What does effective learning look like?
There are a number of characteristics which we use to define effective early years learning.
- Playing and exploring - engagement
We encourage our EY students to: use their intuition to explore and find solutions to problems through trial and error, experiment and build confidence in activities they are already familiar with, and show willingness to ‘have a go’ at new things.
- Active learning - motivation
The active learning characteristics are demonstrated through children enthusiastically involving themselves in activities and concentrating on the task at hand, continuing to try even when faced with adversity, and enjoying the process of achieving what they set out to do.
- Creating and thinking critically - thinking
We measure this characteristic through signs that: children are willing and engaged in coming up with their own ideas, making links between an action and its result, and being decisive as they determine how best to approach a challenge.
These characteristics underpin all our activities for young children so that we can ensure they are developing the skills they need to move successfully into more advanced teaching at primary level.