Week 8 reading

Readings:
Literacy: 

Bardige, B. & Bardige, M. (2008). Talk to me, baby! Supporting language development in the first 3 years. Zero to Three, September, 4-10

Numeracy:

English, L. D. (2004). Promoting the development of young children’s mathematical and analogical reasoning. In L. D. English (Ed.),Mathematical and analogical reasoning of young learners (201-214). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Summary

Both the articles by Bardige & Bardige (2008, pp. 4 - 10) and English (2004, pp. 201-214) write about how as educators as well as members of the community (parents, families, care givers etc.) can give support in a child's acquisition of language and numeracy skills. Both articles focused on the quality of sources we provide for children, and how that can affect individual children on their own quality of learning. The numeracy reading also included information on how both the 'play' approach and the 'drill' approach has been effective in the early childhood mathematical education, when worked alongside Ginsburg (et al. 2001 cited in Bardige & Bardige p. 203)'s "challenge" approach. The 'challenge' approach allows children to engage significantly and intellectually with mathematical activities. Bardige & Bardige (2008, p. 203) encourage children to be exposed to experiences that are appropriate and challenge the child, while being consistent with children's ways of thinking and learning. As children begin to form relationships between concepts, children are more likely to be motivated to pursue mathematical knowledge and participate in mathematical activities. This promotes children to engage with their reasoning skills and processes. Diezmann et al. (2001 cited in Bardige & Bardige 2008, p. 207) quotes 'Young children's reasoning can be enhanced or inhibited by a teacher's actions through her discourse, the type of classroom she provides, the mathematical activities she implements, and the way in which she implements them'. This point brings to our understanding that the set up of the environment a child is placed in definitely affects the child's learning. Educators must use appropriate language and terminologies, challenge children's assumptions, provide an environment that promotes discussion and problem-solving, provide access to a wide range of materials and pick up on children's conversations as an opportunity to encourage reasoning and concepts. An example of good learning material resources are books. English (2004, p.6) encourages book sharing as a motivator for language acquisition. Children begin to engage with story telling, want to be involved in the story-telling process and children who have learnt basic reading concepts widen their vocabularies through reading. In terms of using appropriate language, we understand that the quality of language that surrounds a child also influences the language and understanding acquired by the child. English (204 p.6) explains how the richness of conversations surrounding a child can be a determining factor of the speed a child achieves linguistic milestones. Ultimately, as educators we must be able to build on children's prior knowledge. We must be able to pick up and observe what each child already knows and use that as the foundation to what we can further support from that prior known knowledge. English (2004, p.5) explains that the language acquisition process is a process of circuit building, whereby complex circuits build on simple circuits and circuits are built through interaction with people and the surrounding environment and a range of experiences. English's (2004) article also includes many practical techniques in promoting infant's language acquisition such as letting babies listen to different kinds of sounds, constantly speaking to the baby, engaging in back-and-forth conversations, narrating a child's play actions and reinforcing communicative attempts.

Implications

The literacy reading was chosen as I wanted to learn more about how babies communicated, since I am in a nursery room at placement. I wanted to learn what was the best way to promote language acquisition and how I could promote language learning to the infants at my placement centre. The numeracy reading was linked to my 'action plan' portfolio from last week whereby I wanted to understand the difference between a 'play' curriculum and a strictly 'academic' or 'drill' curriculum. From the readings, I learn that a lesson plan that involved both influences of a 'play' approach as well as a 'drill' approach will be equally effective in a classroom. The essential point to remember in lesson planning was to ensure the lesson plan is built on a foundation of prior knowledge and that the lesson is challenging enough for the child. In placement itself, I was prompted to use the appropriate terminology when communicating with the children. For example, I remembered to use terms such as 'add', 'subtract', 'rhythm' or 'repeating pattern' with the children when introducing numeracy concepts. I also tried to label each object that a child pointed to and encouraged the child to repeat those words after me.  The children were also encouraged to use their words and appropriate body language when facing a disagreement with another child instead of just crying and hurting each other. Through this, I observed that children constantly associated 'No' whenever they disliked anything at all, be it a food or a toy or an activity they did not want to do. The staff's routine of handing out hands and saying 'Ta' when collecting water bottles also made the children say 'Ta' each time they wanted a drink. Using that as a foundation, children could be taught the words 'Please' and 'Thank you' or 'Drink'. As they grow older, they should be able to form simple sentences such as 'More drink please'. It was also observed that babies with 'quieter' parents seemed to talk less than babies with 'friendlier' and more 'sociable' parents. This may be due to the amount of vocabulary the babies have been exposed to or the amount of talking the baby has mimicked. Children who have older siblings also picked up on language acquisition milestones quicker than first born children. This may be due to the way both children may be on equal wavelengths which makes it easier for the younger child to pick up on language. As educators, I also believe it is important to pose problems to the children, which use their logic such as puzzles and with older children, it is important to pose problems that involve different concepts for its solution so that a relationship can be built between ideas. As a conclusion, I believe that I need to improve on providing an environment that is richer with literacy and numeracy opportunities, as well as engage better with the children to build on each individual child's needs and foundations. 

