When you are teaching young children, you are also preparing young minds for the future. Teaching young children goes beyond following a set curriculum or offering help when needed. It involves deliberate planning and thoughtful interactions by educators to foster children's development.

Intentional teaching is used in early childhood education, where educators deliberately plan their teaching to achieve specific learning outcomes for children.

They thoughtfully consider how to interact, ask questions, and set up the environment to extend children’s thinking and skills.

In contrast to traditional passive methods, intentional teaching takes a proactive role where educators actively participate in children’s play, ask open-ended questions, and model behaviors to help children learn important concepts.

In this blog, let’s understand intentional teaching, explore strategies to implement it, and compare them with traditional methods. We’ll also discuss the educator’s role in purposeful planning and creating learning environments to support children’s optimal growth. So, get ready to dive in. 

Definition and Significance of Intentional Teaching in Early Childhood Education

Intentional teaching involves educators deliberately considering how their actions and interactions influence children's learning. By observing children's interests and abilities, educators plan tailored experiences, questions, and activities to advance their development. Instead of letting children play freely, intentional teaching maximizes every opportunity for positive developmental impact.

Contrast with Traditional Teaching Methods: Proactive Vs Passive Approach

Traditional early education primarily uses a passive approach, where educators observe children’s independent play and intervene only if problems arise. In contrast, intentional teaching has educators actively joining children's activities. 

They scaffold higher-order thinking by demonstrating new skills and asking questions that challenge children’s understanding. Instead of just supervising play, intentional educators actively guide learning through modeling, questioning, and hands-on interactions.

Role of Purposeful Planning and Creating Suitable Learning Environments

Effective intentional teaching requires careful planning. Educators must understand each child’s interests and abilities to create appropriate challenges. They introduce new concepts, skills, and vocabulary through meaningful play. The learning environment is intentionally designed to inspire exploration, creativity, and curiosity across various developmental domains. Purposeful planning and enabling environments fully support each child’s optimal growth.

Now that we’re clear about the basics, let’s move on to understand the foundational concepts of intentional teaching in depth.

Foundational Concepts of Intentional Teaching

Foundational concepts of intentional teaching revolve around understanding and addressing each child's unique needs, interests, and strengths. Intentional teaching aims to develop the whole child through adaptive, interactive, and purposeful educational practices.

1. Focus on Children’s Strengths, Interests, Ideas, and Needs

Intentional teaching means focusing on each child as an individual. Teachers pay close attention to what children like, what they are good at, what they think about, and what they need help with. 

Lessons and activities should build on their strengths and interests to keep children engaged. Teachers also encourage children to share their ideas.

1. Encouraging Emergent and Planned Experiences to Extend Comprehension

Intentional teaching uses both planned and spontaneous learning times. Teachers carefully prepare some activities to teach certain things. But they also go with children’s unexpected interests or questions that come up along the way. 

In planned and unplanned learning, teachers challenge children’s thinking with open-ended questions. They give children tools and information to take their understanding further.

1. Including Families in the Learning Process

Including families in the learning process is crucial for intentional teaching. Educators collaborate with families to gain insights into each child's interests, skills, and cultural background. By maintaining open communication and involving families in classroom activities, teachers create a cohesive learning environment that extends beyond the classroom. 

This partnership enhances children's development by connecting home and school experiences, ensuring that learning is continuous, relevant, and supportive of each child's growth.

Alright, it’s time for us to discuss strategy. Intentional teaching requires to be implemented strategically. So, keep reading to explore some strategies to help you make the most of your next session. 

Also Read: Effective strategies for positive parenting

Key Strategies for Intentional Teaching

By intentionally designing the learning environment and interactions, educators maximize every opportunity to support and enhance children's development across various domains.

1. Challenging: Extending Knowledge and Skills Using Provocations for Learning

Extend knowledge and skills by incorporating provocations. For example, placing natural materials like rocks and leaves on the sensory table sparks curiosity and encourages problem-solving through open-ended questions like, “What do you think would happen if we put the wet leaves in the sunny spot?”

