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by Ruksana Mohammed in Articles Teaching and Learning on June 25, 2014

The EYFS describes creating and thinking critically as when ‘children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things’ (DfE, 2012, p.7). The third CoEL is all about thinking, and is associated with the need for children to make sense of experiences and develop thought over time. The interactions that children have with others, their environment, and the experiences they are involved in, allow children to actively think about the meaning of what they are doing. This is through perceiving patterns, inventing ideas, making connections, and developing concepts, which in turn allows children to develop knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or problem solving. Becoming more aware of one's own thinking in this way is known as metacognition; Whitebread and Pasternak (2010) advocate that awareness of oneself as a thinker and learner is a key aspect of success in learning. Creating and thinking critically can therefore be summed up as being about ideas , connections, choices and strategies .

Having their own ideas (Ideas):

• Thinking of ideas

• Finding ways to solve problems

• Finding new ways to do things

This is when children use their imagination and creativity to take on challenges and explore how problems could be solved and how their ideas can be implemented. Being creative is more than arts and design and is a core aspect of the thinking process. It is about children generating their own ideas creatively by the use of their imagination. The Tickell Review supports this by stating that ‘being inventive allows children to find new problems as they seek challenge and to explore ways of solving these’ (Tickell, 2011. P.90) – ideas. What needs to be understood is that creativity is very much a process and often there is no clear identifiable outcome or product (DCSF, 2007, p.1); it is an idea initiated by the child that can take shape and form with the assistance of the supportive practitioner.

Using what they already know to learn new things (Connections) :

• Making links and noticing patterns in their experiences

• Making predictions

• Testing their ideas

• Developing ideas of grouping, sequences, cause and effect

When children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations and with a variety of resources, they discover connections and come to a new and better understandings and ways of doing things (EYFS card, 4.3, 2008). Children link and develop concepts to different activities – making connections. It is also how children develop an understanding of sequences, cause and effect and how they build on these thoughts through description and scientific thoughts. Here thinking becomes more conscious as concepts are developed and connected together. However, Hutchin (2013, p.17) states that communication is an important aspect of this part of the CoEL. Communication is an important aspect of the thinking process, and the more open ended discussions practitioners have with children, the more they can help them talk about the connections they are making, and as a result children understand their own thinking better.

Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways (Choices and Strategies) :

• Planning, making decisions about how to approach a task, solve a problem and reach a goal

• Checking how well their activities are going

• Changing strategy as needed

• Reviewing how well the approach worked

This is when children make choices and decisions in an organised way when undertaking new goal-directed activities or tasks. It involves children working out what to do, and how to change what they do, to achieve – developing strategies. Siegler and Alibali (2005) describe this way of involvement as toddlers and young children learning in ‘overlapping waves’ as they choose from older or newer strategies to suit the demands of the task they are involved in.

The bullet points in each of the above sections is from page 7 of the Development Matters Framework. I have provided a narrative observation below adapted from Cathy Nutbrown’s well renowned book ‘Threads of Thinking’ . The CoEL of creating and thinking critically can be observed in action in this observation. Can you identify the stated bullet points from the Development Matters document within the observation?

Where are children’s own ideas apparent within this observation?
Where have children used connections from previous experiences or knowledge?
How are they using what they already know?
What choices and strategies have children used to take their play forward?
How has this play and thinking been supported by practitioners? How further can it be supported?

Date : 6 th October 2011 Name of Observer : Ruksana Number of Adults Present : 1

Name of child/Children :

Amanda 4:8 years (F)

Adam 4:7 years (M)

Carlos 4:11 years (M)

Zeenat 4:8 years (F)

Start Time : 10.15am Finish time: 10.40am

Context of observation : child initiated play in the sand area with small animals.

Description of the activity observed : (adapted from Nutbrown, C. (2011) Threads of Thinking)

The group of children were playing with a tray of sand and some small animals. Zeenat started by saying that “all the animals are dead” , she paused and then said “ they need to be buried” . All the children arranged the tigers, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, whales, seals and penguins into a heap for them to be buried. Next, the children dug up holes in the sand and buried the animals in a row next to each other and then covered them up. Carlos said “let’s dig em up and start again” . The children then dug the animals out of the sand.

Adam bought over some water in a jug from the water area and added it in small amounts to the sand. Amanda assisted in mixing it. All the children then patted the damp sand down with their hands to make it flat, Zeenat and Amanda arranged some twigs in a circle, “this is a forest” said Amanda pointing to the inside of the circle of twigs. “So what’s on the outside then” Adam asked . “This is the edge of the forest, you see (Amanda made gestures with her hand in a circular motion) all that is inside is a forest, the forest ends on the edges of the circle” explained Zeenat. “yeah but what’s there when it ends” Adam asks again. Carlos arranged some shells on the edge of the forest, “this is the sea” said Carlos “ because when the forest finishes there is always sea” . Amanda dusted the sand off the animals and the children started to arrange the animals around the habitant they just created. The group had a discussion on where the different animals lived and in the end they agreed that some animals lived ‘inside the forest’ whilst the others lived ‘under the sea’. The children placed the animals into their chosen areas.

Amanda started sprinkling sand over the twigs and said “it’s snowing, the forest is all covered in snow because it hasn’t got a roof on it. The animals are covered in snow. They’ll die if they freeze to death” she said. So some of the animals died, “the small ones are dead” said Adam. “Why the small ones”’ Zeenat asked, “Because they are too small to survive the winter” Adam replied. “Yeah that’s true” Zeenat responded.

