![]() (The programs used many different curriculum approaches, not just the High/ Scope plan-do-review sequence.) Across all settings, children who were given more opportunities to plan and reflect on their own activities scored higher on measures of language, literacy, social skills, and overall development. In one large national study, trained independent observers collected data on early childhood programs serving children from a wide range of socioeconomic, ethnic, linguistic, and geographic backgrounds (Epstein 1993). ![]() Supporting ResearchĮvidence establishing the importance of planning and reflection comes from studies conducted by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation and other researchers. Thus planning and reflection, when they bracket active learning, are part of an ongoing cycle of deeper thought and thoughtful application. Reflection consolidates knowledge so it can be generalized to other situations, thereby leading to further prediction and evaluation. We also help them become aware of what they learned in the process, what was interesting, how they feel about it, and what they can do to build on or extend the experience. When we engage children in reflection, we encourage them to go beyond merely reporting what they’ve done. Reflection, however, is more than memory or a rote recitation of completed activities. Teachers might ask children to remember something they learned earlier in the day or to recall an event that occurred earlier in the week. Most early childhood practitioners also recognize the importance of developing memory skills in young children. Planning thus involves deciding on actions and predicting interactions, recognizing problems and proposing solutions, and anticipating consequences and reactions. For example, they might consider what they will do, where they will do it, what materials they will use, who they will do it with, how long it will take, and whether they will need help. When we engage children in planning, we encourage them to identify their goals and consider the options for achieving them. That is, the chooser begins with a specific goal or purpose in mind that results in the choice.įirst we must differentiate real choices in which teachers offer multiple options (“What colors do you want to use in your painting?”) from pseudochoices in which teachers direct children to a limited number of adult-selected options (“Do you want to use red or blue?”) But planning goes further than selecting from open-ended choices. ![]() However, the guidelines, and in fact most early childhood programs, do not differentiate between these two activities. Department of Health and Human Services 2002) indicate that young children should have opportunities to plan and make choices. That is, the chooser begins with a specific goal or purpose in mind that results in the choice.īoth the accreditation criteria of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC 1998) and the Head Start Performance Standards (U.S. This article summarizes the research in support of these claims and offers strategies teachers and caregivers can use to encourage planning and reflection in their programs. They also promote a broad range of other academic, social, and artistic competencies. Both are thoughtful activities that encourage children to consider what they are doing and what they are learning. There is empirical and practical evidence that we can promote the development of thinking and reasoning in young children in the early years by providing two curriculum components-planning and reflection. How can adults help children exercise these capabilities? It cites research showing that metacognition-higher-level thinking and problem-solving skills-develops when children are encouraged to reflect, predict, question, and hypothesize. They are the foundation upon which children learn to make decisions, regulate their own behavior, meet complex challenges, and take responsibility for their actions.Įager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, the noted National Research Council report (2000), reminds us that “key concepts involved in each domain of preschool learning must go hand in hand with information and skill acquisition” (p. Like Tatiana and Eric, they have insight into their desires, form mental images of the past and future, and attempt to explain their behavior and that of others.Īlthough today’s early childhood educators often focus on enhancing reading and mathematics skills to meet ever increasing academic expectations, we must also remain committed to promoting broader thinking abilities. Young children ages three to six are capable of making thoughtful decisions about their behavior and keen observations about their environment (as the vignettes at left show). How Planning and Reflection Develop Young Children's Thinking Skills Graduate Professional Studies (Online Programs) Rabb School: Graduate Professional Studies Heller School for Social Policy and Management
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