Pre-Primary Sources

Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias education are (should be) part of all educator training; but what do we know about how children develop positive racial identity? Kisa Marx and Mike Huber (Liberated Learning podcast) join Lizz Nolasco to talk about a small piece of racial identity development. Bonus XL episode because it turns out there's a lot to unpack!

The final installment of learning taxonomies-- are they valuable, and for whom? 

Talking about learning goals: does a hierarchy imply a value judgement? Why do we need to name learning objectives anyway? 

This is technically part 2 of a conversation about toilet learning-- check That Early Childhood Nerd # 418 for the companion episode.
 
References:
Aggelpol, T. Information as a crucial factor for toilet training by parents
Al-Hazmi, H. H. Age of Initiation and the Factors Associated with Toilet Training in Healthy Saudi Children
Axelrod, M. I. Psychological differences between toilet trained and non-toilet trained 4-year-old children
Bakker, E. Changes in the toilet training of children during the last 60 years: the cause of an increase in lower urinary tract dysfunction?
Brazleton, T. B. A Child-Oriented Approach to Toilet Training
Joinson, C. Early Childhood Risk Factors Associated with Daytime Wetting and Soiling in School Age Children 
Kiddoo, D. A. Toilet training children: When to start and how to train
Leijon, A. The BABITT questionnaire for evaluation of bowel and bladder function in children who are introduced to assisted infant toilet training - content validity and feasibility
Mota, D. M. Toilet training: Methods, parental expectations and associated dysfunctions
Russell, K. Among healthy children, what toilet-training strategy is most effective and prevents fewer adverse effects (stool withholding and dysfunctional voiding)?
Wyndaele, J-J Development Signs in Healthy Toddlers in Different Stages of Toilet Training: Can They Help Define Readiness and Probability of Success?
Wu, H-Y Can evidence-based medicine change toilet training practice?
 

Bloom's Taxonomy-- Lisa felt like she discovered fire, Tiffany thought it was ... and who said you have to Maslow before you can Bloom first? We talk about classifying knowledge, seeing people learning, and what it means to learn.
 
Sources:
Benjamin, L. J., 2006 American psychology’s struggles with its curriculum: Should a thousand flowers Bloom? Training and education in professional psychology, Vol. S, No. 1, 58–68
Bloom. B. S. 1944 Some major problems in educational measurement The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 38, No. 2 pp. 139-142
Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Hill, W.H., Krathwohl, D. A., 1956 Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. David McKay Company, Inc.
Fink, L. D. 2003 Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses Jossey-Bass
Krathwolh, D. A., 2002 A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview THEORY INTO PRACTICE, Volume 41, Number 4, Autumn 
Ormell, C. P., 1974 Bloom's taxonomy and the objectives of education, Educational Research, 17:1, 3-18, DOI: 10.1080/0013188740170101
 

Richard Cohen from Zen and the Art of Early Childhood joins Lizz Nolasco to talk about what egocentrism really means, and how it impacts practice in early childhood settings.
See the Mountains Task here: Piaget's Mountains Task - YouTube
Talk nerdy with all of That Early Childhood Nerdwork! Get access to the Discord and more at https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd 

Em Clark, from Liberating Childhood, is on to talk about reading research-- who can do it (everyone!), why it's important, and how to get started. Get started at liberatingchildhood.org!
 
Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd 

If you spend time with young children, invariably you will at some point get into conversations about screen time-- the detriments, maybe some benefits, and definitely some judgements, no matter where you land. In this episode, Bethany and I discuss our own experiences with digital media as educators and parents, and some perhaps surprising information that may influence how we're looking at the harms of screen time. 
 
Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd 
Sources
AAP COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA. Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5):e20162591
Chu, C., Paatsch, L., Kervin, L., & Edwards, S. (2024). Digital Play in the Early Years: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2024.100652
Common Sense Media. (2025). The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight. The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-2025-common-sense-census-media-use-by-kids-zero-to-eight
Flint, T. K., & Adams, M. S. (2024). Of Ladles and Laptops: Exploring Preschool Children's Digital Play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52, 1001-1010. doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01485-9
Gray, P. (2013). Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Basic Books.
Hayes, N., White, S. L.J., Berthelsen, D., Burley, J., & Cliff, D. (2025). Longitudinal associations between child, parenting, home and neighborhood factors and children's screen time through 4 to 7 years of age. BMC Public Health, 25. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22866-2
Hornstrup Jespersen, Malene, Albris, Kristoffer, Willadsen, Helene (2025) Deconstructing screen time: The connections between digital use, dissatisfaction, and disconnection, Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Volume 18, 100655, ISSN 2451-9588, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100655.
Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017). A Large-Scale Test of the Goldilocks Hypothesis: Quantifying the Relations Between Digital-Screen Use and the Mental Well-Being of Adolescents: Quantifying the Relations Between Digital-Screen Use and the Mental Well-Being of Adolescents. Psychological Science, 28(2), 204-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678438 (Original work published 2017)
Putnick, D.L., Trinh, MH., Sundaram, R. et al. Displacement of peer play by screen time: associations with toddler development. Pediatr Res 93, 1425–1431 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02261-y
Pew Research Center (2025) How parents manage screen time for kids 
Schwartz, S., Kraft, H., Maurer, T., Lange, S., Schemmer, J., Fischbach, T., Emgenbroich, A., Monks, S., Hubermann, M., & Martin, D. (2025). Screen Time, Nature, and Development: Baseline of the Randomized Controlled Study "Screen-free till 3". Developmental Science. doi.org/10.1111/desc.133578
Williams, Ericka and Radesky, Jenny S. (2025) The 5Cs approach to digital media: Empowering families and professionals to foster healthy screen use for young children International Journal of Birth and Parenting Education

We're back with Tiffany Pearsall! In part one, we talked about creativity; but a lot of the information out there is really about coloring pages and mental health. Where does using this research fit in with ethical practice in early childhood settings? What are our responsibilities and professional scope of practice? And of course, where do coloring pages fit in a setting that wants to offer children the opportunity to create freely?

Dr. Denisha Jones, of Defending the Early Years (DEY) and I discuss the 2024 publication from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called A New Vision for High-Quality Preschool Curriculum; in particular, we look at Chapter 4: Developing High-Quality, Equitable Preschool Curricula, and discuss what real commitment to equitable education looks like, and who should be developing the curriculum for it. Hint: page 129 of this report says, "Curriculum development requires broad and deep knowledge, experience, and expertise. Therefore, it is important to ask who develops curricula for preschool currently and who would ideally. Preschool teachers cannot be expected to create curriculum resources independently (Ball & Cohen, 1996; National Academies, 2020, 2022); in addition to expertise, the task requires substantial time and teamwork." We disagree.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. A New Visionfor High-Quality Preschool Curriculum. Washington, DC: The National AcademiesPress. https://doi.org/10.17226/27429.
As with all episodes of Pre-Primary Sources, my opinions are my own and do not reflect those of any other organization with which I may be associated.