Scaffolding and Meaning Making in Childrens Play - Report Example

Introduction One of the most successful and influential early childhood educational strategies that have been used to promote children’s social and cognitive development is scaffolding. Scaffolding generally refers to the process through which adults facilitate children’s learning by enabling them achieve a level of ability beyond the child’s capacity at the time (Scarlett 2005). This essay will discuss how scaffolding facilitates and supports meaning making in children’s play. First, the essay will briefly introduce the concept of scaffolding and its importance in children’s development. The essay will then explore various early childhood educational theories that support or acknowledge the role played by scaffolding, the view of children as learners capable of constructing meaning and the importance of teacher presence in a play based curriculum. The essay will examine scaffolding through the theoretical lens of the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, the constructivist theories of Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget and Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. The essay will argue that all examined theories support the role of scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making in children’s play and emphasize the importance of teacher presence in all areas of the curriculum, especially in a play based curriculum. Importance of Scaffolding in Children’s Play Scaffolding is metaphorical term which refers to the process through which teachers facilitate children’s learning by enabling them achieve a level of ability beyond the child’s current capacity. Through scaffolding, teachers play an active role by interacting with children to support their development by providing structures that support them to stretch their understanding or meaning making beyond the level at which they are able to function independently (Scarlett 2005, Seifert 2004). The term scaffolding was coined by cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner who conceptualised scaffolding as the gradual withdrawal of adult instructional control and learning support as a child’s mastery of a given learning task increases (Berk and Winsler 2010). Just as scaffolds help protect a wall while it is being built and then removed once construction is complete, the ultimate goal of scaffolding in children’s learning is to gradually withdraw the adult’s or caregiver’s support. This essay will consider the importance of scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making in children’s play by examining scaffolding in various early childhood educational theories. Scaffolding in Theory Scaffolding in Reggio Emilia Pre-schools As earlier mentioned, scaffolding in the educational context allows the teacher to play an active role in providing a temporary framework to support the child’s development. Through scaffolding, the importance of teacher presence in supporting children’s development through play well supported in theory. Scaffolding forms one of the cornerstones of the Reggio Emilia pedagogical philosophy which focuses on play based learning as the most appropriate form of learning within a self-guided curriculum (Module 3 2012). Teacher presence is particularly important for children’s learning in play based curricula. In Reggio Emilia preschools, the role of the teacher is to provoke discovery and learning through the processes of facilitating and stimulating children’s dialogue, co-action and the construction of knowledge. The children’s thinking and feeling is scaffolded by the teacher by providing support that is sensitive to the child’s current competency level (Fraser 2006). Scaffolding usually takes the form of adult child discourse. As the child explores their environment through play, the teacher questions their discoveries or explorations, clarifies the discoveries made by the child and summarizes or predicts them. Through this discourse, the teacher scaffold learning by structuring and encouraging the child’s thinking, their explorations and their learning discoveries (Module 3 2012). Lev Vygotsky: Scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development The importance of teacher presence in facilitating children’s learning through play also draws heavily from the theory of Lev Vygotsky who theorised that a child’s development can be fostered by a competent adult or caregiver who should be one step ahead of the child- in their zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Vygotsky 1962, Module 2:3 2012). The zone of proximal development refers to the distance or developmental gap between what the children can accomplish by themselves in learning and the next stage of learning which they can achieve aided by competent assistance from an adult caregiver. Bruner drew heavily from the works of Vygotsky, particularly the zone of proximal development, in conceptualizing scaffolding (Berk and Winsler 2010, Lambert and Clyde 2003). Vygotsky regards play as the leading source of children’s cognitive development (Vygotsky 1962, Lambert and Clyde 2003). For Vygotsky, children begin their development by first thinking with others or at the prompting of others before they are capable to think independently. Therefore, from Vygotsky’s approach, cognitive development essentially occurs through scaffolding where the child first interacts with the teacher (as the competent adult) who helps identify their zone of proximal development and gradually, through guided discovery, withdraws this guidance and support to enable the child think independently. The teacher identifies the zone of proximal development or the area where the child can only complete a task in play through assistance, but not alone (Scarlett 2005). The teacher then affects changes in these areas by presenting tasks or play activities incrementally (Module 3 2012). Scaffolding in Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism The utility of scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making in children’s play is also supported by Swiss psychologist jean Piaget’s cognitive constructivism theory. Piaget’s cognitive constructivist theory states that children acquire knowledge or generate meaning through the interrelated processes of assimilation and accommodation (Module 1: Module 3 2012, Piaget 1962). Assimilation represents the process through which children absorb information from their environment or reality and incorporate this information to fit into their current or existing mental structures. Since children’s existing mental structures are often not capable of adequately processing all the information they attempt to assimilate, there frequently arises the need to modify or accommodate their mental structures to be able to accept and process the new information that matches their current stock of knowledge (Piaget 1962). Piaget developed three stages of play’s development which correspond with the stages of children’s cognitive development. The first stage is the practice play which corresponds with the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development where play consists of repeated body movements and other non symbolic forms of play (Scarlett 2005, Fraser 2006). Prior to this stage, the child acquires knowledge primarily through exploration and the use of their senses of touch, sight, smell, taste or hearing. The next stage of play represents a shift from non-symbolic to symbolic play in the pre-operational stage where children engage in make believe play and fantasy role play. The third stage of play involves games with rules at the concrete operational stage (Scarlett 2005). This stage represents advanced cognitive