Five Key Points of Pedagogy

Children are natural learners. They are active, eager to learn, and respond with interest to new things. They have an innate sense of curiosity — they wonder, question, explore, try out, and discover to make sense of the world. By acting on their curiosity, they continue to discover and learn more.

NCFSE 2023

Children learn best through play — through activity and doing. They like to run, jump, crawl, and balance, they enjoy repetition, respond spontaneously to rhythm, talk, ask, reason, and answer questions posed to them. They learn through first—hand experiences involving manipulation, exploration, and experimentation.

NCFSE 2023

Engaging with materials, ideas, thoughts, and feelings during play helps in developing children’s creativity, flexible thinking, and problem-solving abilities, and enhances their concentration, attention, and perseverance. Children also improve their thinking, vocabulary, imagination, speaking, and listening skills through play, whether they are reconstructing real situations or creating imaginary worlds.

NCFSE 2023

Learning at this Stage is, therefore, an active and interactive process in which children learn through play and through interaction with other children and more experienced others. Children are actively engaged in their social and cultural experiences, and they constantly adjust and use new information to make sense of their perceptions and their experiences.

NCFSE 2023

Children’s playfulness can be nurtured and strengthened through experiences of active participation with others, and with natural, real-world materials that provoke and enhance learning, imagination, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving in diverse and unique ways.

NCFSE 2023

It is vital that the learning of children at this Stage be anchored by nurturing relationships with those around them. These relationships help children feel safe, and become more optimistic, curious, and communicative.