1. Collaborating: Allowing Child-Led Learning and Community Involvement

Encourage child-led learning and community involvement. Activities like painting a mural of the neighborhood or building an obstacle course foster teamwork and social skills. Involve family and community members to share their skills and knowledge.

1. Encouraging: Supporting Comments to Motivate and Encourage Persistence

Support children with motivating comments. For example, if a child is struggling with a puzzle, saying, “I like how you’re concentrating on finding the edge pieces first,” boosts their confidence and persistence by acknowledging their efforts and progress.

1. Explaining: Clarifying Concepts and Ideas for Children

Clarify concepts and ideas. Demonstrate steps and explain techniques during activities, such as cutting or gluing during crafts, to help children understand expectations and build knowledge.

1. Listening: Promoting Child-Led Conversations and Responsive Engagement

Intentional teachers are skilled listeners. They promote child-led conversations and responsive engagement. Follow children’s cues and interests, like discussing dinosaurs if they bring it up during play, to create trusting relationships and tailor future planning.

1. Making Connections: Facilitating Understanding of Relationships and Inconsistencies

Facilitate understanding of relationships and inconsistencies. For example, draw links between material changes in a science experiment and broader concepts like states of matter, helping children recognize patterns and transfer learning across contexts.

1. Modeling: Demonstrating Skills for Practice and Mastery

Demonstrate desired skills and behaviors. Show proper techniques, like holding a paintbrush or mixing colors, and model social-emotional skills such as turn-taking, to provide children with examples to follow.

1. Providing Choices and Learning Opportunities: Encouraging Autonomy

Encourage autonomy by offering meaningful choices. Set up activity stations with open-ended materials and allow children to explore freely, making independent decisions and extending learning through natural conversations.

1. Questioning: Using Open-Ended Questions for Problem-Solving

Use open-ended questions to challenge children’s thinking. Ask questions like, “What do you think would happen if...” or “How could we...” to encourage critical thinking and problem-solving during activities.

1. Reflecting: Guiding Reflection on Learning to Build on Prior Learning

Guide reflections on learning to build on prior knowledge. After activities, engage children in discussions about what they found interesting or challenging, helping them connect new information to existing knowledge.

1. Researching: Gathering Information for Problem-Solving

Support children’s natural curiosity by guiding research. Look up information in books or online, and encourage explorations, like searching outside for examples, to develop skills in information gathering and critical thinking.

1. Scaffolding: Supporting Next Steps Based on Children’s Needs

Provide tailored support based on children’s needs. Break down tasks into smaller steps and gradually involve children more until they can do it independently, ensuring they build confidence and progress to higher levels of competence.

Intentional teaching employs varied strategies to maximize learning opportunities. Educators thoughtfully challenge children, foster collaboration, encourage, explain concepts, listen actively, and draw connections. They model skills, offer meaningful choices, ask questions, facilitate reflection, support research, and scaffold learning. These methods keep children engaged and support their optimal development, helping them grow as self-motivated, capable individuals. 

Now, let’s move ahead and look at some intentional teaching practices and interactions. 

Intentional Teaching Practices and Interactions

 

Intentional teaching involves carefully planning interactions and activities to support children’s learning and development. Here are some key practices and interactions used in intentional teaching:

1. Positioning Objects and Materials to Encourage Participation

When setting up the classroom, educators carefully consider where to place materials like art supplies, books, or toys. Putting materials in certain areas helps guide children to specific activities and encourages them to participate. 

For example, placing paper and crayons on a table signals that the area is for drawing. This makes it easier for children to choose an activity and join in.

1. Scheduling Time for Balanced Activities Based on Learning Needs

Educators create a schedule for the day that divides time between activities like outdoor play, art projects, group story time, etc. The schedule is based on children’s age groups and individual needs. 

It aims to balance active and quiet individual and group activities. This helps ensure children get a good mix of learning through play, physical exercise, creative expression, social interaction, and other skills.

1. Facilitation of the Learning Process Through Resourceful Use

Educators facilitate learning by setting up the classroom with interesting materials, toys, books, and activities. They observe children at play to understand their interests. Educators then find ways to incorporate these interests into the activities and lessons. 

