Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing the SCIENCE of Child Development To The Classroom

Because little kids can't tell you how their minds work and what makes them learn, you need this book about new scientific discoveries that explain how young children learn and what teachers can do to use those findings to enhance classroom teaching. Discover where the desire to learn comes from and what occurs during children's development to wire their brains for attention, language, curiosity, and memory. Included with the author's clear explanations of how young children learn are examples of classroom strategies that enhance children's motivation, attention, and memory. Learn why and how to

• Encourage children to take intellectual risks.
• Plan an "outrageous lesson" and occasionally add surprises to your classroom.
• Provide children with choices and avoid high-stakes situations.
• Incorporate meditation and free play into lessons.
• Schedule time for children to let out their physical energy.
• Use storytelling for conveying new content.
• Add emotional hooks to lesson and unit plans.

Even seasoned teachers, who already know through experience how young minds work, need this book to bolster their practice with scientific evidence on effective teaching of young children.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction to Learning, Teaching, and Developmental Science

Chapter 1. Understanding Children's Motivation

Chapter 2. Understanding Children's Attention

Chapter 3. Understanding Children's Memory

Chapter 4. Understanding Children's Cognition and Action

Conclusion

References

About the Author

"Understanding How Young Children Learn showcases Dr. Wendy Ostroff’s rare talent: the ability to comprehend and synthesize important empirical studies in developmental science and offer up accurate accountings and useful applications to those in the world most likely to make a difference in children’s lives, teachers and parents....The range of research covered by Dr. Ostroff is vast, but it is distilled into a highly manageable, easily digestible resource--a splendid accomplishment from a thoughtful scholar."
- Robin Panneton, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Director of the Infant Perception Laboratory, and Director of the Office of Degree Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va

"Wendy Ostroff has written a must-read book for students in teacher training programs, new teachers, and classroom veterans. Drawing on scientific studies of children’s development, Ostroff provides how-to guidelines for helping children learn, and most important, she provides specific classroom strategies teachers can easily incorporate into their daily lesson plans. This is a book teachers will treasure!"
- Martha Ann Bell, Professor of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va

"This book is exactly what I’ve been looking for, providing a good balance between scientific research and classroom practice. As an elementary principal, I’m looking forward to using the many nuggets this book offers with my teachers, and what can we, the practitioners, be doing differently in the classroom to ensure learning!"
- Pamela Jasso, Principal, San Carlos School District, Calif.