How Can a Creative Corner Encourage Mathematical Development - Essay Example

How can a creative corner encourage a group of 3-4 year old mathematical development? Introduction During the past couple of decades, the education system has focused developing innovative ways through which learning can take place. Employing creative activities for educational development has also received attention. The importance of creativity in learning has also been acknowledged by the Foundation Stage curriculum which is for children who are between the ages of three to six (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2000). According to it, creativity can help the children to establish connection between one particular area of learning and the other (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2000). Often, creativity is not a word associated with formal learning of subjects such as mathematics (Hall and Robinson, 2003). However, many researchers and scholars have been exploring the effectiveness of using creativity for mathematical development (Hall and Robinson, 2003). This article tries to explore whether a creative corner can encourage a group of 3.-4 year old children with mathematical development. It attempts to look at some of the creative activities that are used, the benefits and also the role that a practitioner has to play in promoting mathematical development. Theoretical Overview Young children have a natural ability to create fantasies, ask questions, explore their surroundings and carry out experiments. Therefore, the toddler age is one where the level of creativity is often maximum (Prentice, 2000). According to Prentice (2000), as children get older, the level of creativity reduced and hence, creativity is seen more in children who are in the age group of 3-4, when compared to the children who are in the age group of 5-6. According to Russ, (2003), creativity in young children can be fostered through three main aspects - they include setting up a creative environment, developing creative modules and programs as well as the skill or ability of the instructor in using these aspects. According to Talboys (2004), creativity is something that can extend to all the aspects of learning, including mathematics and not necessarily limited to activities such as art, theater of dancing. From a conventional perspective, children were encouraged to learn only very limited things through creative activities such as role play. Most of the curriculum, especially subjects such as mathematics and social science, were approached only from a formal classroom environment (Russ, 2003). According to Jean Piaget’s theory on mathematical development, the children undergo a staged development, where by between 0-2 years (sensorimotor stage), they start using senses and reflexes, between 2-7 (pre-operational), they can use the symbols and languages, between the ages of 7-12 (concrete operational), they develop their logical thought and after 12 years (formal operational), they move on to abstract thinking (Gingsberg and Opper, 1988). Of these stages, pre-operational stage is one when they begin to communicate effectively with the help of speech as well as early writing. This stage is one where they are exposed to language as well as early mathematics – such as counting, identification of number as well as addition and subtraction. Therefore, the pre-operational age when they use symbols and languages is one where mathematics can be introduced and since the children begin to identify symbols and languages, the learning can be customized in a creative manner so that they related more with the symbols (Gingsberg and Opper, 1988). The way in which creativity can be used is dependent on a number of factors – such as the social environment, the peer group and the cultural background. Vygotskys theory focus on cognitive development indicates that social factors and cultural background contribute to learning, which indicates that designing learning modules creatively based on some of these factors facilitate education (Wertsch, 1985). What this means is children can co-relate more with creative activities that accurately represent things that they see around themselves. Therefore, the teaching aids used in a creative environment should be something that young children identify to easily or perhaps use in their daily life. The association with familiar things makes them comfortable and open their mind for creative thinking (Wertsch, 1985). His theory also stresses on the importance of More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), who has a better insight and hence can impart knowledge (Wertsch, 1985). It can refer to teachers, peers, parents or any other source from which they can learn and highlights how a practitioner has an important role in imparting education through creativity. As mentioned earlier, apart form the environment and the module for teaching, creative learning is heavily dependent on the way in which teachers implement it (Russ, 2003). This importance is discussed in the section role of practitioner in promoting mathematical development. Tina Bruce also undertook a research on how to use creativity in learning and discovered that if the children learn with direct involvement, they can learn more efficiently. This indicates that using creative steps, such as a creative corner can enhance the learning process in children who are 3-4 year old (Bruce, 2004). Bruce adds that while a normal classroom environment can be one where creative ideas and techniques can be used, having a special creative corner enhances the experience because of many reasons. One of them is that children begin to associate the creative corner with fun and enjoyment and hence, look forward to