Global early childhood insights & an update from Gov. Stein's task force

'Teaching thinking' in early childhood within and outside of the classroom

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In mid-November, I had the privilege of attending a global early childhood conference in London, co-hosted by Bright Start Foundation and the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dahbi. It was refreshing and inspiring to hear about the leading global research on best practices in early childhood, and the challenges and opportunities that span across geographies and cultures. I also sat next to an attendee from North Carolina on my first day. I felt right at home. Here are some themes that have arisen as I’ve reflected on my learnings over the last few weeks:

• High-quality early learning is child-led, play-based, and intentional, researchers and practitioners said. Listening to several sessions from pedagogical experts reminded me of conversations in North Carolina on quality and the balance between academic instruction and play. One of early care and education’s goals should be “teaching thinking,” said Esteban Morales, who presented on creating professional development for early childhood educators at CentroNía, a community-based child care program in Washington, D.C. The group’s research found their educators scored higher in care-based components of early learning, but not as well in intentional interactions that develop cognitive skills. So they created tools that help educators plan and execute lessons, field trips, and “classroom transformation” with helpful questions along the way that guide the kinds of teacher to child interactions that accelerate learning.
• Physical movement and outdoor experiences are crucial to healthy development and learning. My favorite presentation was from Katharina Ehrenfried, a head teacher from Berlin Cosmopolitan School in Germany. The school is taking outdoor learning to the next level and created an entire “forest campus.” She argued that outdoor environments not only helped engage neurodiverse children, but that the forest is all children’s “natural habitat.” North Carolina early childhood educators know this, and many are involved in efforts like NC State University College of Design’s Natural Learning Initiative.
• Researchers are developing artificial intelligence tools and robots for early childhood settings. The leading models do not replace but enhance interactions between children and both their teachers and their peers. Across the educational continuum, AI uses should be designed with educational goals in mind instead of user satisfaction and profit. Multu Cukrova, professor of learning and artificial intelligence at University College London, said this of the most commonly used AI tools like ChatGPT: “An educational AI tool would never give immediate response to the information request questions, but would work with the child to co-construct meaning together. These tools give immediate responses and outcomes that are answering all the key questions that the children should be answering in the first place.”

As we came back from Thanksgiving break, I attended the latest meeting of Gov. Stein’s Task Force on Child Care and Early Education, which focused on families’ needs for after-school and summer care. Much of our child care coverage centers on the first five years, but parents do not experience child care challenges only in that time frame. Check out what after-school program advocates and providers said about what supports they need from the state to keep children safe and engaged outside of the school day.

Do not miss Katie’s recent piece from Bladen County on an innovative partnership between the local community college, school district, local government, and Smart Start partnership “with the goal of educating students from birth to adulthood” in a former elementary school building with layers of history. The model is an example of the creative solutions localities are finding to expand access to child care.

Our team is winding down and working on a special project this month on lessons learned across the educational continuum from Hurricane Helene. Early Bird will be back in your inboxes in January. I am grateful to be in community with the state’s early childhood educators and supporters after another year of spending time in your classrooms and neighborhoods. EdNC is wishing all of you a happy holiday season, and thanking you for all you do for our students, our state, and our future.

Until next time,

Liz Bell

Email Liz Bell

Liz Bell is the early childhood reporter for EducationNC.