Moving to Learn

Maureen Hunt explains why movement is so essential for young children's learning.

Pre-school children dancing with colourful scarfs

Children in the UK are amongst the lowest age in the world when they start school. This was a decision first made in 1876 on the Factory Act’s recommendation, to stop child labour, resulting in making school compulsory for children aged between five and ten in 1880. In fact, only 22% of the world’s children start school so early and almost all come from former or current commonwealth countries, as the British influence spread. Since that date we have steadily increased the school leaving age, so that more children have a wider range of opportunities to support them into work. This begs the question why has no one looked at the other end, the starting point? Why are our children starting so young, with what is, after all, the legacy of Victorian decision-making based on an emerging need for safeguarding?

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      string(423) "... levels has led to a shift inpractice away from teaching that is child-centred and child-led, towards teaching thatis standards-centred and focused on achieving the specified learning outcomes.72Vol 5.6School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLeadershipResourcesI believe that such an approach is in danger of reducing learning to isolated ..."
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      string(5761) "assessment of academic achievement – now evenpushed down to the preschool level. At the same time, teachers are constantly told byboth government and inspectors what excellent teaching should look like.The standards agenda is creating new pressures on teachers and a clear casualty isthe role of play in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) classroom. Requirements asto what children should know and be able to do at certain age levels has led to a shift inpractice away from teaching that is child-centred and child-led, towards teaching thatis standards-centred and focused on achieving the specified learning outcomes.72Vol 5.6School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLeadershipResourcesI believe that such an approach is in danger of reducing learning to isolated skillsand will deprive children of play which is the very stuff of life for three to five-year-olds.This understanding of play was established by the giants of child development,Piaget1 and Vygotsky2, and most research in the past 50 years has been built on theirinsights. Cognitive psychologist, Jerome Bruner, argued that play is a necessarypoint of departure for learning the symbolic means of culture – namely, language3.It is sometimes hard to remember that before the standards agenda gained suchascendency, the concept of emergent literacy was well established and the role of playin the development of literacy was the subject of extensive research in the 1990s4. Theresearch established an extensive empirical base that demonstrated the importance ofplay in children’s literacy development.It is vital that we don’t ignore this research because it doesn’t fit with the currentgovernment’s agenda. The message has to be that play and standards can co-exist – itis not acceptable to ditch play in the early childhood curriculum as increasingly seemsto be happening. As Kagan and Lowenstein argue, ‘no single strategy can be expectedto work for all the children, all the time.’ 5Literacy and free playWhat follows from these considerations is a discussion of the ways in which a group ofEYFS teachers learnt how to plan and implement play experiences, incorporating printas a way of embedding literacy into children’s play.This raises an important question for teachers of EYFS children – how can a teacherof four-year-olds incorporate literacy into children’s play in the classroom to promotechildren’s interest in literacy and their interpretation of signs, symbols and writing?To address this question, a group of teachers of reception-age children cametogether to discuss how they were developing the writing areas in their classrooms.None of them were happy with the way children used the writing areas at thebeginning of the study. Observations of children during free play sessions showed thatchildren rarely chose the writing area, and when they did choose it, they didn’t staythere long. The teachers identified this as a problem they wished to solve.As the CPD provider, I first wanted the teachers to consider that play shouldn’t bejust seen as something children do when they finish their work – it is important thatteachers plan for play as much as all aspects of the curriculum. Play and work shouldnot be regarded as binary opposites – for a child, play is work. Secondly, I introducedthe notion of environmental print – an important concept in the literature on emergentliteracy – and stressed how important print in the environment is for children’s literacydevelopment.73Vol 5.6School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLeadershipResourcesTogether we decided to look for ways to help children enjoy authentic experienceswith literacy-rich environments, which could then be used to create play themedaround environmental print. This would help the children engage in literacy behavioursthat made sense to them in their worlds. The principle here is to motivate andchallenge the children to master what is familiar and be exposed to new information,skills and understanding.All the teachers agreed that a good starting point for the project would be to askthe children what they knew about writing. The children had lots of ideas. It was clearthat they knew a lot about reading and writing through literacy-focused routines suchas storybook reading and in everyday life activities that involve reading and writing.Children, for example, frequently mentioned birthday and other occasion cards andtalked about using computers and mobile phones at home.Many children had visited places of interest, and talked about tickets on buses andin the cinema. One child had a flag with the name of ‘Warwick Castle’ on it, and anothertalked about showing their passport when visiting abroad.Children knew there were buttons to summon a lift and some knew that arrowsshowed whether the lift was going up or down. They knew you pressed a button ifyou wanted to cross the road and that you had to wait for the green man to flashbefore crossing, and many knew that the red button on a bus should be pressed if youwant the bus to stop. They knew the ‘lollipop man’ holds a sign to stop the traffic sochildren can cross the road. Children were also aware that cards can be used to pay forshopping, that you need a card to get a library book and to get out of a car park. Thesesigns and symbols were an everyday part of children’s socio-cultural worlds and couldbe incorporated into their play.In school, when sharing books with individual children, the teachers asked eachchild to point out the writing on the page. They found that all the children"
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Leadership