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Portfolio #3 (Action Plan)

3.3 States the strengths & possible limits of your own ability to observe & offer literacy & numeracy experiences with children less than 4 years of age

Being brought up in a foreign, South-East Asian country, Malaysia, for practically all my life (I only moved to Australia about a year and a half ago), I have noted that there are significant differences between the way education is presented in Australia and my home country. In general, it can be said that the Asian education system is an entirely different world from the Australian education system. As a result, I wanted to investigate the way early childhood education is presented in different cultures and how these different forms of early childhood education have produced different results. 

Building on my own personal experience, I can briefly tell you that the early childhood education system in most Asian countries places a high emphasis on academics even from an early age. Children are expected to write well by the age of four, children should be able to spell and perform basic mathematic skills such as addition and subtraction by the age of five and in Malaysia particularly, we are expected to pick up at least two languages at a young age. These languages being English, Malay and an optional 'mother tongue' language such as Chinese or Tamil (Indian, similiar to Hindi). Speaking from my experiences in kindergarten, there was little time for play and in those five hours at Kindy, we were mainly exposed to books and writing activities and mathematics exercises. This is of course entirely different from the early childhood setting here in Australia whereby children are allowed to play and discover, and develop an understanding of concepts mostly by themselves with some guidance from educators. Children are allowed to form relationships and question their thoughts, beliefs and respond to their curiosity. Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying that one is better than the other. Both settings produce extremely positive results, but the only difference is that one setting is teacher-driven whereas the other is child-driven. 

To investigate the main differences between the Asian and Australian or 'Western' early childhood setting, I will look through books or online articles that describe the early childhood setting of both places in detail. I will also try to search for interviews with people that have taught overseas and locally in Australia or a 'western' country. As I do intend for this action plan to be a relatively long process, I plan on comparing observations of children at my current placement and children that I work with when I return to my home country for the summer holidays. I also intend to conduct interviews or surveys with people who have experienced both education settings or discuss with Asian parents why they decide to send their children to study in Australia. In the long run, my ultimate goal is to be able to form lesson plans that merge the advantages of both education settings into one lesson plan that benefits different children. I strongly believe that there is much to learn from both settings and if worked hand-in-hand, there just might be a teaching strategy that produces very positive results. 

One of my strengths in taking observations and comparing observations is my ability to understand both English and Malay very fluently, which will allow me to communicate and understand the Asian children better. Also, being exposed to both education settings has made me pick up on the differing literacy and numeracy skills of children at different ages. However, it might work as a disadvantage for me as I may be bias towards one or the other. While it is a definite strength for me that I am able to travel between both countries to undertake research, I do acknowledge that without any formal procedures, any observation comparisons that I conduct will not actually be a formal generalisation of children in both cultures. Exposure to different kinds of media and different kinds of stimuli (toys, music, climate etc.) may have an effect on the comparison results. I also note that each individual child, even within the same culture, has a different family upbringing which has a big impact on the way a child learns and develops. For example, a child that is often spoken to by his or her parents, is bound to have better communication and verbal skills than a child that is constantly 'babied' or rarely spoken to. The differing expectations of children at different ages may also be a limitation for me in making lesson plans.

