A Teachers Role in Sustaining Learning - Literature review Example

A teacher can play a significant role in sustaining learning and development in the early childhood year Name Course code Instructor Date Table of Contents Name 1 Introduction 3 Theoretical background 4 The roles of teachers 6 Framing the learning outcomes 6 Guiding children’s play 7 Supporting language development 8 Recommending appropriate learning content 9 Mentoring, coaching and guiding 10 Facilitating co-creation of knowledge 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Early learning has been identified as having the most fundamental impact on children’s learning and development outcomes (Leggett & Ford 2013). A review of literature reveals a convincing body of evidence that demonstrates that what occurs during a child’s early years has a long-lasting impact on learning and development (Krieg 2012; Entwisle 1995). Current scholarly debate has revolved around the economic returns associated with investment in a child’s early years and the returns it bring linked to later social outcomes and ability to be employed (Krieg 2012; Hamre & Kraft-Sayre 2009). Collectively, they have drawn attention to the idea that with the help of teachers, high quality intervention strategies that are focused on children’s cognitive outcomes and social outcomes can have lifelong benefits (Jablon & Wilkinson 2006; Krieg 2012; Entwisle 1995). Contemporary evidence reveals that the most desirable outcomes happens when an integrated approach to learning and teaching is applied (Krieg 2012; Hamre & Kraft-Sayre 2009). In Australia, the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) has emphasised the value of intentional teaching as a critical aspect of a first national curriculum. As a result, it has sparked a debate on the link between the role of the early childhood teachers and play-based learning (Hamre & Kraft-Sayre 2009). Against this background, this paper depends on current research on early childhood educators and their emergent identities as being fundamental to sustaining learning and development in the early childhood year to examine the roles that teachers play in promoting intentional learning. An underlying argument is that by focusing on intentional learning and teaching, an effective handling of the teacher/learner nexus is enabled where teacher play a crucial role in engaging students to sustain learning and development in the early childhood year. Theoretical background An effective teacher–child interaction is a significant and critical ingredient for a child’s social and learning development. The teachers can play a significant role in reinforcing a child’s learning and development using the House Framework (See Figure 1). The framework suggests four vital elements of quality teaching and learning that teachers can apply (Hamre & Kraft-Sayre 2009). The four include provision of an engaging interaction with children, selecting and executing research-based curricula and teaching programme, application of a continual assessment of skills children develop, and lastly individualization of learning and teaching. The four elements relate to a foundation of a house and pillars that support the roof (See Figure 1). Figure 1: The House framework Jointly, they form a stable structure called the “House Framework,” which promotes the learning and development of children. The framework’s underlying arguments is that an effective teacher-child interaction and environment form the basis for a child’s overall learning during the early childhood (Hamre & Kraft-Sayre 2009). The interactions include an ongoing exchange between teachers and children, which happens each time during the day. Although effective interactions have been identified as being crucial for a children’s success at school, they are merely part of effective programs. As indicated by the House Framework, in order for teachers to make sure they attain positive children’s learning and development outcomes, the intervention programs should be focused on improving other areas too, including use of teaching activities, research-based curriculum and an ongoing child assessment. In the case of Australia, the EYLF programme is a crucial early childhood national curriculum that can be identified as an integrated national approach in the country that is based on the House Framework. Fundamental to the EYLF programme is the concept of intentional teaching, which refers to a renewed emphasis for reinforcing teacher-child interaction during the early childhood years. The EYLF offers an example of “intentional teaching” that is rooted in the strategies for teaching initially suggested by Ann Epstein (2007), and subsequently espoused by the High Scope approach to early children education in the United States, particularly the Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). AS Epstein (2007) had earlier observed, intentional teaching implies that teachers act with certain objectives or outcomes in mind for the young children, and subsequently require extensive knowledge regarding how a child would develop and learn. Epstein (2007) argued that such a process, along with integrated adult-guided and child-guided learning experiences in addition to the quality of teachers’ interaction with children, was crucial in sustaining learning and development in the early childhood year. The roles of teachers Framing the learning outcomes Teachers frame the learning outcomes and making critical decisions to offer direction on how the learning should take place. However, they have to centre on the interests of children, while introducing outcomes that frame out how learning should be carried on. Indeed, while the role of teaching in framing learning outcomes is appreciated widely in current literature, the EYLF has appeared to avoid discourses identifiable with practices that are appropriate for development where adults are the core decision-makers of events and instead favoured having a highly contemporary approach derived from an emerging curriculum philosophy called the Reggio Emilia approach. As a result, the EYLF therefore emphasises maintaining a curriculum where the interests of children are emphasised, while simultaneously introducing outcomes that structure out how the teaching practice should be pursued. Put differently, the EYLF programme draws together divergent approaches of operating under one curriculum model as a result emphasising the roles of the early childhood teachers in relation to children’s learning outcomes. Indeed, as indicated by the House Framework, in order for teachers to make sure they attain positive children’s learning and development outcomes, the intervention programs should be focused on improving teaching activities and learning