The children then dug holes at the edge of the forest and buried the ‘small’ animals. Carlos asked the group to be silent for a bit. Adam said “we need to know who is buried where” Zeenat bought over small labels and the children drew on them before sticking them onto the graves of the animals.

How effective is your environment in allowing children to create and think critically?

Use the following questions as prompts to further explore your provision.

How do you and your environment support children to follow their own ideas?
Is observation used effectively to carefully see which things, places or experiences particularly fascinate each child?
Is planning flexible enough to give children the time they need to explore their own ideas?
How are children’s ideas valued by adults?
How can you extend your range of resources to stimulate children’s creative thinking and expression?
What changes can be made to the learning environment (both indoor and out) to stimulate curiosity and creativity?
Do you look hard enough for opportunities to support creative thinking across all EYFS areas?
Are children’s own choices and strategies to problem solve valued? Or are you always looking for the ‘right answer’?
Are you doing enough to encourage children to move things around, try things out, and be creative in their play?
Is formative assessment being used to record the process of children’s learning rather than outcome? i.e. the Reggio Emilia approach in using sequences of photographs to document what the children are doing.
Are children given ample opportunities to talk about what they have been doing to help them organise their thoughts and ideas?
How often are children given opportunities to re-visit previous experiences, reflecting on what they have done and what they might do differently?

How can you observe the CoEL – creating and thinking critically in action?

Use the following questions to identify this CoEL within your observations, but also to learn from them to further enhance your provision.

Department for Children, School and Families (DCSF) (2007) The Early Years Foundation Stage: Effective Practice: Creativity and Critical Thinking. DCSF publications.

Department for Children, School and Families (DCSF) (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage: Effective Practice Cards: Creativity and Critical Thinking. DCSF publications.

Department for Education (DfE) (2012 ) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Available at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/AllPublications/Page1/DFE-00023-2012

Early Education (2012) Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage . Early Education: London

Hutchin, V. (2013) Effective Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage: An Essential Guide . Open University Press: Berkshire

Nutbrown, C. (2011) Threads of Thinking . 4 th ed. Paul Chapman: London.

Siegler, R.S and Alibali, MW. (2005) Children’s Thinking . Pearsons: New Jersey.Whitebread, D. and Pasternak, D. (2010) Metacognition, Self Regulation and Meta Knowing. In K. Littleton, C. Wood, J. and Kleine Staarman (eds) International Handbook of Psychology in Education. Bingley, UK: Emerald

Ruksana Mohammed

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Conversations with Children! Asking Questions That Stretch Children’s Thinking

Teacher and students playing game with materials

This is the fifth and final article in this TYC series about asking questions that support rich conversations. During the past year, Conversations with Children! has documented and analyzed the many different types of questions teachers ask and the rich discussions with children that flowed from those questions. The series has explored children’s interests, considered their developmental needs, respected their cultural perspectives, and highlighted their language development and thinking.

Using an adaptation of Bloom’s Taxonomy to think about the types of questions teachers ask children, this article focuses on intentionally using questions that challenge children to analyze, evaluate, and create. This can increase the back-and-forth dialogues teachers have with children—stretching children’s thinking!

For this article, I spent the morning in a classroom of 3- and 4-year-olds, located in a large, urban elementary school in Passaic, New Jersey. All 15 children spoke both Spanish and English (with varying levels of English proficiency), as did their teacher and assistant teacher. The teachers in this classroom stretch their conversations with children, having extended exchanges in both languages by listening to and building on children’s answers.

Understanding Different Types of Questions

Bloom’s Taxonomy has long been used as a way to think about the types of questions we ask students. We have adapted it for young children. Although Remember has mostly right or wrong one-word answers and Create invites use of the imagination and answers that are complex and unique to each child, these levels are just guides. It is up to you to consider which types of questions are appropriate for each child you work with. The lower levels form the foundation for the higher ones.

identify, name, count, repeat, recall

describe, discuss, explain, summarize

explain why, dramatize, identify with/relate to

recognize change, experiment, infer, compare, contrast

express opinion, judge, defend/criticize

make, construct, design, author

A conversation about building with cups in the makerspace

A conversation between the teacher and two children began during planning time and continued as the children built in the makerspace.

During planning time

Teacher : I am excited to see how you will build with the cups. Do you have any idea how you will build with them? ( Analyze )

Child 1 : I will show you what I can do. ( He draws his plan on a piece of paper .)

Child 2 : I want to work with the cups too.

Teacher : Maybe you can collaborate and share ideas.

Child 2 : Yeah, we can work together.

Child 1 : We can build a tower.

Teacher : I wonder how tall it will be. I am very curious. I wonder, what will you do with the cups? ( Create ) I can’t wait to see!

Later, as the first child is building

Teacher : Can you describe what you did? ( Understand )

Child : I put these two and put these one at a time and then these two.

Teacher : How did you stack these differently? ( Analyze ) (The child doesn’t respond.)

Teacher : I noticed you stacked this one and this one in a diff erent way. How did you stack them differently? ( Analyze )

Child : (He becomes excited, pointing.) I show you!

Teacher : Please demonstrate!