Here, I leave you with a short self-directed documentary and another independent-directed discussion on different education systems for your thoughts!

Some of the other resources I have found so far are as follows:

Boocock, S. S. (1995). Early childhood programs in other nations: goals and outcomes. The future of children, 94-114.

Boonlerts, S., & Inprasitha, M. (2013). The textbook analysis on multiplication: The case of japan, singapore and thailand.Creative Education, 4(4), 259-262. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1370721232?accountid=10910

Cheng, K. M., & Wong, K. C. (1996). School effectiveness in East Asia: concepts, origins and implications. Journal of Educational Administration,34(5), 32-49.

Kaya, S. (2008). The effects of student-level and classroom-level factors on elementary students' science achievement in five countries. (Order No. 3348503, The Florida State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 132-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304641998?accountid=10910

Leung, K. S. F. (2006). Mathematics education in East Asia and the West: Does culture matter?. In Mathematics education in different cultural traditions-a comparative study of east asia and the west (pp. 21-46). Springer US.

Makin, L., Hayden, J., & Criss, J. D. (2000). High-quality literacy programs in early childhood classrooms: An australian case study.Childhood Education, 76(6), 368-373. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210380839?accountid=10910

Miyahara, J., & Meyers, C. (2008). EARLY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: EXPERIENCES FROM EIGHT COUNTRIES. International Journal of Early Childhood, 40(2), 17-31. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194777840?accountid=10910

Sharpe, P. (2002). School days in singapore: Young children's experiences and opportunities during a typical school day. Childhood Education, 79(1), 9-14. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210384468?accountid=10910

Week 7 reading

Readings:

Literacy: 

Baleghizadeh, S., & Dargahi, Z. (2010). The effect of nursery rhymes on EFL children's reading ability. New England Reading Association Journal, 46(1), 71-75,109. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/755497915?accountid=1091

Numeracy:
Geist, K., Geist, E. A., & Kuznik, K. (2012). The patterns of music: Young children learning mathematics through beat, rhythm, and melody. YC Young Children, 67(1), 74-79. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/927664938?accountid=10910

Summary

The literacy reading by Sasan Baleghizadeh and Zeinab Dargahi (2010) focus on how nursery rhyme aids children who learn English as a foreign language and their reading skills. First and foremost, nursery rhymes are helpful as they are motivating and fun to the children, which in turn gives children the desire to learn the language and have a positive attitude towards reading and English in general (p.71). Nursery rhymes also help improve phonetic skills such as sounds and stresses. Baleghizadeh & Dargahi (2010, p.76) also quote Clay (2001, p.76) who explains that children develop an ability known as phonetic segmentation and become better readers when exposed to nursery rhymes as they learn how a language sounds, and 'think their way through a word, sound by sound in the order which they hear it'. This is further supported by Strickland & Schikedanz (2004, p.19 cited in Baleghizadeh & Dargahi 2010, p. 72) that the repetition of rhymes allow children to be familiar with unit of sound (phonemes) which helps children to think about the whole word in sequences, 'a skill that is crucial for learning to read'. Children are able to familiarise the sound pattern of words, which helps them in recognising and reading words in text through nursery rhymes. Ehri & Robbins (1992, cited in Baleghizadeh & Dargahi 2010, p.73) also explains that when exposed to nursery rhymes, 'Children know when words do or do not rhyme. They also know when words begin or end with the same sound. They recognise that a word like /c/ /a/ /t/ is composed of three sounds and can be blended into a word'. All these abilities will contribute to improving the reading skills of children. A study was then conduced with the participants divided into two groups. The control group was taught the sounds of an alphabet using traditional methods whereas the experimental group was taught the sound of alphabets through nursery rhymes. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups and the experimental groups showed a better ability in reading and recognising words. In conclusion, it was noted that using nursery rhymes as a teaching method definitely produced positive results, especially for children who are learning English as a foreign language.

