08 HBEC1903 T4 (WM)

Topic  Strategies,
Approaches
4 and Methods
in Early
Childhood
Education
By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following:

1. Define the concepts of strategy, approach and method in early
childhood education.
2. Explain the implementation of strategies, approaches and
methods in early childhood education.
3. Differentiate strategies, approaches and methods in early
childhood education.
4. Select the implementation of strategies, approaches and
methods in early childhood education.
Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

56  TOPIC 4 STRATEGIES, APPROACHES AND METHODS IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
As an early childhood teacher, you probably use a range of strategies, approaches

and methods in ensuring the quality of learning in the early years. Have you
reflected upon the selection of the strategies, approaches and methods? Are they
the same or do they have distinctive features? The selection of these strategies,
approaches and methods depends on factors such as background of the children
and teachersÊ skills. Teaching strategies, approaches and methods are developed
from resources which include early childhood education theories, understanding
of child development and experiences with children in different learning
environments.
4.1 DEFINITION
The term „strategy‰ can be defined as a long-term plan of action designed to
achieve a particular goal. Teaching strategy is the science or art of planning and
implementing teaching and learning sessions. It is also known as instructional
strategy.
The term „approach‰ has a broader meaning than method. Approach brings the
meaning of perspectives looking at things and may not have a scientific logic. In
the context of teaching and learning, approach can be defined as an array of
principles, beliefs or ideas about the nature of learning which is implemented in
the classroom. Teachers may use approaches that reflect their personal philosophy
of teaching. Through the teaching approach, there can also be various teaching
methods.
Method is a systematic way of doing something. It suggests an orderly logical

arrangement of steps or procedures. Its main focus is on how subject matter can be
delivered effectively step by step and in a scientific way. Teaching method in early
childhood settings is the kind of activity that teachers use in order to teach. Simply,
method refers to the procedure within an approach.
4.2 STRATEGIES
A variety of teaching strategies help teachers to achieve learning outcomes and the
strategies change according to the situation. Teaching strategy is a broad plan for
a lesson which includes organising the desired learner behaviour related to the
goals of instruction. Teaching strategies include general strategies (e.g. know the
children as learners), instructional strategies (e.g. use imagery as cues),
environmental strategies (e.g. use visual displays when giving instructions).

TOPIC 4 STRATEGIES, APPROACHES AND METHODS IN  57
Among the instructional strategies that early childhood teachers can employ to
prepare children in the 21st century are as follows:
• Integrated Technology
TodayÊs children are born in the age of the Internet. Many children are
technologically savvy due to early exposure to technology. Early childhood
teachers must be conversant with the technology that comes naturally to
children. Integrating technology can tap into childrenÊs interests and
strengthen their technical skills, while providing enriching learning
opportunities. As with any new development, many teachers may simply go
through the motions of integrating technology in their teaching and learning.
• Cooperative Learning Strategies

Early childhood teachers are increasingly using a child-centred approach.
Cooperative learning promotes childrenÊs engagement by encouraging
interactions among the children. The teacher, rather than calling on one child
at a time, needs to allow children to interact with their friends, thus optimising
the level of participation.
Figure 4.1: Cooperative Learning Strategies
Source: http://shaznurstationery.blogspot.com/2014/12/

