Looks Can Be Deceiving
Two boys, ages three and four, were playing a computer learning game in a preschool classroom. They were laughing together and clearly enjoying themselves. Their enjoyment reassured the teacher that the activity was worthwhile.
A closer look revealed that they were repeatedly getting the answers wrong. Each mistake produced an explosion of images and sound that they found funny. The feedback intended to signal an error had become the attraction. An educational label and visible enjoyment were not enough to establish that the activity was serving its purpose.
Preschool classrooms should not have computer centers. I believed that when I observed this classroom, and I believe it today. Experimentation, rich discussion, imaginative play, and inquiry should be at the center of a cognitively challenging preschool curriculum. Making predictions, testing ideas, comparing results, and explaining discoveries should be part of daily learning.
A child building a bridge with blocks can predict what will make it stronger, test that prediction, and reconsider when it falls. Children playing restaurant can negotiate roles, create menus, and solve problems together. A teacher can introduce vocabulary, ask a useful question, or offer a more demanding challenge. There is room for laughter, surprise, and delight within these experiences.
There is also much for adults to notice. How does a child approach a problem? What changes after an unsuccessful attempt? Can the child explain an idea or consider a different one? The answers help a teacher decide what to introduce next.
The same attention to experience matters beyond preschool. Consider a first grade classroom in New England studying leaves in autumn. An app could display beautiful photographs. With actual leaves available outside, however, there is a richer place to begin.
Children can collect fallen leaves, examine their veins and edges, and compare their colors and textures. They can decide how to group them and explain why. Two children may sort the same collection differently, creating an opportunity to discuss how each made that decision.
A teacher might ask how to describe a leaf clearly enough for someone else to find it. Children could compare its shape, measure its length, or look for a distinctive pattern. The task gives observation, precise language, and reasoning a purpose.
A book can help children connect their observations with information about trees and seasonal change. Photographs can introduce leaves from places they cannot visit. The resource should serve the learning, with direct experience providing something real to examine, question, and discuss.
Special education addresses the individual needs of children who qualify to receive its services. Technology selected to address a child’s communication or learning needs deserves different consideration from routine classroom screen use. A device may provide essential access to communication, participation, or expression. Individualized needs require individualized decisions, guided by what the technology makes possible for that child.
That distinction matters. A device that enables a child to contribute to the discussion about leaves serves a different purpose from an app used in place of examining them. The decision depends on the child, the learning, and the opportunity the tool provides.
These experiences also create opportunities to recognize and develop talent. A child who notices an unusual pattern may be ready for a closer investigation. Another who offers a detailed explanation may welcome a more complex question. A teacher can respond with new knowledge, additional materials, or a challenge that extends the child’s thinking. The next opportunity grows from what the child has revealed.
Dr. Judy Benson Clarke
Education Strategist
People | Potential | Possibilities
