A new resource from Deans for Impact summarizes current cognitive-science research related to how young children – from birth to age eight – develop skills across three domains: agency, literacy, and numeracy.
It aims to give guidance to anyone working in education who is interested in understanding the science of how young children develop control of their own behavior and intentions, how they learn to read and write, and how they develop the ability to think mathematically.
For each domain, the report identifies key questions about learning and provides a short list of the principles from learning science that inform the answers to these questions. The resource then connects these principles to a set of practical implications for specific teaching strategies. For example, the report identified children regulate their behaviors by achieving the following:
- Remember their goals
- Suppress impulses and not respond to distractions
- Be able to change how they think and react to things.
Accordingly, the report made a recommendation to scaffold the ability of young children to self-regulate behaviors by striving for consistency and predictability. Use consistent schedules and involve children in plans for the day. The original research is clearly referenced for anyone wishing to find out more.
Source (Open Access): Deans for Impact (2019). The Science of early learning. Austin, TX: Deans for Impact. Retrieved from: https://deansforimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/The_Science_of_Early_Learning.pdf