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Insights | The Characteristics of Effective Learning（3）

23 Sep 2019

The focus of the characteristics of effective learning (CoEL) is on how children learn rather than what they learn i.e. process over outcome.

Underpinning the CoEL is the understanding that during their earliest years, children form attitudes about learning that will last a lifetime. Children who receive the right sort of support and encouragement during these years will be creative and adventurous learners throughout their lives. Children who do not receive this sort of support and interaction are likely to have a different attitude about learning later in life.Hence, why the supportive practitioner, and the environment they provide, need to nurture these characteristics to occur, but without forgetting that children are individuals who bring their own needs, talents and histories to the learning environment.

The characteristics of effective learning are:

Playing and exploring – engagement

Finding out and exploring
Playing with what they know
Being willing to have a go

Active learning – motivation

Being involved and concentrating
Keeping trying
Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

Creating and thinking critically – thinking

Having their own ideas Children should be given a variety of resources so that they may self-select and use their imaginations. Open-ended craft activities are an excellent way to help children to express themselves and use their imagination. For children, creativity is about the process and not always the end product that counts. Often when we plan for play activities, we have a set goal in mind that we wish the children to gain from the activity. However, children will often take the activity to another level by adding their own imaginative processes, often in ways which we had not intended. This shows that they are becoming independent and imaginative and should be encouraged where possible. Children need to be able to find ways of solving problems and to find new ways to do things. The role of the adult here is providing the right conditions to nurture ideas.

Making links Within a curriculum, themes can thread all areas together to embed the learning objectives. Children need opportunity to re-enact experiences they may have had outside of the setting, as this makes learning meaningful to them. Investigating cause and effect, testing ideas and making predictions are fundamental elements of this characteristic. Play is a key opportunity for children to think creatively, solve problems and link ideas. It is important to establish the conditions to enable rich play through the provision of space, time, flexible and open-ended resources, choice, warm and supportive relationships.

Choosing ways to do things

Children need to be given choices, opportunities and encouragement to try new things. Learning becomes meaningful once a child can take ownership of the process, rather than focussing on an outcome. If choice is not provided, investment in learning is reduced. Presenting a problem to a child and asking, ‘I wonder how……?’ stimulates problem-solving and thinking skills by inviting a child to take charge. Planning, making decisions about how to approach a task, how to solve a problem and reach a goal support critical thinking skills. Providing feedback and helping children review their own progress helps children to consider how well they are doing, if there are any problems and what level of adult intervention they may require. Failure is not a focus here; reviewing how well an approach has worked promotes a positive attitude to learning instead.

Reference：https://eyfs.info/articles.html/teaching-and-learning/characteristics-of-effective-learning-play-and-exploration-in-action-r160/

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