Extending and supporting learning through incursions

The children in the Early Learning Centre (ELC) are always engaged in a range of interesting and exciting inquiries. To support and extend the children’s learning, educators tap into a range of resources and learning opportunities. One such avenue is to provide the children with an incursion relating to a particular project or area of inquiry.

We often talk to the children about “consulting an expert”. Where can we go to find out more information or investigate our questions and wonderings? Of course, there are many ways that the children can do this – reference books, the library, research on the iPad, or discussion with other people. By bringing an expert from the field into the ELC to conduct a hands-on workshop or performance with the children, we are giving the children the opportunity to connect with experts in our wider community. These visiting educators bring with them a range of resources, knowledge and skills that they can share with the children. The children can then utilise these resources and expertise to participate in a hands-on workshop to enhance their learning.

Recently, the children in our 3 Year-Old classes have been engaged in learning in relation to puppetry, storytelling and performance. In order to extend this learning, we invited a puppeteer to visit our ELC to perform a live puppet show. The children were able to experience the storytelling aspect of the performance as well as observe the movement of the puppets. The children were given the opportunity to explore the mechanisms of the puppets at the end of the performance. This particular puppet show used black-light technology where the room was darkened and the puppets glowed. This unique experience also provided the children with the opportunity to explore the concepts of light and colour.

Our 4 Year-Old learners have recently been exploring a range of science concepts through their inquiries. To extend on this learning and to consult an expert in the field of science, visiting educators from Mad About Science came to the ELC to conduct science workshops with the children. The children had the opportunity to explore the concepts of magnetism, electricity, chemistry, forces, light and colour, and mini beasts at a range of work stations set up around the room. The children were supported by the science experts as they experimented with the equipment and resources provided. This proved to be a wonderfully rich, hands-on experience as the children made many new discoveries!