What are the goals of Early Years education? A lot of people ask this question and receive answers ranging from keeping children safe; introducing them to the values of society; encouraging a love of language; giving them experience of socialising, harmonising and behaving appropriately. This book shares the best strategies to help children grow into even more curious, resilient, happy, articulate and thoughtful learners. Challenging Early Learning takes James Nottingham's tried and tested and acclaimed 'learning to learn' methodology and applies it to teaching three- to seven-year-olds. Each chapter includes: Colourful and stimulating learning activities that will help children learn how to learn. Practical 'Now Try This' sections that encourage readers to think about current practice and explore new ideas. A Review section that focuses on building a broad tool kit of teaching strategies. Covering a range of key topics such as feedback, dialogue, growth mindset and the Learning Pit, this book is aimed at all pedagogues, teachers, parents and leaders wanting to challenge the way in which we learn and make learning more challenging.

What are the goals of Early Years education? A lot of people ask this question and receive answers ranging from keeping children safe; introducing them to the values of society; encouraging a love of language; giving them experience of socialising, harmonising and behaving appropriately. This book shares the best strategies to help children grow into even more curious, resilient, happy, articulate and thoughtful learners. Challenging Early Learning takes James Nottingham's tried and tested and acclaimed 'learning to learn' methodology and applies it to teaching three- to seven-year-olds. Each chapter includes: Colourful and stimulating learning activities that will help children learn how to learn. Practical 'Now Try This' sections that encourage readers to think about current practice and explore new ideas. A Review section that focuses on building a broad tool kit of teaching strategies. Covering a range of key topics such as feedback, dialogue, growth mindset and the Learning Pit, this book is aimed at all pedagogues, teachers, parents and leaders wanting to challenge the way in which we learn and make learning more challenging.

Embrace challenge and celebrate Eureka! Challenge makes learning more interesting. That’s one of the reasons to encourage your students to dive into the learning pit—a state of cognitive conflict that forces students to think more deeply, critically, and strategically until they discover their “eureka” moment. Nottingham, an internationally known author and consultant, will show you how to promote challenge, dialogue, and a growth mindset through: Practical strategies that guide students through the four stages of the Learning Challenge Engaging lesson plan ideas and classroom activities Inspiring examples from Learning Challenges across the world

The authors of the bestselling Challenging Behavior in Young Children bring their wealth of practical experience, breadth of research base, and approachable tone to this new book for early childhood administrators guiding their staffs--and the children and families they serve--in preventing and responding effectively to challenging behavior. The stakes are high when children get kicked out of early childhood programs: they learn that no one believes in their ability to succeed. As states and school districts increasingly prohibit the suspension and expulsion of young children, directors and administrators of early childhood programs and principals of schools play a crucial role in making it possible for children with challenging behavior to remain in school and learn. Covering topics such as building an environment that promotes positive behavior, reflecting on the effects of bias and expectations on behavior, and empowering staff to use effective guidance strategies, this book offers ideas that leaders can actually implement while maintaining a high-quality learning environment.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Nearly every early childhood classroom has an exceptionally bright child—from the child who starts reading independently at age three to the child who would rather take apart his tricycle than ride on it. This book's strategies help educators create a richer learning environment where exceptionally bright children are encouraged to learn beyond prescribed curriculum goals. It includes identifiers of exceptionally bright children, ideas to change the pace, level, or method of teaching in response to the needs of individual children, and guidance for working with families. Ann Gadzikowski is the early childhood coordinator at Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development.

Challenging Learning includes some of the most up-to-date and impressive research on teaching and learning, covering Feedback, Application, Challenge, Thinking, and Self esteem. These are supported by lesson plans and effective teaching strategies including the Teaching Target, Learning Challenge and ASK models.