Reflective Journal Portfolio Analysis - Essay Example

? Work: Reflective Journal Assignment Portfolio Part One The two observations for this study were done by the inquirer at areception class, at one of the primary schools based at Newham, London. However, in observing the provisions of the data and information protection Act, the names of the teachers, students and the school will be kept anonymous. The observation class had 24 learners, all from different community background; 3 support teachers and the class teacher. The children fall between 3 and 4 years, and during the start of the class, they were all sited on the floor, as the teacher took the class register. Due to their varied community backgrounds, approximately 80 percent of the learners are bilingual: they are of language and national backgrounds foreign to the U.K. The observation reports for observation 1 and 2 are included in this report as Appendix 1 and 2, respectively. Qualitative observation was the primary qualitative tools of inquiry used for this particular observation study, towards ensuring that the study gave as much information as possible, through the two observation cases. The narrative method of reporting is used in presenting the information and the inferences drawn form the two observations: narrative reporting was an effective evaluation and reporting model for this observation. The principle of ‘emergent literacy’ is used to describe the wider conception of learning, for the learners between the ages 0 to 5. Under this conception, emphasis is placed on informal learning strategies and learning settings, using a variety of activities and exercises, for example the activity of fighting dinosaurs, which looks very informal, but offered an effective learning experience for the children (Yarden et al., 1999). Critical evaluation and analysis of the resources and the strategies used during the exercise As explained by Maria Montessori (1870-1952), young learners, during their initial years of schooling, require a systematic and orderly way of training and education – so they can master different skill-sets, one after another. This is in line with Whitehead (2010), who advocates that learners, during early years of learning should be taught using activities like writing and reading exercises, incorporated into plays. For example, during the second activity, the teachers required the learners to write or draw names of things they were familiar with, for example dog and cat, as a way to improve their comprehension of the letters of the alphabet. The activities helped them to explore the surroundings around them, so they can create sense from their perceived experiences. The two activities for the class are developed according to the standards of the EYFS syllabus, which incorporates learning in fun to do activities, and plays or games. For example, through the activity of the fighting dinosaurs, the social and communication skills of the children were greatly fostered (DCSF, 2008). According to Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), instructors are obligated to carefully observe, design and plan study activities in a way that will challenge the young learners’, next level of conception and learning. From the current case, it is evident that the teachers had designed the activities in a careful manner – so as to enhance and simulate the interest of the learners in the learning incorporated into play. For example, through the first activity, where different children were supposed to act-out different roles, the creativity of the children was fostered – for example, they were supposed to make dinosaur sounds. The group that was supposed to protect the baby dinosaur was to build a wall to shield it, which greatly improves the motor skills of children within their age range. According to Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), special emphasis should be placed on ensuring that children are not taught concepts or ideas that they may not be ready to take-in. For example, in the second observation, the teacher only required the children to draw words of common things like dog, cat, and car – which they see on a daily basis within their environs. Further, the sounds made by adults, for instance during speech, are of particular importance in invoking learning among children, as the names they were to note, were those of things commonly communicated by the adults around them. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) argued that children at early stages of learning are able to concentrate on one variable at any given moment, and are also best taught through exposure to hands-on experiences. For this reason, the instructors required the children to exercise their creativity in drawing the names – then later, colour them, using colours they felt were appropriate. Further, children conceptualize and learn concepts by going through pictures or objects, which are best presented through plays or exciting activities, and embedded in different words by the different learning agents within their immediate surroundings. Through the experience of acting like dinosaurs attempting to attack a young dinosaur, and another group trying to save it, the teacher sought to develop a set of morals and values in the children – for example that of harmonious coexistence and the need to offer help to those in need (Taylor & Woods, 2005). After the activities, the children looked very excited, and could note the things taught through the activities, which proves that they were effective teaching tools. The particular case, from activity one, where the teacher required one child that had hit another’s hand to play well, without hurting one another forms part of a moral training for the children, to ensure that they grow up to become responsible individuals. For example, promoting friendly behaviour enhanced the group work required in activity one. This is in line with the arguments of Erik Erikson (1902-1994), who argued that initial childhood experiences influence later development of learners, and could be used to resolve issues, later in life. For instance, the first observation activity influenced the learners, to acknowledge the reality that the safety of others is of great importance. Through the activity, they also comprehended the importance and the different functions of social groups. The part of sketching and colouring the different words developed from the things within their environs further augmented the comprehension