An Analysis of a Lesson on Senses in the Light of EYFS & Constructivist Principles - Essay Example

An Analysis of a Lesson on Senses in the Light of EYFS & Constructivist Principles In many ways, children have proven that they indeed are capable of many things originally unexpected of them. Constructivists are consistent in their belief that children’s capabilities in terms of learning can even match that of adult’s. Because of their clarity of thinking, unobstructed by pressures put on by society, they may even surpass the learning abilities of adults. “Children are seen as active and competent in their own learning, fully participatory in co-constructing their learning through social interactions, as opposed to this somehow being shaped by more knowledgeable others.” (Mitchell & Wild, 2004, p. 734) In an effort to meet children’s developmental needs, the education of teachers is now putting emphasis on child-centered approaches. The growing awareness that children are indeed capable of becoming contributing members of society has prompted the UK government to consult children themselves, of things that matter to them most in order to be the basis of proposals for change. These key outcomes—being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic well-being are detailed in the Every Child Matters report and represent a considerable shift in focus for staff providing public services for children. (Baxter & Frederickson, 2005). The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a resource for early childhood care and education practitioners to support the needs of young children under their care. It sets standards for learning, development and care for children up to five years of age. EYFS provides a wide variety of information on child development to help practitioners understand how children grow and what they need to help them optimize their potentials. The use of this resource will effectively enable early childhood settings to meet the key outcomes outlined in Every Child Matters and to ensure that high quality service is provided to the children. Caring for all children regardless of age involves many considerations. One is to see each child at his or her own developmental level and create activities and opportunities appropriate to their particular levels. The child needs to develop holistically, meaning each developmental area is given attention to so growth and development as a whole person ensues. The specific areas of learning and development, as identified in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) are: Personal, social and emotional development; Communication, language and literacy; Problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy; Knowledge and understanding of the world; Physical development and Creative development (EYFS, 2008) These are all linked together, as in development in one area affects the others. The practitioner needs careful planning and implementation of activities so that children under their care grow in all areas. EYFS recognizes the importance of play in childhood, as it provides many benefits. Play is a child’s world. It is an avenue where one can be free to be oneself without anyone imposing rules or restrictions to conform to society’s standards. Play offers many benefits that foster children’s learning. It engages the mind to actively imagine various scenarios for fun or for problem-solving. Babies and toddlers play in order 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. Preschoolers and primary school children learn better in play-like settings because they retain concepts better when learned in the spirit of fun. They enjoy competitive games in testing their stock knowledge and even simulate game shows they watch on television in reviewing certain academic concepts. Such cognitive benefits extend to their real lives as they make decisions, compare and contrast things, use their imaginations and thinking critically and creatively. Bearing in mind that each child’s individual need should be met, a practitioner may group children with similar ages or ability levels together and manage the different groups in accordance to their developmental and individual needs. Practitioners should have enough flexibility in planning activities for children. Following their lead in terms of interests shared by the majority of children is one effective way of capturing their attention and motivating them to develop skills. Section 1: Activities For very young children, learning about their bodies is of prime interest to them. Knowing that they can learn more about their world using their senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste is exciting for them, and teachers can take this interest in planning some activities to include in their curriculum. Here are some examples of activities on senses: Name of Activity Concepts Learned Skills Learned Activity Flow Popcorn making Various senses and how they function Observing change from corn kernels to popcorn Following a recipe following a sequence/ directions skill in reading and following steps in a recipe perceptual discrimination language expression taking turns association of learning with other relevant life concepts Make a popcorn recipe using graphic items and numbers that Nursery children can easily read. Make sure the steps are easily followed. Show the