Explains how young children’s
literacy & numeracy learning can be socially conveyed through their
behaviour, feelings or approach
In week seven I discussed a
boy who was acting as a text participant by reciting the story ‘Wombat Stew’
and making his own stew with toy materials set out on what has become the book
activities table this term at the Kindergarten I am placed at. This is an
excellent example of how children’s feelings, behaviour and approach can
socially convey their literacy learning. This boy has recited and acted out
many other stories at the book table this term including ‘Three Billy Goats
Gruff’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs.’ By continually engaging in these book table
activities this four year old boy is showing his positive feelings towards learning
about literacy and reading. These positive feelings have been confirmed with
statements such as ‘I like writing’, to his taking pleasure in showing teachers
how to write both his name and his twin brother’s name, and his engagement in
story time on the group mat. He can also be found in the reading corner
frequently, and likes to ask teachers to help him read stories.
All of these examples show
how children can convey their literacy and numeracy learning through their
behaviours, and these behaviours are frequently examples of their underlying
feelings towards literacy and numeracy. Children who spend little to no time
engaging in books, writing, and reading, may be showing an aversion to literacy
and reading, however, these children may engage with these sorts of activities more
at home, or they may engage in literacy in other ways such as singing, dancing,
and drawing.
Learning to read these signs
portrayed by children is a significant part of educating and teaching, as it is
these signs that help us follow through on children’s natural instincts in our
teaching, including our teaching on literacy and numeracy. For example, in
regards to the boy who likes books, reading, and writing described above,
different activities surrounding reading, writing, books, and drawing could be created
to stimulate his interests further. For example an activity including rubbing
(lightly shading over a leaf, coin, or other material that has bumps and
grooves to create a picture of that material) could be created with materials containing
letters and numbers to stimulate excitement about creating new things while keeping
with the literacy interests he has already shown (as well as adding numbers to
stimulate numeracy interests). Knowing what children like, by reading the signs
they convey through their behaviour and feelings, is an important part of
teaching, and can be used to further stimulate children’s development in
literacy and numeracy.
Sources further information;
developing &/or collecting resources for literary & numerical teaching
& learning
As educators we should
constantly be looking for new and interesting resources for teaching young
children. We should avoid using the same ideas over and over again. This is due
to a number of reasons, mostly centred on the idea that ‘all children are
different.’ The children you have in your class or kindergarten or childcare
centre will all be different from one another, and they will be different from
the children you had the term, semester, or year before. So activities that
worked really well one year, may not work as well the next year, or they may
not work with certain children, or they may work so well that you want to
continue that theme or type of activity with the children in new ways. Without
researching and finding new sources of inspiration you are limited to your own
creativity and imagination, which will never be extensive enough to cater for
all children and interest levels. This is why educators should constantly be looking
for new sources of inspiration and ideas, to be the best teachers they can be,
to have as many ideas, themes, and activities at their disposal as possible to
create rich, exiting, interesting, and child appropriate learning opportunities
as they can.
These resources can be found
in a number of styles and formats, including internet related activities and
information, books, YouTube clips, videos, government documentation,
peer-reviewed articles, television shows, music, and many more. One other way
to find new resources for teaching is through peer-inspiration, to ask and read
about and experience what other teachers and educators are doing, and I believe
that peer-inspiration is a very important method of finding new resources and
ideas.
Which is why creating a blog
for this topic was a good idea, because through each other’s blogs we can find
new ideas, activities, and ways of thinking to help inspire our future
educational careers. For example Sarah Maywald’s post about Outcome 2.3 is a
very good resource for teaching literacy and numeracy using bottle caps. Kate
Watters’ week 9 reading blog features a short but easily expandable idea about incorporating
mathematics into other projects. Chelsea Rodda, in her Outcome 2.3 post used
the code-breaking activity we participated in during class and explained how it
could be turned into an activity for young children. Anna Roberts hasresearched and outlined the benefits of the ‘Play is the Way’ website and
program. By searching other students’ blogs we have a myriad of peer-inspired
resources at our fingertips, as well as an easy way to communicate with each
other about these ideas, activities, and resources.
Describes how parents, peers & communities may
see, feel & shape young children’s early literacy & numeracy experiences
Outcomes 3.1 and 2.2 can be used as examples of parents
shaping children’s literacy and numeracy experiences. As the post on these two
outcomes shows, by singing, dancing, and interacting with music, children are experiencing
and developing literacy and numeracy concepts, skills, and ideas. By
encouraging these types of experiences, parents are helping to shape young
children’s literacy and numeracy experiences.
They may not be aware that they are doing so, however. The parents
of Mini Warbler may just be thinking that they are encouraging his interest in
a television show, in dancing, and in singing, as well as in dressing up and performing.
These all have their own benefits for young children, including increasing
confidence, motor skills, physical development and health, and creativity.
