Fostering Complex Thinking in Preschool Through Layered Learning

Building a classroom setting with the imaginative and active tendencies of children in mind allows the educator to design a space where students will be free to explore and use materials with personal interests, emotional expression, cognitive understanding, and curiosity.

Layered learning involves frequently adding curriculum-domain-specific ideas or materials to a center activity while also incorporating a series of tasks that actively engage students. This makes learning more dynamic by sparking curiosity, supporting autonomy, targeting multiple skill development, and providing students with an environment for deeper exploration of materials and investigative outcomes.

Therefore, complex thinking—making predictions, anticipating outcomes, accepting and understanding the perspective of other peers, etc.—is achievable by students when layered learning is foremost throughout all aspects of classroom setups, including creatively designed provocations and invitations, culturally unique literacy opportunities, nature-driven science exploration opportunities, and thought-provoking cognitive experiences that ignite the imaginations and deep connections of students’ school experiences.

Familiar and student-preferred materials are a wonderful way to begin layered learning within your classroom or within your outdoor spaces.

Classroom Centers and Layered Learning Ideas

Teachers have usually already grasped their students’ interests as they anticipate engaging with their favorite manipulatives, using art materials, or searching for small creatures in their coveted sections of the outdoor spaces. By homing in on the interests of students through observations, listening to peer conversations, and documenting preferred building designs or repeated play ideas, you have achieved the first steps of layered learning.

For example, perhaps students are using blocks as cell phones, or building enclosures or homes for animals, or hiding objects inside larger structures; these are indicators of enveloping or enclosure schema. Students make sense of new information by connecting it to what they already know. This allows the educator to layer on new materials to deepen the connection.

While the students’ interests play an important role in layered learning, educators can also use this tool to support students’ learning domain skills development. When a specific area is targeted, end-of-year goals can be a focus as well; fine motor, social and emotional, cognitive, or communication skills can be the focal point of your layered learning materials or activities. Here are some ways to incorporate layered learning into your classroom.

In a Block or Large Building Area

Teachers may choose to support their students’ fine motor skills by adding small clipboards with appropriate pencils, crayons, or markers for individual drawings of the student-created building structures.

Also, small boxes or instant-print cameras for children can be provided for each student to capture their design work through photography. Fine motor, visual perception, perspective, hand-eye coordination, and communication skills are all the focus within one center. All documentation completed by your students can be placed in a large portfolio floor book for reflection by teachers and students. Floor books should be accessible throughout the school year.

Floor books or any student-driven documentation is valuable to the student in order to feel honored and seen in the classroom. The students can see their own progression and follow their own growth throughout the year. Floor books can also represent a beginning, middle, and end to a project or activity. Having projects available also allows the student to reflect on their work. They feel proud. It builds critical thinking, deepens memories, and boosts their self-confidence.

In a Communication Center

Teachers may begin a school year with small pieces of paper, envelopes, and appropriately sized pencils, with the idea of students writing or creating figures and symbols to be given to peers. As this classroom center becomes more visited and student interests and ideas expand, layered learning materials may grow to include stamps, colored pencils, and an assortment of envelope sizes, as well as photographs or books about stamp collections.

Additionally, if room in the class is available, curate spaces for each student to receive a communication note, including student names, such as a small chalkboard and chalk for students to create/write words or letters, an alphabet chart, or a word box, as well as symbols or characters from other languages. So many skills may be targeted in this one center, including letter and word recognition, fine motor, memory/recall, curiosity, peer relationships, turn-taking, collaboration, visual perception, and phonemic awareness.

In an Outdoor Environment Space   

Teachers may observe students’ involvement or interest in particular nature exploration. With careful, detailed observations, teachers may present and set up layered learning materials or ideas for deeper nature experiences. Perhaps appropriate garden tools are made available to students—magnifying glasses, tweezers, or binoculars for safe and out-of-reach student observations.

In addition, teachers could make available to students animal, plant, and tree guidebooks for identifying seen or discovered plants and wildlife. Pencils, markers, and nature journals could be used for student documentation; a basket of science fieldwork items could be taken to the outdoor space for easy access by teachers and students. Small child-focused recording devices and cameras made available would allow students to record and self-document their own personal nature adventures to be then shared with peers on a specific “nature expression day” within the classroom.

Recorded nature sounds could be played in the classroom throughout the day for reflection and small group discussions, as well as students’ recognition of accomplishments made while outside the classroom setting. Teachers could then put together a student nature log of sounds, visuals, artwork, and experiences created in your outdoor learning space. Targeted skills include social and emotional expression, fine motor, visual perception, gross motor, communication, turn-taking, critical thinking, taking risks, awareness of surroundings, peer interactions, and cognitive development.

The Successes of Layered Learning

The success of these activities varies. For me, if a student shows interest over a period of time and they want other peers to join them or talk to parents about what they did in class, then that is a successful center and a day of positive play. The more experiences that young learners have in school, the more successful it is.

Also, if the student can recall and retell their experience, it has been successful. Specifically, my communications center was wildly successful. My students were obsessed with writing letters, making pictures, and finding their peers’ names on letters in the mail pouches to hand-deliver them. It went on during the entire school year. Materials were obtained through some parent donations of old stationery as well as things bought with my classroom budget. Students also designed their own stamps; we made copies to cut out, which added another fine motor skill.

Layered learning is not specifically a new concept. However, keeping students focused and engaged with their own thoughts, interests, and play ideas ensures that they are guiding their learning with the support of educators through creative classroom settings, including layered learning opportunities that promote lifelong complex thinking skills.