What Children Need to Learn

Beyond the Lesson Plan: What Maslow's Hierarchy Tells Us About Teaching Young Children

What Children Need to Learn       

One of the first things I remember learning in my college classes for elementary education majors was Maslow’s theory of the Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who is actually credited with developing the humanistic model of psychology, which is centered around individuals’ potential and personal growth. Maslow studied highly successful people and found that human achievement is limited to extent that their needs are met. He broke these needs into a hierarchy that can be used to understand an individual’s growth.

Maslow’s theory is that individuals must have their needs met from the bottom up of the pyramid to succeed at the next level. For example, one must have their basic needs for food, water, and shelter met before they can focus on meeting their need to find employment or focus on their health. After 30 years in education, this is one of the most valuable and important things I learned in school. And I feel like it is something rarely addressed directly in our training. I mean, we dance around it and if you look carefully at every training you have ever attended about children’s behavior, you can see this theory running through it.

What Teachers Need to Know

Children can’t learn when their most basic needs for food, water, and sleep are unmet.

Our brains are wired for survival. A child who is hungry, tired, or ill will only be able to put their focus on getting those needs met before they can learn. This can look like inattention, fidgeting, or defiance. As teachers, we have to remember that the child is not choosing to misbehave, their ‘survival brain’ is in charge, not their rational brain. Teachers can help by providing predictable daily schedules and routines for snacks and mealtimes. Young children should also have access to spaces for quiet and rest and options for movement and sitting comfortably.

Safety is more than physical.

Children feel unsafe when they don’t know what to expect from others or what others expect from them. They really do need kind, gentle reminders of the classroom expectations. Unpredictable situations and adult can be scary for kids. Make sure there is consistency between the expectations from all the adults in the classroom. A child’s brain interprets all types of danger; physical, emotional, and physiological, in the same ways.

Young children learn best in relationships in which there is a sense of belonging and connection.

Children need to feel accepted, known, and valued and have a sense of security in their attachments. Most teachers understand this and work hard to create inclusive, loving, accepting classroom environments. Building a sense of community and a spirit of collaboration and cooperation through daily activities helps children feel like a valued member of their class.

Esteem grows through competence.

Children need opportunities to try hard things. Don’t be afraid to provide activities that may seem a little out of the children’s competence level. It is so important that children learn how to persist and try again. At the same time, the teacher needs to be prepared to provide encouragement and support to learners when they are struggling. Young children also need to be trusted with opportunities to serve and practice responsibility. This is why classroom jobs are such a valuable practice. All of us need to feel capable and respected.

Play is how children meet their highest level.

Through play, children learn basic knowledge, but more importantly, process new learning using higher-level thinking skills. Children learn critical skills such as problem-solving, communication, and collaboration through play. Play allows children to build meaning of the world around them. The most effective learning environments for young children provide long, uninterrupted blocks of time for free play and a wide variety open-ended materials. Teachers should allow children to be creative with materials and follow children’s interests and ideas.

Each child who walks into your class each day has a unique set of needs. Our job as teachers is to get to know each of these little people well so that we can translate their behavior to determine their needs. It certainly isn’t easy, but it is important work. This is how we make a difference in the lives of children.