Preschool education – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

What’s special about teaching and learning in the first years? Investigating the “what, hows and whys” of relational pedagogy with infants and toddlers

Introductory statement What is special about teaching infants and toddlers? How can the “what, hows and whys” of infant toddler pedagogy[1] be articulated and enhanced to support learning? These questions were at the heart of a two-year study in which researchers teamed up with teachers in five infant and toddler centres in Auckland and Wellington to gather practice-based evidence about pedagogy as the art and science of teaching and learning in this under-researched area of early childhood education and care. Key findings The study found that theorising about children’s learning through discussions of video data enabled the teachers to “really look” at their teaching and open up taken-for-granted meanings about the

Enhancing mathematics teaching and learning in early childhood settings

1. Aims, objectives, and research questions Aim The overall aim of the project was to engage early childhood teachers in investigating and improving their expertise in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The intention of the project was to develop a research environment through which researchers and kindergarten teachers worked collaboratively, using action research methodology, to explore means by which mathematical outcomes for children could be maximised. The research arose from the premise that within the field of mathematics education, while much has been written about mathematical experiences of both learners and teachers in the compulsory (school) sectors of education, very little is documented on mathematical learning and teaching in the

Under 3 year-olds in kindergarten: children’s experiences and teachers’ practices

1. Introduction Background Historically, kindergartens have provided early childhood environments for over three year-olds. Recent demographic changes have seen a fall in enrolments and in the numbers of children on waiting lists. The pressure to keep kindergartens on full rolls so that they can benefit from higher funding has meant that many kindergartens have enrolled a significant number of under-three year-olds in their centres. This has proven to be a challenge for teachers in terms of their teaching practices, programming and curriculum goals. Factors in the teaching environment, such as a physical environment structured primarily for the older-age child, and the large group setting of 30 to 45 children per session