When it comes to early childhood education, a variety of teaching principles and methods must be applied to facilitate the development of specific skills in children and navigate them in certain situations. For example, one of the expectations from early childhood educators is to teach the children the skill of applying a range of problem-solving approaches, including those used in social contexts. The behaviors and attitudes of adults develop in childhood, which makes the skill of problem-solving and social interactions so vital. If a child learns how to communicate with peers and solve problems on all levels, they will be less stressed and prepared for further challenges.
According to various studies, children who did not learn adequate social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies struggled when entering school. In this respect, learning skills that might facilitate social interactions with peers aid children. The study by McClelland et al. (2017) illuminates such a program as I Can Problem Solve. This is a program that provides early childhood educators with classroom exercises aimed to help children identify feelings within themselves and others (McClelland et al., 2017). Additionally, the children develop reflective thinking and the capacity to seek solutions to various situations actively (McClelland et al., 2017). Consequently, such programs have a good influence on social problem-solving abilities and cognitive management, as well as decreased behavioral problems and violence.
At the beginning of the video, a viewer might observe how one child is striking another child due to the feeling of frustration. The educator takes action and demonstrates proper language that helps the child clearly communicate his emotions and address difficulties (WeAreTeachers, 2016). In this respect, it becomes evident that children can create strong relationships with their peers when they are encouraged and taught how to communicate their concerns and emotions. Additionally, it is not enough to simply demonstrate such necessity. It is vital to show the way that could help the children find words that describe their sentiments.
From what was mentioned, it is evident that problem-solving skills play a crucial role in every child’s life. This necessitates Early Childhood Educators to support and scaffold the development of this skill in practice. This means that with specific techniques, the educator must facilitate the development of the skill. For example, as can be seen from the above, the situation of mixed feelings can either result in physical harm to others, or a child can express their feelings. In this respect, the way to scaffold and support such an attitude, the educator might navigate the child and ask them questions regarding their emotions at the moment. Later, the children should communicate these feelings to their peers to solve the issue.
Hence, learning problem-solving skills is a crucial step in a child’s development. In this case, children learn how to cooperate, communicate their feeling, and find solutions to different situations. This appears to apply to my path as an educator since I am learning to give children the opportunity to develop solutions to their problems and encourage active participation to see whether something works. In relation to S.E. 4.1, I aim to help children explore the situations, options, and outcomes, as well as ask peers for assistance. As a result, the development of this skill might help children control their emotions and adapt to the circumstances faster.
References
McClelland, M. M., Tominey, S. L., Schmitt, S. A., & Duncan, R. (2017). SEL interventions in early childhood. The Future of Children, 27(1), 33-47.
WeAreTeachers. (2016). Adopting a problem-solving approach to conflict[Video]. YouTube.