Teaching in an early years setting, I remember a conversation I had with the principal who suggested all learning should be play based. I found it hard to argue, all the literature and training was suggesting it. It was only when I asked "by what mechanism will the children learn English?" did we start to work on a hybrid model.
What stands out in this reflection is the importance of professional humility. Teaching, like any profession, evolves as our understanding improves. The growing influence of cognitive science has helped clarify some of the mechanisms behind learning—memory, prior knowledge, retrieval, and cognitive load—and that has prompted many teachers to re-examine practices that once felt unquestionable.
Teaching in an early years setting, I remember a conversation I had with the principal who suggested all learning should be play based. I found it hard to argue, all the literature and training was suggesting it. It was only when I asked "by what mechanism will the children learn English?" did we start to work on a hybrid model.
What stands out in this reflection is the importance of professional humility. Teaching, like any profession, evolves as our understanding improves. The growing influence of cognitive science has helped clarify some of the mechanisms behind learning—memory, prior knowledge, retrieval, and cognitive load—and that has prompted many teachers to re-examine practices that once felt unquestionable.
Absolutely. I find it incredible how well the science about learning was already out there but just hadn’t found its way to the majority of teachers.
Chatting to those who’ve trained before and after me had different experiences. It was a bonkers window!