For example, if a child likes dinosaurs, the educator might add dinosaur books and toys to spark learning about science or support their literacy and language development.

1. Strategic Positioning to Support Learning

Educators consciously position themselves around the classroom based on where children need support. 

They may float between groups, sitting back to observe children’s independent play or problem-solving while being available to assist when needed. Educators also position themselves near children who need extra encouragement to participate.

1. Effective Grouping for Learning

Educators group children thoughtfully for certain activities based on their skills, interests, and what they can learn from others. 

For example, grouping children of varying abilities for a puzzle activity allows them to assist each other. It also encourages cooperation and collaboration.

1. Use of Descriptive Language to Enhance Sensory Experiences

Educators use rich language when reading stories or describing activities to help children visualize and engage their senses. 

They may describe how something feels, smells, tastes, or sounds to enhance children’s sensory experiences and spark curiosity.

1. Telling and Suggesting Ideas While Empowering Choice

Educators describe possible options for activities or how to use materials. This gives children ideas and introduces new learning. 

At the same time, educators allow children to come up with their own ideas or choose another interest.

1. Prompting Recall for Application of Past Learning

Educators will sometimes prompt children to think back to past experiences or activities to build on prior learning. 

For example, they may ask children to recall the steps for hand washing or parts of a story. This helps children make connections and apply what they’ve learned before.

1. Feedback Through Verbal and Non-verbal Responses

Educators observe children closely and provide feedback through smiles, nods, or comments on their efforts, ideas, and accomplishments. Feedback guides children’s play and reassures them when trying new skills. It also allows educators to identify how to support further development or tailor future activities.

So, intentional teaching involves purposefully planning interactions, activities, and the environment based on individual children’s needs and interests. This helps support each child’s learning and development in a fun, engaging way. 

The bigger question here is how to implement intentional teaching in Early Childhood Education. So, now let’s take a dive at it. 

Implementing Intentional Teaching in Early Childhood Education

Intentional teaching is an important approach used in early childhood education to support children’s learning and development. This article will discuss some key aspects of implementing intentional teaching in early childhood under different headings.

1. Shared Prioritization for Meaningful Interactions

When teachers make time for meaningful talk with each child, it helps children feel special and cared for. Teachers learn what interests each child and plan activities around their ideas. Children are happy to join in when activities interest them.

1. Utilizing a Variety of Play Forms to Meet Children’s Needs

Teachers prepare toys and activities for different types of play, like pretend play, art play, music, and movement. Children learn best When they play how they like, with things that interest them. Teachers join children’s play to extend their learning with questions and new ideas.

1. Curriculum Design Focused on Supportive Environments

The learning areas are set up with toys and materials that develop different skills. For example, the writing area has paper, crayons, and books to develop early writing. Outdoor, there are balls, hoops, and climbing to develop physical skills. Children learn through play when the environment supports their interests.

1. Intentional Assessment to Understand Uhildren’s Developmental Needs

Teachers carefully observe how each child learns and plays. They take notes and photos as a record. This helps teachers know what skills each child is developing. Teachers can then plan activities for each child’s needs and abilities. 

1. Using the learning environment to support intentional teaching strategies

Teachers thoughtfully choose where to place toys, books, and themselves. For example, building blocks near the book area may lead to imaginative construction play. Teachers sitting with play dough allows them to describe what children are making and introduce new words. The learning environment provides chances for learning through play.

Okay. It’s time to take a deeper look at the benefits of intentional teaching. 

Benefits and Impact of Intentional Teaching

Intentional teaching has many benefits for children in early childhood education. It helps children grow and learn in different ways. Here are some of the main benefits:

1. Personalized Benefits: Fostering a Sense of Self and Encouraging Exploration

Intentional teaching involves teachers carefully observing each child to understand their interests, abilities, and needs. They plan activities that promote independent exploration, boosting confidence and fostering problem-solving and creativity. This approach encourages children's natural curiosity and supports their overall growth and learning.

