Children’s learning in the Kindergarten program is described in terms of the following elements, which are key components of the expectation charts:

  • the overall and specific expectations that relate to each of the four frames (see Chapters 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, and 4.6)
  • the conceptual understandings, which are associated with the overall expectations
  • examples of ways in which thinking and learning are made visible

The sections that follow explain how each of the above elements can be used to support professional learning. In addition, examples of educators’ professional learning conversations and reflections are interspersed throughout the expectation charts, and are important elements intended as further support for educators.

The learning expectations

Two sets of expectations – overall expectations and specific expectations – describe children’s learning in the Kindergarten program. Each expectation is associated with one or more of the frames, or broad areas of learning, of the program. All program expectations must be accounted for in instruction and assessment (see Growing Success – The Kindergarten Addendum, 2016, p. 10).

Children’s growth in learning over the two years of the Kindergarten program is assessed in relation to the knowledge and skills described, in general terms, in the overall expectations (OEs) in each frame. Educators focus on the overall expectations when co-constructing learning with the children. They also develop learning goals and success criteria with the children in relation to the overall expectations and conceptual understandings (see “Noticing and Naming the Learning: The Link to Learning Goals and Success Criteria” in Chapter 1.4, “Assessment and Learning in Kindergarten”).

While the overall expectations are broad in nature, the specific expectations (SEs) describe in greater detail the knowledge and skills related to the overall expectations. The specific expectations identify a range of ways in which children might reveal and apply learning. The specific expectations are intended to assist educators in observing and describing the range of behaviours, knowledge, understanding of concepts, skills, and strategies that children demonstrate as they make progress in their learning in relation to the overall expectations. In addition, as stated in Growing Success – The Kindergarten Addendum (2016, p. 10), “Educators will use their professional judgement, supported by information provided in The Kindergarten Program, to determine which specific expectations will be used to evaluate growth and learning in relation to the overall expectations within each frame, and which ones will be accounted for in instruction and assessment but not necessarily evaluated.”

Conceptual understandings

Conceptual understandings are statements of essential ideas that accompany each of the overall expectations. Conceptual understandings include concepts, skills, attitudes, and habits of mind.

Children discover information and learn concepts, skills, strategies, and processes as they think, learn, and inquire in a play-based environment. They also make connections and construct meaning as they engage in play-based explorations and inquiries. For some children this learning process happens slowly, and for others more quickly, but all children are capable of understanding a wide range of concepts. Knowledge of a variety of broad concepts helps children make sense of what they learn and helps them apply it in new contexts. Educators play a critical role in making this thinking and learning visible to the children, the children’s families, and colleagues in the school system.

The conceptual understandings are presented in a variety of styles to allow educators the flexibility to adapt them for use in their classrooms and with families. Some are expressed as learning goals, some are ideas that could be integrated with other conceptual understandings, and some are expressed from the children’s point of view (e.g., “I can use language ... to express thoughts” [OE3]).

Educators can use conceptual understandings by, for example:

  • focusing on specific concepts in response to children’s observations, ideas, theories, and wonderings;
  • asking the children related questions as they co-construct learning with them (e.g., “Where are all the places you see people reading?” [OE9]; “Where can we find numbers?” [OE15]);
  • using relevant concepts as focal points when discussing children’s learning with parents or other family members;
  • engaging in discussion with other educators about the meaning or significance of children’s observations and explorations (e.g., the complexity of thinking that a child’s wonderings or observations suggest).

Professional learning conversations and reflections

Reflective practitioners integrate theoretical frameworks, research findings and their own daily experiences to guide their interactions with young children and their families. Reflective practitioners figure out how the children in their program think, learn and make sense of the world. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014b, p. 13)

Educators are responsible for implementing a program that is thoughtfully planned, challenging, engaging, integrated, developmentally appropriate, and culturally and linguistically responsive, and that promotes positive outcomes for all children. Examples of professional learning conversations provided in the expectation charts in Chapters 4.3 to 4.6 illustrate the kinds of conversations that enable educators to accomplish these goals. The conversations are drawn from Ontario educators’ collaborative professional learning sessions. These examples are models of the kinds of discussions that educators might have as they focus on particular challenges that arise during a day. They illustrate the insights and innovations that collaborative reflection can provide to support children’s learning and encourage families’ involvement. They are intended only to serve as a guide, not to limit the scope of the professional learning conversations in which educators engage.

All professional learning conversations appear at the end of the expectation chart to which they relate. Conversations that relate broadly to both an overall expectation and its related specific expectations are referenced after the overall expectation (see, for example, OE29 in Chapter 4.3, “Belonging and Contributing”). Those that relate to a specific expectation are referenced after that expectation (see, for example, SE11.8 in Chapter 4.5, “Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours”).

The examples of reflections (“Inside the Classroom”) are likewise intended as guides that educators might find helpful in thinking about issues.

Ways in which thinking and learning are made visible

The expectation charts in Chapters 4.3 to 4.6 are designed to provide concrete examples of the pedagogy that has been outlined in Parts 1 and 2 of this document. The examples show how educators make thinking and learning visible in practice, as they interact with children to co-construct learning.

