4.3 Use examples to outline benefits of adult-led explicit teaching and child-initiated experiences

This guide will help you answer 4.3 Use examples to outline benefits of adult-led explicit teaching and child-initiated experiences.

Adult-led Explicit Teaching

Adult-led explicit teaching means the practitioner plans and leads an activity or learning experience with clear aims. The adult guides the child through the steps and directly teaches skills, concepts, or behaviours. This works well when children need support to learn something new that they may not yet attempt independently.

Adult-led teaching can be structured but still engaging. It often involves setting up the environment in a way that supports the learning goal. The adult is actively present, instructing, demonstrating, or modelling the desired activity. Children follow the adult’s lead and practise new skills with guidance.

Examples of adult-led explicit teaching include:

• A maths session where a practitioner teaches counting and number recognition using number cards.
• A phonics activity where letter sounds are introduced, repeated, and practised through games.
• A cooking activity where children learn measurement and mixing, with the adult explaining each step.
• A science experiment where the adult explains cause and effect, such as what happens when mixing colours.

Adult-led sessions are not limited to sitting at a table and listening. They can be active, hands-on, and fun, while still being focused on a particular skill.

Benefits of adult-led explicit teaching

• Children gain access to skills they may not discover on their own.
• Learning goals are clear, so progress can be measured.
• The adult can correct mistakes quickly and explain why a different approach works better.
• Children can see how a skill is used in practice before trying independently.
• The learning environment is adapted to support the target skill, reducing distractions.
• New vocabulary and concepts are introduced in context, which helps development.

Adult-led teaching is especially effective for preparation for school, as children are introduced to structured routines. It helps children learn how to listen for instructions, wait their turn, and respect group rules.

Child-initiated Experiences

Child-initiated experiences are led by the child. The adult provides materials, resources, and space, but the child decides how to use them. This gives the child freedom to follow their own ideas, interests, and curiosity. The adult’s role is to observe, support, and extend learning without taking over.

In these experiences, learning happens through play, trial and error, and exploration. Children lead their own activity and set their own pace. They may choose to paint, build, dig in the sand, role-play, or look at books, based on what draws their interest.

Examples of child-initiated experiences include:

• A child chooses to build a tower with blocks, experimenting with balance and design.
• A group of children set up a pretend shop with toy money, exploring counting in role play.
• A child collects leaves outside and arranges them by shape and colour.
• A child mixes water with soil to make mud pies, exploring texture and cause-and-effect.

Child-initiated play allows children to practise independence and decision-making. They can combine skills they have learned before with new ideas they want to test.

Benefits of child-initiated experiences

• Children develop creativity by making their own choices about what and how to play.
• Learning is self-directed, so children are often more engaged and motivated.
• Independence grows as they are trusted to manage their own play.
• Children practise problem solving when something does not work as planned.
• Social skills develop when they choose to involve others in their play.
• They build resilience by testing ideas and coping when they do not achieve the result they expect.

Child-led experiences often reveal a child’s current interests, which can inform future adult-led teaching.

Linking Adult-led and Child-initiated Approaches

Both approaches support learning in different ways. Adult-led teaching often focuses on clear objectives and skill building, whereas child-initiated experiences focus on exploration, creativity, and applying skills independently.

When combined, the two approaches can be very effective. For example:

• The adult teaches shapes in a planned activity. Later, the child chooses to design a picture or build something using those shapes during free play.
• The adult leads a cooking session to teach measuring. Later, the child chooses to measure water when playing in the outdoor area.

This shows how children can transfer skills learned in adult-led sessions into their own play. The adult can then observe and gently extend learning by asking open questions or introducing new challenges.

Observation and Assessment

Observation during both adult-led and child-initiated experiences provides valuable insight.

In adult-led sessions, you can assess:

• How well the child follows instructions
• Whether they remember new information
• How they respond to correction or guidance

In child-initiated experiences, you can assess:

• How they apply skills in play without prompting
• The level of independence
• Creativity and problem-solving abilities

Documenting these observations supports assessment for planning next steps and tailoring support.