The numeracy reading by Kamile Geist, Eugene A. Geist and Kathleen Kuznik (2012) discussed the use of music in teaching mathematics to young children. The authors' main points were that music is a good way to introduce sequencing and patterning to children, music helped children to pay attention during lessons and that music itself contains mathematical elements. Geist, Geist & Kuznik (2012, p. 74) quotes 'Musical elements such as steady beat, rhythm, melody, and tempo possess inherent mathematical principles such as spatial properties, sequencing, counting, patterning, and one-to-one correspondence.' This quote itself describes how music is related to mathematics. Another study by Zentner & Eerola (2010 cited in Geist et al 2012, p.74) found that infants responded better to stimuli that was incorporated with rhythm (i.e. a drum beat) than stimuli that only comprised of speech. Zenter & Eerola (2010 cited in Geist et al 2012, p.74) also note that 'infants and toddlers can not only see patterns but hear them in music'. All these abilities will contribute to a child's foundation in mathematics or what we call 'emergent mathematics'. Geist et al (2012, p.76) explains how patterning skills in children help them to build connections, relationships and even number concepts. These patterning skills improve as children get older. Geist et al (2012, p.76) explain that the use of music in mathematics makes learning fun and helps children to concentrate more as they develop positive attitudes towards mathematics and are more engaged in the activities. A case study included in the article explained that children had trouble recalling concepts they had learnt when they participated in activities that did not contain any musical experiences. Geist et al (2012 p. 77) also acknowledges the fact that using songs and music in lessons provides opportunities to include mathematical concepts in songs. A given example was a song that can relate the number of quacks in the song to the number of ducklings being sung about. Geist et al. (2012, p.78) conclude the article with an emphasis that 'Music is children's first patterning experience and helps them engage in mathematics even when they don't recognise the activities as mathematical'. 

Implications

Both of these readings were chosen as I was interested to see how music can be used as a 'text' in teaching literacy and numeracy concepts to children. From these readings, it is clearly proven that music and nursery rhymes produce a very positive effect on children's learning. In my own personal experience, I have found that singing songs like 'Ten Little Indians' and reading out loud rhymes like 'Humpty Dumpty' definitely improve children's understanding of counting and tone. When singing 'Ten Little Indians', I have noted that most children also stick out the correct number of fingers as the song goes along. This indicates an understanding of numbers and counting even in infants! When reading 'Humpty Dumpty', I note that when the children try to imitate the words I read, they read the words in the exact tone that I used while reading. I believe that all children are naturally inclined towards music. They see music as something fun and each child usually can connect to the rhythm and beat of a song. Using the readings, I perhaps would like to try to make a lesson plan purely based on music and nursery rhymes. There are many resources on the internet and possibly in libraries that include accompanying music with readings or many songs that involve mathematical concepts.  

Portfolio #2 (Resource)

Recently, in planning my activities for placement, I have been looking up Pinterest (best invention for teachers), for some ideas on how I can contribute to babies' learning. Being in the nursery room at placement has been a little bit tougher for me, perhaps because I have really minimal experience with babies and I find it difficult to plan activities that the children will respond to 'orderly'. Inspired by my Week 6 reading on setting up a physical environment that encourages learning, I came across this blog post that explains some good tips on setting up a 'Reggio Inspired Baby Play Space'.

Website: http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/10/baby-place-space-for-6-18-months.html

The Reggio approach is very much based on being child-centred. The Reggio Emilia approach believes in the child's interaction with the environment as one of the key 'educators'. The Reggio Emilia approach also believes that educators work with families by means of recording the child's progress and maintaining constant communication with families.

1.3 Specifies the teaching approaches you’ll use & the learning environs you’ll create to support the social dimensions of early literacy/numeracy

3.2 Shows competence in observing & planning for literacy & numeracy experiences & environs, adapting to specific learner needs, interests & contexts

I strongly believe in the Reggio Emilia approach and intend to use this resource as a start to practicing the Reggio Emilia approach. In reference to the resource above, I intend to set up the play area with materials that can stimulate the child's brain, in terms of problem-solving, understanding processes, improving literacy and language. I would also include materials that evoke a strong sense of curiosity and discovery, besides including materials that build on their self-awareness, self-confidence and self-worth. Some examples of materials that I would include in the play area are as follows:

- Mirrors
Develops self-awareness and encourages imagery play, besides encouraging communication.
- Building blocks
Building blocks can be used to teach babies numeracy concepts such as height, stability, or even cause and effect by knocking down built towers.
- Stacking rings
Helps babies to develop motor skills in fitting the rings on to the holder, also helps babies to understand size -- one ring is bigger than the other
- Musical Instruments
Babies learn numeracy through the different instrument shapes as well as rhythm and beat. They learn literacy when they discover how each instrument works and how different sounds and produced by different instruments. Groups of children can also learn to make different sounds together and form a tune.
- Age-appropriate books
Babies must be exposed to books even if they don't know how to read. They should learn the concept of pages, symbols (words), and pictures. Many books also include sensory components for babies. Educators should always be ready and present if a child shows interest in a book so that the educator can read aloud to the child.
- Colourful alphabet foam mats
Children can feel free to deconstruct the mat and fit the alphabets back into the mat. The mat also provides a safe, cushioned and comfortable padding for babies to play on. 
- Muffin tins with colourful balls
Older children can learn to arrange the coloured balls according to their colour or categorise the balls according to size. They also learn about how specific round shapes will only fit perfectly into the muffin tins. Babies develop their fine motor skills by fitting the balls into the muffin tin and also begin to learn about categorising items. 
- Felt board with different shapes
Children pick up numeracy skills by learning the different shapes on the felt board. They can rearrange shapes on the felt board to form different felt pictures. 
- A cardboard box with different colourful cloths or socks hanging from the top for babies to crawl through.
This is a sensory activity that allows babies to discover different cloth materials and explore different colours and patterns.

Observation: 
While I have not completely set up a specific corner in the nursery room, I had the chance to play with some musical instruments with a 4 month old and a set of 6 month old twins. With the 4 month old, he was crying when I decided to play a simple tune on the toy xylophone. He immediately stopped and stared at the xylophone and soon enough began to clap and dance to the tune. He also had a go at the toy xylophone and laughed each time a different sound was produced. The twins have been particularly interested in this pop up toy each time I have visited them.

Image source: http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2008/11/baby-toy-guide-12-to-24.html

I noticed that each time one of the animals popped up, one of the twins would have her eyes lit up, bob her head as if she was popping up and would constantly verbalise the D sound "Dh-dh-dh-dh-dh". Her sister, who didn't appear to be as shocked, would then shut all the animals back down. 

This really showed me how music and sound really capture the responsiveness of babies. Babies are curious to see where the sounds have come from and how the sounds are produced. In the twins case, she might have been amused that she too could make sound from her voice and responded to the 'popping' sound with her voice. Or she might have been imitating the popping sound. I can't be too sure but that would be my lack of skill in interpreting these observations. Building on this, I definitely want to introduce more instruments into the room to see how children respond to them. I can also perhaps introduce some cultural instruments such as African drums or having an educator play the didgeridoo. We can also perhaps sing nursery rhymes accompanied by the toy instruments. Books on musical instruments can also be introduced into the room, and some music that compromises multiple musical instruments at once can be played in the room. It would also be a good project for older children to be able to make their own musical instruments such as shakers or 'rubber band guitars'.

Week 6 readings

Readings chosen this week:
1. Sharon Rosenkoetter & Joanne Knapp-Philo (2004). Learning to read the world: Literacy in the first 3 years in Zero to Three (LITERACY READING)

2. Kate Tucker's (2010) 'Creating and Using a Mathematical Environment' in Mathematics Through Play in the Early years. (NUMERACY READING)

Summary:

In the literacy reading, Rosenkoetter and Knapp-Philo (2004) focuses on five different theses that are:

- The infant-toddler years (birth - 3 years) are very crucial in producing a nation of readers.

- Every family is able to contribute the a child's learning of how to read the world through cultural appropriate means.

- Every caregiver can help children improve their literacy and language through culturally appropriate ways.

- Early childhood programs must support the work of parents and caregivers in teaching children to read the world.

- The community plays a role in supporting infants and toddlers, their families, caregivers as well as early childhood programs in their efforts to instil language and literacy.

