WiseTip: AL-PER-M0009-G01B

Approaches to Learning

Promoting Persistence

Observe and remove the toy when your baby starts to get tired or frustrated, such as when your baby arches his/her back or looks away for a long time.

WHY IT MATTERS

Children can persist in exploring when they have a secure relationship with their caregivers, and can return to the caregiver for comfort and support when they face challenges.

Ainsworth MDS (1978) Bowlby-Ainsworth Attachment Theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 1: 436–438.

Warmer parenting styles, where parents are responsive to the child and supportive and accepting of their attempts to explore, have been correlated with greater persistence and attention in young children when carrying out tasks.

Hyson, M. (2008). Enthusiastic and engaged learners: Approaches to learning in the early childhood classroom. New York: Teachers College Press and Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Caregivers can support toddlers' learning by watching out for signs of engagement (verbal and non-verbal cues), and providing authentic opportunities for scaffolding and supporting their persistence in the learning process.

An important part of scaffolding is identifying opportune moments during child-initiated activities or play to help children sustain attention and persist in the task to learn from the experience.

Bodrova, E. 2008. “Make-Believe Play versus Academic Skills: A Vygotskian Approach to Today’s Dilemma of Early Childhood Education.” European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 16 (3): 357–369. doi:10.1080/13502930802291777.