Process over product

At some point later in their education, every child will be required to complete a task that results in a predetermined product or outcome. As they progress through school, they will have to recall existing knowledge to achieve a specified result. Success relies on teaching input, and how securely the required knowledge has been embedded. Competence is measured by the quality of the finished product and how well a child has achieved somebody else’s goal.

However, a lot happens in a child’s development before the product becomes the desired outcome. As part of their cognitive development, children set their own goals as they play and explore: whether that is a baby reaching out to grasp a toy for the first time, or a three-year-old child trying to build the highest tower of bricks.

The driving force is the desire to achieve what they have set out to do. That is when the process of learning is being embedded, and the process is very much about the characteristics of effective learning.

Very few educators would disagree that play-based experiences and opportunities for children should be challenging, enjoyable, and ignite the three characteristics of effective learning:

playing and exploring
active learning
creating and thinking critically

The characteristics represent the processes by which children acquire knowledge; they are how children make sense of the world around them and benefit from the activities and experiences that they have in their early years setting.

The vital importance of the characteristics is overlooked when educators decide that children must produce something 'recognisable' and standardised.

The classic example is cards to take home for seasonal celebrations. It's all about the product! An educator may have spent several hours cutting out 25 shapes and setting the art table with pots of glue, yellow crepe paper and some 'googly eyes'. The children will be shown a finished card so they know what they are aiming for, and the diligent educator will be on hand to guide little fingers to position everything perfectly.

Every child will take their turn, sometimes being coaxed away from an activity that they are engrossed in. Those that resist strongly will be left 'for the time being on the understanding that they will complete the task later.

The finished card will be whisked away to dry, before being displayed proudly by the educator alongside the other 24 cards, ready for parents to take home. The inevitable confusion at home time occurs when children are asked to collect their card but have no idea which one it is. Luckily the educator will have written their name on the rear and a disaster is averted.

Let's reflect for a moment on the learning that has happened, or more accurately on the missed opportunities, and the characteristics of effective learning that were, or were not employed:

What was the child's motivation? It was the educator's motivation, not the child's.
What characteristics were employed by the child? None
What 'teaching' took place? Very little. Certainly no expressive arts and design. maybe a little understanding the world. and perhaps some maths, but only if the educator recognised and exploited the teachable moments.
Could the educator explain to a parent or carer what their child has enjoyed and achieved during this activity? No.. but the educator could explain how they have achieved their own goal of 25 standardised cards, completed and despatched on time.

Now for a brief case study exploring a different approach. Yasmin and Ahmed arrive at nursery having both walked past a building site. They are excited and curious about the scaffolding they could see. Their mothers explain what it is and what it is for. Yasmin and Ahmed are motivated to find out more and ask their educator if they know about 'scaffling'.

Later in the day, Ahmed is drawn to the junk modelling activity. He tells his friends that he is going to do 'scaffling'. Yasmin hears, and leaves the mark-making area eager to join in.

Ahmed finds two tubes and after several attempts, he manages to fix them together with tape and glue. He then proceeds to fix other cardboard tubes together before helping Yasmin with suggestions for her 'scaffling'. Yasmin is not as successful in her attempts but eventually completes a structure that she is pleased with. Both children carefully place their 'scaffles' on the table by the door, ready to take home.

When their respective parents arrive to collect them, both children explain what they have made, how they have made it, and how important it is that it is transported home 'very carefully'.

Let's reflect again on the learning that has happened.

What was the children's motivation? Both children were motivated by something they had seen. They wanted to know more and were interested in something they had not previously encountered.
What 'characteristics' were employed by the children? All of them. Both children investigated further as they asked their parents/carers and educators about what they had seen. They concentrated and kept on trying as they created their own scaffolding, and in doing so, learned more about how the components fitted together.

They made links between their ideas and developed strategies for doing things. There was trial and error during their modelling play, both children shared ideas and found new ways of doing things.
What teaching took place? The educator will have taken advantage of many 'teachable moments. For example, using the word 'scaffolding' in sentences so that the children could master the pronunciation and the context in which the word could be used; looking for other examples of buildings with scaffolding with the children; considering ways to extend the learning that was happening based on Yasmin and Ahmed's interest; and suggesting ways of fixing the junk modelling materials, if asked.
Could the educator explain to a parent or carer what their child has enjoyed and achieved during this activity? Yes, the educator can explain how the children used their spatial reasoning skills, explored space, shape and measure; communication and language, as the educator commented on what the children were doing and reinforced new, big words; understanding the world as the children made sense of their physical world and expressive arts and design, as the children explored and played with materials - the list goes on...

Equally importantly, the children were able to explain to their parents or carers what they had done. They were clearly motivated to share the learning that had happened.

Being able to achieve a product or outcome is a life skill we all need: an understanding of how to follow instructions without deviating to create a product, whether it is knitting a jumper or wiring a plug correctly. There are steps to follow, the correct resources to be selected and inevitably the fulfilment of a need or desire. In each case, the product is the focus, and the process, even if it brings great satisfaction, is a means to an end.

For our youngest children, the opposite is true. It's the process that matters at this vital stage in their development. As stated in Birth to 5 Matters 2021: "Children's learning is best supported when they have opportunities that allow for movement and action, creativity and imagination, independence, and collaboration".
Production line 'take homes' take up valuable time for educators who plan and prepare them, for very little return. Of course, there are many times when it is meaningful to have something to take home - but please make sure it is the child's work, completed to their satisfaction - not yours!

"It must not be forgotten that the basic law of children's creativity is that its value lies not in its results, not in the product of creation, but in the process itself. It is not important what children create, but that they do create, and they exercise and implement their creativitv and imagination." Vygotsky

Process over product

25 cards with fluffy chicks: why?

'Look at my building site, Daddy'