In the first three years, a child learns to read people as well as form an understanding of how things work. They begin to formulate how they see the world, whether it is safe or threatening or caring or scary. They also learn that different objects have labels and soon they will be able to understand categories. They also understand the concept of symbols that represent these labels (words and print). Finally they begin to understand the power of these words in communicating to their families and caregivers. Parents also play a vital role in helping children read their world by means of being present and spending time with their children. Parents should set a literacy-rich environment that exposes to children to words and varying mediums of communication. Rosenkoetter & Knapp-Philo (2004) give an example of how parents should acknowledge billboards, bus schedules, rest room signs and basically using the every day signs in our lives to introduce these symbols to children. Families can also sing songs that also help to introduce the family's culture and encourage bonding between siblings by encouraging older siblings to read to younger siblings. Caregivers share similar responsibilities to parents but they must have a direct intention and the skills to improve the child's literacy and language. Rosenkoetter & Knapp-Philo (2004) encourage caregivers to turn everyday routines into lessons. The example given in the reading was turning grocery shopping trips into vocabulary lessons or putting into words the daily routines children participate in. The early childhood program very much refers to the leaders and the staff. The program leader is responsible for providing time for one-to-one and group staff development, as well as acknowledging the need for a print-rich environment in centres. The program leader must also work hand-in hand with families to support the adults and children growing together. Rosenkoetter & Knapp-Philo (2004) quote 'Communities encourage early literacy in many ways including family literacy programs, free books for infants and toddlers, library children's hours, storytelling...' In other words, the community is the main setter of a literacy-rich environment for children as children need to be exposed to literacy and language not just in their schools but everywhere they go. 

Tucker's (2010) chapter focuses on how to create a mathematics environment that is supported by play and creativity. Tucker first introduces the chapter by emphasising the need for educators to provide sufficient time in activities. Children need to be given sufficient time to carry out the activities, reflect and talk about the activities. In the chapter, Tucker (2010) gives pages of amazing ideas that can be used in a mathematics program in the classroom. She also includes that the physical environment must always have the appropriate resources for the development of the child, sufficient space for interaction and flow of activities, and of course, time. Some mathematical resources mentioned that can be used in the classroom are number lines, play trays, role plays, calculators, cheque books, telephone directories, a reading corner, a work and construction area for writing and crafts and computers for children's access. Tucker also provides a template on planning activities by drawing out a table with three columns. The first column should describe the activity, the second column includes how the environment can be set out and the third column describes in depth the different mathematical learning outcomes from the activity.

Implications

From the readings, I learnt that as educators, we hold a big responsibility as 'text users'. There is a wide range of 'texts' available and it is up to educators to use our creativity to set environments that encourage literacy and numeracy learning. To use these readings in my classroom, I intend on using many of the activities specified in the readings as activities in the nursery room at my placement centre. There is no doubt that children must be exposed to many different kinds of 'texts' for children to reach their full potential of learning.

References:

Tucker, K. (2010). Creating and using a mathematical environment. Mathematics through play in the Early Years (pp. 5-14). London: SAGE Publications, retrieved September 11, 2013 from http://reader.eblib.com.ezproxy.flinders.edu.au/(S(k4fl332w3syt4vfk5cudacm4))/Reader.aspx?p=743727&o=478&u=hREuKReA52eHOrbrjbwa9g%3d%3d&t=1379166608&h=DE8FCB5A48B464ACAE8E3B3F4BF02109D9585402&s=18469066&ut=1451&pg=16&r=img&c=-1&pat=n#


Rosenkoetter, S. & Knapp-Philo, J. (2004). Learning to read the world: Literacy in the first 3 years. Zero to Three, 25(1), 4-9., retrieved September 11, 2013 from http://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/50f9112b-198d-440b-86c6-cae46b1ab5e1/1/Learning%20to%20read%20the%20world.pdf

Portfolio #1 (Experience)

I was fortunate enough to have my placement, a day right after our first workshop. It was also my first time being in the nursery room (Ages 0 - 2) of my placement centre. To be completely honest, I never gave much thought as to what children at that age could do. And to be even more honest with you, I genuinely thought babies at that age only knew how to eat, cry and sleep. Brutal, I know. It was pretty amazing for me that just one workshop session changed the way I saw the children at my placement. I began to pick up on things that I would have casually passed as mere 'play' if I had observed it before the workshop. There are 2 experiences that occurred at placement that I'd like to share with you.

