Intentional Teaching in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

The concept of intentional teaching has been around for a considerable amount of time, although it has not always been known by this phrase. Intentional teaching is an informed approach to child care that takes into consideration the perspectives and preferences of the child as the curriculum is being developed and delivered. The teacher takes an active role in the child's learning. It is closely associated with the practice of mindfulness.

Overview

The concept of mindfulness is one that is frequently mentioned in the media as a cure for almost any ailment, from stress to depression to high blood pressure. It has developed an excellent reputation due to its ability to improve the quality of people's lives by helping them to slow down, calm their anxieties, and focus on the present moment. The idea of intentional teaching has much in common with mindfulness. Intentional teaching is an approach to education that encourages teachers to pause and think about what they are doing, instead of simply reacting on instinct to the needs of those around them.

Many people navigate through their workday as if they were on autopilot—the same kinds of issues come up day after day, and one's responses to them become almost instinctual. Rather than stop and evaluate each new occurrence to assess its nuances, people respond with barely any attention being paid, in an effort to resolve the situation or conflict as quickly as possible and move on to the next thing that demands attention. Early childhood educators face the temptation to conduct themselves in this way just as much as those who are in other professions, from stock brokers to airplane pilots. Early childhood educators, however, have long been aware that this is far from an ideal approach to their work, because children need and deserve to be surrounded by those who have their best interests in mind and who are willing to bring all of their abilities to bear in order to give them the most favorable developmental environment available (McLaughlin, Aspden & Snyder, 2016).

This is the essential purpose of intentional teaching. Instead of responding automatically to problems that arise, teachers striving to be intentional must stop and think about what the developmental needs of the children in their class are, what child development theory has to say about those needs, and how the children experience those needs. When teachers give themselves time to become aware of these different types of information, they can then combine them into a well-designed learning environment and a series of developmentally appropriate, self-affirming, and enjoyable activities. As is so often the case, the unfortunate thing about early childhood education is that when it is done well and with intention, it appears easy, even effortless, despite the fact that it requires years of education and experience to achieve (Thomas, Warren & deVries, 2011).

Further Insights

The nature of the educational activities offered to children in early childhood classrooms has evolved with the passage of time. In the distant past, teachers would develop activities that all children in the class were expected to participate in and perform more or less correctly. Later, progressive teachers began to explore the possibility that strictly prescribed activities like these might be having unintended consequences: namely, that children's innate creativity and desire for imaginative play were in some cases being stifled or even extinguished because there were so many lesson plans to follow that there was no time left in the day to simply play and enjoy being a child.

From these explorations grew the play-based learning movement, which caused the curriculum development pendulum to swing back in the other direction, until some of the most forward-thinking educators began to advocate a curriculum consisting almost entirely of free (meaning undirected) play. Under this approach, teachers adopted the role of part concierge, part referee, and their primary duties were to support children's free play by assisting them as necessary, and to help children resolve conflicts when their different modes of play came into conflict with one another (as happens when, for example, one child wants to use the sand box as a space ship, and at the same moment a different child wants to use it as a locomotive). Parent responses to this shift in curriculum were a mixed bag. Some parents were extremely supportive of an approach that allowed their children to explore their own ideas and develop their own interests, while others worried that children who were allowed to play freely for the entire school day would later find themselves unable to apply any self-discipline, and they would lack basic knowledge such as the ability to count and to memorize the alphabet, since no one had ever forced them to learn these things (Maita, Mareovich & Peralta, 2014).

It was against this backdrop that the notion of intentional teaching began to emerge. It began as an idea that corresponded to a type of learning known as active learning, which was encouraged among children of all ages. Active learning occurs when a student, regardless of age, takes affirmative steps to initiate learning or extend his or her knowledge in some way; for example, a student trained in active learning might wonder how ice cream is made. Instead of allowing the momentary curiosity to pass, familiarity with active learning would spur the student to go to the library and find resources about the origins of ice cream, to read through these and take notes, and then to write up a description of the process for future reference. In its most basic form, active learning is nothing more than a student who has learned to take responsibility for his or her own education (Leggett, 2017).

Intentional teaching is almost like the mirror image of active learning. It consists of a teacher who takes responsibility for the learning of his or her students, without necessarily dictating to those students how and when the learning will take place. In a sense, intentional learning combines features of both play-based and curriculum-focused teaching methods. Like curriculum-based teaching, intentional teaching requires that the teacher spend time thinking about what to teach the children. This stage of the process asks whether they need to work on spatial awareness, fine motor skills, or some other area of development. Once this has been determined, instead of isolating exactly what and how the students will learn, the next stage in intentional teaching is to understand that beginning a lesson with an intention in mind does not require that one have total control over the outcome; the very definition of the word "intention" is a reference to the beginning of an activity and a hope for what may happen in the future.

