ABSTRACT
Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn. All children learn, and yet helping them learn ‘how’ to learn can enhance their development even further. Amongst the many important roles that education plays is the nurturing of the emerging sense of self in young children. During their nursery years, children grow from reactive to proactive creatures. They learn that they are able to plan, design and influence the world around them. Learning how to learn includes knowing how to ask meaningful questions and how to decide which answers are the best; it includes thinking about the tone and timing of interactions; and it includes when to persevere in comparison to when to compromise. As well as helping children develop learning attitudes, it is a good idea to think about the skills children need for learning. Learning Detectives are children who have been nominated to stay ‘outside’ of the main learning task.
