawing conclusions and criteria from one’s mistakes
Transition – practicing, which leads to speed and accuracy
Mastery – taking newly formulated know-hows, insights, understanding and knowledge and applying them to further learning
More information about Dr. Gattegno’s history and body of work can be found at www.CalebGattegno.org