Annotated Bibliography: Research on Preschool Education Strategies

This annotated bibliography examines three articles focused on effective teaching strategies for preschool learners. The first article, "Differentiation strategies for exceptionally bright children," explores the application of differentiation in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of tailoring instruction to meet the unique needs of each student, including exceptionally bright learners. The second article, "How the project approach challenges young children," advocates for the use of project-based learning, highlighting its ability to foster critical thinking and make learning more engaging. The third article, "Moving Beyond Who, What, When, Where, and Why - Using Bloom’s Taxonomy Questioning to Extend Preschoolers’ Thinking," focuses on the application of Bloom’s Taxonomy, a questioning technique designed to enhance understanding and promote higher-level thinking in young children. The bibliography concludes by emphasizing the importance of well-trained teachers who can adapt their methods to address the diverse needs of preschool learners, drawing on the insights provided by these three research articles.

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Gadzikowski, A. (2013). Differentiation strategies for exceptionally bright children. YC Young
Children, 68(2), 8.
This article presents a report on the research that the author conducted on the application
of differentiation strategy in the teaching talented learners. In a typical classroom, there are
learners each of which has different strengths, capabilities, and weaknesses. The classroom
should, however, be accommodative both to the slow learners and fast learners who have extra-
ordinary competencies. That is why it should be the responsibility of the instructor to
differentiate each learner.
The purpose of the article was to study about the application of differentiation strategy in
the teaching and learning process. The researcher used a case study to help in the collection of
data. It has been particularly challenging to teach the exceptionally bright learners who are
presumed to be having extra-ordinary talent. Meaning, their rate of understanding and the
mastery of content is higher than the ordinary learners. The author established that the
differentiation strategy can be effective in the teaching of such learners. According to the
research, differentiation can facilitate the learning of exceptionally bright learners because it
advocates for the modification of the projects, content, materials, instructions, and the
assessment. Such modifications are appropriate because it gives the instructor an opportunity to
address the unique needs of the talented learners. The research concludes that through
differentiation, the instructor can manage to appeal to the learners and create a favorable learning
environment that is accommodative to them. The findings of this study are appropriate for the
instructors, parents, curriculum developers, and the educational policy-makers.

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The article is suitable for the research topic. It provides exhaustive research-based
information on the teaching of the exceptionally-bright learners. This is an issue that has not
been explored by many researchers. However, it should be adequately-explored because it is an
important concept. The pre-K instructors should be knowledgeable experts who have a deeper
understanding on how to teach all sorts of learners including the highly-talented ones. The
findings of this research should be adopted in the classrooms because many instructors have been
finding it quite challenging to identify and address the needs of the exceptionally bright learners.
All the instructors should know about differentiation because it is a useful teaching and learning
approach.
The major strength of the research is that it used teachers as a case study. For the data to
be generated, the research had to use Claire and Beth. These are professional teachers who have
an expansive experience in the teaching of pre-K learners. The use of school teachers means that
the research is credible and authoritative. However, despite all these, the research had some
weaknesses. Notably, it involved the use of a small sample size. The use of only two teachers as
a case study means that the study is quite narrow. Meaning, its findings cannot be generalized to
different contexts. The small sample size makes the study to be unreliable and less valid as it
ought to. This notwithstanding, the article still remains a resourceful reference material for the
research topic.
Burn, M. V., Lewis, A. L. (2016). How the project approach challenges young children. Gifted
child today. (39)3.
The article presents a research that the authors conducted the application of project
approach in the teaching of learners. Project approach is a teaching strategy in which the

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instructors use real world concepts, examples, and practical projects in the teaching of learners.
Project approach has been credited as a valuable strategy that should be applied in the teaching
and learning process. The strategy has gained acceptance because it makes the teaching and
learning process more effective. That is why the teachers should use it. The article is resourceful
and should be used by a wide audience that comprises of, among others, the instructors,
curriculum developers, and the educational policy-makers.
The purpose of the research was to study the application and effectiveness of the project
approach in the teaching of pre-school learners. The authors were concerned about the
application of various teaching strategies for the pre-school learners. Through the survey
conducted, the research found out that project approach can be effective when used in the
teaching of the pre-K learners. The approach should be embraced by the modern-day instructors
because it can bring many benefits to the learners. First, it can challenge the learners to be
critical thinkers. The researchers agree that the project approach can make learners to be open-
minded people who have can use their critical thoughts to address any challenges that they might
experience in real life situation. Secondly, the research established that the approach can be used
to make the teaching and learning process as interesting as possible.
The article can be an invaluable resource for the research topic. It contains useful
information whose application can help in the enhancement of the teaching and learning process
in the pre-K schools across the country. There is enough evidence in the article to prove that the
project approach can be of great contribution in the promotion of the learning of the pre-K
learners. It can shed more light on how the approach impacts the learners by making the process
to be thought-provoking and captivating. If the process is interesting, the learners get to study
well, master the content, and acquire the new knowledge that can be of help to them as they grow

