Building The Ambition National Practice Guidance On Early Learning

building the ambition national practice guidance on early learning and childcare section 7 putting pedagogy into practice title

Building the Ambition
National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare
Section 7 Putting pedagogy into practice
Title of Session: Help me find out more about my world
Time allocation: 60 minutes approximately
Focus:
To explore how staff can promote curiosity, inquiry and creativity
with toddlers.
Preparation:
Read section 7.4.3 of Building the Ambition
Copies of questions and photographs
Flipchart and pens
Leader’s notes:
Please try to encourage discussion that reflects the capacity toddlers
have for learning rather than having a focus on resources.
The purpose of this activity is to explore how staff can promote
curiosity, inquiry and creativity with toddlers. It would be useful to
support staff to present their ideas in whatever creative way they
would like.
When participants have reflected on the questions, note key areas for
promoting toddlers’ curiosity, creativity and inquiry on the
flipchart. Refer participants to Section 7.4.3 for further reading.

A focus on toddlers – what do they need?
Participant activity.
Promoting curiosity, inquiry and creativity with toddlers.
Please read the following extract:
Children are born curious and with an inquiring nature. All children
need access to well thought out experiences which will help them
develop their inquiry skills to be successful and competent learners
Inquiry is about being curious and persistent. For young children it
is about finding out things for yourself and being able to come to a
self-satisfying answer often with the gentle support from a key
person. It allows a child to appreciate when something actually has
been learned and to know this for themselves. The sense of achievement
in inquiry learning is a key motivator to learn more.
Creativity sits alongside inquiry and problem solving. Being creative
is not just about painting and model making or making music, although
these are highly important for children, but also includes reasoning
out, testing and solving problems, putting things together and taking
them apart and figuring out how things work. Early mathematics and
numeracy are closely interlinked with inquiry and creativity and is
best achieved in practical meaningful contexts for children where they
make sense of the
world about them.
Building the Ambition
Activity 1
Think about what your understanding and experience of promoting
curiosity, inquiry and creativity is. Note down key points from your
discussion and share with others.
What activities do you enjoy where you get to be creative and curious?
How do you feel when you get absorbed in a task where you are
exploring how things work or creating something new?
Often, when we are being creative we can be completely absorbed in
what we are doing. Has anyone ever interrupted you when you have felt
like this? How did it feel?
Activity 2
Now think about your own setting
Can you think of any objects that have fascinated children as they
investigate, try to take them apart or figure out how they work?

When and how does your setting support children to be creative and
curious?

How could the following environments support creativity, curiosity and
inquiry for toddlers?



What works well in your setting?
What changes would you make following your discussions?
Take a moment to note down for yourself what changes (if any) you
would like to make back in your setting.
BTA Training Materials: Promoting curiosity, inquiry and creativity
with toddlers