development and represents a corresponding advancement of symbolism in children’s play. Play becomes more structured, competition emerges and play is governed by shared social rules (Piaget 1962: Berk and Winsler 2010). Piaget’s cognitive constructivist theory supports the role of scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making in children’s play. Piagetian theory states that for planned and incidental learning to occur in the course of child’s play, several prerequisites must be achieved. Key to these prerequisites is the role of the adult in structuring the play environment and most significantly in determining the appropriate level of their involvement to facilitate and support children’s development (Piaget 1962). In the early childhood education context, the play continuum ranges from child initiated play on one extreme to teacher directed play on the other extreme (Module 1 2012). For Piaget, successful scaffolding occurs when three key elements are present: active discovery where a teacher initiates and models play activities that students then “take over, intrinsic motivation and practical learning situations where a “scaffolded” student develops and nurtures his/her own learning momentum and applies new knowledge/skills to everyday life and creative and critical thinking when instructional scaffolding falls away and the student relies on his/her emerging ideas and direction (Piaget 1962). For the child’s development to occur within this continuum there is an appropriate level of adult involvement ranging from invisible (in child initiated play) to omnipresence (in teacher-directed play). For instance, in completing a jigsaw puzzle, the teacher may scaffold the child’s play by demonstrating to the child the appropriate strategy to complete the puzzle then withdraw themselves to allow the child attempt the puzzle independently. On the other hand, the child may actively include the adult or teacher in their play and the teacher can use the opportunity to assess the child’s discrimination concepts. For instance, a teacher handing the child various ingredients to bake a cake may deliberately feign ignorance to assess whether the child is now capable of naming items and discriminating their properties. Scaffolding and Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences also justifies the role played by scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making in children’s play. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has been used to explain and understand the various ways in which children think and communicate during play (Module 2 2012). Gardner posits that there are eight distinct ways of knowing and representing the world around us, each of which consist of an intelligence by their own right with their own symbols, rules and codes. Gardner’s theory states that children learn and express themselves differently contingent on their cultural background and in the process use these several types of intelligence (Gardner 1983: 2006). Proficiency in any particular intelligence would therefore help children make meaning and express their understanding of the world. These intelligences are; bodily kinesthetic, musical rhythmic, logical mathematical, verbal linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, visual spatial and naturalistic intelligence (Module 2 2012). Gardner’s theory supports scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making by stating that unless a potential intelligence is nurtured, it will not develop. Furthermore, Gardner states that children’s learning is best facilitated through their strongest intelligence. The implication for teachers is that they should use play, the central activity in early childhood curriculum, to assess the child’s learning strengths and make appropriate decisions on learning experiences (Module 2 2012, Fraser 2006). Since every child has different profiles of multiple intelligences, teachers can facilitate learning through scaffolding the lessons and playing experiences to make them accessible to all intelligences. Through the play experiences, the teacher scaffolds learning by showing the children entry points which are aligned with and incorporate all intelligences therefore increasing opportunities to use all the intelligences (Gardner 2006). There are various entry points that teachers could utilize in scaffolding children’s development through play to nurture the multiple intelligences. Teachers can scaffold individual children’s exploration of new materials as they play in the classroom or educational context and challenge or stimulate their individual thinking. For instance, logical mathematical intelligence can be nurtured through block games. Musical rhythmic intelligence can be nurtured during self selected play activities by playing music or encouraging dance while the children play. Bodily kinesthetic intelligence can also be nurtured through scaffolding as the child plays with dough, plastic clay or other materials which require physical manipulation. Teachers can provide entry points to such bodily kinesthetic intelligences by scheduling and facilitating activities such as rope skipping or kickball (Gardner 2006). Conclusion: Teacher Presence and Scaffolding As demonstrated, various early childhood educational theories support the role played by scaffolding in facilitating and supporting meaning making in children’s play. In the play based curriculum approach, the view of children is that of powerful learners able to construct meaning of their world and to communicate and share their understandings with each other and teachers (Module 3 2012). Children thus actively participate in their own learning and the curriculum is designed to facilitate their ability to make meaning of their world and acquire knowledge in a joint collaborative and interactive manner with their teachers (Scarlett 2005). Since scaffolding in the educational context requires teachers as the competent adults or instructors, it demonstrates the importance of teacher presence in all areas of the curriculum especially in play. Whether through Piaget’s cognitive constructivism or Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, it is important for teachers to actively participate and interact with the children to foster their cognitive and social development. To scaffold children’s play, the teacher is important in roles such as creating the right play environment by preparing adequate materials, designing the playing space and ensuring adequate play materials, designing appropriate play experiences to structure and facilitate the children’s development and facilitating interactions among the children and between themselves and the children to facilitate and support meaning making (Module 3: Module 2 2012). References Berk, L. & Winsler, A. (2010). Scaffolding children's learning: Vygotsky and early childhood education. California: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Fraser, S. (2006). Authentic childhood: Experiencing Reggio Emilia in the classroom (2nd ed.). Toronto: Nelson Thomson. Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons. New York: Basic Books. Lambert, E. & Clyde. M. (2003). ‘Putting Vygotsky to the test.’ In Lytle, D. Play and Educational Theory and Practice. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams and imitation. New York: W.W. Norton Company. Scarlett, G. (2005). Children’s Play. New York: SAGE. Seifert, K. (2004). ‘Early Childhood Education and Child Development’. In Spodek, B. & Saracho, O. Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Vygotsky, L. (1962). Thought and Language (Trans. and edited by Hanfmann, E. & Vakar, G.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Read More