Successful Foundations is a project which supports the positive transition to school of Kindergarten children and their families through a system wide implementation of the Early Learning Policy for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. As Kindergarten classrooms come to life over the next few weeks, Early Learning Experts Bridie Stanger and Taylor Stokes share their insights into this innovative project and how it supports our youngest learners as they take their first steps in school.
The Developing Brain
In recent years, Neuroscience Educator, Nathan Wallis presented evidence-based research on brain development to teachers in schools across the Diocese. Wallis emphasised that early childhood is the time when the brain has the greatest amount of neuroplasticity and the greatest ability to change. Wallis explained that the human brain is composed of four Brains:
- Brain stem is the survival brain – Heart rate, breathing and flight, fight or freeze response.
- Cerebellum is the movement brain – Coordination and movement.
- Limbic system is the feeling brain – Feeling and emotional response.
- Frontal cortex is the thinking brain – Language, empathy, control emotions, learning and cognitive skills.
The brain’s order of development is from the bottom to the top: Brains l, 2, 3, then 4, meaning an individual needs to meet the needs of all four brains sequentially.
In the first 6 months of life, we survive and focus on attention through relationships. Most of our movement brain comes online between the ages of 6-18 months.
From six months, a baby usually develops complex motor skills, e.g. learning to crawl, grasp, walk and twist the body in any direction.
At the age of 18 months to 7 years old, we move into the development of the feeling/emotional brain. Emotions may come from brain number 3, but the ability to control emotions comes from Brain 4.
Brain 4 begins to be highlighted around the ages of 7- 8 years old, then continues development up until the average age of 27, or in some cases, 32! Often our current culture is focused on developing Brains l and 2; whilst rushing Brain 3 to go straight to Brain 4.
The growth of the frontal cortex is experience dependent. The brain is genetically and biologically designed to interact and be moulded with the environment it encounters. To use the frontal cortex, your brain stem needs to be calm.
Between the ages of 2-7 years of age, a major key focus should be the development of Learning Dispositions. Learning dispositions include the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours a person has towards someone or something. These are developed through play and include:
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Problem-solving
- Resilience
- Perseverance
- Meta-cognition
- Questioning.
Parents and teachers can support the needs, interests and capabilities of the child by observing play and by enhancing, scaffolding and extending the environment the child engages in. The developing brain is fascinating, and the research of Nathan Wallis is recommended to you.
Please remember that for many children the transition to school continues and will do so until the child feels a sense of belonging to the school. It is different for every child!