it. The creative corner also becomes a special place where they can touch and feel instead of listen and learn. Creative corner is not limited to only certain subjects such as science, where children carry out experiments. It can be expanded to the entire curriculum including mathematics and languages (Bruce, 2004). Creative Activities and Benefits for Mathematical Development For children who are between the ages of 3-4, setting up a creative corner in the school to encourage mathematical development can prove to be useful. During this age group, students learn to identify numbers and understand various geometric shapes (Craft, 2003). These aspects can be taught well with the help of a creative corner where students can understand them in a creative manner. For example, instead of using a traditional chart where children begin to count by looking at the images, the creative corner can have a collection of objects where children can go and pick objects and learn to count. Having objects of various shapes can help them in getting a touch and feel of the shape and hence, understanding the concept of shapes in a better manner (Craft, 2002). The creative corner should ideally have a wide variety of objects, especially those with which the children are familiar (Skinner, 2007). Certain new objects can also be introduced later, but that should be done only after they get familiar with the creative corner. Care should be taken that the objects or the materials kept in the creative corner should be something which facilitates the learning (Skinner, 2007). For example, as the children are between 3-4 years of age, the objects used for shape recognition should be simple and complex shapes such as hexagon etc should not be introduced. Carruthers and Worthingtons book on Childrens Mathematics: Making Marks, Making Meanings, says that children use symbols of their own to represent numerical symbols, counting and additions (Carruthers and Worthington, 2006). The book is based on the premise that there is a substantial scope to extend the cognitive abilities and mathematical skills of children with the help of creative activities. The authors suggest that if a practitioner intervenes at the right stage and helps in making some changes to the symbols in an appropriate creative manner, the children learn more effectively. As the children begin mark making, it can be used to teach them basic mathematics in a creative way. For example, some children draw lines or some children make dots on the paper. If the instructor tells them to make these symbols in a repeated manner, they can be used to teach them how to count (Carruthers and Worthington, 2006)). During the age of 3-4 the focus is more on oral learning and hence, a large number of objects that facilitate counting should be kept in the creative corner (Wright, 2010). Similarly, story-telling sessions can be conducted in the creative corner in which the narrative makes use of numbers (Wright, 2010). Additionally, the creative corner can also use dramatization to enhance mathematical ability. For example, a simple skit which tells the story by emphasizing on numbers are easy to grasp for the children. Children can be provided with costumes related to shapes so that they understand concept of faces, edges and corners (Murdock, 2003). Using these aids can help in keeping the interest level and involvement alive. According to Bruce (2011), the most creative manner of ensuring mathematical development in preschool children is by teaching concepts which has a purpose to the child. For example, telling them about the shape of various snacks that they eat. Additionally, various ideas related to creativity can be used by playing games and incorporating everyday activities that interest the children and both teachers and parents have to create such situations that children can be involved in (Bruce, 2011). It is also not necessary that children should engage in creative learning only in a designated creative corner in a particular place. Learning through creativity can happen anywhere and the practitioner involved should try to convert the normal scenario into one where learning takes place (White, 2007). For example, during a car drive, children should be encouraged to count the number of trucks that they see. One of the major benefits of learning through creativity is that it helps the children understand the topic in a concrete manner (May, 2008). As the children experience the creative aspect, the recall is high, making a more impactful learning experience. A creative corner also leads to better engagement as it creates more excitement in the children when compared to a traditional classroom environment (May, 2008). Another advantage of using creativity with regard to learning is that students learn in a sub-conscious manner, without going through the process of sitting in a formal classroom setting and listening to the teachers (May, 2008). Another advantage is that children also get used to learning in a creative manner and when they grow up, they can automatically come up with creative ways of learning. Role of Practitioner in Promoting Mathematical Development Between the ages of 3-4, children probably exhibit creativity with aspects such as drawing, painting, story-telling on their own (Brock and Rankin, 2008). For rest of the creativity-based learning, it is necessary that they are prompted and encouraged by someone. Most often, it is the teacher who has the responsibility of ensuring that learning is carried out creatively. However, it is not necessary that only teachers should work on incorporating creativity. Any MKO (More knowledgeable other) can actively get involved in imparting learning through creativity (Wertsch, 1985). For example, parents