Child : I knew what my idea was. (He shows the teacher how he stacked the cups.)

Teacher : Can you describe what parts of the cups were touching? ( Understand )

Child : The white part. Teacher: Oh, that is called the rim of the cup. How did you stack this one? ( Apply )

Child : I was trying and trying and trying!

Teacher : So you are stacking the rims together. And how is this stack different? ( Analyze )

Child : This one is the right way and this one is down.

Teacher : Oh, this one is right side up and this one is upside down!

A conversation about creating a zoo in the block area

The children were preparing for a visit to a local zoo. After listening to the teacher read several books about zoos, one child worked on building structures in the block area to house giraff es and elephants.

Teacher : I am excited to see how you are building the enclosures.

Child : It fell down and I’m making it different.

Teacher : So it fell down and now you’re thinking about building it a different way. Architects do that; they talk about the stability of the structure. How can you make it sturdier so it doesn’t fall? ( Evaluate )

Child : I’m trying to make a watering place for the elephant to drink water. I have to make it strong so he can drink and the water doesn’t go out.

Teacher : Maybe you can be the architect and draw the plans and your friend can be the engineer and build it. How do you feel about that? ( Evaluate )

Child : I’m gonna ask him.

A conversation about coding with robots

The children had been using the Ozobot Bit, a small robot that introduces children to coding, for many months. Because these robots are programmed to follow lines and respond to specific color patterns (e.g., coloring small segments of the line blue, red, and green will make the robot turn right), preschoolers engage in a basic form of coding just by drawing lines. In this conversation, the teacher helps a child develop his own code.

Teacher : So tell me: what do we have to do first? ( Understand )

Child : (He draws as he speaks.) You have to keep going.

Teacher : Why do we have to do it that way first? ( Apply )

Child : Because have to draw it ’fore it can go. And you don’t draw it, it don’t go nowhere. Wanna see?

Teacher : So if it’s not on the line, it won’t go anywhere. It only goes on the line.

Child : Yeah.

Teacher : Okay. So are there any rules you have to follow? What rules do I need to know? ( Apply , Analyze , Evaluate )

Child : You can’t stop it with your hand. . . . And if you want to make another one, first you have to turn it off and then you make another one. (He demonstrates with four markers how to code on the paper and then puts the robot on the line.) Now it going backwards.

Teacher : So how could you fix it so it continues? ( Analyze , Evaluate , Create )

Child : (He makes the black line on the paper thicker and retries the Ozobot, but it still stops and turns around.)

Teacher : How can you fix it? Try something else to solve the problem. What should we try next? ( Analyze , Evaluate , Create )

Child : I gonna do the whole thing again. (The child starts drawing the code.)

A conversation to stretch dramatic play

A child held a baby doll and a girl doll as the teacher entered the dramatic play area.

Teacher : Tell me about the baby. ( Apply )

Child : This girl has a baby. We going to the doctor because we all sick.

Teacher : How do you think the doctor will help you get better? ( Evaluate )

Child : The doctor has to check my heart and then he gonna check my mouth.

Teacher : So what can you do to help your friends get better after the doctor checks your mouth and heart? How will you take care of them and yourself? ( Apply , Analyze , Evaluate )

Child : They go to bed back home and go to sleep.

Teacher : And what will you do? Tell me more about that. ( Apply , Analyze , Evaluate )

Child : I’m going read them a book.

Teacher : Oh, that is such a good idea! Do you have a special book in mind? ( Understand , Apply )

Child : (She nods her head in affirmation and smiles broadly.) I have a special book. (She holds up My House: A Book in Two Languages/Mi Casa: Un Libro en Dos Lenguas , by Rebecca Emberley.)

Teacher : Will you read the book to me? I’ll pretend that I am sick and I am in the bed and you can read the book to me. (The child gives the teacher a small blanket.) You are giving me my blankie. You read and I’ll listen. ( Apply , Create ) (The child invents her own story as she turns the pages.)

As the teacher, it’s up to you, the one who knows your students best in an educational setting, to decide which questions are appropriate for which children during a particular interaction. It can be challenging to develop and ask questions that engage children in analyzing, evaluating, and creating, such as, “If you could come to school any way you wanted, how would you get here? Why?” But questions that each child will answer in her own way are well worth the effort!

Note : Thank you, Megan (teacher), Ms. Perez (assistant teacher), and all of the wonderful students who taught me so much about coding! In addition to being the teacher, Megan King is the author of the chapter “A Makerspace in the Science Area” in the book Big Questions for Young Minds: Extending Children’s Thinking . And a great big final thank-you to the five preschool classrooms that invited me into their worlds, sharing their questions and conversations with TYC readers.

Suggestions for Intentionally Stretching Conversations with Young Children

Make sure to allow plenty of wait time for children to process what you are saying, think about it, and answer. Give them at least a few seconds, but vary this according to the children’s needs.
Listen to the children’s responses. Use active listening strategies: make eye contact, encourage children to share their ideas, and restate or summarize what they say.
Ask another quesiton or make a comment after the child answers. If you aren’t sure how to respond, you can almost always say, “What else can we add to that?” or “Tell me more about that.”

EYFS Thinking Skills

Dr jane yeomans.

March 30, 2023

What do thinking skills look like in the early years and how do we go about promoting the cognitive development of our younger learners?

