Introduction

My Name is Laura and I am studying a joint degree of Psychology and Education studies in Swansea Metropolitan University. The purpose of this blog is for part of an assessment of '21st Century Learning', where we have been asked to look into four different contexts where young children learn other than the classroom setting.

Below you will find four posts, all of which are a different context which are available today.

The first post within this blog looks at other contexts where children can learn, these being forest schools and school trips, where children are able to go to a place which is within a topic that is being taught in school and see different materials/items which are related.

The second post within this blog looks at Maria Montessori, and the education approach that she put forward during her life. The post looks at the approach in terms of what it has to offer to young children.

The third post that I have included is the Foundation Phase, which is the new curriculum in Wales for children age 3-7. I have looked at the seven core areas within the curriculum and how these are developed as young children work through the framework.

My final post is about play, and how children learn through the process of play in terms of what skills they develop. 

Learning In Other Contexts

Learning happens everywhere and anywhere, but it is important to allow children to gain an experience of learning in other contexts which are outside the classroom. The Welsh Assembly Government (2007) believe that it is important for children to gain knowledge and understanding of the natural environment through exploring by themselves, therefore it is emphasised that children go and explore within their surroundings.

There are many places where children can learn other than in a classroom, these include forest schools and school trips to various different places. This enables the child to learn while at the same time have fun.

Further evidence appears from the Welsh Assembly Government (2007) who states that the visits which have been arranged should be inspiring where the children are able to involve themselves in a safe, lively and enjoyable manner.

Learning in other contexts other than the classroom allows children to develop a number of skills which will be used in their everyday life.  It also physically engages them into learning, where they believe that they are having fun. It allows them to express their ideas and opinions, gain knowledge in a certain topic area, work as a team, communicate and gain confidence. Therefore we can see that many skills from learning in other contexts are further developed.

A forest school is an important part to education, where many schools now have an area within the school setting, or nearby, where teachers take children out to this area. Within this area, children are encouraged to explore and use the natural settings around them, where they learn for themselves and really get involved.

This picture shows young learners out in the natural environment where they are using the materials around them in order to learn and develop their knowledge.

From my experience of being able to learn in other contexts, I feel that children pick up a lot of information when they are able to involve themselves into different activities. Having visited museums with Swansea, I have found out that many places which do offer various different learning areas are connected together with one another. They have then formed a program which enables young children within the Foundation Phase and KS2 to visit different places as part of their work areas within the classroom.

The reason I have included this video is because two early years advisors explain the importance of the outdoor environment, where they take the fun outdoors. The video points out that there is not any area of the curriculum which you can’t take to the outdoor environment, children can take skills which they learn inside and take them outdoors and vice versa which shows that transferable skills are being developed. This clip shows an adventure which the young children are experiencing, where it is fun, hands on and improving and developing many skills and knowledge. 

Montessori Education

Maria Montessori was born in 1870 in Italy and died in 1952. During her life she faced many challenges; from attending medical school where she struggled due to the fact she was female and had problems with the resentment of the male students within the medical course, and her father’s disapproval due to the fact he wanted her to become a teacher.  In 1896 she was the first woman in Italy to graduate from medical school where in her first job she visited asylums where her interest in young children developed. In 1907 she opened her first Children’s House, where she wanted to keep children off the streets while parents were working. By 1913, in America there were almost one hundred schools which were following the Montessori approach. 

Maria Montessori, 1870-1952

Isaacs (2010) describes the Montessori approach as having three main components, these being the child, the environment and the teacher. Within the Montessori settings, teachers are not called teachers; they are called directors/directresses as Montessori believed that the education is based upon observation of the child instead of teaching. The importance of this is hugely emphasised as the director will follow and guide a child to their learning.

Montessori believed that the equipment that children should play with should consist of being very hands on. As you can see from this picture, all the toys which are displayed consist of the use of fine and gross motor skills.

Feez S (2011) provides evidence which states that children who attend the Montessori setting love the independence, where they find themselves in ‘miniature worlds’ where the materials and furniture is of the same size scale as themselves. The setting has a balance of ages and gender which gives a family like feel towards each other, where older ones help younger ones on different activities. Within the setting there is a sense of freedom, children choose the activity they want to do, how long they want to spend on that activity and where they want to do it. Montessori believed that children need to take on responsibly; therefore children have to return materials to where they collected it from and help contribute to take care of the environment. 

This picture shows a Montessori setting, as you can see the furniture is child size, there are natural resources, i.e. the plants, all materials are put away tidy and there is plenty of light and space. 

The environment has plenty of space, both outdoors and indoors where children are emphasised to use all areas. Huge effort is made to ensure that the environment has plenty of light, kept clean and everything put back in place. Also the windows within the setting are made low enough so children are able to see what is going on outdoors where all the furniture is of the right size at at reach for the children to use. This enables the child to have plenty of freedom both inside and outside where they are able to go where they like.

This video sums up the whole Montessori education system but in a very interesting way. It brings the message across to individuals of what Maria Montessori believed and gives all the relevant facts that she proposed within her educational approach.