can create a small creative corner at their home where children can learn and enjoy. Similar rooms or corners can also be set up at local community centers or playgroups. With regard to any education module that is based on creativity, the creative teachers/practitioners have an important role to play to facilitate the learning process. From a general perspective, practitioners can encourage experimentation, ask more open-ended questions and motivate the children to think out of the box (Tucker, 2005). Practitioners also must understand that learning mathematics should not be restricted to just counting or identifying shapes (Tucker, 2005). In fact, they should make use of this opportunity to enhance the reasoning and problem solving skills of the children. For example, giving only one object to a group of 4 children can lead them to think that one is not enough, and they need more because they are a group of four. Then posing the question to the children about how many more they need can encourage them to learn to count (Hobart and Frankel, 2005). Similarly, another activity can be to provide them with snacks of different shapes, by means of which they can identify the shapes. Objects of various shapes from the everyday life can be used to make them understand about the concept of shapes. Conventionally, an abacus has been known to a be a teaching aid which helps the children learn counting in a creative manner. Nowadays, various forms of the abacus are available which are more creative and easy for toddlers to use (Hobart and Frankel, 2005). All the above mentioned activities should be initiated by the practitioner and they should also modify it based on the need of the group. If the practitioner notices that the group has readily adapted to basic counting, they can move on to easy addition related activities – such as providing one extra object to a group, and asking them about how many objects they have in total (Brock and Rankin, 2008). While pre-school kids are too young to understand the formal concept of addition and subtraction, these activities that help them grasp the basic concept through creative activities without a formal process. However, the practitioner also must keep the age of the group in mind and teach only according to it, so that the children do not get overwhelmed or confused (Brock and Rankin, 2008). The biggest challenge before practitioner who wishes to teach in a creative manner is to identify the situation that they children face in their everyday life and to correlate it to creative activities (Tucker, 2005). Based on the social and cultural composition of the students in the class, the practitioner also should be able to make changes so that children can relate to it in a better manner. In most playgroups or classroom groups for toddlers, there is an increase in multi-cultural composition and hence, the teacher should look at certain neutral or global approaches that appeal to all the children (Fisher, 2007). As a practitioner who fosters creativity in mathematics, it is also recommended to adopt a trial and error method with regards to the creative corner (Tucker, 2005). For instance, adopting certain techniques for teaching counting may not appeal to the children much, in such cases, the practitioner should be willing to make changes and introduce a new way so that learning happens through a creative approach. The changes could be as small as making use of a different set of objects for counting or could be major ones where children are encouraged to make marks or symbols on a white board and count them later. Therefore, the key to a practitioner who wishes to use creativity in the classroom environment is that he or she should be flexible enough to introduce newer aspects based on the response of the students (Tucker, 2005). With children who belong to the age group of 3-4, it is also necessary that the practitioner ensures that there is no monotony (Russ, 2003). While the children may get excited about using objects and learning initially, they may get bored of it very soon when they see it often. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the practitioner to introduce newer things in the creative corner of the classroom in a continuous manner so that the element of novelty and interest with regard to the creative corner remains high among the children. Therefore, overall, the trend of using creativity for mathematical development is increasingly getting popular. A variety of creative activities can be used to enhance the process of learning mathematics (primarily consisting of learning to count and identification of shape) among children who are between the age of 3-4. To ensure learning through creativity both creative environment as well as the creative practitioners have an important role to play. References Bruce, Tina. Developing Learning in Early Childhood. New York: Sage. 2004. Print. Bruce, Tina. Cultivating Creativity in Babies, Toddlers and Young Children. London: Hodder Education. 2011. Print. Brock, Avril. and Rankin, Carolynn. Communication, Language and Literacy from Birth to Five. London: Sage Publications Ltd. 2008. Print Craft, Anna.‘Creative thinking in the early years of education’, Early Years, 23, 2(2003): 143–54. Print. Craft, Anna. Creativity and Early Years Education. London: Continuum. 2002. Print. Carruthers, Elizabeth and Maulfry Worthington, M. Children’s Mathematics. Making Marks, Making Meaning. 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Vygotsky and the social formation of mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. Print. Wright, Susan .Understanding Creativity in Early Childhood: Meaning- making and Children’s Drawing. London: Sage Publications Ltd.2010. Print Read More