Learning, Playing and Interacting - Good practice in the Early Years ...

6 The National Strategies | Early Years
Learning, Playing and Interacting – Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Learning
How children learn
Knowing how children learn and develop is the bedrock of professional knowledge for confident Early
Years practitioners, and supports them in making decisions about provision, practice and adults’ roles,
which are then adjusted in the light of understanding specific children in the setting.
Messages from brain research
Neuroscientists study how the human brain develops and functions, and how human minds are
formed. Their research shows that children are highly motivated, intelligent learners, who actively
seek interactions with the people around them – from the earliest gaze of infants towards their
caregivers, to the confident child who asks ‘Will you come and play with me’ Children have ‘built-in’
exploratory tendencies, and engage all their senses to investigate and master tools and resources,
to develop their skills, and to build their knowledge and understanding of the world. The freedom
to combine resources in many different ways may be especially important for flexible cognitive
development, by enabling children to build pathways for thinking and learning, and to make
connections across areas of experience.
Theories of learning and development agree with these perspectives from brain research. Learning is
both individual and social. Young children are not passive learners – they enjoy participating in ‘handson’
and ‘brains-on’ activities. They actively drive their own learning and development, by the choices
they make, the interests they develop, the questions they ask, the knowledge they seek, and their
motivation to act more competently. Children’s choices and interests are the driving force for building
knowledge, skills and understanding: by working and playing with other people, they are constantly
learning about themselves and their social and cultural worlds. Children build positive identities through
collaborative, caring relationships with other people, by managing and taking risks, ‘having a go’,
experiencing success, developing resilience, and developing ‘mastery’ or ‘can-do’ attitudes. High-quality
provision helps children to develop positive dispositions which lay the foundations for becoming lifelong
successful learners.
Practitioners have a key role in building the right conditions for learning. Firstly and fundamentally,
adults ensure that children feel known and valued as individuals, safe and cared for. Their own rate
of development is respected, so that children are not rushed but are supported in ways that are right
for each child. Children’s time must be managed so that they have the opportunity to become deeply
involved in their activities and to follow their ideas through, including returning later to continue
their explorations or creative expressions. Adults manage the pace of activities, planning varied and
interesting new experiences to stimulate learning alongside opportunities for children to revisit, practise
or enjoy a sense of mastery. With this groundwork in place, it is then the adult’s skilled interactions which
will move learning forward.
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