Incorporating literacy into imaginative play

8 Apr 2014

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How can we help them to find out about other people and make friendships and build bridges? Using ‘persona dolls’ in our settings allows us to bring into the children’s reach ideas and issues which they can listen to, become involved in and empathise with. By using dolls we can challenge opinions, try to understand different�www.teachingtimes.com n Vol 1.4Leading LearningCurriculum Innovationsophistication of thought which cannot be left to chance. Of particular interest to us, at Willowbrook PrimarySchool, with an almost mono-culturally white community, is the learning about other cultures and beliefs. Here in Leicester we have a vibrant, colourful mix of cultures which is less obvious by the time it reaches certain suburbs, such as that of our school environment. We make time, then,for philosophy, circle time and ‘R-time’ sessions, as we know they are essential times for reflection in a play-based, active, child-centred learning environment. Along with stories, poems, artifacts, role play, music, art and games, we use persona dolls as a stimulus for philosophical thought, particularly when we want to learn about people’s views and experiences which might be different from our own.Figure 1: EYFS learning goalsSocial developmentSD6 Understands that there need to be agreed values and codes of behaviour for groups of people, including adults and children, to work together harmoniouslySD7 Understands that people have different needs, views, cultures and beliefs that need to be treated with respectSD8 Understands that s/he can expect others to treat her or his needs, views, cultures and beliefs with respectSD9 Takes into account the ideas of othersEmotional developmentED5 Has a developing awareness of own needs, views and feelings and is sensitive to the needs, views and feelings of othersED6 Has a developing respect for own culture and beliefs and those of other peopleED7 Considers the consequences of words and actions for self and othersED8 Understands what is right, what is wrong, and whyED9 Displays a strong and positive sense of self-identity and is able to express a range of emotions fluently and appropriatelyLanguage for communication and thinkingLCT6 Interacts with others in a variety of contexts, negotiating plans and activities and taking turns in conversationLCT7 Uses talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events, exploring the meanings and sound of new wordsLCT8 Speaks clearly with confidence and control, showing an awareness of the listenerLCT9 Talks and listens confidently and with control, consistently showing awareness of the listener by including relevant detail. 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Leadership

