Should theory inform the practice of teachers? Cognitive psychology can tell us a lot about the developing minds of young children. Can practice inform theory? The work of inspired teachers can also reveal a deep understanding of children’s minds. In this article Sue Lyle reflects on the practice of nursery teacher, Sara Stanley, and how her work provides practical support for theories of learning developed by the cognitive scientist, Alison Gopnik and her team of researchers. The practice and the theory dovetail nicely together to provide principled approaches to organizing learning for the youngest members of our schools.
When the nursery children arrive in Sara Stanley’s class, like other children, they have to register. In Sara’s class registration is not what that word normally conjures up. Each child goes to the ‘Choosing Board’ and considers one of two choices. When they have made their choice they place their name tag on one or other side of a magnetic board. Which side they choose depends on the choice they make.
In the first term each day they are asked to consider: ‘Would you prefer…?’. The choices facing them change each day. Would you prefer: giant babies or tiny elephants? Stories or songs? Birthdays or Christmas? Fairies or wizards?
On the day that we are visiting the classroom the choice is between ‘castles or ships’. As each child makes their choice they place their name in the appropriate space on the ‘choosing board’. They all come together on the carpet and Sara counts how many names are placed under each category and tells the children: “Today I have 15 castles and 13 ships”. Sara wants her children to care about making a choice and she wants them to give reasons for their choices and have the chance to change their minds when they have listened to each other’s ideas.
“Tell me why you chose castles.” Children are invited to give their reasons and there is no shortage of answers. “But, what if the castle has a dungeon?” Some children now want to change their minds and give their reasons: “dungeons are dark”, “dungeons are scary”, “the owner of the castle might put you in the dungeon”.