Transformational Learning

Transformational Learning concepts from Richard Culatta (@rculatta) highlight eight important principles to support teacher and student success. Many of these principles suggested by other major early childhood organizations, such as NAEYC, are broken down and explained with recommendations to improve the quality of care and attention given to the needs of our students. These eight principles include: cultivating belonging, connecting learning to the learner, ensuring equity, sparking curiosity, developing expertise, elevating reflection, prioritizing authentic experiences, and igniting agency. As educators, we should ensure that all children feel welcomed and supported in the learning environment regardless of race, culture, or background and that learning is interesting and engaging. We should continually seek professional development, using observation and reflection to elevate our lessons and structure our environment. Our classrooms should support the interests of the children and allow them to learn through play and exploration, with hands-on, concrete materials, and real experiences. These principles revisit the standard for quality early childhood education.