Week Nine: Routines, Transitions and Social and Personal Learning

Reflection 

Routines and transition are necessary to support students as they gain familiarity with their school and classroom environment5. A positive classroom environment is necessary to foster optimal learning outcomes for students, including a child’s motivational and learning needs, social interaction with others, and transitioning young people into school life6. 

Routines include asserting regular practice in everyday events such as lunch breaks, relaxation time and toileting procedures, to major teaching and learning strategies that include collaborative planning, lesson routines and expectations5.

In order to develop student independence through organised routines and transitions, I would negotiate with my students what they feel will assist them during routine periods and establish a list for display in the classroom1. This helps to ensure continuity in learning for children throughout their schooling year5.

During transition times I would engage students in activities that have a routine structure, yet are flexible enough to introduce new concepts and provide meaningful connections between classroom discussions and life experiences as students share their knowledge and own experiences with peers. Students are clearly identified as a meaningful part of the learning process. 

The following model is an effective planning method when developing routines and transitions that supports the health and well being of students:

(Department of Health and Ageing, 2013)

Bibliography:

1. Blaise, M., & Nuttall,J. (2011). Capter 8: Transitions (pp.199-228). Learning to teach in the early years classroom. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

2. Derman-Sparks, L., & Ramsay, P. (2008). What if all the kids are white? Anti-bias themes for teaching young children. In A. Pelo (Ed.) rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, Wisconsin  Rethinking Schools (pp.43-47).  

3. Department of Health and Ageing. (2013). Kids matter. Retrieved from http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/ 

4. Phillips, L. (2013). Week Nine: Routines, Transitions and Social and Personal Learning [Powerpoint Slides]. Unpublished manuscript, EDUC2704, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.  


5. The State of Queensland (Queensland Studies Authority) (2006). Early years curriculum guidelines. Brisbane: QSA 

6. Yelland, N., Lee, L., O’Rourke, M., & Harrison, C. (2008). 
Multimodality. Rethinking in early childhood education. (pp.47-81). Berkshire, England: Open University Press.

Week Eight: Real Life Situations and Active Learning Processes

Reflection 

The changing landscape of the early years classroom and growing diversity of students in Australian schools has brought about a relatively new culture of respect for children as young people whom actively contribute to their own education and construction of knowledge.

As part of the five contexts for learning it is necessary to provide students with lessons that contextualise real-life situations to make students aware of diversity and the world around them⁶. In this week's reading, Louise writes an interesting article on the use of story telling to discuss social justice issues with students aged five to six years old. I found it absolutely fascinating that Louise addressed issues of environmental degradation, child labor and dislocation with students so young². I agree that in the right context, exposure to real-life situations and issues that children will eventually face and come to understand in adulthood, will advance their ability to become informed and active citizens to function effectively within society as young adults². 

It is our role as teachers to critically examine everyday practices of early learning setting and actively listen and  respond to children’s concerns, ideas and choices. As for planning, the collective decision-making and action-taking for active community participation should be encouraged through open discussion with students. I will encourage students to ask questions to make sense of the world they live in, as learner diversity has been at the forefront of my teaching philosophy since first year. Influenced by my understanding and respect for Australia's multiculturalism since childhood, respect for diversity was strongly embedded into the educational practices of both my school and home life. The effects of globalisation impact on all families and children and should be a personal commitment of all teachers to have respect, cater for and understand the diversity of families and rich perspectives they bring to classrooms¹. 


  

We have discussed and reflected upon cultural difference in numerous tutorials. Debate through discussion as to how we would act in particular situations was a useful metacognitive activity in actively thinking about how we will address learner diversity in our own classrooms. I researched further to find a suitable framework for preparing culturally responsive teachers.

Culturally responsive teachers⁵:
1. Are socially conscious
2. Have affirming views of students from diverse backgrounds
3. See themselves as responsible for and capable of about change to make schools more equitable 
4. Understand how learners construct knowledge and are capable of promoting knowledge construction
5. Know about the lives of their students 
6. Design instruction that builds on what their students already know while stretching them beyond the familiar 

Bibliography:

1. Braise, M. & Nuttall, J. (2011). Learning to Teach in the Early Years Classroom. South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.

2. Phillips, L. (2010). Social justice storytelling and young children's active citizenship. Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education, 31(3), 363-376. 

3. Phillips, L. (2013). Week Eight: Real life situation and active learning processes [Powerpoint Slides]. Unpublished manuscript, EDUC2704, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.  

4. Pratt, R (2010). Practical possibilities and pedagogical approaches for early childhood education for sustainability. In J. Davis (ED.) Young Children and the Environment. Cambridge University Press: Melbourne, (pp.104-129). 