Learning Outcome 3.1  Offers a careful interpretation & analysis of children’s early literacy/numeracy skills & interests
First, I was playing with some trains with a little boy (whom I'll refer to as Little A) who was approximately 1.5 years old. At first we were just moving the trains about, then Little A handed me two train track pieces. These train tracks were formed in a way that you joined them exactly like puzzle pieces. I only showed Little A ONCE how I joined the pieces together and he got it straight away. In the next ten minutes, Little A was so focused on building a whole track that took up half the play mat. I watched in amazement at how Little A immediately understood the process of putting together pieces, and understanding how only specific puzzle shapes went together. I wish I had brought my camera that day just to show you what a beautiful track Little A had built!

To further expand this, I begin to try putting the pieces together according to colour. Little A watched me but continued to jumble up the colours when I passed the pieces back to him. I suppose my weakness here was either not trying hard enough to explain the process of classification or perhaps it was not challenging enough for him as he may have thought similar colours on a single track were boring. Who knows!

Learning Outcome 2.3 : Sources further information; developing &/or collecting resources for literary & numerical teaching & learning
I came home and began to research on how puzzles contributed to children's learning and came across this video (Attached at the bottom of the post). It's an hour long but the bit on puzzles is just from 36:45 to about 41:46. Through this video, I learnt that what had actually occurred at placement was a theory called 'Guided Participation'. In guided participation, the adult and the children participate in an activity TOGETHER with the adult guiding the process. In the video, this is also linked to Lev Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). In the ZPD, children learn through 'Scaffolding' (Vygostky n.d.). Through scaffolding, the adult only sets up a frame and guideline that eventually leads to the child understanding the concept himself and being independent of the guidance to be able to complete the task on his/her own. 

Coming back to the observation above, I suppose Little A did learn through scaffolding. My demonstration of putting the puzzle piece together was the scaffold, and Little A did remarkable at learning quickly how to construct the train track independent of any help. I suppose children really do pick up on literacy and numeracy a whole lot faster than we think!

Here's the video, though you probably have to login first to gain access to the video!



REFERENCE:
Kanopy Streaming (2013). Child development stepping stones. Volume 6. [Web Video]. Subaico, Western Australia: Marcom Projects. Available from http://flinders.kanopystreaming.com.ezproxy.flinders.edu.au/node/54483

Week 5 readings

The two readings I chose this week are 

1. Mem Fox's (2002) 'The power and the story: How reading aloud to children will change their lives forever'

2. Michelle Conole's (2005) 'Mathematics in Early Childhood' in Auckland College of Education (ACE) Paper No. 16: Approaches to Domain Knowledge in Early Childhood Pedagogy

Why?

I chose the above two readings as I wanted to build and lay my foundation as to the context of literacy and mathematics in the really early years of a child's life. I was drawn to the first reading as I was read aloud to a whole lot as a child, and was interested to understand how much of an impact reading aloud has on a child's learning. The second reading was chosen because I personally have never given much thought as to how mathematics can be implemented in the early years. Hence, the reading was chosen to give me an insight into how mathematics can be and should be conducted in an early years setting.