• Differentiated Instruction
Teachers can customise learning experiences to the individual needs of
children in the early years setting. There are three main learning styles, which
are visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. The characteristics of these learners and
the types of activities in which they best flourish are to be distinguished from
cognitive styles. Differentiation of teaching can be done by matching tasks to
developmental levels, offering appropriate intervention or extension activities
as required. Giving the opportunity for children to select activities based on
their interest is another way to differentiate. In addition, small-group work is
one of the most effective ways to meet the needs of diverse learners in large
class settings.
• Goal Setting
ChildrenÊs involvement in the goal-setting process is a powerful way to
encourage them to take ownership of their learning. In the initial stages, goal
setting needs to be done in a very straightforward and simplistic way e.g.
frequent two-way open communication with children about their progress in
specific areas. Teachers can further facilitate goal setting by using charts, which
is simpler for children to understand. Guiding children to reach their goals
requires teachers to provide specific, frequent feedback as well as ample time
for self-reflection.
• Cross-curriculum Teaching
In contrast to the traditional teaching of subjects in isolation, teaching multiple
subjects simultaneously can help children to engage in learning concepts and
skills. Generally, teachers are responsible to make this approach workable.
Teachers can integrate learning strands such as literacy and early science with
reading or writing. Project-based learning, for example, involves children
working on a project. The accomplished project can be shared with parents and
the early childhood centre.
4.3 APPROACHES
Teaching approach is how we view things or a way of looking at teaching
and learning. The approach in early childhood education is based on a set of
principles, beliefs or ideas about how children learn which is translated into the
teaching and learning processes.
When selecting an approach, teachers need to consider:
• curriculum aims and objectives
• learning theories and education philosophies

• childrenÊs development, interests and capabilities
• childrenÊs existing knowledge
• learning environment
• childrenÊs assessment
4.3.1 Types of Approaches

There are three main types of approaches in early yearÊs pedagogy, which are the
teacher-centred approaches, child-centred approaches and a mix of the
teacher-centred and child-centred approaches. Teachers need to decide how to
balance activities led by children with activities led by teachers. Many early years
pedagogies support a mix of teacher-centred and child-centred approaches
because it can contribute to childrenÊs overall development and learning. Look at
Figure 4.2.
Figure 4.2: Types of Approaches
• Teacher-centred Approaches
The teacher is the main source of information in these approaches, in contrast
to the learner-centred approaches. Teacher-centred approaches are more
traditional and focus on the teacher to deliver lessons to children. They usually
adopt direct instruction, deductive teaching or expository teaching. In these
teaching approaches, the teacher controls the content of the lessons and how
learners are presented with the information that they are to learn.
• Child-centred Approaches
These approaches are premised on the perspective that children as learners are
also an important resource because they too can construct their knowledge and
are therefore capable of sharing something. Child-centred approaches
(sometimes referred to as discovery learning, inductive learning or inquiry
learning) emphasise strongly on the learnerÊs role in the learning process.

When early childhood teachers adopt child-centred teaching approaches, they

still determine the learning agenda but they have much less direct control over
what and how children learn.
• A Mix of Teacher-centred and Child-centred Approaches

General practitioners do not prefer one approach over another and do not think
of their time with children as being either teacher-centred or child-centred. Both
teacher-centred and child-centred activities are an interplay between teachers
and children as a continuum, with teachers making constant decisions about the
level of formality, structure and dependence that would promote the best
possible learning. It is clear that teaching in the early years should not be a formal
way of working and must include interactions with children during planned and
child-initiated activities. These are the foundations of learning. Children need to
be taught through direct instruction but in order for them to understand what
they have been taught, they have to work on their own to make sense of ideas.
It is a highly complex balance between teacher-directed and child-initiated
learning (Dubiel, 2018), yet this mixed pedagogy is challenged on a day-to-day
basis through contextual factors.
ACTIVITY 4.1
What do you understand about the concept of approaches in early

childhood education?
Share your answer with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online
forum.
4.3.2 Children and Teachers on a Continuum

Teachers see their approaches to teaching and learning as sitting on a continuum.
A continuum is a continuous sequence in which the elements are not perceptibly
different from each other, but the extremes are quite distinct. Here, teachers weigh
up the extent of their involvement and fine-tune how formal or informal,
structured or unstructured, dependent or independent each learning experience
should be to meet the needs of each child most effectively (Ofsted, 2015).
This means that too little teacher support may limit learning, whereas
child-initiated play and activities can be rich and purposeful for children but can
become repetitive and cause a learning block if not extended or challenged.

