Empowering Young Children's Thinking: The Role of the Early Childhood Educator

Abstract

The purpose of this preliminary investigative paper is to describe how the implications of recent research into young children's thinking has influenced teacher educators at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean (UWS, Nepean) to provide experiential learning and guidance to preservice early childhood educators on how to establish environments that stimulate curiosity and promote thinking. By teaching preservice early childhood educators to analyse, think rationally and creatively, problem-solve and reason, we can foster a better educated tertiary student whose thinking skills will be more effective, and who can initiate such activities in their future educational environments. At the UWS, Nepean students’ metacognitive awareness and perceptions of their own thinking were explored through collaborative, practical activity accompanied by interactive dialogue, thereby establishing ‘communities of inquiry’ in three early childhood subjects. Formative and summative interviews with students, as well as written student reflections indicated that these practices greatly nurtured their creative intellect, further developed their ability to think critically and heightened perception of their own metacognitive capabilities. Students reported that their experiences had encouraged them to use similar thinking skills activities in their own teaching.