utensils and ingredients that are needed to the children and discuss what each item is for. Cook the popcorn with the children, being mindful of pointing out to the recipe where they are in each step. Ensure the safety of the children by covering the pot and keeping the children at a safe distance. Heighten sensorial awareness by pointing out to the sound and smell of popcorn being cooked. Eat and enjoy the popcorn with the children. Feely Box Hands can touch and hold things Hands can help us do many things Things have different shapes and textures Using the hands to identify objects Concept of hard and soft/ smooth and rough, etc. Concept of how blind people survive using their sense of touch. Guessing the object by mere touch Language expression – description of how an object feels Waiting for turn Create a feely box out of a covered shoe box with a hole in the middle. Cover that hole with the edges of a sock, with the rest of the sock inside the box, the end cut open. Make sure the hands of the children fit in that hole. Fill the box with various objects for the children to touch and guess while in the box. They are not supposed to see the object, as their hand is inside the box the whole time they are guessing. Have the children describe the shape, feel, texture of object and upon guessing what he thinks it is, to bring it out of the feely box for confirmation. “Sounds like..” Discriminating different sounds Vocabulary words:loud, soft, high, low Things can make different sounds The ear is used for hearing. Caring for the ear Sound discrimination Guessing the sound Matching the sound to the picture Following sound patterns Prepare the materials for sound lotto: pictures of various objects that make sounds and recorded sounds of those objects. Let children listen to the different sounds and point out the picture of the object making that sound. Give out different musical instruments to the children. Let them follow the sound pattern you make with your musical instrument. “Blind Man’s Journey” We need eyes to see Concept of left, right, straight Prepositions: over, under, beside, etc. Following directions Listening Set up a simple obstacle course safe enough for the children. Blindfold one child. This blindfolded child will take cues from his classmates on his “journey”. Ex. go right, under the table, over the teddy bear, etc. until he reaches the destination at the end of the room. To illustrate thoroughly how a developmentally appropriate constructivist activity goes, the first activity, Popcorn Making is selected. Popcorn-Making Activity: Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the children should be able to: 1. recognize that they have 5 senses to help them learn about their world. 2. follow the steps and directions from a recipe. 3. express themselves through language. 4. cooperate and take turns with their classmates. Session Observations: The children were asked to sit on their chairs around a table. The teacher showed them all the things needed to make popcorn. She helped them read the recipe for making popcorn by letting them identify the numbers and items represented by some pictures in the recipe. She showed the children some corn kernels and asked the children to describe it. She also asked them to guess what will happen to the kernels if they are put in hot oil. She wrote down all their guesses word for word on the blackboard. Next, the class followed the recipe to make popcorn. The teacher made them aware of the sounds of popping and the smell of cooking popcorn. She made sure the children were at a safe distance away from the popcorn while she took the covered pot to shake the popcorn. When cooked, the children saw what happened to the popped corn kernels. They touched the popcorn when it was not too hot anymore and enjoyed eating it. The teacher asked them to describe the texture and feel of the popcorn and how it tasted. Again, she wrote down their comments on the blackboard. Section 2: Evaluation Popcorn-making is a very simple activity that may be deemed ordinary, however, much learning may be derived from it. Young children are very impressionable, and when things are pointed out to them, they easily absorb and have the ability to associate it with other things. During popcorn making, all senses are heightened, and children can be made aware of all 5 senses in use. They see the changes in the corn kernel, hear the popping sounds of the kernels being cooked, smell the flavor released by the kernels touch the kernel and differentiate its texture and feel before and after being popped, and finally, taste the popcorn when it is cooked. In just one session, the children has discovered and learned a lot from a simple cooking activity. Many concepts and skills were tapped. This is a far cry from traditional approaches in teaching the concept of senses, which mostly put students in a passive state while the teacher did all the teaching. The students were just expected to absorb the learning without active participation. Constructivist theory is gaining more attention, recognition and acceptance in many educational institutions. It premises on the belief that learners “construct” their own learning, and in effect, have better retention of it. “In the Constructivist theory the emphasis is placed on the learner or the student rather than the teacher or the instructor.  