Intentional teaching consists of having a plan for the day but being open to taking new directions, as guided by the interests and responses of the children in the class. The teacher may intend to discuss the different kinds of shapes that clouds may have, only to discover that the class is bound and determined to talk about flying saucers that day. In response to this, a traditional teacher would insist that the class return to its focus on shapes. A play-based teacher would embrace the children's interest and allow them to explore the new topic. A practitioner of intentional teaching would, perhaps, guide the children into considering what shapes a flying saucer might adopt in order to disguise itself as a cloud (Hackling & Barratt-Pugh, 2012).

The foregoing scenario suggests that two important components of intentional teaching are flexibility and attitude. The need for flexibility is fairly obvious; regardless of a teacher's plans for the day, the students may have something entirely different in mind, and at the very least this will require the teacher to entertain their point of view, and think about what makes their topic of choice so interesting to them. Attitude is a more complicated matter, however.

The attitude or emotional stance required to support intentional teaching is one that embraces the concept of the shared learning environment, in which the teacher and the students collaborate to facilitate learning and enhance understanding. Because this model relies on collaboration, it does not always follow the lesson plans that have been prepared. An important part of intentional teaching is possessing the willingness to change course in the middle of the journey, redirecting the class as circumstances require. Teachers who are committed to a more traditional model of instruction and classroom management may find it difficult to adapt to this type of instructional model, while those whose attitude is more open to the collaborative construction of knowledge will find it to be a natural fit (Shin & Partyka, 2017).

It turns out that a major component of successful efforts to engage in intentional teaching is trust. In a sense, this should not be surprising, as a significant amount of recent research has demonstrated the vital importance of trust as the basis of virtually all social interactions; without trust, interactions tend to devolve into mere transactions, that is, the exchange of goods or services of value for goods or services of comparable value. Trust is the crucial element that allows one to offer something of value even when reciprocity is not immediately forthcoming or even likely to occur in the near future. It is the basis for every instance in which people help each other without being concerned about what they may receive in return for their contribution (Chigeza & Sorin, 2016).

In the case of intentional teaching, it is necessary for the instructor to trust that students will naturally guide the learning pathway toward an outcome that is both necessary and beneficial, just as the students (and, by extension, their parents) trust the teacher to listen to and take seriously the contributions of the children, whether or not these are pertinent to the pre-planned curriculum. In addition, the importance of trust on the part of the instructor does not consist simply of trusting the students to explore concepts that are necessary, but also of trusting the students to have the capacity within themselves to be able to confront "big questions" about topics such as the meaning of life, the duty individuals owe to one another, and similar philosophical questions. This is a degree of trust that extends beyond the conventional definition, into the existential and even spiritual realm, yet such are the demands of intentional teaching—there must be a deep respect between teachers and students, as fellow human beings (Edwards, 2017).

Issues

An important prerequisite to intentional teaching is meaningful assessment, analysis of the results of that assessment, and planning of curriculum that will address the innate talents and opportunities for growth that each child possesses. Too often, the idea of intentional teaching conjures up images of teaching based on mysticism, meditation, and other esoteric behavior. The reality of intentional teaching is much more mundane—it relies on truly seeing the individual child, with all of their gifts, challenges, and unique traits, and then designing a curriculum that will honor those gifts, support those challenges, and leave room for the full expression of those traits (Kilderry, 2015).

Some early childhood educators balk at being challenged to engage in intentional teaching, because they see it as a challenge to their own authority and to their professional reputation; there is the idea that "teacher knows best," when it comes to classroom plans and activities, and this can be difficult to overcome. Those who do accept the challenge of intentional teaching almost always do so because they somehow understand that it is not a challenge to their own authority, but an invitation to demonstrate their own pedagogical insight. That is, the difficult part about intentional teaching is not that one must cede control of the classroom to the students, but rather that one must balance one's plans for the class with the expressed desires and manifested needs of the students.

Traditional teaching, at least in its initial stage, happens entirely within the head of the teacher, who imagines what kinds of activities will engage students, based on the developmental stages those students have achieved. Intentional teaching, on the other hand, is more malleable in that it does not develop a lesson plan ahead of time and then attempt to stick to that plan in spite of the responses of the students to it. Intentional teachers conceive of a lesson plan insofar as this allows him or her to keep in mind what issues are important to students' current stage of development. The next step, however, is to let go, referring to students' developmental needs as necessary, but responding to students' interest and creativity and the direction they wish to explore.

