I

Approaches to Learning

A

Curiosity and Interest

Child approaches the world with curiosity and develops knowledge about specific topics.

8-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Conducts research based on a topic of interest
• Uses prior knowledge to develop research questions (e.g., learns about how fish spawn eggs and then decides to find out about the reproductive cycle of amphibians)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Talk with families and children about the interests they are pursuing at home
• Provide access to books and computer resources for children to use in researching their own interests and questions
• Provide graphic organizers to support children in researching their own questions and curiosities and in using information to create their own works

B

Initiative

Child pursues their own goals.

8-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Recognizes that trying something new may be difficult at first
• Independently determines direction for their future learning (e.g., decides that they would like to learn to play the guitar)
• Considers alternatives before beginning a project
• Knows what their own talents are and offers to use them to help others
• Evaluates their progress on their goals

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Talk with families and children about skills the child is developing outside of school, such as the ability to play soccer
• Notice when children are taking initiative, and invest time and resources in helping them to achieve ambitious goals
• Provide models of individuals who noticed a problem and decided to act
• Engage children in service learning projects

C

Persistence and Attentiveness

Child focuses on tasks and perseveres in accomplishing them.

8-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Screens out distractions and concentrates on relevant information as they work
• Makes a decision about how to work so they will be able to focus
• Decides to step away from a challenge when frustrated and then returns to it
• Organizes long-term projects (e.g., begins a project by gathering supporting texts)
• Revises their writing, checking for meaning, spelling, and punctuation

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Notice and provide encouragement when children feel frustrated or impatient (e.g., “I see that this is taking longer than you expected, and sometimes when we have to take many steps to solve a problem, we get tired!”)
• Acknowledge persistence (e.g., “Wow, you are wrestling with that long text! I bet you are learning so much. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about it.”)
• View mistakes as learning opportunities (e.g., “I love seeing your work on this problem; every time I see you find a mistake and use a new strategy, I know your brain is growing!”)
• Reach out to families to help with establishing a routine for homework time and modeling positive support

D

Creativity and Inventiveness

Child uses their imagination to create and invent.

8-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Presents an idea for a creative project to the group and then waits for the group’s feedback and incorporates their ideas
• Considers how objects appear from points of view not their own (e.g., tries drawing a picture from a bird’s-eye perspective)
• Incorporates ideas from cultures they have learned about into their creations

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Create opportunities for children to work collaboratively on creative projects over the course of several weeks
• Facilitate group reflection on projects, exploring what children noticed, what observations they made, and what they learned about working together
• Provide more specialized tools and materials for use in making projects
  • Scales to compare weights
  • Graphite pencils
  • Chalk pastels
  • Editing software
• Visit museums and libraries to learn about varieties of art -making and engineering