However, at the same time, on the other end of the continuum, too tight and
structured teacher-led activities can disengage children and take away their love
of learning. Brooker (2010) classes this as transmission (adult-led) rather than
learning as acquisition (child-led), which then requires teachers to think about
genuine opportunities for activities that develop childrenÊs thinking rather than
teacher-led disguised as play. Nonetheless, there is consensus that the best
outcomes for childrenÊs learning occur when most of the activities in a childÊs day
is a mixture of child-initiated play which is actively supported by adults. This
allows focused learning where teachers guide learning through playful and rich
experiential activities. Ideas about child-initiated and teacher-led activities do
overlap, and research indicates that both pedagogies have a place in educational
contexts (Elwick et al., 2018). So, it is useful to be clear about what is meant by both
terms, how they can work together to support learning, and what the pedagogical
role is in each one.
Figure 4.3: A Continuum of Child-initiated and Adult-directed Activities and Play
Source: DCSF (2009)
Thornton (2015) recommends that we aim for a balance of adult-directed activities

and child-initiated activities – a third each is common. The other third of the time
should ideally be taken up by child-initiated activities that are then picked up and
supported by an adult. However, the balance is still not visible. When most people
think about the question of balance, they think of each exerting an equal weight on
each side. Here, child-initiation and adult-led seem to sit on opposite sides of the
balance, with a lever controlling the weight that can be tipped either side
depending on the context of learning. Balance is a faulty metaphor to use, as it
provides a boundary and separation between both pedagogies. It suggests a

relationship that is always, by necessity, zero sum: if one side rises, the other must
fall in exact proportion. Also implicit in balancing is the idea that equilibrium is
the ideal, and anything that upsets that balance is a change for the worse i.e. a rise
in adult-led activities and fall in child-initiated activities conveys control by the
adult or chaos if vice versa. When discussing teaching and play balance,
Siraj-Blatchford and Brock (2017) argue that synergy rather than balance provides
a much better metaphor.
ACTIVITY 4.2
Think of any approach that supports childrenÊs learning based on your

childhood experiences.
forum.
4.4 METHODS
Methods imply more scientific aspects of teaching and learning than an approach
and are procedural to implementing learning sessions. It is also a scientific way of
presenting learning activities and keeping in mind the developmental milestones
of the children. It is the formal structure of the sequence of acts in teaching. This
consists of procedures to follow, steps to take and actions that you have to do. The
term „method‰ covers both strategy and techniques of teaching. Different
strategies may be adopted in following a method. The teaching method is a style
of presentation of content in the classroom. Two main types of teaching method
are non-participatory method and participatory method as depicted in Figure 4.4.
Figure 4.4: Methods of Teaching and Learning

• Non-participatory Methods
The teacher highlights himself/herself as an expert of the subject matter. The
teacher is perceived by the learners as an expert or authority. Children as
learners are presumed to be passive and merely recipients of knowledge from
the teacher.
• Participatory Methods
Teachers and children are in constant interaction, actively involved in teaching
and learning sessions and continuously exchanging ideas in the overall
teaching and learning. These methods are sometimes known as interactive
teaching methods or learner-centred teaching methods. These are a shift from
the belief that children are a blank slate to whom knowledge should be
imparted to the perspective that children can construct knowledge and learn
on their own if properly scaffolded by teachers.
It is the teacherÊs responsibility to select appropriate methods, taking the

dynamics of the group into consideration and the teaching aids available in the
early childhood centres by following the general methodological guidelines
provided by the national curriculum and teachersÊ guides.
During an activity, teachers can decide to organise frontal activities with all the
children, in smaller groups or individually through differentiated activities –
depending on the specific objectives of the activity and the level of the children.
The following general points can be taken into consideration:
– The oral communication methods adopted can be categorised as
expository methods such as storytelling, description and explanation.
– Teachers also use exploratory learning methods such as direct exploration
of objects and phenomena such as observation and indirect exploration
such as demonstration through pictures.
– Teachers use extensively methods in most of the activities based on the
childrenÊs direct voluntary action and simulated action.
SELF-CHECK 4.1
Why do teachers need to use various methods in teaching young

children?

