Kinaesthetic Learning in Early Childhood by Barton, Georgina; Garvis, Susanne;

Short description:

Strongly grounded in research and rich with practical examples for educators, this book demonstrates the importance and benefits of kinaesthetic learning in young children’s learning and development.

Long description:

Strongly grounded in research and rich with practical examples for educators, this book demonstrates the importance and benefits of kinaesthetic learning in young children’s learning and development.

Kinaesthetic or hands-on active learning is extremely important for young children’s personal, social and cultural development. Without this kind of learning children may be at risk of poor behaviour, social development and academic learning outcomes. This book shares concrete examples of authentic kinaesthetic learning experiences, across different discipline areas, in a range of Early Childhood contexts. The chapters outline practical approaches to kinaesthetic learning in the classroom to help educators to engage young children, covering curriculum areas such as the arts, mathematics, literacy, digital technologies and English as a foreign language. These practical examples are supported by a range of research and theories related to the benefits of kinaesthetic learning for young children, as well as authentic classroom data.

Written by leading experts in the field, this book shares authentic, appropriate classroom strategies for implementing kinaesthetic learning with young children and will be essential reading for researchers as well as pre- and in-service educators.

'As this book consistently aims to provide the reader with varied research studies that promote the learning benefits of kinaesthetic education, so too does it simultaneously advocate for play-based early learning environments. A preschool or kindergarten teacher looking to reaffirm their use of hands-on learning and incorporate new ideas for it would gain insight into developing their practice from reading this book. Drawing from the detailed chapters, they could apply the myriad of ideas and strategies to content-related elements in their classrooms. This book would also serve as a good option in a pre-service setting to set a foundational understanding of early childhood theoretical concepts for students while increasing awareness of the importance of kinaesthetic learning in early childhood education.'

Lori Blake, Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education, Central Connecticut State University, USA.

Table of Contents:

1. The importance of kinaesthetic learning for early childhood 2. Kinaesthetic learning: A systematic review in early childhood education contexts 3. Learning by doing: a self-narrative approach to children's experiential learning 4. Practice-based approaches to kinaesthetic learning 5. A kinaesthetic approach to teaching mathematics education in the early years 6. An investigation of the use of arts-based embodied learning in early years classrooms 7. The body as an instrument of knowing: Kinaesthetic learning with and through the arts 8. Digital technologies and kinaesthetic learning for early years boys 9. Building a bridge: LEGO as a kinaesthetic tool to facilitate play-based learning in early childhood and beyond 10. Embodied scaffolding and kinaesthetic learning in Finnish early childhood education 11. Concluding comments