Yeomans, J (2023, March 30). EYFS Thinking Skills. Retrieved from https://www.structural-learning.com/post/eyfs-thinking-skills

Thinking Skills in EYFS

Rethinking the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): putting the foundation back into the early years curriculum.

The first five years of a child's life are a time of rapid change and development. The illustration below shows the large differences in the development of synapses in the developing brain. Synapses are the way in which the neurons in the brain send messages to each other.

These connections are crucial for learning and development and can be affected by factors such as adverse environmental factors such as ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) or genes. Note especially the small difference between the age 2 and adult illustrations.

Source: Urban Child Institute, www.urbanchildinstitute.org

Therefore, what happens in the early years is crucial for later learning and development. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a wide-ranging curriculum that seeks to support development and learning in the first five years of life. The non-statutory guidance 'Development Matters' includes guidance about creating and thinking critically.

However, when examined in detail, this section of Development Matters has very little to say about how children learn, focussing on task-orientated activities (such as sorting or sharing out strawberries). If we dig a little deeper into the non-statutory guidance, it is possible to find a section that deals with ' observing how children learn '.

This is not part of the statutory framework and can be overlooked. Given the emphasis in the statutory guidance on the products rather than the processes of learning , it is perhaps unsurprising that all too often there is a very narrow focus in the early years curriculum which, in my opinion, is due to an over emphasis on content rather than process.

A consistent feature of my frequent observations in Nurseries and early years settings is that much of the learning is task orientated. An over-emphasis on the early learning goals , which are just one element of the EYFS , is a contributory factor here. Overall, therefore the ‘foundation’ in the EYFS is lacking because children are mostly taught what to learn, not how to learn .

Examples of Cognitive thinking skills

The ‘how’ of learning relates to the cognitive thinking skills that are important for children to develop because these are a foundation for accessing the ‘what’ of learning. The table below suggests some of these cognitive thinking skills.

One important aspect of learning is creative learning, which encourages children to explore and experiment with different ideas and concepts . This type of learning helps children to develop their problem-solving skills, as well as their ability to think outside the box. By developing creative learning environments, children are able to approach tasks and challenges in a more innovative and imaginative way, which can lead to greater success in their future academic and personal endeavors.

The cognitive thinking skills in the table are drawn from the work of Professor Reuven Feuerstein . Feuerstein suggested that cognitive functions, or thinking skills, can be divided into three phases:

Input: the cognitive thinking skills that the learner needs to gather all the information that they need to complete a task or solve a problem.
Elaboration: the cognitive thinking skills that the learner needs to complete a task or solve a problem
Output: the cognitive thinking skills that the learner needs to show what they have learned

Focussed perception: using all the senses to explore and gather information

Exploring a toy using hearing, sight, touch, taste.

Playing reciprocal games where baby/child has to use all senses in order to look and then imitate

Playing and exploring characteristic of effective learning: finding out and exploring

Listening and attention (ELG 01)

Spatial concepts

During outdoor play , running round and round or going up and down

Mathematics development (ELG 12)

Physical development (ELG 04)

Systematic search

Looking carefully at objects and materials in the environment (for example, sand, water)

Using labels and language to assist/direct play

Communication and language development (ELG 02)

Mathematics development (ELG 11/12)

Deciding what to do first, second....etc

Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways (creating and thinking critically)

Need for precision and accuracy

Being skilful in use of tools

Moving and handling (ELG 04)

Elaboration

Cause and effect, logical and inferential thinking

Use of switched toys

Ask ‘what would happen if………..’ questions during play/exploration of materials (what would happen if I put some white paint into the red paint?)

What happens if………..I turn this upside down, put my hand in it, take my socks off

The world (ELG 14)

Literacy development (understanding what is read ELG 09)

Creating and thinking critically (mentions cause and effect)

Using what they know if their play

Being able to label and talk about toys and materials being used, using words such as ‘same’, ‘different’

Literacy development (ELG 09/10)

The world: similarities and differences in relation to places…(ELG 14)

Planning and sequence

Planning play, following a sequence

Role play area play, where play sequences can be demonstrated (making a cup of tea, booking an appointment for the doctor)

Mathematics development (ELG 11)

Language: narrative sequence (ELG 03)

Creating and thinking critically (mentions sequence)

Choosing ways to do things

Categorising

Activities that involve sorting and classifying such as grouping animals in a zoo or farm, sorting out the crayons into colour groups

Finding out and exploring

Defining the problem

Setting up a problem solving situation: for example, after hearing the Billy Goats Gruff story, think of ways to cross a river, how to cross the bridge without disturbing the troll.

Using what they know in their play

Language (with increasing precision and accuracy according to age/stage)

Labelling and talking about experiences

Labelling what they have made or done, telling practitioner about what they have made

Communication and language development (ELG 03)

Restraining impulsivity (reducing trial and error behaviour)

Giving time to think about an activity before doing it

Offer choices of toys and materials to promote comparison and encourage thought before choosing

Being involved and concentrating

Managing feelings and behaviour (ELG 07)

Dependent on level of motor development, making a precise and accurate imitation

Developing learning behaviours in EYFS

There are also a number of behaviours that can affect learning and the use of the above cognitive functions. Feuerstein called these non intellective factors. They include behaviour such as:

Persistence: Active learning: keeping on trying
Motivation: Active learning: enjoying achieving what they set out to do (task intrinsic motivation)
Openness to intervention/mediation: Self confidence and self awareness
Frustration tolerance: Being willing to have a go, self confidence and self awareness

How has this skewed approach to learning in the early years happened? I would suggest that it’s because there is too little knowledge about or recognition of the importance of developing children's thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills, what we might call ‘cognitive skills’.