The power of persona dolls

9 Oct 2009

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      string(5791) "– Practitioners reflect on the data to determine whether or not the provisionbeing made for each child prepares them for literacy learning.Stage 4 – Practitioners evaluate the balance of time allocated to different aspects ofchildren’s lives both indoors and outdoors over an extended period of time in the EYFSclassroom.The model is based on Action Research approaches to professional developmentwhere the results of the observations and evaluations will provide a betterunderstanding of each child and an agenda for improvement of provision. The baselinedata collected can be used as a benchmark to judge whether provision has beenimproved as a result of the observations.As staff carry out the observations and together reflect on and evaluate theirprovision, they will create a professional learning community that will inform self-evaluation and the school development plan, as well as provide a rich resource fordiscussion with parents and the child.Stage 1 – ObservingchildrenFor this, we are using a tried andtested observation approachdeveloped by American educator,Patricia Carini3. In her approach,teachers gather detailed anddescriptive observations ofindividual children and usethose accounts to engage inself-questioning and reflectionon their own practice and theirperceptions of the children intheir classrooms.Over a period of up to half aterm, each member of the EYFSteam should observe individualchildren in order to provide awritten, descriptive account ofone child to share with othermembers of the team. Effortshould be made to capture thesocial interactions of the child and to write down their actual words in their spokenexchanges. The commentary should be descriptive only and should not include anyjudgment of the child’s activity or evaluation of the task.The observations should be planned so that over a period of time every child in thesetting is observed in depth. It is important that every member of the EYFS team has anopportunity to carry out at least one observation.An observation guide sheet detailing the questions to consider when observinga young child at play, can be found in this issue’s Manager’s Briefcase, in briefcase 1.Briefcase 2 provides a template for recording these observation notes.Stage 2 – Reflection and analysis of the observation dataIn deciding how to reflect upon and analyse the descriptive data gathered, we draw onthe work of the famous educator, Susan Isaacs4. Born in 1885, Isaacs was a psychologistand educationalist who was passionate about linking theory and practice in educationto make it accessible to teachers. Her approach was child-centred and she expandedthe work of other educationalists such as John Dewey and his emphasis on socialinteraction, and Freidreich Froebel and his interest in active learning.Her work still has great relevance today. She was passionate about nurseryeducation and its capacity to provide social experiences and opportunities for play thatshe believed were vital to children’s development.Issacs believed in the curiosity of the child and their will to enquire, and that thisneeded to be supported by the learning environment and the way adults worked withthe children. She prioritised the creation of a safe, secure and loving environment. 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If we are to support children’s holistic development and work sympatheticallywith the interests of the young child, then our provision should ensure we provide forchildren’s spontaneous interests which Issacs describes as:the love of movement and perfecting bodily skillsthe interest in actual things, events and the discovery of the outside worldthe delight in make-believe and the expression of the world within.Taking the observation notesmade on individual children,a group of delegated adultsshould examine them to findout to what extent thereis evidence that provisionprovides time and space foreach of these spontaneouskinds of expression andexploration.To assist staff in achievingthis, we have preparedanother proforma for youruse – ‘Interrogating ourdata’, which can be found inbriefcase 3.The combinationof observation and thesubsequent evaluation of theobservation data using thethree recommended questionsprovide an informative andrevealing insight into children’s experiences. The team undertaking the evaluationshould report to the rest of the staff to provide an overview of practice as seen throughthe observation of individual children.Stage 3 – Strategies for literacy learningPractitioners in the EYFS classroom are under increasing pressure to prepare childrenfor literacy. Many of them are adopting phonic approaches at earlier and earlier ages.Phonics is not recommended here, but we do need to understand"
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Leadership