of the exercise among the children, during activity two. For instance, it was observed that, during the first phase of developing creative and writing abilities, young learners employ their drawing skills in presenting their abstract thoughts and concepts in a symbolic manner (Hall & Robison, 2003). Following this association, Whitehead (2010), identifies drawing as a dominant tool, used by young learners in problem solving and during communication activities. Despite the fact that the children were not able to draw the words correctly in the area of spelling, the act of colouring the letters using different colours enhanced their familiarity with writing and enhanced their creativity. The support offered by the teachers, for example, in the case of the child who found it difficult to construct words using the letters of the alphabet, was a great source of motivation, which encouraged the participation of all – including those that did not understand the activity at the start. Further, due to the relatively low teacher-child ratio of 1:6, the teacher and the support assistants were able to address all the needs of the different learners in the shortest time possible. It was also a great strength in the designing and planning of the activity that the instructors attended to the children who remained silent or seemed left out of the learning exercise. Through the activities, the children also showed enough support and cooperative working amongst one another. According to Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852), there is need to offer some level of freedom to young learners, in pointing-out guided play as a model of instruction and learning. During the second activity, it was evident that the teacher allowed the children to draw names of their choice, as well as colour them as they could, which enhances the development of creativity. Children learn most effectively through exposure to real-life experiences, which are incorporated into play, as pointed out by John Dewey (1859-1952). This approach of learning from real-life experiences was incorporated into both activities, as the learners were encouraged to choose common names of things they were familiar with, for example cat, dog, and car. The need to incorporate day-to-day experiences in teaching children is also supported by Jean Piaget (1896-1980). He visualized the learning of children as a process that involves the construction of every-day experiences and reality through merging different concepts to form complex ones, which represent the larger reality. For example, through the activity of defending the baby dinosaur, the children developed the complex moral values of group support and coexistence, through acting-out defence for the young dinosaur. According to the arguments of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), young learners perceive different concepts through their relations with adults and amongst one another. Through exercise one, the involvement, guidance and the intervention of the teacher, placed emphasis on what was good, which they were encouraged to learn – while discouraging the unexpected. Through the interactions with other children and the instructors, during activity one and two, the learners gained through motivation and developing interaction and communication skills. For example, the motivation of the teacher to one girl who found the second exercise very difficult left her feeling very ecstatic about the lesson. This association is supported by B. F. Skinner, who emphasized that the learning of children is a process that entails the development of relations between the internal and the external environs of the child leading to the acquisition of different concepts and knowledge through continued maturation of the concepts (Karmiloff-Smith, 1995). Based on the conception of ‘Lev Vygotsky’s zones of proximal maturity model,’ the input of adults is very important during the learning of children. The underlying rationale is that the effective guidance of adults allows children to advance from one level of capacity and development in different areas to another, and so on. Bruner (1986) as cited in (Whitehead, 2010) argues that capable adults and young learners, to rise to higher levels of understanding and knowledge development, based on ways they can conceive the abstract concepts and the nature of their surroundings. The observers also perceived that the learners greatly assisted one another in the course of the activities, as depicted through the case, of the first activity, when the actor taking the role of the baby dinosaur was shielded by others, from the attack of the t-rex dinosaurs. During activity two, the questions asked amongst the learners also indicated a sense of support, to improve the understanding of one another. For example, some could ask others, “What type of colours do you like to draw with?” and “what simple words do you like,” which was primarily the scope of the second activity. Such support and communication amongst the members is greatly encouraged, as it aids them establish relations amongst one another, which are particularly important in nurturing certain behaviours like tolerance and empathy (Taylor & Woods, 2005). Through the efficient relations amongst the group members, there will be a resultant development of social skills, which lead to the creation of new friendships and harmonious relations. Through such relations, language development is fostered – as a result of the communication amongst themselves. In conclusion, the activities were well designed, successfully administered and very useful to the children. The observation technique was very helpful – as it allowed the observer to gather the most information they could. The activities were also designed in a way that allowed them to stimulate the interests and the participation of the learners – towards the realization of the set objectives. Upon completion, the children had learnt a number of moral values, including the need for the support of others and the value of their input, for example during activity two. Through the two activities, the learners’ abilities were enhanced in a number of areas: language, social and literary skills. Course Work Part 2 Critical Reflective Essay The account essentially accommodated bilingual and monolingual learners, towards the realization of the goals set for developing literacy learning. The lesson plan is developed on the basis of the literacy levels of the class under