It might be argued that many of these cognitive skills are developed through the rich variety of play activities that are offered in early years settings. However, because many adults in early years settings are not trained in how to support these skills, their emergence is more by chance than due to any structured, intentional input, or shared thinking and problem-solving.

Whilst this might not be an issue for typically developing children , it can leave children with additional needs lagging behind as they are less able to benefit from incidental learning through play and thus are less likely to develop critical thinking skills or creative thinking .

Developing EYFS thinking skills abilities

Mediation is an important way of supporting and promoting the development of cognitive thinking silks. This is a very specific and intentional way of developing these skills.

There are specific characteristics of mediation that distinguish it from teaching. The essential characteristics are that the interaction is intentional, responsive to the needs of the child, emphasises meaning (‘we’re doing this because....’) and makes links to past and future problem solving (bridging).

Here are some examples of what these essential characteristics might look like in an interaction with a young child:

Mediation intention by making sure that interacting with the child is deliberate and not accidental. Offer a particular toy or activity, face the child and make eye contact, place an object in front of the child but just out of reach;
Mediate meaning by showing interest and enthusiasm. Words can be used: ‘look at this beautiful…….’ or facial expressions (for example opening eyes wide); and
Mediate in order to bridge; that is, to help the child to use their thinking skills in lots of different situations. Bridging helps children to make links between ideas and concepts,

Mediation shares some common ground with sustained shared thinking (SST). SST was identified as one of the characteristics of effective pre school learning by a large scale research project. The EPPE (Effective Provision of Pre school Education) project comments:

‘Sustained shared thinking’ occurs when two or more individuals ‘work together’ in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend the understanding. It was more likely to occur when children were interacting 1:1 with an adult or with a single peer partner and during focussed group work. In addition to sustained shared thinking, staff engaged in open-ended questioning in the settings where children made the most progress and provided formative feedback to children during activities. Adult ‘modelling’ skills or appropriate behaviour was often combined with sustained periods of shared thinking; open-ended questioning and modelling were also associated with better cognitive achievement.’ (Sylva et al, 2004).

Embracing thinking skills in a cognitive curriculum

A Cognitive Curriculum for young children (Haywood et al, 1992) is one approach to supporting and promoting cognitive thinking skills. Bright Start is aimed at children aged 3 to 6 years and its focus is on the processes of learning.

In contrast to the EYFS, Bright Start teaches and promotes cognitive thinking skills very explicitly, using mediation. Therefore, the children who are less likely to ‘pick up’ these skills incidentally through play are given enhanced opportunities to develop their critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills. The Bright Start website notes:

‘ The primary goal of a cognitive curriculum in EYFS is to "stretch the mind:" to help children understand how they learn and think. It can help them to learn new information, skills and attitudes towards learning.’

This type of approach can be used with both typically developing children and with children who have additional needs. It is delivered to groups of 4 to 6 children for twenty to thirty minutes at least twice a week (daily is preferable).

It is delivered in small groups and focuses on developing thinking skills through various activities and exercises. The curriculum is designed to improve children's problem-solving, decision-making, and creative thinking abilities.

It can therefore be easily fitted into the group time model that is often used in early years settings. Bright Start helps children to:

‘ acquire effective tools of systematic, logical thinking, self-regulation, social interaction, and learning. These tools are essential for young children as they enter the early grades (about age 5-6) so that they effectively learn reading, writing, and mathematics, as well as, thinking through and understanding science, social sciences, arts, etc.’ .

Bright Start consists of eight Units:

Self Regulation
Number Concepts
Role Taking
Classification
Sequence and Pattern
Letter Shape Concepts
Transformation

Each Unit consists of up to 20 lessons. All lessons have a consistent structure. Cognitive functions (thinking skills) are identified for every lesson, as well as a rationale.

There is a main activity, sometimes with additional activities that provide some variation. All lessons contain a ‘bridging’ activity or discussion. This final part of the lesson delivers an important characteristic of mediation, where the child is assisted to make links to past and future learning.

Here is an example: In Unit 1, Self Regulation is introduced by playing a game with rules. The bridging activity and discussion is about other games that have rules and why rules are needed for certain activities.

This type of approach actively encourages shared thinking where there is a collaborative approach to learning. It provides opportunities for children to develop and apply problem-solving skills, using a range of learning opportunities and approaches (such as open-ended questions)

In conclusion, the curriculum currently delivered in many early years settings lacks an emphasis on the ‘foundation’ element of the EYFS. It’s a little like building a house without digging the foundations; sooner or later the house will collapse.

Learning without the foundations of cognitive thinking skills is like a house with no foundations. If we give children the foundations for learning by using an explicit cognitive curriculum such as Bright Start then we might help to prevent later learning failure.

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Cognitive Development

How to develop critical thinking skills in young children at home

“Do ants sleep at night like us? Why is the sky brown? How do worms move if they don’t have legs? Do trees breathe? Where does the sun go at night? Where does rain come from? Can we sleep on clouds?” These are just a few examples of questions posed to EYFS staff by our curious three and four-year-olds.