4.5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN APPROACH AND

METHOD
There are differences between approach and method as well as between method
and strategy. The differences are explained in Table 4.1 and 4.2.
Table 4.1: Differences between Approach and Method
Aspect Approach Method
Meaning It is the view of looking The procedure of teaching learning is

at things. called an approach or the way we teach.
Scope It is a broader term than It is more specific than approach.

method.
Logic It has no scientific logic. It has scientific logic.
Purpose To realise the goals of It is the style of presentation or we can

education. say practical realisation of an approach
through a procedure in a system.
Objective To realise the goals of To make effective presentation of subject

education. and content in the classroom.
Table 4.2: Differences between Strategy and Method
Aspect Strategy Method
Term It is new term belonging to It is old term related with

educational technology. This pedagogy.
term is firstly used in military
science.
Purpose It is used to create appropriate It is used for the effective

teaching learning environment presentation of the specific
which helps the learners in content of the subject which
attaining teaching learning help the learner to understand it.
objectives.
Assumption Its assumption is that teaching Its assumption is that teaching

is the science and quite technical is an art.
in nature.

Application The steps taken in strategy are The steps taken in method are
flexible. quite rigid and fixed.
Emphasis The emphasis is laid over The emphasis is laid over the
teaching activities for the proper instructional steps taken for the
organisation of teaching proper presentation of subject
learning environment. matter.
Effectiveness The effectiveness of strategy is The effectiveness of instructional

evaluated in terms of realisation method is evaluated in terms of
of set objectives. mastery over the subject matter.
Objectives The behavioral objectives and The content and mode of

teaching condition are the two presentation are the two main
basic elements of teaching elements of teaching method.
strategy.
Although there are differences in meaning between method and strategy, teachers
need to understand the concepts of early years pedagogies for young children to
be able to implement either method or strategy successfully.
ACTIVITY 4.3
Choose one aspect of teaching such as emphasis and discuss a specific

context in which the difference between strategy and method is
distinctive. Share your answer in myINSPIRE.
4.6 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STRATEGY,

APPROACH AND METHOD
From the definitions of the root words provided by the various dictionaries, it is
clear to see that method, approach and strategy are not the same and therefore
cannot be used interchangeably. While an approach is informed by oneÊs view or
perspective on issues, a strategy comprises carefully planned activities used to
achieve a goal and a method is the procedure one adopts in solving an issue.
The definitions of the actual terms which stem from the meaning of the root
word also suggest clear differences. Therefore, these words cannot be used
interchangeably since doing so would lead to a distorted view of the terms.

Figure 4.5: Clear Relationship between Approaches, Strategies and Methods
Approaches, strategies and methods depict a clear relationship between the terms
as illustrated in Figure 4.5. Teaching approaches provide a basis for teaching
methods, teaching strategies evolve to define the components of each teaching
method and teaching techniques provide unique ways of going about a strategy.
In other words, teaching approach becomes a universal set which is obtained from
teaching methods. Teaching methods are also related to teaching strategies.
ACTIVITY 4.4
Discuss how you will implement approaches, methods and strategies in

an early childhood education centre.

forum.
4.7 CONCLUSION
Teaching approach is how teachers go about teaching, which suggests creativity
in teaching performance. Underlying any early childhood teaching approach is a
theoretical perspective of what learning is, and of how children learn best.
An approach highlights methods which are the systematic way of teaching
something, through classroom activities or techniques to help children learn
effectively. Teaching strategy is a careful plan of teaching activities to be
undertaken which ensures effective teaching and learning. It is an action plan
designed to achieve specific learning outcomes. At the stage of planning for each

lesson, the teacher decides what method of teaching to adopt, whether teacher-
centred or child-centred. Upon determining which method to adopt, consequently
ensuring effective teaching and learning of that specific topic, he begins to
carefully plan teaching activities which can help achieve effective learning.
• There are three types of approaches in early childhood education, namely:
− teacher-centred approaches
− child-centred approaches
− a mix of teacher-centred and child-centred approaches
• Methods are non-participatory and participatory which highlight the roles of

teachers in teaching children.
• Pedagogical strategies can be general, but they can be used to support a childÊs
learning.
• There are differences among approaches, methods and strategies but they are
also interrelated.
Approach Differentiated instruction

