Evaluation of the Steiner Educational Model
The Steiner education model reflects a number of effective pedagogies in which enhance children's learning experience within the given learning environment. The below table (Figure 1.2) evaluates a number of elements within the Steiner model, against a specific criteria followed by providing evidence to show how the criteria is reflected within the model.
ABOVE: Figure 1.2 showing elements of the Steiner model evaluated against a specific criteria.
The Steiner Educational Model is evidently effective in its philosophies of education. One aspect that is particularly notable is the idea of children engaging in rich tasks. In a classroom, this would be effective for a number of reasons. Firstly, a wide-range of curriculum areas can be covered in one rich task; hence why it is referred to as rich. This ultimately leads to students learning more that one skill or concept from more than one curriculum area. This is beneficial to teachers as well because due to the breadth of curriculum; teachers need to plan and implement learning experiences in the classroom that draw on more than one area of the curriculum just to cover what needs to be covered. Often extra-curricular activities and holidays, for example take up extra time and therefore rich tasks allow teachers to teach Mathematics in English, English in Science and so on. Rich tasks also allow students to grow and learn at their own pace. One of the benefits in this prospect is that children develop their capacity to be self-regulating learners; thus ultimately becoming independent learners.