Childrens Play, Learning, and Creativity as Gleaned from the Video Sequence Paint Tray Pictures - Term Paper Example

Children’s Play, Learning & Creativity As Gleaned from the Video Sequence “Paint Tray Pictures” Video Sequence: “Paint Tray Pictures” This video sequence showcases children doing an art activity with paint and marbles. Each child has 1 marble and 4 colour paint containers with a wooden spoon. The child is supposed to dip the marble in a colour using a wooden spoon then swirl the marble on the paint tray lined with paper to create a colour pattern. Then the child can opt to dip the marble in another colour and do the same until she forms her own paint design. The key worker supervises, prompting the children on what to do, supporting their actions with praises and reminding them of the concept of colours (The Open University, 2009 DVD). I have chosen the above- described video sequence to relate to play instead of the ‘Hospital play’ , which was filmed at St Stephen’s Nursery School in Newham, London because the Paint-Tray Painting video captured a play-like activity much related to an academic concept learned (colours). I would like to analyze how this activity may be directly related to learning and creativity development in children. Analysis: “A modern view of the child acknowledges agency, that is, children’s capacity to understand and act upon their world. It acknowledges that children demonstrate extraordinary competence from birth” (Walker, 2009, p. 98). Even as smaller and more inexperienced individuals, children are endowed with a lot of potentials and skills. With a supportive environment, such may be honed to enable the child to do more - participate and contribute to society. As children, they find expression of their ideas in play. In doing so, they also get to practice skills they would need as they grow to be the individuals they were meant to be. Play is an inherent right of the child. It says so under Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) which endorses children’s right to engage in play (Open University, 2009). This is so because experts are aware of play’s benefits that foster children’s learning. Play is an avenue where one can be free to be oneself without anyone imposing rules or restrictions to conform to society’s standards. According to Nutbrown (1999), first introductions of play for most children are in a ‘home-based pedagogy of play’. This is so true in my own work setting. It is believed that such pedagogy enables young children to begin the process of early learning (Open University, 2009). During play, “children demonstrate improved verbal communications, high levels of social and interaction skills, creative use of play materials, imaginative and divergent thinking skills and problem-solving capabilities” (Wood, 2004, p. 21). In the video sequence, the toddlers were exploring a lot of things simultaneously, keeping them captivated in the activity. In a short span of time, they observed how marbles rolled depending on how they held the trays; how paint mixes to come up with new colours; and even the fine motor control of using a spoon to move the marble from one container to another. To their view, what they are doing, it is just play, but the key worker knows the more complex processes going on inside the children’s minds. Play offers many benefits. It engages the mind to actively imagine various scenarios for fun or for problem-solving. Babies and toddlers display play in motion and we observe that they do it to get to know their world – how things work, how people react, etc. They get to explore and discover things that otherwise they will not learn about if they do not actively engage in play. Free exploration is considered Heuristic play by Holland (2003). It is encouraged without adult intervention. Adults simply provide simple materials and allow the child to just be and let his imagination take off . “The child learns from observing directly what these objects will ‘do’ or ‘not do’, in sharp contrast to much of the ‘educational’ equipment which has a result predetermined by the design which has been devised by the adult maker (Holland, 2003, p. 142). Heuristic play will not only stimulate a child’s thinking, but it also develops his creativity as he will see in his mind endless possibilities in imaginatively transforming ordinary objects into various things with various functions. Play has value in all the developmental areas of children (Macintyre, 2003). Unwittingly, children delight in games that stimulate thinking. Such cognitive benefits extend to their real lives as they make decisions, compare and contrast things, use their imaginations and thinking critically and creatively. The particular video may have focused only on the academic concept of colour, but it is expandable to more concepts such as colour change when colours mix and interpreting their finished “abstract” works creatively. With this, children’s minds are free to dictate whatever the children want to see in their paintings. Play also engages the body. Certain games involve gross and fine motor coordination. It also helps to expend the stored energy within them, willing to be set free. Running around, jumping, tumbling and other physical activities help them be physically fit as well as release tension. Active play develops their muscles, agility, flexibility and endurance. In the video, the act of using a wooden spoon to transfer marbles from paint containers to the paper and vice versa, and the moving of paint trays to balance the marbles, make them move in various directions and not letting them fall off the tray are motor skills they acquire “on the job” while at play. Socially, play coaxes a shy child outside his shell. Play fosters the development of friendships. As children play with other children or adults, they get to know about how other people behave, think and feel. They also get to learn socially acceptable behavior like not hurting others and playing fair. Most importantly, they get to know themselves better- how they react to certain situations in the play setting. In the video, although the children are busy working on their own projects, socialization comes in the form of the key worker guiding them and propping them up to follow directions closely and complete the task effectively. Without the key worker’s guidance, the children may have done otherwise such as dipping their hands in the colour, or worse, drinking the paints from the containers! In this activity, they learn to conform to social behaviours like listening and doing as the key worker tells them to. The rest is up to them. Vygotsky (1978) believed that children’s intellectual development is influenced more by social context than by individual experiences. His theory places a great deal of emphasis on effective social interaction. In my work setting, children are usually engaged in group activities even if its only a very small group. Of course, the age of the children is a big factor to consider, as with very young ones, engaging in group activities may not be welcome due to their egocentricity. However, I manage to get them together as I believe much learning will be derived from it. Another theory Vygotsky came