Introducing Early Learning Strategy Pages in Goalbook Toolkit
Early childhood education (ECE) teachers are responsible for shaping the habits and behaviors that help children respond to learning environments and experiences with curiosity, stamina, and determination. Our strategies are grounded in developing communication, adherence and ownership of routines, and body regulation so students can thrive in any learning situation with their peers. We’ve gathered the foremost research on early childhood development to design pages that address the most critical skills young learners need to develop if they are to be successful in kindergarten and beyond.
We are so excited about these strategy pages because it is the first time that strategy pages have been explicitly written at the ECE level. These resources synthesize a diverse range of best practices around ECE, such as the significance of both play and academics in the early years of a child development. They also help teachers provide access to learning for students who have significant cognitive or developmental challenges while simultaneously providing an enriching experience for ALL students.
Teaching young children is hard work. It’s also highly skilled work: Effective early childhood educators need both a deep understanding of the science of child development and practical skills to interact with children, assess and support learning, and engage diverse parents.
Sara Mead, Education and Early Childhood Policy Analyst
Often, there is a disconnect between what happens in ECE classrooms and the research that dictates best practices because the standards and expectations for early childhood education are continuously progressing. Due to the progression of the standards, it is challenging for instructors to leverage them to achieve the highest level of impact and build an enriched learning environment so that students are validated through the learning experiences that occur in class. Additionally, ECE educators have so many demands and expectations when it comes to delivering an enriching pre-K experience that it becomes a challenge to make the best “teacher moves” while working with such a dynamic age group.
All of our ECE strategy pages have implementation tips that include resources teachers can use to create an enriching learning environment. They give teachers the WHAT and the HOW by detailing the procedures of each research-based strategy, and, more importantly, they shed light on WHY creating an enriching classroom space is so crucial. A truly enriching environment pushes students to take ownership of their learning, and the teacher’s responsibility is to provide the structure that students need to maximize their learning.
One of our new ECE strategy pages outlines how critical academic and social skills can be integrated into routines like Circle Time. Circle Time is more than just a transition routine — it is a great step towards creating an enriching environment because it incorporates routines like telling time, praise and positive language, and discussing the weather. What our pages offer educators is a real connection between research and action by including examples of how Circle Time reinforces critical skills and bolsters social-emotional learning.
Every strategy page has implementation tips as well as examples that show teachers the positive outcomes for students and classrooms if the strategies are carried out with fidelity. These early years in a child’s development are so critical because ECE educators are helping students develop both their faculty for learning and their social and emotional selves. Our hope is that these pages will help bridge the gap between research and action. We plan to publish many more early learning strategy pages, and we will also be publishing teaching strategies specific to early learners with related services.
Check out a few of our pages:
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