Mazur believes the purpose of education is changing. It used to be about mastering a certain amount of knowledge. But knowledge is growing and changing at such a rapid rate that it's impossible to learn it all. The key now is to find and use information, not remember and repeat it. And Mazur says the goal of educators should be to help students develop the skills to understand all the new information that will be coming at them throughout their lives. In other words, the purpose of education now should be to learn how to learn.
His presentation focused upon how social, emotional, and motivational skills are central to learning in early childhood and are foundations for school readiness.
Nevertheless, in kindergarten, children are playing for fewer than 30 minutes a day
Play advocates welcome the dollars but worry that politicians eager for tangible returns on taxpayers' investment in early education, and school officials eager for better test scores, will push for more direct instruction, an efficient way to get short-term gains in literacy and math.