Nursery World - Look and learn (7)

Children's natural tendency to imitate can be a helpful tool for learning, but it also means that their carers need to act as good role models, explains Penny Tassoni Do you remember trying, as a child, to copy the actions of an older child or adult? Maybe you sat next to a classmate who had very small handwriting and tried to make yours smaller. Maybe as a toddler you looked at an adult vigorously stirring cake mixture, their face tensed with effort, and later you did the same when you were offered a turn. One thing is certain - consciously or unconsciously, a great deal of learning in childhood occurs through watching and imitating others.

Do you remember trying, as a child, to copy the actions of an older child or adult? Maybe you sat next to a classmate who had very small handwriting and tried to make yours smaller. Maybe as a toddler you looked at an adult vigorously stirring cake mixture, their face tensed with effort, and later you did the same when you were offered a turn. One thing is certain - consciously or unconsciously, a great deal of learning in childhood occurs through watching and imitating others.

So how does this work, and more importantly how does it affect children?

The theory behind this phenomenon is often referred to as the 'social learning theory', a major learning premise in psychology. The essence of the theory is relatively simple - that children learn through watching the actions and facial expressions of others. They observe and then model, either straightaway or later on, what they have seen.

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