How do Children and Young

People Learn?

SU TL Conference

January 2015

Today ...

• Learning and teaching in schools is

changing

• Based on research on how we grow,

learn and develop

• We should reflect on this to improve

exploration of engagement with the

good news

Characteristics of secure

attachment

Able to separate from

parentBehaviour : confident

Caregiver is sensitive,

cooperative and acceptingparenting :attuned

Emotionally competent,

able to engage in

exploratory play

55% of children have a secure

attachment style

Cooperative, flexible, able

to regulate affect

Characteristics of

ambivalent attachment

May be wary of strangersBehaviour : anxious, attention

seeking, low self esteem

Intensified attachment

behaviour

parenting : inconsistent,

unreliable and insensitive

dependency and

preoccupation with others

for regulation of emotions

10% of children have an

ambivalent attachment style

Characteristics of avoidant

attachment

May avoid parents Behaviour : detached and cool

emotionally self contained parenting : emotional distance

Shows little or no

preference between parent

and stranger

20% of children have an

avoidant attachment style

Characteristics of

disorganised attachment

At age 1 shows a mixture of

avoidant and resistant

behaviours

Behaviour : aggressive, anxiety

and rage co-exist

may seem dazed or

confused

parenting : unpredictable and

abusive. May be source of

distress

At age 6 may take on

parental role

15% of children have a

disorganised attachment style

some children act as a

caregiver toward the parent

The notion of resilience

• The capacity to do well despite

adverse experience

• To “bounce back” having endured

adversity

A sensitivily laid out and consistently

managed … classroom and a warm

relationship with a responsive teacher

may do more for a child’s craving for a

secure base than elaborate efforts

around engaging in weekly one hour

sessions of therapy.

SHANARRI

Safe

Healthy

Achieving

Nurtured

Active

Respected

Responsible

Included

learningor

teaching

do youHow

learn

Multiple Intelligences

(Howard Gardner)

We are all able to know the world through

language, logical-mathematical analysis, spatial

representation, musical thinking, the use of the

body to solve problems or to make things, an

understanding of other individuals, and an

understanding of ourselves.

Learning Styles

Active engagement

Children learn by doing, thinking,

exploring, through quality

interaction, intervention and

relationships, founded on

children’s interests and abilities

across a variety of contexts

BtC 2

• Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental

role of social interaction in the development

of cognition

• Good learning is not necessarily quiet

• frequently most effective when learners have

the opportunity to think and talk together, to

discuss ideas, question, analyse and solve

problems

Social Development Theory (Lev Vygotsky)

–Johnny Appleseed

“Type a quote here.”

Learning together

• Are you sitting comfortably?

• Where are we going and how will we

know when we get there?

• Is everyone joining in?

• Don’t just pick the eager ones

Creativity & learning• Creativity improves self-esteem, motivation and

achievement

• Children who are encouraged to think creatively:

• become more interested in discovering things for

themselves

• are more open to new ideas and challenges

• are more able to solve problems

• can work well with others

• become more effective learners

• have greater ownership over their learning

Reggio Emilia

Time, and how children and adults use it, is

central to the Reggio philosophy. The rhythm

and pace of the child is always given overriding

importance . . . This means really having time

for children's thoughts and ideas, and giving

value to their work, their conversations and

their feelings by slowing down to listen to them.

On our own

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes I just sits...

A.A. Milne

How, then, can they call on the one

they have not believed in? And how

can they believe in the one of whom

they have not heard? And how can

they hear without someone

preaching to them?

Romans 10:14

Implications for our work

•build and model strong relationships

•think about the whole event

•6 periods - 6 posters

•opportunities to explore and model

acceptance

•collaboration and individuality

Something to think about…

• How do you model the words you say?

• How do you listen, suggest, contribute and question?

• How do you encourage children to talk with one another and to

share their thinking?

• How do you support children to build relationships and become

accustomed to new environments?

• How do you plan an environment and climate where children feel

safe and confident to tackle new challenges and take risks, and

where trial and error are viewed as a normal part of the learning

process?

• How do you decide what mix of activities is appropriate to meet the

stage of development and learning of the children?