Summary

Fox's (2002, pp. 4 - 8) article discussed the benefits of reading aloud to children, the importance of reading aloud to children at an early age and how children learn to read. Fox (2002, p. 4) explains that reading aloud to children was beneficial in three ways, that is: it stimulates the child's brains more and hence made them smarter, it forms an emotional bond between parents and children, and it helps children to learn to read even before they reach school. She also emphasised that it was important for parents not to simply read words off the page but instead 'read well' (Fox, 2002, p.4). By 'reading well', she means using varying tones of voice, adding sound effects, discussing the pictures and characters and the moral values and furthermore. Fox explains further that children should never be 'taught' how to read, but instead adults must make reading a fun experience that will allow children to learn how to read naturally. Fox (2002, p.6) gives the analogy of how, just like how children are not 'taught' to talk, they learn to talk by being spoken to. In that same manner, the more children are read to, and the more they are exposed to different books and words, the easier they will learn to read. One of the quotes that stood out the most to me was “75 percent of development happens in the first six years of life, more particularly in the first three years of life, and most particularly by the time a child turns one." (Fox, 2002, p.5). This really blew my mind as to how much a brain develops within the first year of a child's life. Since it is within the first year of a child's life that the neurones in the brain begin to form the most connections, it is so crucial that we as educators (or parents), expose our children to as much experiences and the fascinating world of books and pictures that will contribute to the development of the child's brain!

Conole's (2005, pp. 91 - 103) article on 'Mathematics in Early Childhood' focused on the argument of constructing a mathematics program that was focused on play, fun and enjoyment, versus constructing a mathematics program that was more structured and built on children's prior informal and intuitive mathematical knowledge. Conole (2005, p. 94) sees three ways of teaching mathematics, that are the informal approach, the child-based approach and the teacher-centred approach. In the informal approach, Conole  (2005, p. 94) cites Haynes' (2000) example of an infant learning spatial concepts as he/she learns to move through spaces. In other words, the informal approach is based on the child's own life experience and aiding in developing a child's reasoning skills to make sense of the world. The child-based approach involves the teacher being able to recognise what mathematical knowledge a child already has and building on that knowledge. The teacher may use mathematical terms in communication but at the end of the day, allows children to formulate for themselves their own understanding of mathematical concepts. The teacher-directed approach involves teachers holding full responsibility of setting up 'problems' for children and creating developmental-appropriate opportunities that challenge children mathematically (Conole, 2005, pp. 94 - 95). Conole (2005, p. 95) also includes that children can learn through play but that learning should be mediated by an adult so that it reaches its full potential. At the end of the article, Conole (2005, pp. 98 - 100) explains how Mathematics is implemented in the early childhood setting in New Zealand, Te Whaariki. In Te Whaariki, the main emphasis on learning through play and every day opportunities with the guidance of the educator. She acknowledges that educators play an essential role in setting and designing the environment and mathematics program in the classroom for fun learning and exploration.

Implications

Based on the readings, it really stood out to me how important it was to thoroughly introduce literacy and numeracy skills to children even from birth, and not to wait until children reach school. Quoting again from Fox's (2002) reading, “75 percent of development happens in the first six years of life, more particularly in the first three years of life, and most particularly by the time a child turns one." (Fox, 2002, p.5) Clearly this implies an infant's brain must be able to absorb as much knowledge as it can in the first three years of life, and that's clearly before they reach school! As educators in the modern technological world, while yes, it is helpful to have technology as a teaching aid, we must remember that nothing beats the physical voice of reading aloud to children and actually incorporating mathematics into our every day routines. Setting aside time to read stories to children or singing songs that involve numbers can be helpful in introducing literacy and numeracy concepts to children. Counting aloud when performing actions such as jumping or even counting the elements in picture books itself aid children in developing both their literacy and numeracy skills. So, just maybe it is time for us, educators, to reevaluate how we have been teaching and whether we are building enough on our children's prior knowledge, and whether we are giving our children enough opportunities to sharpen their literacy and numeracy skills.

References:

Fox, M. (2002). The power and the story: How reading aloud to children will change their lives forever. Orana, 8(2), 4-8, Retrieved September 2, 2013 from http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=119868;res=AEIPT 

Conole, M. (2005). Mathematics in Early Childhood. Auckland College of Education (ACE) Paper No. 16: Approaches to Domain Knowledge in Early Childhood Pedagogy, 91 - 100, Retrieved September 2, 2013 from http://www.education.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/ace-issue16

Introduction

Hi! I'm Rachael. Welcome to my portfolio space :)
To briefly introduce myself, here is a short introductory page that is somewhat similar to the one I use at my placement centre. I look forward to getting to know YOU better and sharing and learning valuable bits of knowledge about the wonderful tiny humans we call, children, and their learning!