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Teaching thinking in the classroom Socrates (c.470-399BCE), an early Greek philosopher and teacher, suggested: Thinking is enhanced not by answers but by questions Students learn best when supported to analyse and evaluate concepts Deep questions challenge our assumptions Educators must model intellectual inquiry To summarise a complex topic, all humans…...

Scéalta Blog In this week’s Scéalta, Catherine O’Reilly, PhD research student at Trinity College Dublin, discusses how critical thinking relates to early childhood and how we can use storytelling to give children in Early Years settings the same opportunities as older children to learn how to communicate, collaborate, be creative…...

Have you ever wondered how educators decide to teach the way they teach and why they use the practices they adopt in the classroom to support learning and development? There are many ways to answer this question; your answer will be influenced by your knowledge of the educational system and…...

Book Details Title: Sad Book Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Quentin Blake Publisher: Candlewick Press, Cambridge Massachusetts Published: 2004 Pages: 32 Reviewer: Catherine O'Reilly | Ph.D. research student | Trinity College Dublin Genre: Emotional, Well-being, Grief Sad Book This beautifully illustrated book is a story portraying sadness and grief. It is…...

I started February off by submitting an abstract (fingers crossed) for the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) 2023 conference in Lisbon, which is taking place from August 30th to September 2nd. This year’s theme is Children’s Curiosity, Agency and Participation: Challenges for Professional Action and Development 2023.eeceraconference.org. Now,…...

Book Details Title: Frankie's World Author: Aoife Dooley Publisher: Euston House Place of Publication: United Kingdom Published: 2022 Pages: 258 Reviewer: Catherine O'Reilly | Ph.D. research student | Trinity College Dublin Age Range: 10-15 Theme: Autism, Humour, Relationships, Fitting in, Accepting yourself This new book by Aoife Dooley, Frankie’s World,…...

Book Details Title: Talking is Not My Thing! Author and Illustrator: Rose Robbins Publisher: Scallywag Press Reviewer: Catherine O'Reilly | Ph.D. research student | Trinity College Dublin Teaching in the early years is about letting children be curious, explore, ask questions and wonder about everything around them. For example, have…...

Book Details Title: Peter Rabbit Tales - A Christmas Wish Author: Beatrix Potter Publisher: Puffin Books Published: Penguin Random House Children's UK, London First Published: 2017 Reviewer: Catherine O'Reilly | Ph.D. research student | Trinity College Dublin Website: Peter Rabbit Introduction It is that time of year again, children are…...

Book Details Title: Putting Storytelling at the Heart of Early Childhood Practice: A Reflective Guide for Early Years Practitioners Author: Tina Bruce, Dr. Lynn McNair, and Jane Whinnett Publisher: Routledge, United Kingdom Pages: 219 ISBN: 978-0-367-24590-0 Reviewer: Catherine O'Reilly | Ph.D. research student | Trinity College Dublin Introduction Since 2014,…...

Book Details Title: Essential Skills for Early Career Researchers Author: Joseph Roche Role: Researcher and lecture at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Publisher: Sage Publications United Kingdom Pages: 189 ISBN: 978-1-5264-9023-0 Reviewer: Catherine O'Reilly | Ph.D. research student | Trinity College Dublin Introduction In response to the unanswered question of how…...