Using play to meet specific learning goals in pre-k can be challenging. In this article, we discuss why play is an essential activity for pre-k learning. We share some research on the importance of supporting unconstrained, trifecta skills like oral language in the context of child-centered, playful activities. We explain the importance of teacher…

Learning trajectories (LTs) can inform teaching by contributing a variety of pedagogical and content-related insights and strategies. They support sequencing topic introduction and development. Because ideas evolve gradually and often rely on a careful introduction of new representations, operations, cases of numbers, structures, and definitions,…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are becoming increasingly popular, in a recognition that teachers' knowledge is situated in teachers' daily experiences and best acquired through ongoing practice and reflection. This study examines the relationship between participation in PLCs and teaching practices and tests specific aspects of a PLC…

The authors propose decentering the child as a critical motion in the education of pedagogists who work to refuse developmental pedagogies in early childhood education. Tracing how child-centered developmental practices are obstacles for deeper ethical and intellectual work and reiterate anthropocentric relationalities, they offer two propositions…

The article highlights how a class of toddlers spread their message about composting and repacking food. This curriculum emerged out of the students' interests, and it connected students' classroom experiences to their homes and communities, fostering a sense of power and agency in some of our youngest neighbors.

Teacher research has been promoted as a context-relevant approach to improving children's learning experiences in early childhood settings. In this article, we focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), a crucial domain of the early childhood curriculum, to illustrate the role of teacher research in changing early childhood teachers' everyday…

This article introduces the inquiry model adopted for Bermuda government preschools and early primary schools, which, because of its emancipatory critical pedagogy, uses abductive reasoning. This model is particularly well suited to government schools, given Bermuda's historical inequities and cultural differences. Abductive reasoning allows for…

"Visual Thinking Strategies for Preschool" shows how teachers can add visual thinking strategies (VTS) to their existing curriculum to encourage language, critical thinking, and social skills for children ages three to five. In this sequel to his popular book, "Visual Thinking Strategies" (ED568850), author Philip Yenawine…

Research shows that participation in a high-quality preschool can improve young children's readiness skills for elementary school, positively influencing behavioral, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes. However, some preschool program evaluations document that some initial benefits may not persist into early elementary school. To explore how…

In this article, I will examine the use of picture books as a means of supporting the intellectual pursuits of young children. Theoretical frameworks will be discussed as they pertain to the integration of these books in the Municipal Infant Toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio Emilia and Pistoia, Italy. The pedagogical framework of these…