Key Elements of Executive Functioning
ATL early learning standards stress the importance of mental processes that represent, “learning how to learn” (Kagan, Moore, & Bredekamp, 1995). They further suggest that the mere acquisition of knowledge, skills, and capacities is insufficient for developmental success, as having a capacity, for example, does not mean that it will be used. Children must go further and marshal these qualities. For example, a child may have the capacity to listen (her hearing may be intact), but she may or may not have the disposition to be a listener (Kagan, 2003,p.2).
The five elements of ATL standards emphasize development of executive functioning via:
- Learning through play
- Curiosity, eagerness, and satisfaction as a learner
- Initiative, engagement, and persistence
- Setting and achieving goals
- Memory, reasoning, and problem solving (Kagan, Moore, & Bredekamp, 1995)
Lets look at how learning through play, for example, the first element of ATL standards, fosters the development of executive functioning. Open-ended play is a highly integrative activity that promotes intuitive learning in many ways (van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales, & Alward, 2011). Play gives children opportunities to explore the properties of objects and materials, experiment and take risks, and use their imaginations to assume roles and situations grounded in both reality and pretend. When children are encouraged to make choices about how they play, they engage in self-talk, weighing the merits of one direction over anotherthe kind of internal dialogue that leads eventually to abstract reasoning. They develop the ability to focus and are more likely to sustain or persist in longer-term or more complex play that can eventually extend from one play period or day to the next. (Wood & Atfield, 2005).
When children experience school or care in an inviting environment that validates their curiosity about the world, their eagerness to learn translates into a willingness to try new things, adding to the childs store of experiences. These are important to establishing a knowledge base that children will draw from as they continue to learn. Success in play, satisfaction with the results of their efforts (such as a painting or completed block structure), and reinforcement of interests and questions also build the confidence children need to be able to set a goal and believe that it can be achieved, despite the insecurities or lack of experience accompanying an intellectual risk.
We also know from brain research that both short- and long-term memory are needed for reasoning and problem solving. Reasoning requires consideration and determination of cause-and-effect relationships, and application of logic to decision making and problem solving requires that multiple possible solutions be weighed and considered. In play, children have the opportunity to work through problems that are real to them and to practice using what they know and remember to make decisions about how to proceed.
Now consider a classroom scenario that illustrates how the five elements of ATL apply. A child decides to go to the painting easel, puts on a smock, and attaches a clean sheet of paper with clothespin clips to the easel. Paint choices include red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and purple. Suppose, as the child begins to paint, he notices that layering of yellow and blue paint results in the color green, but it is not exactly the same shade of green as the paint in the green container. Curious, (#2) his attention shifts to reasoning (#5) that he might use different amounts of yellow and green to achieve a goal (#4) of trying to match the green in the container in the grass he is painting across the bottom of the paper. He takes the initiative (#3) to do so, and begins applying and observing what happens by mixing different amounts of yellow and green on the paper. As he works, he becomes deeply engaged (#3) and actually fills up and changes paper three times, persisting (#3) in this activity until at last he exclaims, “I did it!” calling the teacher to come and view his painting and recounting (#5) with great satisfaction (#2) how he approached (#5) and solved the problem (#5).
Now imagine how this childs learning would be affected if, for example, the teacher told the child what or how to paint, required children to move from center to center every 20 minutes, or limited them to one sheet of paper per painting. Would he be inclined to start his methodological trial-and-error process knowing that he might not be allowed to finish? Would he experience satisfaction or frustration if he filled his first paper and could not continue on another? Would he have found out what results could be achieved by mixing colors in different proportions?
Early childhood educators keep the important elements of ATL standards in mind as they plan the environment and opportunities for open-ended play and exploration. In the remainder of this section, we consider three major interest areas/centers in the early childhood classroom to illustrate how play supports these most important dispositions toward learning. These areas are sensory play, blocks/construction, and dramatic play.