Fatimah talking to one of the children at the booth as Rosey (right) and others looks on.

KUCHING: Preschool teachers have been urged to create a learning environment conducive to inculcating the thinking culture among the children.

According to Women, Welfare and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, teachers should value the children’s learning paths by evaluating them frequently, as well as having a two-way communication with every child during class.

“A good way to promote thinking culture among the children is to promote the use of mind mapping, usage of graphics and reflection sessions after each subject.

This will get their minds thinking of the subject that they are learning,” she said at the opening of the ‘9th Pre-School Convention’ at Imperial Hotel here yesterday.

Themed ‘Thinking Thinking – Inculcating Thinking Culture’, the event saw 502 participants comprising preschool teachers from across the state, as well as 24 booths being set up.

Besides the objective of improving participants’ thinking skills, the convention also aimed at making critical and creative individuals out of them.

“It is my wish that knowledge gained from this convention would be useful to all participants and become a pushing factor towards establishing quality early childhood education system in Sarawak,” she added.

According to Fatimah, learning is an active process that must involve the children, with playtime being one of the essential parts that will spur their intellectual, physical and social skills.

“Active engagement and proper attunement with the children during play extend and support their learning.

Shared sustained conversations are also powerful and important for an active engagement,” she explained.

Also present at the ceremony was Assistant Minister of Early Childhood Education Rosey Yunus.