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up. The article, therefore, concluded that the instructors should embrace the project approach
because it can advantage the earners in many ways.
The main strength of the article is that it is credible. The study was carried by credible
authors who are respectable authorities in the field of childhood education. Lewis and Burn are
experienced professionals who have been serving as teachers at the prestigious University
Primary School in Champaign, Illinoi. The scholars used their skills to conduct an intensive
research through which they generated valid and reliable data. However, the weakness of the
study is that it was a bit superficial. Despite illustrating how useful the project approach can be,
the research did not dig deeper into how the approach can be applied in a classroom setting to
deal with a diverse class composed of slow learners, fast learners, and learners with special
needs. Al these ought to have been addressed in the study.
Lisa, M. & Janis, S. (2015). Moving Beyond Who, What, When, Where, and Why - Using
Bloom’s Taxonomy Questioning to Extend Preschoolers’ Thinking. National Association for the
Education of Young Children, 9(1).
The article gives a comprehensive report on the Bloom’s Taxonomy Questioning
technique. This is a teaching strategy in which the instructors ask a series of questions to the
learners during the teaching and learning process. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a questioning technique
that involves six main levels of questioning. The levels include understanding, analyzing,
remembering, evaluating, synthesizing, and applying. The research perceives questioning as a
key component of teaching because it facilitates the teaching process in the classrooms.
The purpose of the research was to study the application of the Bloom’s Taxonomy in the
teaching of the pre-K learners. The Bloom’s Taxonomy, as its name suggests, is a questioning

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technique that was developed by Benjamin Bloom in 1956. The idea behind this was to design a
new tool that would be used by the teachers in the organization and evaluation of the content.
The research, which mainly took the form of a documentary analysis, found out much interesting
things on the Bloom’s Taxonomy. The main finding from the study is that Bloom’s Taxonomy
can be effective in the teaching of pre-K learners. It has many benefit5s that it can bring to these
learners. First, it can boost the understanding of the learners. It can make it quite easy for the
learners to comprehend even abstract ideas to which they are introduced at this early age.
Secondly, the strategy can invoke higher level thinking in the pre-school learners.
The article is invaluable because it can make significant contributions when used in this
research. The findings of this research resonate with what this particular research is all about. It
gives research-based information on the application of the Bloom’s Taxonomy on the teaching of
the learners at the pre-school level. As the article demonstrates, it should be the responsibility of
the teachers to have a proper understanding of how to apply this questioning technique.
According to the findings, even if the preschool learners cannot think abstractly, the use of this
taxonomy can enable them to expand their minds and be in a position of understanding eve
abstract ideas. If properly-utilized, the taxonomy can, therefore, be of great significance in the
teaching of the pre-school learners.
The article is appropriate for usage as a reference material for this study. It has some
strength that makes it suitable for this research. Most importantly, it adequately explores the
topic of Bloom’s Taxonomy. It not only says he significance of the taxonomy to the preschool
learners. Rather, it goes ahead to give examples, and explain how effectively the teaches can use
the understanding, analyzing, remembering, evaluating, synthesizing, and applying in order to
provoke tee thinking of the learners. However, the weakness of the article is that it uses a few

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examples to explore the topic. It mainly uses the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom as the only
example. This is the only weakness that ought to have been improved. Meaning, the researcher
could have made the article to be more appealing by using many other examples.
Summary
The research mainly focuses on the teaching of the preschool learners. Teaching is a
noble, but extremely challenging profession. For the teachers to succeed in the teaching of
learners especially at the lower levels of learning, they need to be adequately trained. A properly-
trained teacher should be able to understand the uniqueness in the learners, and be able to
identify and apply the most appropriate teaching strategies to adopt. In this research, three
articles have been chosen to be used.
The three articles in the annotation are the best reference materials for this particular
research. They give exhaustive, credible, and thought-provoking information on the various
strategies that can be applied in the teaching of preschool learners. For instance, “Differentiation
strategies for exceptionally bright children” gives adequate information on the effectiveness of
the differentiation strategy in classroom. Meanwhile, “How the project approach challenges
young children” advocates for the application of the project approach because it appears to be a
practical and life-changing strategy for the preschoolers. “Moving Beyond Who, What, When,
Where, and Why - Using Bloom’s Taxonomy Questioning to Extend Preschoolers’ Thinking” on
its part, sheds light on the relevance and application of the Bloom’s questioning technique in the
preschool class.