Collaboration in Education
Early education plays a critical role in the lives of children as it lays a foundation for their future reasoning and problem-solving capabilities. Many approaches to childhood education have been proposed, but integrating the collaborative nature can be considered as one of the most effective methods. This suggestion can be elaborated through the theories of the bioecological model and constructivism. This paper provides an overview of these two theories and discusses the benefits of collaboration in childhood education.
A child’s development takes place in numerous contexts – family, schools, media, and others (Follari, 2015). Because of age and limited experience, minors often struggle to organize this knowledge that often comes in a chaotic fashion. The reason is that these contexts are often isolated from each other (Follari, 2015). To overcome this barrier, parents and teachers should cooperate in approaching the child’s development holistically. Therefore, childhood professionals need to strive for collaboration with parents in order to improve the consistency of the provided knowledge.
The collaboration of teachers with children and learners with learners is encouraged when childhood development is viewed through the prism of constructivism. The theory believes that children learn best when they actively engage in exploration with materials, reasoning, and communication with teachers and other learners (Follari, 2015). Therefore, a collaborative environment provides children with a foundation for efficient learning. Because of the positive results and fruitful interaction between children and the teacher, a community will emerge.
Collaboration is an essential element in our lives because it allows people to accomplish tasks more efficiently. Some ventures are entirely impossible without cooperation and interaction between team members. This idea also relates to early childhood development – the bioecological model and the theory of constructivism suggest that learning contexts should not be isolated from each other and that classroom collaboration leads to more improved results.
NAEYC Standards
Improving early childhood development has become a goal of not only people from the scientific and academic communities but also non-profit corporations. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is one of the most renowned efforts to bring together professionals, families, policymakers, and scientists to promote the best practices for early childhood development (Follari, 2015). NAEYC has a set of standards, which consists of seven elements that every childhood education professional is expected to know. These concepts involve different learning contexts, but promoting child development and learning, and using content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum are the most critical early childhood educators.
Constructivism not only encourages collaboration but also points to the importance of challenging and healthy learning environments. The first standard of NAYEC states the same – candidates should be prepared and be knowledgeable to provide children with such learning environments (Follari, 2015). Because child behavior is cultivated mostly outside of classroom settings, the professionals should be able to assess it and propose solutions for its improvement (Follari, 2015). The first standard also contains this idea, and therefore, the standard is among the most critical items.
During early childhood, it is essential that young learners are exposed to the material that is engaging and useful. Therefore, children should have access to a meaningful curriculum so that the knowledge will serve as a foundation for more complex topics in the future. Having the necessary tools for inquiry of information and reasoning is also vital because it fosters the child’s ability to think critically, and to find the desired information (Follari, 2015). The standard related to curriculum development and content knowledge encompasses both ideas and therefore serves as a critical early childhood educator (Follari, 2015). The professionals should strive to uphold the NAYEC’s standards because they resemble the best practices to maximize the child’s potential.
Reference
Follari, L. (2015). Foundations and best practices in early childhood education: History, theories, and approaches to learning. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.