1. Promotion of Optimal Teaching and Learning Environments

Intentional teaching creates a rich learning environment by thoughtfully arranging spaces and choosing materials that spark children's interests. Teachers observe children's skills and introduce ideas at the right level of challenge. They engage in play, ask questions, extend thinking, build positive relationships, and encourage learning risks. This approach maximizes every learning opportunity and provides insights for improved planning.

1. Enhanced Development of Higher-order Thinking Skills

Intentional teaching strategies significantly enhance children's thinking abilities. Teachers design activities and discussions to encourage conceptual thinking, introduce new elements during play, and broaden children's ideas. They model advanced reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, helping children see different viewpoints.

Over time, this helps children’s cognitive development to blossom. They learn how to think both independently and collaboratively to solve complex problems. Intentional teaching lays the foundation for lifelong learning success. Here are some resources to ensure that your lessons are as fruitful to the children as you intend. 

Resources and Further Learning

Some helpful resources provide additional information about intentional teaching in early childhood education. These resources can help teachers better understand this important teaching approach.

Books:

There are several books written by experts in early childhood education that discuss intentional teaching in detail. These books explain intentional teaching, its effectiveness, and how to incorporate it in the classroom. They include examples of intentional teaching strategies and activities teachers can use.

Some recommended books include “Intentional Teaching” by Bridie Raban, “Intentional Teaching: A Framework for Effective Early Childhood Education” by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter, and “Intentional Talk: How to Examine Your Own and Others’ Perspectives” by Eliza Kane. Reading books is a great way to learn from professionals in the field.

Websites:

Several websites provide articles and information about intentional teaching. The Education Hub and Aussie Childcare Network have articles that clearly explain what intentional teaching means and how it can be implemented. They include examples and suggestions for activities.

The Education Hub also has videos of real teachers demonstrating intentional teaching strategies. Seeing examples brings the concepts to life. Websites are a useful starting point for learning the basics of intentional teaching.

Professional Development Courses:

Many early childhood organizations offer online or in-person professional development courses focused on intentional teaching. Courses give a more in-depth learning experience than websites or books alone. Teachers can learn strategies, get feedback on their practice, and network with others.

The Education Hub, for example, has multiple online courses that cover topics like intentional teaching for early math, literacy, and more. Courses are a valuable way to gain skills and apply learning directly to the classroom.

Conducting Research to Improve Intentional Teaching

Continuous learning is important for high-quality teaching. Teachers can conduct their research to develop intentional teaching practices further. This involves collecting information to understand better what works well and how to enhance children’s experiences.

• Observe children: Close observation of children during activities and play reveals what engages them and supports their learning best.

• Reflect on practice: Reflecting on new approaches, discussing with colleagues, and analyzing assessments strengthens effective practices.

• Seek child feedback: Asking open-ended questions about their experiences provides valuable insights and helps tailor activities to their needs.

• Try new methods: Continuously practicing and evaluating new techniques enhances teaching strategies and identifies the most effective methods.

• Share knowledge: Discussing findings with other teachers spreads effective strategies and prevents reinventing the wheel in early childhood education.

Connection with Broader Teaching Theories and Philosophies

Intentional teaching aligns with many established early childhood education theories and frameworks. It shares key ideas with developmental, constructivist, and sociocultural approaches.

Alignment with developmental, constructivist, and sociocultural theories

Intentional teaching fits the idea that children learn by exploring their world and interacting with others. It sees the teacher supporting each child’s unique developmental path. By following children’s interests and assessing their skills, the teacher can design activities and conversations that help learning. This aligns with theories that see children as active learners constructing knowledge through experiences.

The role of intentional teaching within the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)

Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework provides guidelines for early education. It focuses on identity, community, well-being, learning, and communication. Intentional teaching directly supports all areas of the EYLF. Teachers observing each child can plan experiences tailored to their needs. Interactions are also intentionally guided to foster each child’s development across different domains.

So, intentional teaching strategies are there to help primary students learn and grow. Teachers can best support each child by understanding developmental theories and the EYLF.

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