Making the Case for a Conceptually Based Curriculum in Early Childhood Education

The purpose of this paper is to make the case for organising teaching and learning in early childhood education around concepts and generalisations rather than inert facts. It is now widely accepted that facts alone are not enough to help children discern patterns and relationships, group things together, see big ideas and solve problems. Facts need to be placed in a conceptual framework to be understood and remembered. Teachers can facilitate concept development by putting concepts and generalisations (rather than facts) at the centre of activities, providing children with a wide variety of tangible experiences, helping them learn how to observe and represent what they see and hear and providing them with multiple examples of the concepts being taught.