For example, a teacher might realize that the students in his or her class are at a point where they need to work on their understanding of numbers. Instead of designing a lesson plan that will drill number theory into their brains for hours on end, the intentional teacher files away this awareness for later use. Then, when working with the students, it emerges that they are interested in superheroes. At this point, the intentional teacher recalls the need to incorporate numbers into the lesson, and so he or she directs the students toward this topic by asking them how many superheroes they can think of (a number), and what order the superheroes should be placed in (most powerful to least powerful). This type of approach allows the teacher to decide what direction the students need to move in, but then to be guided by the students' natural interest and frame of reference (Burns et al., 2012).

Terms & Concepts

Active Learning: Active learning is an approach to education that helps students take on responsibility for pursuing their own interests; it recruits students to partner with the teacher in determining the course of educational activities.

Developmentally Appropriate: Activities that are developmentally appropriate are designed to address the stage of growth that individual children have achieved, challenging the child without overwhelming him or her.

Early Childhood Education: The field of education that concentrates on serving the needs of children from birth to approximately age five, at which point they enter kindergarten. In some programs, there is an additional distinction between early childhood education and programs designed for infants and toddlers (birth to age two, approximately).

Learning Environment: The physical and emotional context in which learning takes place. The learning environment includes tangible items such as play structures, toys, and books, but it also includes intangibles such as teachers' attitudes and affect, lesson plans, and other non-physical influences.

Lesson Plan: A pre-arranged description of what a group of students will be asked to do during an instructional session. Lesson plans can include lecture, games, films, field trips, and many other types of learning activities.

Pedagogy: A teacher's philosophical approach to education. While lesson plans may describe what a particular teacher does on a day-to-day basis, the teacher's pedagogy describes why those activities were selected, and what they are intended to accomplish.

Bibliography

Burns, M. S., Kidd, J. K., Nasser, I., Aier, D. J., & Stechuk, R. (2012). An interaction, a conversation, often in the context of play: Constructing intentional teaching in early childhood education. NHSA Dialog, 15(3), 272–285. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=77874195&site=ehost-live

Chigeza, P., & Sorin, R. (2016). Kindergarten children demonstrating numeracy concepts through drawings and explanations: Intentional teaching within play-based learning. Australian Journal Of Teacher Education, 41(5), 65–77.

Edwards, S. (2017). Play-based learning and intentional teaching: Forever different? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(2), 4–11. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=124226698&site=ehost-live

Hackling, M., & Barratt-Pugh, C. (2012). Science of materials: A case study of intentional teaching in the early years. Teaching Science, 58(2), 14–19. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=79542731&site=ehost-live

Kilderry, A. (2015). Intentional pedagogies: Insights from the past. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(3), 20–28. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=109468693&site=ehost-live

Leggett, N. (2017). Early childhood creativity: Challenging educators in their role to intentionally develop creative thinking in children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(6), 845–853. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=125540944&site=ehost-live

Maita, M. R., Mareovich, F., & Peralta, O. (2014). Intentional teaching facilitates young children's comprehension and use of a symbolic object. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 175(5), 401–415.

McLaughlin, T., Aspden, K., & Snyder, P. (2016). Intentional teaching as a pathway to equity in early childhood education: Participation, quality, and equity. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 51(2), 175–195. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=119478954&site=ehost-live

Shin, M., & Partyka, T. (2017). Empowering infants through responsive and intentional play activities. International Journal of Early Years Education, 25(2), 127–142. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=122428309&site=ehost-live

Thomas, L., Warren, E., & deVries, E. (2011). Play-based learning and intentional teaching in early childhood contexts. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(4), 69–75. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=74605251&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Cohrssen, C., Church, A., & Tayler, C. (2014). Purposeful pauses: Teacher talk during early childhood mathematics activities. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(2), 169–183. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=96281191&site=ehost-live

Fleer, M., & Hoban, G. (2012). Using "Slowmation" for intentional teaching in early childhood centres: Possibilities and imaginings. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(3), 61–70. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=82073830&site=ehost-live

Jung, M., & Conderman, G. (2013). Intentional mathematics teaching in early childhood classrooms. Childhood Education, 89(3), 173–177. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=87570846&site=ehost-live

Leggett, N., & Ford, M. (2013). A fine balance: Understanding the roles educators and children play as intentional teachers and intentional learners within the Early Years Learning Framework. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 42–50. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=93750497&site=ehost-live

Leggett, N., & Ford, M. (2016). Group time experiences: Belonging, being and becoming through active participation within early childhood communities. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(3), 191–200. Retrieved January 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=114435782&site=ehost-live