הוראת סיפור ×”× ×¡ המקראי ×‘×—×™× ×•×š הממלכתי בישראל - ×”××•× ×™×‘×¨×¡×™×˜×” העברית ...

that a child who has reached a certain cognitive level tends to be "caught up" in ageappropriate
material and to develop strong motivation (emotion) to delve further into
it. This desire, in turn, promotes more successful learning. Since multi-dimensional
learning demands abstract
thinking and emotional motivation, it cannot be
successfully carried out until the child has reached the appropriate cognitive level,
namely adolescence. (b) The "philosophical" school rejects the idea of a clear-cut,
stage-related development of the child`s cognition and emotions. Children can handle
certain kinds of abstract thinking
at a very young age, and their thoughts and
emotions can be encouraged and stimulated by adults. Therefore it is impossible to
predict when a child will be capable of multi-dimensional learning. The teacher may
encourage more complex learning by stimulating the child`s creativity, emotion,
curiosity, and sense of wonder.
Egan`s educational theory of learning would seem to combine aspects of both
schools of thought, though he is closer to the philosophical school. He argues that at
different stages of development, children make sense of reality in different ways, and
that the story form, a structure embraced by every human culture, is particularly
helpful in enabling the child to locate meaning in his world. Children do not
necessarily proceed from concrete to abstract thinking, but rather engage in different
kinds of abstract thinking as they grow, and adults can enhance their learning by
stimulating their emotions, curiosity, and creativity.
Members of the curricular committee may very likely find Egan`s theory
particularly relevant to the teaching of biblical miracle stories, inasmuch as it accords
great importance to "master stories", foundational stories within every culture that
contain its myths and collective memory. Several key biblical miracle stories clearly
serve as "master stories", and Egan's ideas provide a powerful model for
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