Intentional Teaching

What is Intentional Teaching: 

By definition, to be intentional means to act purposefully with a goal in mind and to have a plan for accomplishing it. 

Intentional teaching means that Educators act with specific goals in mind for the children in their care and set up the environment accordingly. Intentional teachers have a vast understanding of child development. They must also have a wide range of instructional strategies and know which strategies work best to teach which academic or developmental concept.

Children learn best through child-guided activities, where the children are free to explore and manipulate materials and acquire skills through their own experiences. It is also vital that a fair amount of adult-guided experiences are necessary. In adult-guided experiences, Educators set up experiences where they present information, model skills, and guide the learning toward a specific academic goal. We strive to achieve a good balance between these two types of learning.

Intentional Teaching Tips:

• Understand the developmental abilities of the age group you are with (make sure you have realistic expectations).
• Design your environment in such a way as to encourage curiosity including a large range of natural products. 
• Plan some goals you would like the children in your group to achieve before they move to the next room.
• Incorporate these goals into your curriculum gently guiding the children and flow on from their interest.