Due to the variety of topics required for the assignment, a broad theme was chosen. The name of the central theme for the three learning experiences can be defined as “The World Around Us.” The learning experiences focused on the development of domains through activities and situations familiar to the children. The four primary domains addressed by the learning experiences were cognitive, social, physical, and emotional.
The proposed learning experience plans were created following the four main indicators of an effective curriculum, as outlined by Bredekamp (2014). The first indicator that was applied was the plan’s comprehensiveness. All of the three plans were developed to be comprehensive. This was achieved by ensuring that each plan consisted of multiple disciplines and covered different content areas and developmental domains.
For example, the content areas covered by the three experiences include math, science, health, literacy, and the arts, thus ensuring a comprehensive approach to learning. Another indicator that was applied to plan development was effective goal-setting. Bredekamp (2014) states that the learning goals have to be clearly defined and that activities used in the learning process have to be chosen with these goals in mind. Thus, each of the three plans has a definite goal.
For instance, the goal of the first plan is to improve the students’ comprehension and to promote collaboration, aiding the students in improving their social skills; the activities of the experience were chosen following this goal and included listening, discussion, and drawing. The third criterion applied to the plan development was the active engagement of students. The plans promote engagement by ensuring the students’ participation in the activities. This is achieved by asking questions and encouraging the students to discuss the topics covered. Finally, the curriculum was based on the evidence provided by multiple studies (Eggers, 2008; Miller, 2008; Rosenkoetter & Barton, 2002).
The evidence-based approach to plan development is crucial to make sure that the learning plans are effective in addressing the chosen topics and domains. Also, studies provide practice guidelines for approaching certain topics, such as the sciences and literacy, and incorporating play for increased efficiency. Overall, each of the plans was developed with these four indicators of an effective curriculum in mind and thus reflected the requirements proposed by Berdekamp (2014).
The learning standards were representative of the teacher’s experience, as indicated during the interview. For instance, the teacher explained that most of the children provided results better than the standards suggested, and there were no outliers. Therefore, the learning plans were developed following the general learning standards, as no special accommodations were needed for individual students.
The teacher has also provided some personal knowledge about the children and their families. This information helped to indicate the personal traits of individual students that influence learning, for instance, class participation, artistic or numeric abilities, and more. The knowledge of the children and their families informed the personal approach that was suggested in the plans. This was reflected in each of the learning experience plans, as the teacher is required to conduct an initial discussion of interests, likes, and dislikes with each child before progressing to the main part of the class.
Ensuring a personal approach to learning helps to create learning experiences that are useful for every student of the class, as they reflect the children’s personalities and interests while at the same time allowing each student to participate in shared activities. The teacher also indicated that some children were less outgoing than others. This required further accommodation, as outlined in the Common Core State Standards Initiative (2010). To ensure that each child is engaged in the class, techniques such as group discussion and teamwork were used in the learning experience plans. Such an approach helps the students to stay involved in the learning process and develop valuable social and cooperation skills that will be useful in their further life and education.
Language and literacy were promoted in the first plan. The goal of the class is to improve comprehension and writing skills of the children, as well as to develop their social and teamwork skills. The class is separated into two main activities. The first part of the class focuses on speech comprehension. The teacher is to read a set of simple sentences, and the students are required to write down the words they liked from each sentence.
Also, the teacher is to address the students’ memory skills by asking questions about the sentence. Checking the spelling of the words that the children wrote down and correcting any errors or mistakes helps to improve the children’s literacy skills. Language and social skills were also the focus of the second part of the task, where the students are required to work in groups to draw the contents of the chosen sentence collaboratively. To ensure that the language and literacy needs of all students are met, certain accommodations were made to promote learning and discussion. For instance, children are to be grouped based on their characteristics: a shy student is to be paired with a more outgoing child to improve collaboration and socializing.
Math, science, and technology learning was promoted in the second and third plans. The goal of the second experience is to introduce the concept of gravity and explain the children’s physical activity to improve health knowledge. The concept of gravity is to be explained to children based on their existing knowledge: in the first part of the class, the teacher is to ask students if they have ever seen things fall from the paper and allow children to propose ideas to explain why do they think this happens. Then, the teacher would explain the concept of gravity to children through an illustrated explanation by the teacher. Further active questioning from the students would help to answer any remaining questions and identify areas where further explanation is required (Clyde & Condon, 2003).