Brainteasers such as these are often asked by very young children, and all of us will have our own memories of similar delightful and often original and unexpected examples of childhood curiosity. Although we may smile inwardly at the way in which these questions are phrased, we answer them with all the clarity and honesty that we can muster, as we recognise their importance to the child’s developing ability to notice, to understand and to reason. Their ability to notice what happens in the world around them is a key element in the development of the good thinking skills that they will need to become successful learners.

Learning to think critically may be one of the most important skills that today’s children will need for the future. In today’s changing world, children need to be able to do much more than repeat a list of facts; they need to be critical thinkers who can make sense of information, analyse, compare, contrast, make inferences, and generate higher order thinking skills.

All learning experiences within the EYFS classroom and playground, incorporates the three areas of ‘Characteristics of Learning’; Playing and Exploring (Engagement), Active Learning (Motivation) and Creating and Thinking Critically (Thinking skills).

The EYFS ‘Characteristics of Learning’ primary focus is on creative and critical thinking skills. As teachers and parents we need to give our children lots of opportunities to think, puzzle and work things out on their own and with others. At times in their development they will need a lot of scaffolding and support for their thinking, but at others they will need the opportunity to think for themselves – and that can be a little bit scary!

How to improve your child’s critical thinking skills at home?

There is no one strategy to support and teach your child how to think critically. As a parent, your role may sometimes be to ask open-ended questions to guide the thinking process. In other cases, it may be more appropriate to allow your child to experiment and refine their theories on what causes things to happen. Guiding your child’s critical thinking process can have a positive an impact on their problem-solving skills.

Here are some tips and ideas to help children build a foundation for critical thinking:

Provide opportunities for play

Testing how things work informally is crucial to developing critical thinking. It is during play that children explore cause and effect. What happens if I drop a spoon over and over again off the side of a high chair tray or roll two marbles down a chute at the same time? How can I get the block to balance on the top of this tower? By providing indoor and outdoor space for playing, along with time for pretend play, you provide open-ended opportunities for your child to try something and see the reaction; and then to try something else and see if he can create a different reaction. These hands-on experiences provide an integral foundation for later abstract critical thinking.

Pause and wait

Offering your child ample time to think, attempt a task, or generate a response is critical, but not necessarily easy to do. Try counting (silently) to 60 while your child is thinking, before intervening or speaking. This gives your child a chance to reflect on her response and perhaps refine, rather than responding with her very first gut reaction.

Don’t intervene immediately

Instead, try counting to 120, or even longer, and observe what your child is doing before stepping in. As challenging as it may be, avoid completing or doing the task for your child. For younger children, patiently readjusting and manoeuvring to grasp a toy on their own encourages continued problem solving and develops executive functioning skills. For older children, ask critical thinking questions and provide enough information so they don’t get frustrated, but not so much that you solve the problem for them.

Ask open-ended questions

Rather than automatically giving answers to the questions your child raises, help him think critically by asking questions in return: “What ideas do you have? What do you think is happening here?” Respect his responses whether you view them as correct or not. You could say, “That is interesting. Tell me why you think that.” Use phrases like “I am interested to hear your thinking about this.” “How would you solve this problem?” “Where do you think we might find more information to solve this problem?”

Help children develop hypotheses

Taking a moment to form hypotheses during play is a critical thinking exercise that helps develop skills. Try asking your child, “If we do this, what do you think will happen?” or “Let’s predict what we think will happen next.”

Encourage thinking in new and different ways

By allowing children to think differently, you’re helping them hone their creative problem-solving skills. Ask questions like, “What other ideas could we try?” or encourage your child to generate options by saying, “Let’s think of all the possible solutions.” Of course, there are situations where you as a parent need to step in. At these times, it is helpful to model your own critical thinking. As you work through a decision-making process, verbalise what is happening

inside your mind. Children learn from observing how you think. Taking time to allow your child to navigate problems is integral to developing your child’s critical thinking skills in the long run.

Alistair Bryce-Clegg – Best practice in the Early Years

Ellen Galinsky – Mind in the Making

Pamela May – The thinking child: Laying the foundations of understanding and competence

Emma Jane Ritchie, Former EYFS Leader

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Home > CPD

Sustained shared thinking in EYFS – What it is and activities to try

Written By: Kathie Brodie
Subject: Communication

Sustained shared thinking definition

In basic terms, SST describes those lovely, in-depth conversations that you have with children about anything and everything.

The term ‘Sustained Shared Thinking’ comes from REPEY research in 2002 and was then used by Kathy Sylva et al as a measure of quality in seminal Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) research in 2004.

SST was first mentioned in the 2008 Early Years Foundation Stage, under creativity and critical thinking.

It also appears in the Development Matters non-statutory curriculum guidance for the EYFS , which calls SST “especially powerful.”

Formally, it is defined as:

[A]n episode in which two or more individuals ‘work together’ in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative, etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend. (Sylva et al, 2004: 36)

To fully understand the impact that SST can have, we need to consider each phrase individually:

[A]n episode in which two or more individuals ‘work together’

SST is something that happens between two or more people. This will most frequently be between an adult and a child, but it may also be between children, if one child is a ‘more knowledgeable other’ (Vygotsky, 1978).

The use of the phrase ‘work together’ underlines the emphasis on it being an active and creative process.