Assessment for learning Goal setting
Child-centred approaches Method
Cooperative learning Strategy
Cross-curriculum teaching Teacher-centred approaches

Brooker, L. (2010). Learning to play in a cultural context. In P. Broadhead,

J. Howard, & E. Wood (Eds.), Play and Learning in the Early Years: From
Research to Practice. Sage.
DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families). (2009). Learning, playing
and interacting good practice in the early years foundation stage. DCSF
Publications.
Dubiel, D. (2018). Responsible early childhood pedagogy. Early Years Educator,

19(10), 6.
Elwick, A., Osgood, J., Robertson, L., Sakr, M., & Wilson, D. (2018). In pursuit of
quality: early childhood qualifications and training policy. Journal of
Education Policy, 33(4), 510-525.
Ofsted. (2015). School inspection handbook.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment
_data/file/391531/School_inspection_handbook.pdf
Siraj-Blatchford, J., & Brock, L. (2017). Comments On: ÂTeaching and Play in the
Early Years a – Balancing Act?Ê Schema Play. https://schemaplay.com/
author/schemaplay/
Thornton, L. (2015). Getting the right balance between adult-led and child-initiated
learning. The Optimus Blog. https://bit.ly/3GI4MuE

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Topic  Strategies,

By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following:

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

As an early childhood teacher, you probably use a range of strategies, approaches

Method is a systematic way of doing something. It suggests an orderly logical

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

• Cooperative Learning Strategies

Figure 4.1: Cooperative Learning Strategies

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

When selecting an approach, teachers need to consider:

• curriculum aims and objectives

• learning theories and education philosophies

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

• childrenÊs development, interests and capabilities

• childrenÊs existing knowledge

4.3.1 Types of Approaches

Figure 4.2: Types of Approaches

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

When early childhood teachers adopt child-centred teaching approaches, they

• A Mix of Teacher-centred and Child-centred Approaches

What do you understand about the concept of approaches in early

4.3.2 Children and Teachers on a Continuum

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Figure 4.3: A Continuum of Child-initiated and Adult-directed Activities and Play

Source: DCSF (2009)

Thornton (2015) recommends that we aim for a balance of adult-directed activities

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Think of any approach that supports childrenÊs learning based on your

Figure 4.4: Methods of Teaching and Learning

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

It is the teacherÊs responsibility to select appropriate methods, taking the

Why do teachers need to use various methods in teaching young

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

4.5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN APPROACH AND

Table 4.1: Differences between Approach and Method

Aspect Approach Method

Meaning It is the view of looking The procedure of teaching learning is

Scope It is a broader term than It is more specific than approach.

Logic It has no scientific logic. It has scientific logic.

Purpose To realise the goals of It is the style of presentation or we can

Objective To realise the goals of To make effective presentation of subject

Table 4.2: Differences between Strategy and Method

Aspect Strategy Method

Term It is new term belonging to It is old term related with

Purpose It is used to create appropriate It is used for the effective

Assumption Its assumption is that teaching Its assumption is that teaching

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Effectiveness The effectiveness of strategy is The effectiveness of instructional

Objectives The behavioral objectives and The content and mode of

Choose one aspect of teaching such as emphasis and discuss a specific

4.6 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STRATEGY,

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Figure 4.5: Clear Relationship between Approaches, Strategies and Methods

Discuss how you will implement approaches, methods and strategies in

Share your answer with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

• There are three types of approaches in early childhood education, namely:

− a mix of teacher-centred and child-centred approaches

• Methods are non-participatory and participatory which highlight the roles of

Approach Differentiated instruction

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Brooker, L. (2010). Learning to play in a cultural context. In P. Broadhead,

Dubiel, D. (2018). Responsible early childhood pedagogy. Early Years Educator,