Some Days Just Need To Be Met With Kindness: Why Flexibility Matters in Project‑Led Learning
By Kelly Hutton
Our session began with a groan of pain and him clutching his stomach, complaining of a stomachache. I knew immediately that whatever I had planned would have to change.
We tried to go for a walk - some fresh air might help, I thought- but no, his stomachache was too much, so we came back. I suggested he have a drink and lie over the footstool; maybe some pressure in the right place would ease it. He did follow my instruction and said it helped... but now I had the conflict of wondering how we would do what we intended to do today. No matter, we will discuss it instead.
We sat together, no pressure, talking about what would happen next in his project: a motor-racing project where he is creating a stop-motion video of a rally-cross race. He was planning the safety rules, how friction works on different surfaces, and writing a narrative for the commentary as a way to explain his learning.
Despite him still having a stomachache and us taking it gently, he became excited as we watched videos of different rallycross races, examining how the commentary sounded, picking apart the speed at which they spoke, or the intonation they used to express excitement and clearly explain what was happening. It was this flexibility in our approach that made him, stomachache and all, go grab his research book, return to the footstool, lean over, and begin to make notes on the floor of the ideas he was coming up with for his own rallycross race.
Don't Undermine The Executive Function Skills
It is Merkley et al. (2026) who recently examined how executive functions- those are the skills which improve academic outcomes, including the ability to direct attention, emotions and behaviour, working memory, inhibitory control, planning, relational thinking and metacognition- grow when the adult responds to the child's thinking in real time, however that may appear. In fact, Merkley et al. found that rigid instruction can actually undermine executive function because the skills are not fixed traits; they are dynamic processes shaped by the learning environment. They need freedom and flexibility to develop, which is why project-led learning offers the perfect flexible approach.
The Brilliant Ideas Method is designed around this flexible approach, with clear guidance on how to be adaptive to a range of SEND needs or even just to the reality of a day when the child has stomachache.
A major review in Educational Psychology Review by Theobald et al. (2025) introduced us to the EMERGE model:
(EF) Executive Functions - the brain's control systems
(MC) Metacognition - Thinking about your thinking
(SR) Self-Regulation - managing your emotions, behaviour and focus
(SRL) Self-regulated learning - managing your own learning over time
The model positions these constructs needed for learning along a continuum, ranging from the biological (EF) to the more culturally shaped (SRL). It demonstrates how metacognition and self-regulated learning depend on the ability to flexibly scaffold learning, supporting the child with just the right amount at the right time.
This means children need responsive support that changes, especially as children gain independence. The Brilliant Ideas Method (BIM) uses a gradual-reduction approach across continuous project cycles; what you may do in cycle 1 has a gradual reduction in cycle 2. The weekly reflection points strengthen metacognition, which the EMERGE model identifies as essential for independent learning. BIM offers a guide for flexibility, autonomy, and reactive scaffolding, which are not just helpful but scientifically essential.
Liu & Gong (2026) also demonstrated that learners' engagement in project-based learning is influenced primarily by the way in which the adult behaves and supports them, the practical environment they encounter, and the autonomous motivation and self-efficacy they experience during the project. The BIM is built on children having autonomy, choice and identity within their projects - all of which are shown to increase motivation, but this study highlights that the adult is essential. It is the adults' behaviour that boosts self-efficacy, which in turn boosts engagement.
The BIM offers not only the e-book guidance to help you work out where to start with project-based learning, but also the project workbook resources, toolkit and three project cycles of experienced professional guidance (including online access to a community group and one-to-one support). The package gives you not only a clear idea of how to choose, decide and start a project, but also how to be flexible, adapt and meet the child with kindness on the days they need it most.
Want to learn more about The Brilliant Ideas Method?
References:
Liu S and Gong B (2026) How teacher support and practical environment relate to engagement in project-based learning: the mediating roles of self-efficacy and autonomous motivation. Front. Psychol. 17:1958111. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1958111
Merkley, R., Kirk, A., & Ellis, A. (2026). Putting research into context: A paradigm shift in conceptualizing executive functions in classroom learning. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 32, Article 100010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2026.100010
Theobald, M., Koerner, J.K.a., Breitwieser, J. et al. Executive Functions, Metacognition, Self-Regulation, and Self-Regulated Learning – What are We Talking About? A Review and Introduction of the EMERGE Model. Educ Psychol Rev 38, 62 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10157-0
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