up with is the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). He defined the ZPD as the distance between a child’s independent problem-solving level and that obtained under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers (Wertsch, 1985). A young learner’s exposure to peers, teachers and other adults and learning materials greatly influences his development. This was manifested in the video sequence, as the key worker tried to guide the children to higher heights in the understanding of their new discoveries with colour and movement. She does not directly explain to them the concepts to be learned from the activity, but merely guides them towards their own understanding with her able support. “Such cognitive apprenticeships are, of course, inherently reliant on a mentor or guide who effectively uses “scaffolded instruction.” (Bonk & Cunningham, 1998 p.40). As the term implies, scaffolds are temporary supports in the process of learning which are gradually taken away when the student is already capable of learning without them. As a childminder, I provide scaffolds for the children under my care. I help them out and I little by little, I withdraw my assistance until they can manage on their own. Most of the time, I try to challenge them with a slightly more difficult task that I know they can do if they try hard enough. “Within the ZPD, a skilful adult minimises the risk of failure for the child, encourages high aspirations, encourages independence, and so leads the child towards the outer limits of his competence.” (Open University, 2009) The kind of support the environment gives a child also reflects in the level of creativity he may develop. Torrance (1965) has found that a non-punitive classroom environment that focuses on the development and evaluation of understandings while nurturing independent thought and exploration tends to enhance idea generation. Pelz (1956) found that environments that encourage interaction, autonomy and production of knowledge led to creative achievement. On the other hand, environments characterized by distrust, lack of communication, limited autonomy and ambiguous goals inhibited scientific innovation. (Mumford & Gustafson, 1988). Hence, for creativity to thrive, people should be encouraged to come up and express their ideas without fear of being ridiculed. Having such support likewise boosts self-esteem. Children are naturally creative, as they do not have as much inhibitions in their creative expression. Research suggests that the child reaches a peak of creative functioning during the early childhood years, usually around four to four and a half years of age. (Torrance, 1965). It is followed by a sharp drop when the child begins elementary school, perhaps due to school demands of conformity, accountability and academics. Smith and Carlsson (1985) found out that creativity re-emerges as cognitive skills develop to meet those school demands and peaks at age ten or eleven, and then begins to decline again at the onset of puberty. This is the more reason to take advantage maximizing children’s early years. It is a time when children build up a lot of academic skills. It is a time when children are all eager learners, as learning new skills brings them novel experiences. These skills are developed through their constant practice of learned skills that become second nature to them… speaking, listening and interacting with others. High quality curriculum considers the key aspects of learning enumerated by EYFS. Children’s early thinking, communication and social skills develop with organized and well-planned learning activities. Children love listening to stories because it not only engages their imaginative thinking but also provides opportunities to develop self-awareness and an understanding of various feelings and management of different situations the characters in stories go through. Children in the early childhood stage are motivated to learn how to read and write and do math activities. Such skills are mostly learned through creative and fun activities such as the paint tray picture illustrated in the video sequence. Collaborative learning ensues when children learn to share, take turns and listen and respond to their peers and teachers. Communication skills are likewise developed as they present, discuss and explain their ideas to others. In the process, they gain new words and expand their vocabularies. Adults must be supportive of helping them understand how they learn and think best to reach their learning goals (Primary National Strategy, 2006). Creative ideas to promote the learning development of children are implemented in carefully-designed developmentally-appropriate curriculum for young children. Activities such as arts and crafts, pretend play, number and letter activities, etc., done in a play-like manner captures children’s interest and sustained attention. It not only engages them in the short term, but builds skills and confidence in the children in the long term. References Bonk, C.J. & Cunningham, D.J. (1998) “Searching for Learner-Centered, Constructivist, and Sociocultural Components of Collaborative Educational Learning Tools” in Electronic Collaborators [online] www.publicationshare.com/docs/Bon02.pdf (accessed 30 November, 2009) Holland, R.(2003) ‘‘‘What’s it all about?’’–how introducing heuristic play has affected provision for the under-threes in one day nursery ’in Devereux,J. and Miller,L.(eds) Working with Children in the Early Years, London, David Fulton in association with The Open University Macintyre, C. (2003) “Studying play from a developmental perspective” ’in Devereux,J. and Miller,L.(eds) Working with Children in the Early Years, London, David Fulton in association with The Open University Mumford, M.D. & Gustafson, S.B. (1988) Creativity Syndrome : Integration, Application, and Innovation. Psychological Bulletin. Vol.103 (1) pp. 27-43. Nutbrown, C. (1999) Threads of Thinking: Young Children Learning and the Role of Early Education (2nd edn), London, Paul Chapman. Pelz, D. C. (1956). Some social factors related to performance in a research organization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1, 310–325. Primary National Strategy (2006) Primary Network for Literacy and Mathematics. Crown copyright. Smith, G., & Carlsson, I. (1983). Can preschool children be creative? Archives of Psychology, 135, 37–53. The Open University (2009) E100 Early years practice: Practitioners and Children. Walton Hall, Milton Keynes. The Open University. The Open University Dvd 1 (2009) E100 The Early Years: Developing Practice, Milton Keeynes, The Open University. Torrance, E.P. (1965) Rewarding creative behavior. N.J.: Prentice Hall. United Nations (1989) Convention on the rights of the child (Geneva, United Nations). Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Walker, T.(2009) Chapt. 8: Modern Childhood. Reader 1.Working With Children In The Early Years, The Open University Wertsch, J. V. (1985). Vygotsky and the social formation of the mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wood, E. (2004) ‘Developing a pedagogy of play’ in Anning, A., Cullen, J. and Fleer, M. (eds) Early Childhood Education, London, Sage Publications. Read More