5. Villegas, A. M., & Lucas T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 20-32. doi: 10.1177/0022487102053001003

6. The State of Queensland (Queensland Studies Authority) (2006). Early years curriculum guidelines. Brisbane: QSA 

Week Seven: Investigations /Inquiries of Active Learning Processes

Reflection

This week I gave my presentation on the Project Approach in a discussion about how the natural environment provides both benefits and limitations to conducting lessons that provide unique and interactive learning experiences for children. I wanted to facilitate a discussion about how best to implement a project approach style of learning and apply it to the ELYF (as this is a Canadian website). In doing so, I wanted peers to evaluate how it was conducive to learning from the perspective of both the teacher and the child. 

We discussed the Project Approach website as a valuable teaching tool, an active learning process for student engagement and a useful online resource that encourages a community of teachers to contribute their own ideas and reflections. It was established that interactive learning experiences such as those presented, build on a child's natural curiosity enabling children to interact, question, connect, problem solve, communicate and reflect on their learning. 

While this approach is highly innovative, the class established time restrictions (for planning and executing the lesson/unit), potential class management issues and maintaining students' task focus in order to communicate the lesson objective. It was however argued that from a child's perspective the sensory and interactive elements of the project approach promote an exploration of learning that harness the natural curiosity and intrinsic motivations of the child. Children were considered more likely to connect their learning to the world around them and  more likely to remember lesson content and outcomes of the learning experience through engagement. 

I conducted the following activity to establish the prior knowledge of my peers using the stimulus below. This was to encourage the same of my peers when utilising the project approach; to establish what the children know and build upon their current experiences to make the learning relevant and provide students with ownership over their learning. 

These questions were used to prompt the answers listed below:

• What is it?
• Why is it important?
• What do you know about the object/image?
• Is it a living thing?
• What does it need to survive?
• Where would you find this object/image? 

Peer Responses

Tree:

• Changes colour in different seasons 
• Loses it leaves
• Produces fruit and nuts
• Turns carbon dioxide into oxygen
• Fire wood
• A home for animals 
• Features include roots and a trunk, leaves and bark
• Water 
• Fun play space - climbing 
• Provides Shade

Butterfly:

• Wings
• Antenna 
• Different to moths
• Short lifespan
• Thousands of different species 
• Lives in the rainforest 
• Butterfly life cycle - Egg, larvae, cocoon, butterfly

Flower:

• Food and home for a variety of insects
• Photosynthesis
• Chlorophyl
• Features include a stem, petals and pollen
• A flower is a living thing
• Found in the garden
• Colours vary
• Can be either male or female 

Bibliography:

1. The Project Approach. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.projectapproach.org/ 

Week Six: Play

Reflection

I have always viewed play as fundamental to the health and well being of young people. This week was important in developing my understanding of play based education as a critical teaching and learning tool in early education. Since our introduction to this course I have become more aware of types of play and their importance within the EYLF. In our tutorials, every week our discussion often reverts to respecting the child and the active role students play in constructing their own knowledge. I see play as a key factor in this understanding, particularly in the early years.  This has meant educators have adapted their methods of programming through observation (Piaget has been a key influence in the content we have covered thus far)of student learning and designed learning content to draw on the intrinsic motivations of a child to promote engagement with learning processes that support their construction of knowledge1. 

(EYCG, 2006)

From our lecture and further reading, I understand play to be widely implemented in the early years classroom as [play is] one of the most enduring discourses in early childhood education3. This does not come without challenges, which was unexpected. I found it particularly interesting to note that there is resistance from parents and other educators as to the relevance of play in education. Further, that children can encounter challenging life experiences during role-play as they seek to make sense of their world, and that this can in fact have a harmful effect on their self-identify and reinforce negative stereotypes and power relationships5. 

I created a positive and negative chart of play-based learning to challenge myself to address negative aspects of play in my teaching career and utilise positive elements of play in both my teaching and learning strategies.

  

From this, I feel the negative aspects of play are an awareness issue. As we discussed in week three, the importance of documentation, observation and interpretation is essential in planning and making learning outcomes overt. I would create display features that highlight the learning processes of play and document children's learning experiences with a series of photographs and student feedback for parents to visit, discuss and gain a greater understanding on the ways in which children learn. In addition, this is a great reflection tool for both students and teachers.

Bibliography:

1. Ailwood, J. (2003). Governing early childhood education through play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 4(3), 286-299. 

2. Olfman, S. (2008). What about play? In A. Pelo (Ed.) Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: REthinking Schools, (p.61-64). 

3. Phillips, L. (2013). Week Six: Play [Powerpoint Slides]. Unpublished manuscript, EDUC2704, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia. 

4. Shteir, S. (2008). Confession: My students lay in the classroom - and it's good for them. In A. Pelo(Ed.) Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Rethinking Schools, (pp.65-66).

5. The State of Queensland (Queensland Studies Authority) (2006). Early years curriculum guidelines. Brisbane: QSA