Evaluating EYFS provision

20 Nov 2013

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      string(5707) "30Curriculum innovation   www.teachingtimes.comTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Vol 10:1The power ofpersona dollsIt’s a big world, with a lot of different people. How canwe encourage our children to interact with confidenceand understanding with the wide variety of people theywill encounter? How can we help them to find out aboutother people and make friendships and build bridges?Using ‘persona dolls’ in our settings allows us to bring intothe children’s reach ideas and issues which they can listento, become involved in and empathise with. By using dollswe can challenge opinions, try to understand differentfeelings and open our children’s minds (and our own) tothe differences and similarities which make up our globalcommunities.These are some of the objectives of the Early YearsFoundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which requirespractitioners to provide a whole range of learningopportunities for children, with goals to work towards.The tables in figure 1 show some of those targets:admirable qualities for adults too! But these aims showa level of sophistication of thought which cannot be leftto chance.Of particular interest to us, at Willowbrook PrimarySchool, with an almost mono-culturally white community,is the learning about other cultures and beliefs. Here inLeicester we have a vibrant, colourful mix of cultureswhich is less obvious by the time it reaches certainsuburbs, such as that of our school environment. Wemake time, then, for philosophy, circle time and ‘R-time’ sessions, as we know they are essential times forreflection in a play-based, active, child-centred learningenvironment. Along with stories, poems, artifacts, roleplay, music, art and games, we use persona dolls as astimulus for philosophical thought, particularly whenwe want to learn about people’s views and experienceswhich might be different from our own.Early years children respond intuitively to ‘persona dolls’,says Marilyn Bowles – making them a great way to buildcultural understanding and fight racism.31Teaching Thinking&Creativity  Vol 10:1www.teachingtimes.com   Curriculum innovationFigure 1: EYFS learning goalsSocial developmentSD6Understands that there need to be agreed values and codes of behaviour for groups of people, includingadults and children, to work together harmoniouslySD7Understands that people have different needs, views, cultures and beliefs that need to be treated withrespectSD8 Understands that s/he can expect others to treat her or his needs, views, cultures and beliefs with respectSD9 Takes into account the ideas of othersEmotional developmentED5Has a developing awareness of own needs, views and feelings and is sensitive to the needs, views andfeelings of othersED6 Has a developing respect for own culture and beliefs and those of other peopleED7 Considers the consequences of words and actions for self and othersED8 Understands what is right, what is wrong, and whyED9Displays a strong and positive sense of self-identity and is able to express a range of emotions fluently andappropriatelyLanguage for communication and thinkingLCT6Interacts with others in a variety of contexts, negotiating plans and activities and taking turns inconversationLCT7Uses talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events, exploring the meaningsand sound of new wordsLCT8 Speaks clearly with confidence and control, showing an awareness of the listenerLCT9Talks and listens confidently and with control, consistently showing awareness of the listener by includingrelevant detail. Uses language to work out and clarify ideas, showing a range of appropriate vocabulary.Knowledge and understanding of the worldKUW4Investigates places, objects, materials and living things by using all the senses as appropriate. Identifiessome features and talks about those features s/he likes/dislikes.KUW5Asks questions about why things happen and how things work. Looks closely at similarities and differences,patterns and change.KUW6Finds out about past and present events in own life, and in those of family members and other peoples/he knows. Begins to know about own culture and belief and those of other peopleWhat are persona dolls? There are dolls made speciallyto reflect different cultures and abilities – and it’s betterto use a realistic, child-like doll rather than a baby doll,Barbie or Cabbage Patch-type doll – but any will do. Themore lifelike, the better, but the key criterion is that thedoll should have a ‘persona’. The persona may be similarto children in the setting or very different; it could reflectthe culture of a new person due to arrive in the setting orthat of someone in the news.The purpose of the persona is to get the childrenthinking about people’s feelings and to prevent them fromforming discriminatory opinions based on ignorance, lackof experience or family views. All manner of issues can bediscussed using the dolls. Events and happenings in thedolls’ lives are shared with the children and gradually thechildren evolve ways and means for coping with bullying,name-calling, unkindness, misunderstanding, gender-biasand different beliefs.This is necessary because children as young as two canbegin to discriminate, influenced by the attitudes aroundthem. The research quoted by Louise Derman Sparks inAnti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children(NAEYC, 1989) confirms this. The purpose of the work withpersona dolls is to encourage the children to have someunderstanding of the life stances and feelings of others, andto prevent the stereotyping that can lead to racism,"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

The power of persona dolls

22 Nov 2009

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