“Learning experiences that advance young children’s knowledge and skills occur at home, in child care settings and kindergartens as well as in school. “Increasing the educational aspect of learning through play-based programs will especially benefit children who struggle in their first years of school,” says Professor Tayler. “Because I enjoy it, I find it easy to use cooking as a vehicle for introducing concepts to my girls such as colour, numbers, recognising words and, in social terms, sharing and cooperation.”Īlthough intentional teaching is now practised across many childcare centres and kindergartens, and was embedded in the Victorian government’s early years learning framework in 2009, the educational function and purpose of early childhood programs it is still relatively unknown in the general population.Ĭommon beliefs about child care programs still focus on socialisation and workplace-support benefits, and under-recognise the educational benefits.
Not least of which is knowing what will best secure their happiness, their ability to socialise well and in a kindly way with other children their age, and maximise the likelihood of success in their future life. “It’s actually quite easy to incorporate some intentional teaching into everyday activities with the girls,” says Ms Donald, “and reassuring too. Only a relatively recent graduate, Ms Donald became aware of the methods of intentional teaching during her tertiary studies and teaching practice, and now incorporates its general principles into her interaction and the conversations she has with her children. Karen Donald incorporates intentional teaching principles when reading to her daughters Ella (left) and Iona. Cooking is one of her favourite pastimes, and one she likes to share with her daughters. Karen Donald is a primary teacher and mother of two girls, Ella (four) and Iona (nearly two). “Intentional teaching requires the adult to be aware of the individual child’s understanding and capabilities, to actively listen, and engage each child in back and forth conversation, nudging them to extend their knowledge and skills.” What the E4Kids study has demonstrated is that the knowledge and skills children develop across several years before school are crucial to their development and progress after they enter school. The first and largest of its kind in Australia, researchers are due to report their findings at the end of this year.Ĭonducted in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and the Queensland Department of Education and Training, it has followed and tracked a group of more than 2600 three and four year olds in a range of settings, from childcare – both home and centre-based – to kindergarten, preschool, and through to the early years of primary school. “Children need to be receiving more of an educational experience in early childhood education and care programs than was previously thought.”Į4Kids is a five-year research study funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. “Within play-based approaches that support children’s learning, the E4Kids study provided evidence that what we call intentional teaching makes a significant contribution to the learning and development of children,” says Professor Tayler. Professor Collette Tayler is lead researcher of the E4Kids longitudinal research study into fundamental questions about Australian early childhood education programs – questions that, to date, have not been studied firsthand. “The sand’s only half way through, but could you take your turn now?”Ī conversation like this, which brings concepts of mathematical ratios to an everyday activity like baking a cake, beautifully illustrates how ‘intentional teaching’ can be incorporated, within play or a more structured activity.Ĭollette Tayler, Professor and Chair of Early Childhood Education and Care at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne and lead researcher on the E4Kids study, says that such interaction – giving context and depth to everyday activities – is vital to children’s development. “How long do you think you’ve been doing it?” her mother responds. “It’s still sticky Mum,” she throws over her shoulder. Ella, perched rather precariously on a kitchen stool, is stirring something in a bowl with a child-size wooden spoon and an oversized apron.
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