Teaching and Putting Theory into Practice

Ngā tikanga ki roto i te mahi – Tikanga Practices. Oku Wawata – My Aspirations. Kaituhi: Wendy Rameka. Mā te rongo, ka mōhio Mā te mōhio,

It all Comes Out in the Wash! Teaching Style and Thinking About The Kind of Teacher You Are.   By Joy Lubawy.   Have we moved forward with the times in educating young children?  Do you remember when your Mother used to […]

Teaching Pre-Reading Skills. By Barbara Morris. Is it important for parents and early childhood educators to be involved in teaching pre-reading skills to children? Yes it is! Parents play an important part in helping their children acquire pre-reading skills. There are […]

Self-Review. By Janet Moles. As I quietly move close to the habitat of an early childhood centre, I observe that the group is in the midst of the strange ritual known as ‘The Staff Meeting’. In this gathering, the leader […]

Implementing Pikler and Gerber Theories. By Helen Stewart-MacKenzie (with Arwen Hann).   Concepts such as ‘self-soothing’ (allowing babies to settle by themselves) and leaving babies to develop in their own time rather than pushing them to meet milestones cause much debate […]

ICT in Early Childhood Education: Questions, Issues and Planning Considerations. Technology is part of every child’s life and at some point, children are almost certain to want to use and may get hooked on technology – a phone, iPad, or […]

Sign Language in Early Childhood Education. By Rachel Pratt. Why and how to incorporate NZ Sign Language into ECE settings and your teaching. NZ Sign Language (NZSL) is one of the three official languages of NZ and all ECE services […]

Do You Allow (Or Even Encourage) Gun Play? By Tim Kahn. Tim Kahn writes his thoughts about the superhero and weapon’s play that is often indulged in relentlessly by a small group of boys – and less persistently by another […]

Baby Signing. What is baby (child) signing?History – how it developed and what the researchers discovered. Simple tips for getting started with baby signing.  Examples of some baby signs that you can easily learn and teach to infants in your […]

Co-construction, Problem-Solving, Scaffolding and Hypothesising: Super Teaching for Super Success. By Janet Moles. The early childhood years are a busy, exciting time. New discoveries, skills and competencies are a regular part of life for a young child. Early childhood teachers […]

Teaching Science and Children’s Scientific Learning. By Rachel Pratt. How many times do you walk into a centre that has a table in the corner, which is beautifully set up with magnifying glasses, natural materials, and posters about a certain […]

Early Childhood Teaching Theories. During teacher education programmes, lecturers introduce students to the joys of studying a range of theorists. But many teachers appear to put theoretical perspectives of practice behind them immediately the essay-writing is over. The purpose of this […]

Guide to Teaching Literacy. By Dr Sarah Alexander. From their earliest speech experiences through to contact with written language and technologies, what happens in children’s homes and communities shapes their early literacy learning.  How, and whether this early learning is […]

Books and Reading Fun. By Barb Morris. We learn best when we are playing and having fun especially if we are rewarded with smiles, positive comments and cuddles. Children are no exception! So how do they learn? When it comes […]

Reflections on Wairua. By Ngaroma Williams and Michelle Anderson with peer-review by Dr Mere Skerrett. We came to write this article through asking questions, seeking clarification, providing each other examples of our own experiences, and then highlighting what these experiences […]

Tuakana – Teina Relationships. By Ngaroma Williams. Within Aotearoa, New Zealand early childhood education pedagogy, the relationships of tuakana, teina are misunderstood, misinterpreted and/or misused. Ngaroma Williams explains how and calls for a Maori worldview to be expressed and better […]

The Play Based Approach – Helping young learners to flourish. The one thing every parent, caregiver and educator wishes most for a young child is to have a happy and fulfilled childhood. What is a Play Based Approach? A play-based approach is […]