How Planning and Reflection Develop Young Children's Thinking Skills.

THINKING SKILLS oung children ages three to six are capable of making thoughtful decisions about their behavior and keen observations about their environment (as the vignettes at left show). Like Tatiana and Eric, they have insight into their desires, form mental images of the past and future, and attempt to explain their behavior and that of others. Although today's early childhood educators often focus on enhancing reading and mathematics skills to meet ever increasing academic expectations, we must also remain committed to promoting broader thinking abilities. They are the foundation upon which children learn to make decisions, regulate their own behavior, meet complex challenges, and take responsibility for their actions., reminds us that " key concepts involved in each domain of preschool learning must go hand in hand with information and skill acquisition " (p. 8). It cites research showing that metacognition—higher-level thinking and problem-solving skills—develops when children are encouraged to reflect, predict, question, and hypothesize. How can adults help children exercise these capabilities? There is empirical and practical evidence that we can promote the development of thinking and reasoning in young children in the early years by providing two curriculum components—planning and reflection. Both are thoughtful activities that encourage children to consider what they are doing and what they are learning. They also promote a broad range of other academic, social, and artistic compe-tencies. This article summarizes the research in support of these claims and offers strategies teachers and caregivers can use to encourage planning and reflection in their programs. Michigan. She develops curriculum materials, directs a team of specialists who conduct inservice training across the country and abroad, and conducts research and evaluation on early childhood programs. Last night Tatiana, age four, was telling us [her parents] her plan for the evening as we were eating dinner. She told us she planned to watch her new video, play her memory game with her mom, give her baby doll a bath, and have me read her some books. When I asked her when she was going to brush her teeth and go to bed, she told me that wasn’t part of her plan! Today after choice time, three-year-old Eric told me [his teacher] he had watched Goober, the hamster. He reported that at first Goober was asleep, then he woke up and started drinking his water and eating his food. I said Goober must have been hungry. Eric agreed, …