outcomes. In Australia, the EYLF intentional teaching emphasises a situation where early childhood teachers are purposeful and considerate in their decisions and actions. Here, intentional teaching counters teaching by rote simply because teaching has often been done in that manner. Intentional teaching highlights the role of teachers as they frame the learning outcomes. Still, it is crucial to acknowledge children’s role for motivating independent goal attainment. For instance, to enhance children's social emotional development, the teacher can guide the learning by enhancing a sense of community. A teacher may build a community in the classroom by creating an atmosphere where children are supportive and kind by stressing the use of phrases like "our class.' The teacher may also arrange the room to have open spaces where children can assemble in groups. A teacher can also organise group activities, where children share gifts to encourage a sense of togetherness (Epstein 2007). Guiding children’s play Teachers engage children in plays that sustain their learning and development in the early childhood year. An example of this is the case of EYLF in Australia, which suggests a play-based model and as a result recognizes children’s agency and how they motivate independent goal attainment when involved in play with the teachers. For instance, teachers can engage the students in role-plays, including asking certain children to play the role of Joseph, Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist as others watch. A situation where the teachers purposefully introduce play for this purpose falls under the category of intentional teaching. In the case of Australia, introducing intentional teaching without adequately discussing intentional learning would, therefore, leave EYLF’s implementation susceptible to stressing one dimension of the teaching/learning nexus without regard for the other. Indeed, as the House Framework suggests, for teachers to make sure they attain positive children’s learning and development outcomes, the intervention programs should be focused on improving other areas too, including use of teaching activities, research-based curriculum and an ongoing child assessment. Supporting language development Teachers play a crucial role of teaching the young children literacy and language skills. In this regards, intentionality is a unique feature, where teachers have the goal of purposefully teaching the young children between the age of 3 and 8 years literacy and language skills (Weigel & Martin 2007). According to Weigel and Martin (2007), teachers strengthen children’s language development by engaging them in literacy and language enhancing activities. Examples of these activities include teaching them new words, names, colours such as through reading activities to help them become better talkers or through stories to improve on their imagination. Some theories like William Stern’s (1924) Theory Of Language Development have explored the unique human ability in respect to three speech roots: the social, the intentional, and the expressive (Leggett & Ford 2013). The last two are elements of speech in humans or even animals, while the first is exclusively a human feature. According to Stern, intentionality is an act of contemplation toward meaning or content. The intention would mean learning about the world as an instinctive force that matures in a typical social context. Such intuitions engage the role of planning, as well as mental efforts associated with children’s learning (Leggett & Ford 2013). For these reasons, the role of the early childhood teachers is not merely to observe young children’s behaviours but to act on the children’s internal drives that help the children to develop elements of lifelong learning. Indeed, as the House Framework recommends, in order for teachers to make sure they attain positive children’s learning and development outcomes, the intervention programs should be focused on ongoing child assessment. Recommending appropriate learning content Teachers make considerate decisions as regards recommending appropriate children’s learning content, where the teacher has a deep knowledge of a child, as a learner understands the appropriate content, and has a disposition to use such insights in a manner that determines how effectively an interaction with the children can be initiated and sustained. A review of literature reveals that contemporary researches have eschewed the false dichotomy of teacher-directed or child-centred approaches and instead concentred on exploring the nature of the dynamic relationship between teachers, children, and content (Cutter-Mackenzie et al. 2014). During the recent past, theoretical discourses regarding what should make up the role of teachers in children’s learning have suggested comprehensive definitions that range from a teacher being a career, facilitator, or co-constructor (Cutter-Mackenzie et al. (2014) observe that these terminologies have unconsciously replaced the term teaching, which suggests that it is not the role of teachers to teach. In the case of Australia, the concept of intentional teaching is newly introduced term in the EYLF to suggest an elaborate positioning of the teacher’s role by strengthening the professional identity of teachers to teach young children based on the content they judge to be crucial for sustaining their learning and development in the early childhood years. Still, much of the incongruence between child control and teacher control over the content of teaching have raised serious questions regarding the notion of a child-centred curriculum. Some literature on child-centredness has emerged based on divergent theoretical basis (Leggett & Ford 2013). For instance, Piaget’s theory of the Stages in Cognitive Development and Vygotsky's theory Children's Language Development suggest contrasting views that influence the practice of teachers. Piaget was of the view that children should be provided with the freedom to discover and construct their own knowledge based on how they participate in their learning. Conversely, Vygotsky was of the opinion that support and guidance from adults is crucial as it assists children to attain advanced conceptual understanding (Vygotsky, 1962; Piaget, 1971). As indicated by the House Framework, teachers cam make sure they attain positive children’s learning and development outcomes using research-based curriculum and an ongoing child assessment. Mentoring, coaching and guiding Teachers play a crucial role in mentoring, coaching, and guiding children as a means to sustaining learning and development in the early childhood year. However, this too is part of intentional learning, where a teacher also appreciates the role of a learner in advancing