Teaching and Learning Approaches
A holistic approach to learning and development
In Early Years, children learn and develop more quickly than at any other time in their lives. Their progress is not linear, however. It instead consists of lots of interconnecting points. It is therefore vital that support for learning and development is done in a holistic way.
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Definition: Holistic approachPlanning teaching and learning that develops the whole child; planning activities that bring together learning statements from different curriculum areas. |
To apply this holistic approach, early years teachers should recognise that every child is an individual, and that this individuality means that children are continually learning at their own pace. Their individuality stems from a range of factors, including differences in experiences, interests, and in their home lives.
Effective teaching and learning in Early Years should therefore develop the whole child, and it should be based on an appropriate balance of the following overarching principles of development:
- physical development
- cognitive development
- language and communication development
- social and emotional development.
The interconnectivity between these principles is explained in the following diagram:
The Cambridge Early Years Programme supports a holistic approach to teaching and learning through the six curriculum areas. Together, these curriculum areas reflect the four contexts of development, while also developing children’s creative expression. The curriculum areas are equally important and interconnected. As a reminder, the six curriculum areas are:
- Communication, Language and Literacy
- Creative Expression
- Mathematics
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Understanding the World.
On the next page, there is an example, based on sand-play, that exemplifies how the holistic approach can be applied to one activity to include learning from across all of the curriculum areas.