An Educationist and National Consultant for Accelerated Christian Education in Nigeria, Mr Muyiwa Okunlola, has advised parents to engage their children in informal learning during the current lockdown imposed to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Okunlola, who gave the advice in an interview with newsmen at the weekend in Jos said informal learning was a form of learning that occurred away from a structured formal classroom setting.
He said informal learning was in various forms that entailed coaching sessions by parents, viewing videos and making use of the internet to conduct researches and have a better understanding of a particular field.
“Parents can guide their kids in having a better perspective of a certain field in various subjects, such as science.
“The kids are left to study a certain plant and the parent helps the child to have a better understanding via the use of the internet to have a better insight and understanding of such plant,’’ the expert said.
He said this form of learning was used before the advent of the western education, as most of the learning acquired in the pre-colonial time was from the home setting. He said the lockdown was an opportunity for parents to expand the educational horizon of their children which would enable them to have a robust educational experience outside the formal learning structure.
Okunola also urged parents to think of creative ways to engage their kids, saying that children could learn various things such as cooking, practicing musical instruments, recitals and learning their dialects.