observation. In the current study, there were no learners with SEN profiles, but there is an allowance in the study, in the case it is used in settings where there is a learner with SEN. Effective theoretical models have been incorporated into the evaluation, and all the references given. ‘Emergent Literacy,’ according to Berk (2009, p. 304), is used to express “the active efforts of young learners, in developing literacy knowledge, through informal knowledge.” Children under the pre-schooling age are known to present a considerable understanding in the area of written communication, prior to learning the skills of reading and writing through the conventional system. This situation could be the result of their participation and active observation in different activities – involving the variety of symbols surrounding the different phenomena within their environs. Therefore, ‘emergent literacy’ refers to the reading and the writing skill-sets that are used – to and developed to form conventional literacy (Riley, 2006). In simpler terms, emergent literacy refers to the development of young learners, in the areas of reading and writing, during their initial years of learning. The lesson entitled ‘what is bugging you’ is a lesson on exploring the characteristics of different insects. The lesson was designed for the entire group, but the teachers split the class into four groups of six members – most preferably, the different members should be of varied racial backgrounds. All the members of the class to be taken through the lesson are between the age of 3 and 4 years. The names of the six learners, used as the subjects for the lesson will be kept anonymous – based on the provisions of the Data and information protection Act. The six members of each group were compelled to fully participate in the entire lesson activity. Materials needed The lesson plan is based on the assumption that the pre-school class has tables that can accommodate the groups of six learners and one teacher. The classroom should also have the following classroom areas and facilities, which are supportive to the learning. These include the following: books on insects, manipulative items, including bugs and butterfly puzzles; and an outdoor play area for further activity. Each student is also required to come with a spiral notebook, where they can draw or sketch pictures during the exercise. The lesson will start with the part, ‘breakfast with the ladybugs’, which will be carried out at the early childhood classroom of the host school. To capture the children’s attention and to enhance their full activity, the instructors showed the children – the clear containers, containing a number of ladybugs eating their leaf breakfast – placed at the middle of each table. The instructors inform the learners that they would continue exploring about bugs – and they expected every group member to ask questions and express thoughts about the ladybugs inside the containers. The instructor, during the discussion time, holds the responsibility of ensuring that they explore the relevance of the activity – in relating past knowledge to the evidence of the bugs under study. The instructors would achieve this by asking questions like the following: which of you has seen a ladybug in the past? Where? What other things are eaten by ladybugs? What information would you like to find out about ladybugs, and how could we find the particular information? This approach is supported by Dodwell (2006), who explains that early childhood education centres should incorporate a range of literacy activities and functions, which should support the development of children’s literacy. For example, the exercise for the lesson will develop the children’s literacy, in understanding the characteristics of different organisms: plants, people and animals. The instructor goes further to inform the group members that sharing their personal experiences about ladybugs with the group, would form the basis of their discussion about these organisms in succeeding classes. After the session for the breakfast with the ladybugs, the members of the different groups will be required to release the bugs outside the classroom – with the help of the teacher or the teaching assistant. Next, the children will return to the large group area, to draw pictures or sketch images of the ladybugs that they liked. This part is supposed to allowing the learners – to fully participate in inter-personal discussions of the experiences with the bugs. The creative part of the lesson is supposed to avoid the fading of the learners’ attention and allowing them to get fully involved in the learning session. These two areas, further, serve as motivators – to encourage the development of conceptual abilities and skills. The lesson will be completed by the outside play session; during which, the learners will be required to ‘bug hunt’ or free-play for 45 minutes. During this session, the learners will describe the characteristics of insects among other organisms; identify different things either as living or non-living; use aiding tools like magnifying glasses during their exploration of the surroundings; and offer information from past experiences. The teacher or teaching assistants will loosely aid the groups of children, allowing them to either bug hunt or participate in other outside play. First, after lining up, before leaving the class for the outdoors – the instructor explains that, the children can use the tools provided to explore for bugs. It was also important to remind them that they can not capture the bugs, but only observe them closely, while thinking-up ideas that result from the exploration. Secondly, during planning, the instructor asks what bugs they expect to find, where they expect to find a lot of them, and what they would check from the bugs after finding them. Thirdly, the instructor supplies magnifying glasses to the students, and reminds them that they can request the instructors to take pictures for them – in the case they saw something that should be documented. The students are informed that they can also draw what they see. During the bug hunt, the instructors ask questions on the number of legs, the colour of bugs, whether they were camouflaged or bright, and where the particular bug could like to be. The instructor documents the learners’ experiences by making notes or taking pictures. The last stage is that of review, where the instructors ask the children evaluative questions – after they find bugs. Questions