learning and development and mentors, guides and coaches the learner. According to Leggett and Ford (2013), intentional learning refers to a deliberate thinking ‘processes that views learning to be a goal instead of merely an “incidental outcome.” Leggett and Ford (2013) further discusses that intentional learning should comprise three elements: the decision to engage, execute, and endure with learning; the capacity to apply and control strategic cognitive strategies to achieve learning and development goals, and lastly, the degree to which a learner is allowed to take responsibility for personal development autonomously. In the role of the teacher in mentoring, guiding, and coaching the children, last element (which is the degree to which a learner is allowed to take responsibility for personal development autonomously) takes precedence. Hence, it could be reasoned that while all children’s experiences may entail incidental learning opportunities, intentional learning has a potential to be realised when intrinsic and situational factors are allowed to generate children’s learning goals and learning opportunities (Kernan 2007). According to Krieg (2012) when children get to grow, they increasing their engagement in intentional or open learning where they enthusiastically think for themselves, interpret by themselves, and arrange what they observed or hear. Here, the teacher’s roles entail enabling the children to take control and personal responsibility in their learning, where the children are allowed to assumed ownership for own thoughts and actions by providing an environment where these can be achieved. The teacher mentors, guides and coaches the child’s role. On the other hand, the child questions, reflects, applies knowledge, and connects events. Facilitating co-creation of knowledge Teachers play a role of facilitating co-creation of knowledge with the learners in the early childhood years. In regards to facilitating children’s personal construction of knowledge, some scholars like Rinaldi (2006) have presented the role of a teacher as being a co-creator instead of a transmitter of knowledge. Rinaldi (2006) further discussed the link between learning and teaching, where the teachers listen to children’s theories, curiosity, and research, and responds using ethical research of creating hypothesis, observation, documentation, and interpretation. For instance, teachers may use the KWL approach, which begins with asking children what they “KNOW,” what they are “WONDERING” about, and what do you want to “LEARN.” By using this strategy, it informs children that their knowledge is valued. Additionally, teachers can use the “think, pair, share’ strategy during a group time to make sure that each child is given a chance respond to questions. The teacher may pose an opener question such as “How many ways can you do this?” before creating shapes on a geoboard before asking children to take a moment to suggest an answer, talk to each other and share ideas. Rinaldi (2006) argued for a need for teachers to reconsider the children’s theories and curiosity, in the same way they would recognise childhood as social subjects as well as their rights. Leggett and Ford (2013) supported this assumption in his view that children also have dominant view (and alongside the teachers as their primary researchers), have own theories and views that build knowledge. From this perspective, it may as well be reasoned that the role that teachers play with children is in developing knowledge and skill through sharing. As argued by the House Framework, for teachers to make sure they attain positive children’s learning and development outcomes, the intervention programs should be focused on using interactive activities that promote knowledge-sharing. Conclusion In conclusion, by focusing on intentional learning and teaching, an effective handling of the teacher/learner nexus is enabled where teacher play a crucial role in engaging students to sustain learning and development in the early childhood year. Based on the House Framework, it is established that teachers. Teachers frame the learning outcomes and making critical decisions to offer direction on how the learning should take place. They also engage children in plays that sustain their learning and development in the early childhood year. Additionally, they support children’s language development. Teachers also play a crucial role of teaching the young children literacy and language skills. They also recommend appropriate learning content based on research-based curriculum. Additionally, they play a crucial role in mentoring, coaching, and guiding children as a means to sustaining learning and development in the early childhood year. Lastly, they facilitate co-creation of knowledge with the learners in the early childhood years. References Cutter-Mackenzie, A, Edwards, S, Moore, D & Boyd, W 2014, Young Children's Play and Environmental Education in Early Childhood Education, New York, Springer Science & Business Media Entwisle, D 1995, "The Role of Schools in Sustaining Early Childhood Program Benefits," The Future of Children Long-Term Outcomes of Early Childhood Programs, nol. 5 no. 3, pp.133-144 Epstein, A 2007, The intentional teacher: Choosing the best strategies for young children’s learning, Washington DC, National Association for the Education of Young Children Hamre, Goffin, & Kraft-Sayre, 2009, Improving Teacher–Child Interactions: Using the CLASS in Head Start Preschool Programs, The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning (NCQTL), viewed 25 June 2016, ,http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/docs/using-the-class.pdf> Jablon, J & Wilkinson, M 2006, "Using Engagement Strategies to Facilitate Children’s Learning and Success," Beyond the Journal, pp.1-4 Kernan, M 2007, Play as a context for Early Learning and Development: A research paper, viewed 25 June 2016, Krieg, S 2012, Lay, Teaching, Learning and development, Sydney, Pearson Australia Leggett, N & Ford, M 2013, “A fine balance: Understanding the roles educators and children play as intentional teachers and intentional learners within the Early Years Learning Framework," Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, vol 38 no 4, pp Piaget, J 1971, The theory of the stages in cognitive development, In P. Mussen (Ed.), Carmichael’s manual of child psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 703–732), New York, Wiley Rinaldi, C 2006, In dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, researching and learning, London, Routledge. Vygotsky, L 1962, Thought and language, New York, Wiley. Weigel, D & Martin, S 2007, The vital role of early childhood teachers in children’s literacy and language development, viewed 25 June 2016, Read More