1.2 Thinking and learning
Young children are very curious! They seem to be born with an eagerness to learn about the world around them. Adults often refer to children as “sponges” to highlight the way children seem to soak up experiences and knowledge in what appears to be an effortless way.
Children construct knowledge by defining, classifying, making connections and predictions, testing theories and using their imaginations. They connect existing knowledge and earlier experiences in new contexts to develop an understanding of the world around them.
In early childhood especially, learning is inextricably connected with other aspects of development. For example, how we learn to control our emotions is linked to how we learn to pay attention and problem-solve. As well, the same patterns of development happen in different areas of learning.
Read about a discussion of the patterns of development across domains.
The next clip contains examples of children’s thinking and learning. It was filmed in East Africa. Consider how the children are demonstrating thinking and learning. Are there conditions in the environments that might be supporting thinking and learning?
In the next video, a parent and child play a memory game together.
How does the parent show an interest in the child’s learning?
What can the parent do to make the game more challenging as the child’s cognitive abilities and memory skills advance?
They are clearly having fun together, why is that important?
Learning though play
Focusing on cultivating executive functioning and other skills through playful learning in these early years is an alternative and innovative way of thinking about early childhood education. Instead of focusing solely on academic skills, such as reciting the alphabet, early literacy, using flash cards, engaging with computer toys, and teaching to tests….cultivating the joy of learning through play is likely to better encourage long-term academic success. Collaboration, negotiation, conflict resolution, self-advocacy, decision-making, a sense of agency, creativity, leadership, and increased physical activity are just some of the skills and benefits children gain through play” (Yogman et al., 2018).
Children learn in many ways, but in the early years they mostly learn informally, through play and other daily activities. Children all over the world seem to naturally play, whether adults are involved or not. In the next video, notice how Pallista continues playing after her parents are no longer involved.
Is the ability to play independently (as Pallista does) a realistic expectation for all young children?
Is it something adults should encourage?
Watch the following clips where children participate actively in their learning by investigating varied materials.
What do these clips demonstrate about how children think?
What conditions in these environments support the children to focus, investigate and actively explore?
The following article from the Canadian Council on Learning provides a comprehensive overview of play and learning in early childhood.
Think about your own childhood and your memories of play. What was your favourite play activity and why? What do you think you were learning in this play? Who were the adults involved? What was their role?
How would you describe opportunities for children to play in your community? Is safety an issue or not?
The following review highlights some of the key ways that adults can support children’s learning through play.
Literacy and numeracy
Numeracy is a particular aspect of thinking and learning that is characterized by the ability to work with mathematical concepts and reason with numbers. Mathematical concepts include things like number relations (quality and quantity), measurements, computation skills, geometry, patterns, probablity and statistics. Mathematics is a language form that children acquire alongside oral language and like oral language is steeped in the cultural context children live in. Young children’s informal mathematical knowledge is often broad and complex.
Informal mathematical understanding precedes numeracy development. Young children develop informal mathematical understanding through everyday experiences in the world. Play is a very important part of this process. As described in the reading earlier on this page from the Canadian Council on Learning, adults should ensure the conditions that allow children to learn from play are in place.
Literacy is the ability to use language in all its forms of communication: listening, talking, reading, writing, music, dance, story-telling, visual arts, drama and digital media.
Everyday life experiences – speaking, listening, reading, watching, drawing and writing – are part of early literacy. Young children gradually understand that what is said can be written. Long before formal instruction in reading and writing, children build their own understanding of the purposes and functions of these activities in communicating with others.
As children transition from oral language into an understanding that print can represent experiences, ideas and knowledge, they develop a sense of narrative and the ability to make symbolic representation and actions. They are then ready to acquire reading strategies. All along, language development and literacy reinforce each other.
For most children, learning to print their name is one of the first activities in learning to print words. In the next clip, watch as Evan practices printing his own name and works hard to get the letters correct.
In the Coping and Competence module (p. 2.4), inhibitory control, working memory and mental flexibility are identified as three aspects of executive function.
How does Evan demonstrate each of these skills as he practices printing his name?
Watch this video, filmed in a rural Egyptian home, to see a mother’s involvement with her two boys as they do their homework before going out for some fun. Note the ways the mother supports her children’s reading skills and their understanding of what they have read.
Critical literacy and digital literacy are other concepts children can learn related to literacy.
The Ontario Ministry of Education (2023) defines critical literacy as the suite of skills, dispositions and strategies that enable both teachers and children to challenge texts to become critical consumers and users of information. Critical literacy includes dissecting, questioning, and reflecting to better understand inequity, injustice, and unequal power relations in text or communication (e.g., a book, website, television show, or video game) (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2023).
They explain digital literacy as “the ability to solve problems using technology in a safe, legal, and ethically responsible manner” (para 1). Digital literacy also means having strong data literacy skills and the ability to engage with emerging technologies.
Critical and digital literacy work together. Children learn to be critical of books, but also digital stories, media and more. As you read more about screen time and digital media in the section below, think about these two concepts. Later in the module you will be introduced to children’s media research and digital play, which also inform critical and digital literacy.
Screen time and digital media
Screen time is the time spent with any screen, including television, computers, and gaming or mobile devices (smartphones, tablets).
Digital media includes all content transmitted over the Internet or computer networks, on all devices” (Ponti & Canadian Paediatric Society, 2023, para 3).
Given what research tells us about how children learn and develop, what does this mean for children growing up in a media rich world? There are a number of questions to consider:
- What are the effects of digital media – all the text, audio, video, and graphics that may be viewed on computers, tablets or mobile devices?
- What about screen time – the amount of time children spend watching TV, or playing games on tablets or computers?
- How does this impact their developing and learning?
- What about the development of language, literacy and numeracy?
- Is it the impact of screen time and digital media in and of itself that we need to consider? Or is it the time NOT spent in other beneficial activities or experiences (e.g., actively playing, or interacting with caregivers or peers) that needs considering?
Although children’s access to technology varies, it is certainly a reality for many. Early childhood programs around the world have needed to explore this issue to determine potential impacts on their programs. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) published a position statement focused on potential benefits of interactive media that can include social interaction and involve active and creative use. Their Position Statement clearly distinguishes this from non-interactive media (e.g., TV watching) that typically involves passive viewing. Read the following Position Statement to learn more.
What are the potential benefits of screen time and digital media?
What are the potential risks for children’s development?
How do you feel about technology in early learning and child care programs? In what ways can it be effectively incorporated as part of children’s learning environments?
What questions do you have?
This topic will be explored further throughout this module.