include, where did you find it? Had you planned that? Why did you search at the particular area? Would you like to repeat the exercise another time? The instructors should also remind the learners that they are reviewing their activity. The lesson was developed to improve the literacy levels of the learners, based on the theory that – when children are exposed to lots of casual literacy activities, their emergent and language literacy growth increases significantly. This further improves the development of advanced reading skills, later in life (Dickinson & McCabe, 2001). This is demonstrated from the wide coverage of the activity – as it featured both indoor and outdoor exercises, which play the role of expanding literacy levels. The approach, like it is used in the lesson – seeks to expose children to concepts they have encountered before. An example is the ‘breakfast with bugs experience’, where the common characteristics between them and the bugs is demonstrated. During the outdoor session, the children are expected to think of the places where they were much likely to find the bugs, and possible camouflage characteristics. During the exercise, the learners were encouraged and facilitated to interact with one another freely, and also with the instructors, during the entire activity. This area was observed fully, as the children discussed their experiences at the outdoor session and their observations at the breakfast session – asking questions where necessary, till the end of the exercise. Some of the questions asked amongst the learners or presented to the teacher included the following: what other things do bugs eat? Can the bugs live in the container for a week? Some asked the teacher where they had collected the live bugs. Through asking one another questions and answering each other – they developed social skills, especially among the more active members. The rationale for picking mono and bilingual learners was the fact that – through the communication and the interaction process involved during the exercises, the different groups would help the others overcome their areas of weakness. For instance, Dodwell (2006) points out that from a previous study, it was demonstrated that acquiring a second language, among children is greatly dependent on communication in the presence of adults and other children around them. The learners interacted in a sociable manner, especially during the exercise of bug hunting, as they could allow one member of the four groups to explore the chosen areas, then another one would take over. The cooperative working, and the regard for the instructors’ directions demonstrated regard and respect for one another, as well as for the instructors. They also showed great organization, when required to take action one after another – especially during the bug hunting session. For example, when asked to describe the characteristics of the bugs they found – they allowed each other an opportunity to respond to the instructor’s questions. All communicated rules were adhered to – and they also demonstrated adherence to the instructions of the task. Through this organization and group working, the learners were able to nurture their emotional skills and capacity to work in groups. During the exercise, the instructors explained to the children, further details of the bug hunt exercise – for example, that touching the bugs could cause them to camouflage, or coil their bodies, making it difficult to explore their body features. They also gave information that some insects can sting, therefore, it was necessary for them to bug hunt under the guidance of an adult. They also pointed out that different bugs could be found at varied environs – making it necessary to know the bugs that could be found in certain surroundings. At a particular point, the learners were requested to name other insects, which could be found in environs where ladybugs could be collected. Some students were allowed the opportunity to discuss their previous experiences with insects, preferably bugs. During the time when the instructor read the instructions for the lesson, he often requested different learners to repeat his words, word after word. Through doing that, the instructor ensured that the learners became conversant with the instructions for the activity – though they could not understand every part of the instructions. The need for aid in reading exercises is supported by the explanation of Berk (2009), who insists that becoming a good reader is a highly multifaceted process, which requires the contribution of experienced readers, right from pre-school levels: regardless of the inability of children to understand the symbolic roles of print elements, the search for written language elements, which can be aided through the reading and the memorization of words that are familiar to them. For this reason, the help of the instructors in aiding the young learners in going through the instructions enables them to master the abilities of print drawing – through the improvement of their cognitive capacities. The act of drawing symbols and images of the different bugs was a very important exercise for the learners – all through the activity. It is necessary to note, that the lesson did not accommodate learners with special needs. As a result, there would be need to observe measures to include learners with special education needs. However, in the instance that any child with such needs was covered by the particular activity, provisions would be altered to enable them to register full participation in the activity – as required, based on the standards of inclusive education. It is important to note that the provisions will be made with regard to the level of the SEN needs for the particular learner. In summary, the lesson was very meaningful and particularly appropriate for the class. Based on the nature of the exercise, the lesson was smoothly deployed and the set objectives met satisfactorily. The instructors were able to offer all the support required – which enabled all the learners to realize the expected learning objectives. For that reason, the intellectual, social and the moral skills of the learners were greatly fostered. References Berk, L., 2009. Child Development, eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2008. The Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning, Development and Care for Children from Birth to 5. Nottingham: DCSF Publications. Dickinson, D., & McCabe, A., 2001. Bringing it all Together: The Multiple Origins, Skills and Environmental Support of Early Literacy. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 16, 186-202. Dodwell, E., 2006. Desirable Literacies. London: Paul Chapman. Hall, N., & Robinson, A., 2003. Exploring Writing and Play in the Early Years. London: David Fulton Publishers. Karmiloff-Smith, A., 1995. Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Signs. Cambridge: MIT Press. Riley, J., 2006. Language and Literacy. London: Sage Publication. Taylor, J., & Wood, M., 2005. Early Childhood Studies: An Holistic Introduction. London: Hodder Arnold. Whitehead, M., 2010. Language and History in the Early Years, 0-7. London: SAGE. Yarden, D. Jr., Rowe, D.W., & McGillivray, C., 1999. Emergent Literacy; Centre for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Michigan: CIERA Publications. Appendix 1 Observation 1 Date: 14/10/2012 Method: Narrative Start Time: 09:00 Finish Time: 10:00 This observation was carried out at the Reception Classroom of a Primary School at Newham in London. The setting is that of a Primary school, and in the class there are about 24 children from different community backgrounds.  When the children arrived at the classroom they all sat down on the floor, while the teacher took the register. The children are in the age group of 3-4 years.  The class had one teacher and 3 support teachers, who were supposed to support the children during the activity.  The teacher explained the activity to the children: that the activity was about dinosaurs. Wooden blocks were to be used to support the activity, through creating walls and stairs which they needed to get in groups of 6.  The teacher explained the roles of the different children during the activity: she instructed that one of the children had to take the role of a baby dinosaur, two others would act as t-rex dinosaurs (acting like they wanted to kill the baby dinosaur), then the role of the others would be pretending that they were saving and helping the baby dinosaur from the attack. The teacher offered the children the opportunity to choose the roles they would like to take during the activity. The activity started and everything was done as directed by the teacher. In demonstration, the teacher took the baby dinosaurs role, taking the baby dinosaur in her hand, while 2 boys acting the role of t-rex dinosaurs, took the t-rex dinosaurs in their hand, then they started making dinosaur sounds, saying that they were the biggest dinosaurs, and would kill the baby dinosaurs. The baby dinosaur called for help from the other friendly dinosaurs, saying, “oh no oh no! “help, help.” The other 3 children: two girls acting the role of the friendly dinosaurs and one baby dinosaur stood up from the floor, saying to the baby dinosaurs, “we help you and will save you.” The children took the wooden blocks, and started building a high wall, to hide the baby dinosaurs from the t-rex dinosaurs. Child A playing the role of a T-rex dinosaur makes a loud dinosaurs sound, saying, “Oh no I can’t find the baby, green dinosaurs,” after the others dinosaurs hid it behind the wooden blocks wall that they had built. Child A and child B started fight one another, using their t-rex dinosaurs in their hand. In the process, child B hit child A’s hand with the dinosaur, and child A reported to the teacher that child B had hit his hand, then the teacher advised child B to apologize to child A, and also commanded them to stop hitting one another. He directed them to play nicely.    The teacher further directed all the group members that they had to play nicely and safely – as long as they wished to continue taking part in the activity.  The teacher and the children looked very happy engaging in the activity. As a show of appreciation, all the children started to clap their hands. The teacher further directed that they had the opportunity to take any of the dinosaurs they liked, so they could use to play. All the children took dinosaurs, and then they started walking around the classroom, making dinosaurs’ sounds. One of the children started saying that his dinosaur was flying, which made the others copy him by shouting that their dinosaurs were flying too. Appendix 2 Observation 2 Date: 14/10/2012 Method: Narrative Start Time: 10:30 Finish Time: 11:30 This observation took place at the same class, after the children came back from their play time. The teacher explained that the activity for the second session was that of exploring “alphabet letters”. During the activity, the children had the opportunity to pick any alphabet letters and draw them onto the sheets of paper provided by the teacher and the assistants. Also, the teacher explained to the children, during the second activity, that they had to create simple words such as cat, dog, red, frog, bus, and book among others. They were to write the names chosen in the sheets of paper offered, then they would colour the simple words they had dawn. During this activity, children learnt how to create and draw simple words, which the teacher had told them. Some of the children were able to draw on their sheets, more than one of the words mentioned by the teacher, for example car, blue, bike, big, fish, star and girl. During the activity, a certain child found the exercise very difficult to execute. The teacher explained to the child, what they were supposed to do, by drawing the word herself – while explaining to her in details what the activity entailed, so she could understands it better. The teacher also demonstrated the exercise to her, by picking letters from the alphabet and creating the words for the child. The outcome from the support was that the child was very happy with the help, and she shouted, “I did it, I did it”. The teacher congratulated the child and left to offer assistance to others. Through the activity, children were able to communicate and socialize very well – asking questions amongst each other: some of the questions that they asked include the following: what simple words do you like? Do you like dog or cat? Do you have a dog or cat in your home? What colours do you like to draw with? What is your favourite colour? During this activity the children enjoyed communicating and supporting each other. The classroom setting was very good: the building was new, and had a lot of space, available for the children to move around without hurting one other. During the activity, children were very happy and it was evident that they had enjoyed the activity. Read More