1) Encourage exploration and personal discovery rather than showing the learner how to do something or giving the answers.

2) The Emotional environment is as important as the intellectual environment.

3) Trust the child will know the right time to begin learning formal skills. For example children who begin to reader later than considered normal often develop greater comprehension skills and faster reading speeds than theirpeers who learnt to read at a younger age.[Helena Eastwood considers that ideally seven years is the earliest and fourteen the latest age for optimum development of comprehensive reading, writing and spelling skills in one’s native language]

4) Ask a supportive question that encourages discovery learning instead of giving the answer. For example if the question is ‘How do you spell sat?’
The answer could be ‘Do you know how to spell ‘hat’.
Question what is difference between…….sat and hat?
Could you now have a go at spelling sat?
If the child and adult helper cannot find a successful way of establishing a discovery learning approach to the child’s needs, it would normally suggest that the child is venturing beyond their present learning potential. When the adult does something for the child, without engaging in a shared learning process, then the child moves away from his/her learning potential and becomes dependent upon the adult’s level of ability. When this happens a child can feel dissatisfied with his/her own notably lower level of ability, and loss confidence in his/her own learning and progress.

5) Present desired skills and information in a concrete format that can be seen and experienced instead of verbally describing a way to do it.
For example: when pouring from a jug lift the container up under the spout before beginning to pour then slowly lower the container once the flow of the pouring has been established successfully.
6 Avoid presenting verbal interruptions or personal comments/judgements on what the learner is doing.

7) Encourage the 3 Es’ Enthusiasm, exploration & experimentation.

8) Avoid distracting children away from being fully absorbed and focussed on what and how they want to do something for themselves. Discovery learning will always involve learning by trial and error. A child will not feel happy to immediately stop doing something that is important to their learning, and they will not be happy to accept the adult’s attempt to distract them into another activity.

9) Multisensory delivery of the material and the discovery of information will facilitate a higher potential for learning.

10) Child-Directed Learning embracesthe art of adapting information acquired through previous learning experiences to aid discovery of further information, understanding and skill. It is a natural part of play and learning and results are always superior to directed and copied experiences promoted by rote learning techniques. Self- directed learning is naturally self-motivated and results are always more satisfying than copied rote learning techniques and learning experiencethat has been directed by someone else! [Even if the person is a helpful? expert!]

11) Maximise free play in natural outdoor environments and other simple, aesthetically pleasing, child friendly environments.
When children are over-stimulated they can lose their natural ability to play happily and then adults can find themselves making unwise compromises: When the ‘I don’t think I agree with …..’ response become a ‘yes, it’s alright,’ and the ‘you shouldn’t really’ becomes ‘it’s OK I’ll pretend I can’t see.’
Dominantly visually stimulating environments are commonly associated with man-made systems of entertainment, confinementandrestraint; e.g. buggies, car seats, or sit in bouncy chairs and harnesses and other sit-in roll around device, and media entertainment: TV, computer and video games.
In general adult contrived entertainment supports an externally specified repertoire of repeated responses to a man-made environmental stimulus.TV, computer and video games provide visual entertainment which has minimal potential for new learning due to the lack of personal endeavour, i.e. physical and social interaction
Examples of over-stimulating environments that do not support natural development, multisensory learning and self-directed discovery learning:-
•Repetitively reactive man-made toys that are usually battery operated.
•Junk food, sugary sweets, chocolate and coffee and peppermint.
•Theme parks, indoor swimming pools and gymnasiums.
•Prolonged or excessive periods in confined man made spaces with artificial lighting, e.g. supermarkets and shopping precincts, long car journeys.
•Dominating adult speeds of activity and adult schedules.
•Libertarianism, I can do anything I want, and you can do anything you want. Rigid routines, and mechanical or theatrical styles of response that exclude individuality and authenticity.
•Exclusive forms of play with pre-determined play materials e.g. Small Lego, Barbie dolls.
•When verbal communication is too loud, intense or too heavy and it creates verbal domination and verbal overwhelm.
•Adult initiated/motivated/enforced apprenticeship into clubs and classes, e.g. ballet or boxing. [Only when attendance is genuinely child motivated and appropriate to the child’s ability, personality, age and development will the child develop a genuine empathy, interest and personally valued talent.]
•Adult entertainment-adults social events, cinema, theatre, dining out etc.
•Television, films and computer games
Fortunately the modern crystal screens do not present issues around the subconsciously received fast flickering effects from the conventional television. However, there is still some concern around the young child’s visual perceptual experiences when watching screens. This is because the young child is thought to absorb everything he sees as important to his learning about the world around him/her. S/he is thereby obliged to make some form of relationship between what is seen on the TV and his real experiences; his ability to do this can produce some very distorted perspectives on life. The level of visual stimulus from screen viewing may be so overwhelmingly strong that a child’s natural multisensory learning may become dominated by visual information. Also, the natural balance of physical, mental and emotional integration seen in normal play is disrupted and this may subsequently limit the child’s learning potential.

12) A good healthy diet can help promote; physical fitness, mental focus and concentration, intellectual potential, and a calm and assertive attitude towards learning through play.