Both parties must contribute to the thinking

This is not the traditional ‘teacher’ role, where information is presented by the teacher to be simply absorbed, unquestioned by the child.

This is a true two-way exchange with information flowing both ways, so the teacher also learns from the child. This is the ‘shared’ element of SST.

An intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc

The ‘thinking’ element of SST is provided by the content of the conversation and the thought process that goes into it.

This may be a practical problem or a theoretical one, such as ‘How many bricks do I need to build this tower?’ or ‘How much does the moon weigh?’

As the ‘etc’ in this part of the definition suggests, this is not an exhaustive list and SST can be applied to everything we do in any setting, at any time.

[A]nd it must develop and extend

This is the sustained part of SST. A problem might be solved, or a concept is explained, but the deep-level learning that stays with children and can be built upon occurs when the thinking is extended.

This embeds the knowledge and helps to make it transferable to other circumstances and situations.

In summary, SST conversations are in-depth, extended and genuine conversations that can be between adult and child or child and child.

Joint thinking and learning must take place.

Why is sustained shared thinking important?

SST is important because it supports children’s deep level learning.

Laevers (2005: 3) explains deep level learning as the “paradigm shift through which more of the complexities of the world […] can be experienced and become meaningful”.

Thus, deep-level learning encourages children not to simply learn facts, but also to think critically, and supports a positive learning disposition.

SST supports this in three ways: encouraging, modelling and extending children’s thinking .

Firstly, thinking is encouraged by valuing and taking time to understand the child’s perspective or ideas.

This creates a virtuous cycle, where a child feels safe to propose more ideas or views. Secondly, practitioners model thinking by demonstrating their thought processes ‘out loud’.

This gives children a structure or framework that they can then use for themselves.

Interestingly, practitioners will have different thought processes, so children will have a range of models by talking to different practitioners. Thirdly, thought is extended, for both participants, as knowledge is verbally flowing between the two people.

How to achieve sustained shared thinking

It is quite daunting to think that you should be having an in-depth, thought-provoking conversation with every child in your class every day.

However, this can be achieved with a little planning and organisation.

The biggest hurdle is time. A meaningful conversation will take time, preferably undisturbed, so you can concentrate on what the child is telling you.

This does not have to be in a separate room or even during class time. This could be whilst lining up to go outside, while your child is helping you to clear away the paint pots or simply walking down the corridor together.

Once you have made the initial connection, ‘sustaining’ the thinking can be easier. By setting some ground rules and having all practitioners working towards the same aim will help you get some undisturbed time.

For example, other practitioners could be made aware that you intend to engage some children in SST during the session, so could help by ensuring you are not disturbed. Encouraging all the children in your class to be ‘sustained shared thinkers’ means that they can then help each other.

This can be done by modelling the methods yourself and encouraging children to join in the conversations, supporting the less confident children by being available, although not interrupting, and grouping children with a more knowledgeable other in the class.

Children who hear and see thoughtful, sustained conversations are more likely to replicate these types of conversations.

Learning to practise sustained shared thinking

In many respects this is a skill that does not need to be ‘taught’ to practitioners.

Most people enter the profession because they enjoy being with young children, talking with them and sharing ideas, so they already understand the importance of SST.

Peer observations can be a strong method for learning how to practise SST, particularly for those who have not been in an environment where it is encouraged.

If practitioners are willing, and with suitable permissions, you could use video recordings of SST to demonstrate effective interactions between adults and children.

SST should be valued as a skill, be seen as a powerful educational tool and not be seen as ‘just chatting’ with children.

Practitioners should feel comfortable and be inspired to spend time talking with those in their care.

Sustained shared thinking in summary

SST is something that good-quality practitioners have always been doing.

There’s more of a focus on SST as a process since the EPPE research demonstrated how it significantly supported children’s learning and development.

By carefully organising time and having a mutual understanding of the aims of SST, practitioners can work together to support each other. The thinking and knowledge that results from this can be used to inform planning and assessment, raise a child’s self-esteem and encourage good thinking habits.

Now read about how you can ensure that practitioners in your setting embed sustained shared thinking in their everyday practice .

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EYFS INSET: Questioning Strategies to Develop Sustained Shared Thinking

For me Sustained Shared Thinking underpins the learning, the role of play, the role of teaching – it draws it all together.” Kathy Brodie, Early Years Author

• Are you looking to encourage sustained shared thinking and deepen learning through the outstanding use of questions? • Do you want to discover and utilise the 10 most effective questioning techniques? • How do you improve and extend the questions your children ask?

What is Sustained Shared Thinking?

It is one of the Characteristics of Effective Learning in the guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and it’s considered one of the hallmarks of a good quality pre-school setting. In an early years setting, SST is evident when the practitioner has an in-depth conversation with the child and encourages them to reflect on their view of the world.

Why Sustained Shared Thinking?

SST can support the three key areas of learning and development, as defined by the EYFS:

Communication and Language
Physical development
Personal, emotional and social development

Sustained Shared Thinking is more than just another tool. Once you get it for Early Years Teachers , it’s a concept that can run through every single part of your practice, helping to explore and support every key area of learning.

High Impact Questioning Strategies

Questioning is one of the nine research-based strategies presented in Classroom Instruction That Works (Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock 2001). Higher cognitive questions (application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) should make up a higher percentage of questions asked in the classroom. Studies show that a combination of lower and higher questions is more effective than the exclusive use of one or the other. Increasing the use of higher cognitive questions can produce superior learning gains for older students, particularly those in secondary school, and does not reduce student performance on lower cognitive questions.

