The areas of learning describe what children learn. The Characteristics of Effective Learning describe how they learn. This characteristics of effective learning training takes your team through the three characteristics, playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically, and shows what each one looks like in a child and what the adults around them can do to support it.
Along the way it looks at motivation, at why the way we praise children matters so much, and at schemas: the repeated patterns in play that tell you how a child is currently making sense of the world.
Why the characteristics of effective learning matter
Children are born with a natural desire to learn, and the characteristics are visible from birth. What happens next depends a great deal on the adults. Too many rewards and too much general praise can make children feel they have to perform for adults, which reduces their learning power. Telling a child they are “good” or “clever” can push them towards a fixed mindset and make them wary of taking risks. Children need to become self-regulated learners who concentrate, persist and enjoy achieving what they set out to do, and adults either feed that or quietly wear it down.
The module describes the characteristics as a key part of the EYFS and part of children’s holistic learning. Understanding them gives practitioners a shared language for how a child is learning, not just what they did, which makes observations more useful and conversations about next steps more focused.
What’s in the course
- What the characteristics areHow children learn, why effective learning matters, and a short reflection on how you learn yourself.
- Playing and exploringFinding out and exploring, playing with what they know and being willing to have a go.
- Active learningBeing involved and concentrating, keeping on trying and enjoying achieving what they set out to do.
- Creating and thinking criticallyHaving their own ideas, making links and choosing ways to do things.
- Motivation and masteryIntrinsic and extrinsic motivation, growth mindset, and how adults build a mastery orientation.
- Praise and rewardsStriking a balance: specific praise, and occasional and unexpected external rewards.
- SchemasCommon schemas, including trajectory, transporting, positioning, enclosure and enveloping, with indicators and activity ideas.
- Helping children become effective learnersListening and responding, acting as a sounding board, and guiding without leading.
- Assessment10 questions. Pass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
What you’ll learn
- The three characteristics and what each includes: engagement, motivation and thinking
- Why intrinsic motivation, doing a task for its own sake, is the basis for effective learning and can lead to “flow”
- How relying on extrinsic motivation can lead to comparison, performance goals and “praise junkies”
- How to give specific praise that feeds back on engagement, problem-solving, ideas and concentration
- Four ways to build a mastery orientation, from giving children the chance to struggle to helping them set their own goals
- How to support creating and thinking critically by listening and responding, reminding children of earlier ideas and modelling the creative process
- How to recognise common schemas, such as a baby throwing and dropping objects, and offer resources that match them
Who this course is for
- Early years practitioners and key persons who observe children’s play every day
- Room leaders who want the team to talk about how children learn, not only what they did
- Apprentices and new starters meeting the characteristics for the first time
- Managers looking for a short refresher for the whole team
How it works
- OnlineStudy on any device and pick up where you left off.
- Interactive moduleShort slides, a video and reflection prompts you work through at your own pace.
- 10-question assessmentPass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
- CertificateIssued when you pass. NFAQ accredited.
Training your team
How adults praise, reward and respond shapes children’s motivation, so it helps when every adult in the room is working the same way. Choose the number of learners at checkout, with group rates from 3 learners, or get it as part of the Training Portal for £5 per learner per month. Go further with Schemas: Understanding Children’s Play Patterns and The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Explained.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three characteristics of effective learning?
Playing and exploring (engagement), active learning (motivation), and creating and thinking critically (thinking). Together they describe how a child learns, alongside the areas of learning that describe what they learn.
Is it wrong to tell a child they are clever?
The course explains that labels like “good” or “clever” can lead to a fixed mindset and make children risk-averse. Specific praise that names what the child actually did, such as how they concentrated or solved a problem, does more for their learning.
Should we stop using stickers and rewards?
The course recommends balance: occasional and unexpected external rewards, with specific praise doing most of the work. Too many rewards can make children feel they must perform for adults.
What are schemas, and why are they in this course?
Schemas are repeated patterns in children’s play, thinking and language, such as throwing, transporting or enclosing. Spotting them helps you offer resources and experiences that feed what a child is already exploring.
What happens if I don’t pass the assessment?
You can resit it as many times as you need until you pass. Your certificate is issued as soon as you reach the 80% pass mark.
Will this help at Ofsted?
Ofsted does not approve training providers, and the certificate is evidence that you completed the training. The course helps you describe how children in your care are learning, using the language of the characteristics.