Today it is believed that there are over 31,000 schools proving education under the Montessori approach (Montessori School's Association, 2009)

The Foundation Phase

The foundation phase is a fairy recent and statutory curriculum which has been introduced into all primary schools among Wales. It was first introduced in 2008 which took away the key stage one area.

The Welsh Assembly Government (2008) state that this new curriculum is aimed at three to seven year old's in order to meet different needs and skills during their time in the setting. Within the setting, there are seven areas of learning.

This picture shows the seven core areas within the Foundation phase curriculum. 

Each of these areas have a different purpose where a number of subjects can be adapted to, for example; knowledge and understanding of the world can also link to geography and religious education. By having this new curriculum, children pick up on a number of different skills without realising.

The foundation phase offers a holistic nature of learning (Welsh Assembly Government, 2008) where all the aspects of the areas of learning are interlinked to the young child. During activities, a child may be acquiring skills of more than one of the seven areas. In my opinion, I believe that this is a positive aspect to a child’s learning as it promotes a disposition to the child where they also pick up on a number of key skills.

The curriculum also builds up on prior learning as children learn from the moment they are born, the earliest experiences of their learning has a great impact upon their learning within the foundation phase. This leads to the benefit that the foundation phase builds upon a child’s interest; this is dependent on their experience and knowledge in order for them to take interest of specific activities.

Under the curriculum of the Foundation Phase, the child is influenced to make their own decisions and explore using the materials around them. It is also important for teachers to have knowledge and understanding of child development and how important each aspect within the curriculum is towards the development of the child.

Further evidence from the Welsh Assembly Government (2008) who state that this curriculum focuses upon experimental learning in order to develop a variety of skills within the child, these being; their overall skills and understanding based on the seven core areas in order to develop the whole child, positive attitudes towards their learning, self-esteem and confidence and being able to tackle problems while having a first-hands on experience.

Assessment within the Foundation Phase is different within each of the seven areas; however during assessment the child doesn't know that he/she is undergoing assessment. At times children work on their own, in pairs/groups or sometimes as a whole class, this allows the teacher to observe each children in different situations. Each area has an outcome where the child is matched to where they are at in terms of their development. However within each area, a child could be on a different outcome in one than they are in another, but instead of trying to record what they believe is best between the two areas, all seven areas need to be considered so the child gets an outcome for the overall framework. (Welsh Assembly Government 2011) 

The reason why I have included this video is because it gives a brief clip of young children learning within the foundation phase and a programme which has been set up in order for teachers to plan their lessons around the seven areas within the curriculum. From the clip we can see many of the areas being taught and the key skills which are being used and also being developed.

Play

One important context of learning is a child learning through play. Hayes D (2011) states that play is essential for the development within a child. Further evidence provided by Duffy (1998) argues that children play to create imaginative situations (e.g. playing shops) by using the most of resources and conditions around them which is done by their own accord.

Play consists of four main characteristics which have been provided by Smidt (2006) these being that play is what the child wants to do; a child wants to play with certain materials and create something that they want to. The second characteristic being that play is pleasurable, therefore the child enjoys what they are doing and will adapt certain things to make it unique and individual to them. The third characteristic is that there is no risk of failure in what the child is doing. Each child has a reason why they do a certain action; therefore regardless to what materials the child is using, they have logic behind doing it, they are still learning. The final characteristic is that play is the valued for its importance on children to learn. Therefore the teachers within the school setting emphasise its importance to both pupils and parents to make them realise how a child’s development will develop through this process.

The Welsh Assembly Government (2008) state that there are a number of reasons for the purpose of play, these being, it motivates and stimulates the child, develops a variety of different skills and concepts, develops language and communication, concentration, a positive attitude towards learning and consolidates learning.

It is believed that there are different stages to when a child learns, however each child is individual and unique, therefore some children will develop at different stages at different times, and this is all part of their development.

The Welsh Assembly Government (2008) further believe that through play, transferable skills are developed among the child which apply across all the seven areas of learning. Again this is a benefit as the skills which young children do development continue to develop with the more they learn and gain knowledge and experience.

Leong D and Bodrova E (2005) argue that there need to be opportunities present where children are able to interact with their peers and feel comfortable with the make-believe play around individuals. This hugely supports the importance of the key skills which are developed during play.

The reason I have included this video is because it defines the importance of play and states that ‘children’s play is their work’, which I feel is important to realise, to both the child and the parents. The video shows how planning is carefully prepared for each day and they plan the activity first before they decide on the early year goal, and how this goal will be met in each individual. The small clips which is within the video show the importance of each activity and how a child is able to freely move around each activity to what he wants to do. We then see that the teacher is letting the children give their own answers and learn from any mistakes that they do give, instead of dictating the information that she needs the children to know.

From my experience, I believe that play is an important concept of a child’s development. I feel that not only do they learn, but they also pick up interests which they enjoy. To a child, play is fun, they do not realise that at the same time they are picking up a variety of new things which they will use in their everyday life and their knowledge and experience within a specific area will further develop.

This picture shows a parent's view on children playing, however, the children are explaining the different skills that they are developing.