It is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thereby gains an understanding of the features held by such objects or events.  The learner, therefore, constructs his/her own conceptualizations and solutions to problems.  Learner autonomy and initiative is accepted and encouraged.” (Van Ryneveld, n.d., n.p.). Cognitive Constructivist Theories put much premium on knowledge from experiences and Social Constructivist theories point to the importance of teacher explanations, support and demonstrations. Cognitive Constructivists value the individual’s questioning with open ended-questions and Social Constructivists encourage multiple viewpoints in understanding a problem. Cognitive Constructivists promote individual discoveries and Social Constructivists encourage students’ collaboration in learning and social interaction. Cognitive Constructivists identify and foster skills needed to manage learning, and acknowledge collaborative learning as supportive in the increase of individual metacognitive skill. Social Constructivists create an atmosphere of joint responsibility for learning. (Bonk & Cunningham, 1998). In the popcorn making activity, the children were actively engaged as they helped cooked, give their guesses and opinions. These were documented by the teacher to make children realize how important their ideas are, enough to be put on print (on the blackboard). This gives the students more power in the acquisition of learning. Using prior knowledge, they are encouraged to invent their own solutions and try out their own ideas and hypotheses with the able support of their teachers. This way, they can indulge in concrete experiences that focus on their interests. The process of searching for information, analysing data and reaching conclusions is considered more important than learning facts. EYFS’s theme of positive relationships enables children to grow up in environments that make them feel love and security from their homes or learning environments, making them grow up to be self-confident, self-propelling people. Supportive adults help children understand the emotions they undergo, especially if these feelings are negative and confusing to the child (anger, disappointment, jealousy, etc.). In being understood, the children themselves learn to be sensitive to others’ feelings and provide the same support and understanding to them, creating a circle The key of positive relationships. The outcomes specified in Every Child Matters are met in such positive environments. The theme of provision of enabling environments for children play a key role in helping and guiding children in growing to be capable individuals. This entails a practitioner’s keen observation of each child, as to his or her interests, skills, personality traits, etc. and get cues from the children themselves as to how they would like their learning to be structured. Careful planning of activities for children should consider important concepts and skills they should be learning at their developmental level. Again, this agrees with the constructivists’ view of children’s learning that they are capable of treading their own learning paths they themselves construct of course with the able guidance of a sensitive adult. Lastly, EYFS’s theme of learning and development help practitioners understand that children develop and learn in different ways and at their own time. Each area of learning and development specified by EYFS is equally important and inter-connect with the others, so practitioners must make sure that they do not concentrate on only one area of learning at a time. The effective teacher can discern which learning strategy would be most appropriate on a case-to-case basis. Imbedded in her are hidden agendas for making her students reach their optimum learning potentials and in effect, the development of a healthy self-esteem. She is aware that she is just an instrument in assisting the students to gain knowledge, and not the source of knowledge herself. She is on hand to ignite the spark of interest and motivation of her students. It is now up to the students themselves to turn that spark into a burning flame that would keep them fired up for more learning. References Baxter, J. & Frederickson, N., (2005) “Every Child Matters: Can educational psychology contribute to radical reform?” Educational Psychology in Practice, Vol 21, No. 2 Bonk, C.J. & Cunningham, D.J. (1998) “Searching for Learner-Centered, Constructivist, and Sociocultural Components of Collaborative Educational Learning Tools” in Electronic Collaborators. Retrieved on February 4, 2009 from: www.publicationshare.com/docs/Bon02.pdf HM Government (2007) “Statutory guidance on making arrangements to Safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004” Every Child Matters Change for Children. London: Department for Education and Skills Mitchell, H. & Wild, M. (2004) “Placing the child in childhood. “British Educational Research Journal Vol. 30, No. 5 The Early Years Foundation Stage, (2007) Effective practice: Play and Exploration © Crown Van Ryneveld, L., (n.d.) “What is constructivism?”, Retrieved on April 15, 2007 from http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/lindavr/lindapg1.htm www.everychildmatters.gov.uk www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/EYFS/ www.teachernet.gov.uk Read More