The learning of gravity and physical exercise are to be connected by asking the students to jump in place to illustrate how gravity impacts their movement. The third learning experience, on the other hand, was focused on promoting math learning. The class utilizes simple math problems to help the children practice algebraic thinking (Taylor-Cox, 2003; Alexander, 2008). For instance, in the first part of the lesson, the teacher is to present a math problem involving simple numeric figures and ask the children to provide their solutions to the problem. The mathematical accuracy of the children’s answers can be used to identify their level of cognitive development and to outline any gaps that are to be filled with further explanation and learning.
Learning of the arts was promoted in the first plan as part of the work on literacy and language. In the second part of the class, the children have to draw the contents of the sentences that were read out by the teacher. Thus, the lesson promotes the students’ drawing skills by requiring them to draw familiar objects that appear in everyday speech. Although drawing quality is not part of the assessment, the drawings can indicate the children’s level of comprehension of speech, as well as their memory skills.
The social domain was addressed in all of the proposed plans, as they utilize play techniques and discussion to promote the learning process. However, the particular focus on social development is evident in the first learning experience plan. Collaboration is a crucial part of social development, and the first plan addressed the promotion of the social domain by grouping the students and asking them to collaborate to produce a drawing.
Drawing is a well-liked activity among the kids; however, usually, children practice their drawing skills on their own. Therefore, asking the children to collaborate during the drawing process presents them with a new way of performing a familiar activity. This can help the children to develop their skills in teamwork and collaboration without forcing the communication, which is an effective way of promoting social development. The needs of shy kids were addressed specifically during this task, and they were paired with more outgoing students to provide for easier socializing.
The physical domain was addressed in the second learning experience plan by having the children engage in physical activity. The physical and cognitive domains were both addressed in this class, as the students were asked to illustrate the concept of gravity by jumping and playing with bouncy objects. Another activity that addressed the physical domain in this class was the weighing of different objects, where the children were asked to show how much certain things weigh by picking them up and comparing their weight.
Finally, the third plan promoted emotional development by creating math problems with a focus on empathy and the use of dramatic play. The children were presented with simple math problems that involved the concepts of empathy and sharing, which are among the essential components of the children’s emotional development.
The assessment strategies that were included in the plans helped me understand how difficult it is to assess non-quantifiable aspects such as emotional and social development. These aspects of children’s development depend not only on their age and past learning success but also on their traits. For example, shy children may have lower grades in the assessment of social skills, even if they are at the same stage of social development as the other students of their age. This highlights the importance of a personal approach to children’s learning and education, which I have incorporated into the proposed plans.
As Wardle (2008) explains, the practice of play allows the children to understand the problem on an emotional level while keeping them engaged (Wardle, 2008). Thus, the play was an essential part of the second and third learning experiences. The dramatic play was included in the third plan to allow the children to improve their understanding of math problems, whereas playing with objects of different weight assisted in the exploration of the concept of gravity.
The plans accommodate the individual needs of children to ensure that each child can participate in the class and learn, regardless of his or her abilities. Two main strategies were used to promote a personal approach. First, the individual traits of children were addressed during the grouping in the first learning experience plan. Secondly, extra attention was given to children with exceptionalities: one of the boys has hearing difficulties, so the teacher is to help him understand the sentences by standing closer or showing the text, whereas children who cannot perform the physical exercise in the second class are to be given balls to imitate the process of jumping.
Overall, the collaborative planning was highly effective because it allowed for more refined solutions during planning. Interviewing the teacher helped to learn more about the students’ abilities and the specific requirements that had to be addressed in the planning process. The teacher indicated the children who are more outgoing or shy, which helped during the grouping process. The experience of the teacher was also very valuable to the assessment, as a fair assessment has to take into account the children’s abilities and difficulties. The main challenge of the assignment was to create learning situations that are relatable to the children and would, at the same time, cover all of the required developmental domains. Another challenge was the lack of certain information. For instance, I was not aware of the hearing difficulties of one of the children, which forced me to compromise my initial plan and adjust it accordingly.
References
Alexander, N. P. (2008). Teaching math every day. Earlychildhood NEWS. Web.
Bredekamp, S. (2014). Effective practices in early childhood education: Building a foundation (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Clyde, A., & Condon, M. W. F. (2003). Celebration a young learner at work: Marcus the scientist. Beyond the Journal: Young Children. Web.
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. (pp. 3–33). Web.
Eggers, T. (2008). Hands-on science for young children. Earlychildhood NEWS. Web.
Miller, L. G. (2008). Dramatic play: A daily requirement for children. Earlychildhood NEWS. Web.
Rosenkoetter, S., & Barton, L. R. (2002). Bridges to literacy: Early routines that promote later school success. Web.
Taylor-Cox, J. (2003). Algebra in the early years? Yes! Young Children. Web.
Wardle, F. (2008). Play as curriculum. Earlychildhood NEWS. Web.