Newsletter 37: Interest-based learning
Welcome to the latest edition of the e-Newsletter. In this issue, Early childhood consultant and writer, Luke Touhill discusses Interest-based learning.
We know that children learn best when they are interested and engaged. Using children’s interests as the basis for our curriculum decision making helps to ensure that learning is not only interesting but also meaningful and relevant to children. As the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) notes, being responsive to children’s strengths, abilities and interests helps to ‘ensure motivation and engagement in learning’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 14). Sometimes however, we place too much emphasis on children’s interests at the expense of our own role as educators. Children’s interests are an important part of our work, but not everything we do can or should be based on these.