The columns in the expectation charts entitled “Ways in Which Children Might Demonstrate Their Learning” and “The Educators’ Intentional Interactions” provide illustrations of the multiple learning connections that occur in an effective Kindergarten program. The examples illustrate in a variety of contexts how children show what they are thinking and learning, how children learn from and with each other, how educators can respond to children’s thinking, and how educators can challenge the children and extend their learning. The examples also indicate relationships between the children and the learning materials. The contents of the two columns are described in more detail in the following sections. The diagram below shows various types of interactions.

A graphic showing two columns connected by a double-ended arrow. The left-hand column is titled “Ways Children Demonstrate Their Learning”. Below that is a column of circles titled “Saying”, “Doing”, and “Representing”, each connected to the next by arrows. The right-hand column is titled “The Team’s Intentional Interactions”. Below that is a column of circles titled “Responding”, “Challenging”, and “Extending”, each connected to the next by arrows.

Ways in which children might demonstrate their learning

The material in this column provides examples of ways in which children make their thinking and learning visible to themselves and others – saying, doing, and representing – within various contexts and relationships. Children are not required to demonstrate their learning in all three ways. While the examples given within each frame under “Saying” and “Doing” happen within the school day, there are some examples under “Representing” of ways in which learning may be demonstrated at home and shared with the educators by parents and other family members. When parents and families are invited to share stories about their children’s learning at home, they become more active and engaged partners in their children’s learning.

Saying

These are examples of what a child might say when engaged in learning alone or with others. They illustrate ways in which children might articulate observations or explain their thinking related to the knowledge and skills outlined in the expectation. The examples emphasize that there are multiple ways in which children demonstrate what they know and can do, what they wonder about, and what their working theories are.

These examples emphasize the importance of encouraging children to communicate their learning, and they provide some guidance for educators on how to model language use and the processes of thinking and reasoning for the children. As a result, the examples given may not always reflect the language actually used by the children.

Educators record examples of children’s talk as part of their ongoing pedagogical documentation process. In addition, they use examples of children’s talk to report to parents. It is essential that the children’s home language is valued and encouraged.

Doing

Four- and five-year-old children learn through active engagement, building on prior experiences, observations, experimentation, and social interaction. The social and physical environment invites their active participation and provides concrete challenges to think deeply about and problems to solve. These examples illustrate how learning happens for young children in a differentiated learning environment. Children’s learning can be observed in very nuanced movements and non-verbal communication (e.g., gestures, positions, facial expressions, proximation). It is important to value these expressions of learning – that is, to see children as capable of complex thinking that can be revealed in unique ways (see Chapter 1.4, “Assessment and Learning in Kindergarten”).

Representing

Children are engaged in multiple inquiries in the Kindergarten program. They are naturally curious and try to make sense of their world through an inherently inquiring mindset. Their learning often involves formulating questions and trying to devise and communicate their working theories or solutions. Representation involves describing phenomena to oneself or communicating descriptions or ideas to others. When young children are engaged in their inquiries, they inevitably develop skills and understanding of concepts that are associated with more than one frame, or learning area. The examples provided illustrate how children represent their thinking in different contexts and in different ways (e.g., painting, talking, creating a structure, writing).

The educators’ intentional interactions

The material in this column provides examples that illustrate how educators engage with children’s learning and develop their own professional capabilities as researchers into children’s learning.

Responding

In the sample responses provided, the educators purposefully consider possible avenues of exploration for the children, basing them on analysis of assessment information gleaned from observations. They often adjust their practice moment by moment in response to immediate events or conversations in their classrooms, following up on something a child has said or done to help the child make connections to prior knowledge. For example, the educators may respond by:

  • adding or taking away a material, after negotiating with the children;
  • asking a probing or clarifying question of the child;
  • saying something to the child such as “I notice that you ...”;
  • gathering and recording assessment information.

In addition, the sample responses provide examples of children’s actions and contexts for learning that principals and family members can look for and carefully observe.

Challenging

The planning of children’s learning is based on professional inquiry. Educators challenge individual children in order to support not only their development but also the development of all of the children in the class. As they respond to the children and develop further learning experiences, educators closely observe and document each child’s progress. The examples under “Challenging” illustrate how educators use this information to scaffold the children’s learning either by presenting new learning opportunities or by adding another element to the learning. For example, educators might do the following:

  • ask a question that involves critical thinking, such as “How did you figure that out?”
  • add a new material and observe and document its effect on the children’s learning
  • invite the children to explain or share their learning with others

Extending

Educators play a critical role in extending the children’s learning. They meet the children “at the edge” of their learning and support them in gradually applying their thinking in different contexts. For example, they provide opportunities for children to extend their learning at a different learning area, in a different group, with a different text, with different children, or in multiple contexts.

The educators analyse and interpret the evidence that they have collected. They are able to assess children’s developmental progress and design future contexts for learning. Parents and families also contribute to the documentation by sharing their understanding of learning that happens at home.

Educators continually gauge children’s progress and make connections that recognize and expand children’s learning. If a child is struggling, educators who understand child development are able to identify specific strategies or seek out other resources and supports.