Central to an effective Early Years setting is an understanding that we are building strong foundations that will support children to thrive throughout their entire lives. For with the right kind of challenge and support, young children can quickly grow into motivated and creative thinkers. It is equipping them with the skills of ‘learning to learn’ that will have the most impact on their future, right through to adulthood and even old age.

So it is most important that we have a clear understanding of our role in the Early Years setting. There is now a significant body of research evidence which can help us understand the different effects of direct teaching and spontaneous exploration. In one experiment, one group of young children were shown a toy and directly taught how to make one part of it make a sound. With a different group the teacher showed the toy and pretended to explore it and be surprised when it moved and made a noise. Although both groups of children were encouraged to explore further, the children who had been directly taught a move, focussed on copying that one action. Whereas the children who saw the teacher model how to explore went on to discover all the other hidden features of the toy.

Skilful, tuned-in adults have a huge impact when they model how to learn, rather than just focus on what there is to learn. This invites children to be our partners as everyday we are learning something new together; and it turns the classroom into an environment alive with curiosity and wonder for us all.

For ideas and advice on how you might balance direct teaching with open ended explorations in your setting please get in touch.

To read the research article referenced above in full, please find it here.