This model from Julie Fisher (2016) comes from research that shows that children learn best when they have a balance of experiences across the three contexts of learning: adult-led, adult-initiated and child-led. There may be times, for example in literacy, where there is a need for more adult-led or adult-initiated experiences and other times e.g. IDL where there are many more opportunities for child-led learning. It is the balance of experiences that is important.
“There is no contrast between child-led and adult-led learning. It is the one without the other that gives young children an impoverished experience.” (Fisher 2016)
Structuring the Day
Curriculum for Excellence was designed to give practitioners some flexibility in how to use their day and time to meet the needs of their learners. Therefore, any guidance on a potential structure of the day is just that – guidance, which can be adapted as suited, but many practitioners have found the following method to be useful in organising their blocks of time. This method was taken from the work of Deirdre Grogan.
Teach – the adult-led section of traditional teaching, e.g. whole class introduction, teaching your reading or maths groups. Short, sharp and punchy works best for young learners.
Target – an adult-initiated task which children will complete independently. This would be a follow up task to the previous day’s teaching. The task would be differentiated, at the learner’s level. The task could be a jotter task, or it might be an activity designed to consolidate previous learning or to explore concrete materials further. These tasks must be independent to allow the practitioner to teach another group. To start with they would be very simple to just train the children in the routine but as learning progresses, activities taught by the teacher at the teaching table can become future target tasks. The learner can choose when they want to complete the target task but are given a time frame e.g. by playtime or lunchtime. Some practitioners allow the child to choose where they want to complete the activity while others have a designated table for target tasks.
Time – This is child-led, the time to allow children to engage in play and learning. They can freely choose from the planned spaces, experiences and opportunities available. It is important for practitioners to take time to observe, assess, and join the children in their play and learning.
Using the Teach, Target, Time method enables children to engage and learn in a variety of play contexts, ensuring their voices are heard. It allows children to have input on how they choose to learn and the pace of their own day.
During some periods of the day, there may be a greater focus on adult-led learning, while at other times, the focus may shift to child-led learning. However, we should plan for a balance across these approaches.
