Before talking about the components, the production, and the appraisal of your learning experiences, we need to look at what kinds of learning happens in early childhood programs.

Primary Learning – This is the learning that occurs when a child acquires the expected skill or grasps the expected concept listed as the goal, purpose, or intent of the planned experience.  Imagine toddlers playing with rubber ducks in the water table.  It is the intentional expectation that they will build fine motor skills, increase vocabulary, and maybe grasp the concept of ‘cold’ or ‘wet’.  The children practice manipulating the ducks with their hands and improve their eye-hand coordination.  They say ‘duckie’ or ‘quack’.  They put their wet hands on their faces, shiver, feel the sensation of cold, listen to the teacher say ‘cold’, repeat the word, and match it to the concept. Mission accomplished – this is Primary Learning.  It should be assessed and documented as a Strength Expectation met.

Secondary Learning – This happens when a child gains an unplanned skill or concept as a ‘byproduct’ of the intentional plan. During that same experience, the children may also squeeze the water from the ducks, spraying their friends’ faces, strengthening their hand muscles and laughing.  They have reached expectations in physical hand strength, social interaction, and humor that the teacher may not have primarily intended.  The children themselves have reached new expectations – this is Secondary Learning.   It should be recognized, assessed, and documented as a Strength Expectation met.

Spontaneous Learning, My Personal Favorite – This occurs when a child makes a brand new discovery while participating in an experience or applies the planned knowledge in an inventive, creative, and original way.  Again during the same experience, a child holds the duck under the water and lets it spring up, discovering the scientific principle of water displacement, and voila! – this is Spontaneous Learning.  

Next Blog: More About Spontaneous Learning!