Is your Early Years Setting or Nursery due an Ofsted Inspection? Our Mock inspection service is robust & supportive. Find out what previous customers say about us JMC Early Years Inspection Team

INSET Outline

Understanding the value of questioning.

• What styles are helpful/ unhelpful? • Features of effective questions • Analysis of video footage • How should we plan our class questioning?

The Power of Questioning in Encouraging Sustained Shared Thinking

• The importance of listening & observing • Staging questions to engage, motivate and explore • Improving the characteristics of effective learning through carefully crafted questions • How to respond to pupils’ answers • Using questioning to personalise learning • Using challenging questions to develop pupil resilience and confidence

Questioning to develop Critical Thinking

• Explore concepts using the PRICE model & others • Extend Critical Thinking skills & sustained shared thinking • Questions for developing metacognition

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What is Creating and Thinking Critically?

This Characteristic of Effective Learning looks at the ways in which young children explore the world around them and the people in it. It is all about the ways in which children have their own ideas, how they make links in their learning and experiences and the different ways they choose to do things.

Why is Creating and Thinking Critically important?

Through leaning in this way young children have the opportunities to develop confidence and rehearse new skills. It also provides ways of understanding, trying out and transferring ideas. Creative processes and different ways of doing things can be developed through play. Problem solving skills and making decisions about how to approach a task are all important life skills that can be learnt through thinking creatively and critically.

What does Creating and Thinking Critically look like in the EYFS?

It is important that a strong emotional environment is provided so children feel secure to take safe risks and try new ideas. There needs to be enabling conditions for rich play and talk. Children also need linked experiences to enable them to make connections in their learning.

Sustained Shared Thinking Time

Children need lots of opportunities for sustained shared thinking and talk times. These should be free from interruptions and provide children with consistent time to make links and connections in their learning.

Are young children losing their creativity?

A lot of recent research states that children lose their creativity as they go through their school life. This is not because children are becoming less creative the problem is with the creative opportunities they are being exposed to. It is therefore extremely important children are given every opportunity to develop these essential skills. A creative and critical thinker will form new ideas and ways of thinking. Creativity is a necessity for acquiring all future new knowledge and learning.

Want to get more creative?

For more ideas on how to develop creating and thinking critically skills in your EYFS provision please get in touch. I can help you with many ideas for developing these creative processes in young children. How to provide a rich creative environment and enabling children to make connections and links in learning is something I can help with.

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Do you need help with your early years foundation stage .

For advice, support & training in all areas of the EYFS, please contact me to discuss your individual requirement further.

Tel: 07807 942 119 or e-mail: [email protected]

MSU Extension Child & Family Development

The importance of critical thinking for young children.

Kylie Rymanowicz, Michigan State University Extension - May 03, 2016

Critical thinking is essential life skill. Learn why it is so important and how you can help children learn and practice these skills.

We use critical thinking skills every day. They help us to make good decisions, understand the consequences of our actions and solve problems. These incredibly important skills are used in everything from putting together puzzles to mapping out the best route to work. It’s the process of using focus and self-control to solve problems and set and follow through on goals. It utilizes other important life skills like making connections , perspective taking and communicating . Basically, critical thinking helps us make good, sound decisions.

Critical thinking

In her book, “Mind in the Making: The seven essential life skills every child needs,” author Ellen Galinsky explains the importance of teaching children critical thinking skills. A child’s natural curiosity helps lay the foundation for critical thinking. Critical thinking requires us to take in information, analyze it and make judgements about it, and that type of active engagement requires imagination and inquisitiveness. As children take in new information, they fill up a library of sorts within their brain. They have to think about how the new information fits in with what they already know, or if it changes any information we already hold to be true.

Supporting the development of critical thinking

Michigan State University Extension has some tips on helping your child learn and practice critical thinking.

Encourage pursuits of curiosity . The dreaded “why” phase. Help them form and test theories, experiment and try to understand how the world works. Encourage children to explore, ask questions, test their theories, think critically about results and think about changes they could make or things they could do differently.
Learn from others. Help children think more deeply about things by instilling a love for learning and a desire to understand how things work. Seek out the answers to all of your children’s “why” questions using books, the internet, friends, family or other experts.
Help children evaluate information. We are often given lots of information at a time, and it is important we evaluate that information to determine if it is true, important and whether or not we should believe it. Help children learn these skills by teaching them to evaluate new information. Have them think about where or who the information is coming from, how it relates to what they already know and why it is or is not important.
Promote children’s interests. When children are deeply vested in a topic or pursuit, they are more engaged and willing to experiment. The process of expanding their knowledge brings about a lot of opportunities for critical thinking, so to encourage this action helps your child invest in their interests. Whether it is learning about trucks and vehicles or a keen interest in insects, help your child follow their passion.
Teach problem-solving skills. When dealing with problems or conflicts, it is necessary to use critical thinking skills to understand the problem and come up with possible solutions, so teach them the steps of problem-solving and they will use critical thinking in the process of finding solutions to problems.

For more articles on child development, academic success, parenting and life skill development, please visit the MSU Extension website.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension . For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu . To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters . To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts , or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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