Emotional and Social Benefits

Adult-led explicit teaching can build confidence through achievement. When a child successfully completes a structured task with guidance, they feel a sense of accomplishment. The praise they receive reinforces positive behaviour and effort.

Child-initiated experiences build confidence differently. They offer more freedom to try something without fear of failure. The child is in control, which can help them feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.

Social benefits are clear in both approaches.

• Adult-led sessions often involve group work, helping children learn to cooperate within structured environments.
• Child-led play encourages negotiation and collaboration as children invite others into their games or share resources.

Both approaches help children develop communication skills in distinct ways. Adult-led sessions expose them to new vocabulary in a teaching context. Child-led play uses language for social and imaginative purposes.

Cognitive Development

Adult-led explicit teaching supports:

• Learning of factual information
• Sequencing skills (following steps in the correct order)
• Higher-level thinking when asked questions about the topic
• Linking concepts together, such as matching numbers to objects

Child-initiated experiences support:

• Discovery-based learning through exploration
• Experimentation and hypothesis testing (“what happens if…”)
• Flexible thinking through imaginative play
• Memory recall when using previously learned skills in new contexts

Cognitive growth benefits from both explicit instruction and experimental play. Using the approaches alongside each other gives children a wider range of ways to process information.

Benefits for Different Areas of the EYFS

Adult-led explicit teaching benefits:

• Literacy: phonics, letter formation, sentence structure
• Mathematics: counting, number recognition, shape, and size
• Understanding the world: science experiments, cultural celebrations
• Expressive arts and design: teaching specific techniques, like mixing colours or making simple patterns

Child-initiated experiences benefit:

• Physical development: movement through free exploration, climbing, running
• Personal, social, and emotional development: managing relationships in play, expressing feelings through role play
• Expressive arts: free painting, dancing, creative construction
• Communication and language: story creation, conversation in imaginative settings

By integrating both methods in daily practice, practitioners meet a wide range of developmental needs.

Role of the Practitioner

In adult-led explicit teaching the practitioner:

• Chooses resources to support the learning goal
• Sets out clear learning outcomes
• Gives step-by-step guidance
• Monitors progress during the activity
• Gives feedback and encouragement

In child-initiated experiences the practitioner:

• Provides open-ended materials for varied use
• Observes without taking over
• Steps in to extend play through gentle questions or prompts
• Supports conflict resolution if needed
• Records observations for assessment

Both roles require careful planning, but in different ways. Adult-led teaching plans the activity in detail. Child-initiated experiences require planning the environment and resources to allow for freedom of choice.

Creating a Balanced Approach

A balanced early years curriculum should include both adult-led and child-initiated experiences. This allows children to:

• Learn new skills directly
• Practise and apply those skills independently
• Experience both structure and creative freedom
• Develop confidence in different settings

For example:
A day in an early years setting might start with a short adult-led story session introducing new vocabulary. Later, the children play outside, choosing to act out parts of the story in their own way. Both moments support language development in different yet connected ways.

Supporting Different Learning Styles

Children learn in varied ways. Some respond well to step-by-step instruction. Others thrive in open exploration. Mixing adult-led and child-initiated approaches caters for more learning styles, such as:

• Visual learners seeing demonstrations in adult-led sessions
• Auditory learners gaining from discussions and explanations
• Kinaesthetic learners learning through physical activity in play

This variety means each child has the opportunity to engage in styles that suit them.

Managing Challenges

Adult-led teaching can feel restrictive for some children who prefer freedom. To support them, keep sessions short, interactive, and lively. Use props, songs, and movement to keep attention.

Child-initiated experiences can lead to missed learning opportunities if the child avoids certain skills. This can be addressed by the adult subtly introducing resources that encourage those skills during free play.

Balancing the approaches helps manage these challenges.

Final Thoughts

Adult-led explicit teaching and child-initiated experiences are both valuable parts of early years education. Each brings unique benefits to children’s learning and development. Adult-led sessions provide structure and targeted skill development. Child-initiated experiences foster independence, creativity, and self-motivation.

When the two are planned to complement each other, children can learn new skills directly and then practise them in an open setting. This strengthens understanding and builds confidence. By valuing both approaches, you give children the best chance to grow in all areas of their development.