Depending on the mindset of the parents they may think they are encouraging all
or any one of these developmental benefits. They might not realise they are
helping the development of their child at all, and may just encourage young
Mini Warbler to continue his dancing, singing, Warbling activities because they
think it is cute, or because it allows him to entertain himself without
specific adult supervision. Similarly Drake Dixon’s parents, and the parents of
the child dancing to Single Ladies, might not be aware of the many benefits,
literacy and numeracy related benefits included, that these children are
receiving from their involvement with music, signing, and dancing.
It is unlikely that the parents of these children disapprove
or find their interest annoying (due to their appearance in YouTube clips),
however some parents, siblings, other family members, friends, and peers could
find a child’s interest in signing, dancing, and performing to music and videos
annoying, repetitive, loud, irritating, or intrusive to their own lives. These
sorts of parents might discourage their children from engaging in these sorts
of beneficial activities.
Additionally early childhood educators in childcare,
kindergarten, or early school years could fail to see the benefits of these
types of activities, or they could place too much emphasis on these activities
and fail to notice children’s lack of interest (which could have many negative
side effects to development or future interest), whether this lack of interest
is there from the start or grows due to continual force participation.
Parents, educators, peers, siblings, friends, and other
members in children’s lives have the ability to shape the literacy and numeracy
experiences of children. The way that these people shape these experiences
depends on how they see and feel about activities such as singing, dancing, and
interacting with music. Encouraging these sorts of activities, whether because
they are aware of the literacy, numeracy and other benefits of singing and
dancing, or whether they just believe it is cute, can help children’s literacy
and numeracy development through something that they enjoy and wish to engage
in naturally. Forcing this sort of activity on children due to the benefits may
have negative side effects on children, creating mental barrier against these
sorts of activities in the future. Discouraging children’s interest in singing
and dancing could also have negative effects on children’s future
participation, as well as their literacy and numeracy development.
How can we
encourage very young children's critical literacy and numeracy skills? By
modelling or guiding their questioning? By reflecting on and challenging the
texts or numerical issues (e.g. fairness) they encounter?
Key to this focus is the educator's role in supporting the child's
development of theory-of-mind in order to understand that these texts or
numerical issues are not neutral, as they represent certain points-of-view and
silence others.
This week’s theme
is about children being literacy and numeracy analyst, and analysing their
literacy and numeracy experiences to search for issues of social justice or to
use literacy and numeracy to expand on their understanding and show their
ability to understand issues of social justice. These social justice issues
should differ depending on the age and interests of the children. For example, children
in the four and under age group could focus on relatively simple examples of
fairness and equality and how this relates to them inside their classroom or
family setting. Teaching for social
justice and educating open minded, inclusive, fair, and just citizens is
something I will strive to do during my career, so this week’s theme is
particularly interesting to me. Being able to read about how to teach for
social justice in literacy and numeracy with young children was good for
furthering my understanding about teaching things such as fairness, difference,
equality, and racism.
Reading One
Murphy, Shaun.
(2009). Mathematics and Social Justice in Grade 1: How Children Understand
Inequality and Represent It. Young
Children, May, pp. 1-6.
This reading was
chosen due to its focus on teaching young children about social justice issues
using mathematics, which turned out to be an incorrect assumption about the
reading. This reading was actually about engaging children in discussion about
issues such as equality and racism, and letting them express their ideas
through basic numeracy activities. The article was eye opening and showed me
how complex and insightful young children can be when faced with issues as
complicated as the colonisation of Australia.
The article was
based on researching a Canadian Grade 1 class that had been read The Rabbits written by John Marsden
about the colonisation of Australia, with Kangaroos representing Indigenous
Australians, and rabbits representing the colonisers. The book shows not only
the colonisation but also the effects of destroyed culture as well as the
Stolen Generation. After reading this book, and revisiting it a number of times
throughout the year, Murphy prompted discussions about the issues of equality
and fairness represented by the book.
During these
discussions and activities the children in Murphy’s class expressed their ideas
using Cuisenaire Rods. What was amazing about some of these expressions was the
complexity of the ideas about power and how more number does not always
represent more power.
Murphy emphasised
the need for open-ended questions with multiple entry points for discussion and
room for a variety of interpretations. In
this way children were able to think about, discuss, and express through the
Cuisenaire Rods any particular aspect of the story that interested them the
most, and take ownership of their own learning and development.
Murphy also
focussed on teaching the students to identify as mathematicians, and to be
aware that math is everywhere, which links with previous week’s discussions
(week nine as well as a general theme). This, I thought, was an important point
as he focussed on the students being aware that math is everywhere. Previously
I have discussed the importance of educators being aware of this fact, and
using it to their advantage when planning numeracy rich experiences and
activities. But children should be aware of this too, and should be able to see
numeracy or maths as not just equations and numbers, but also in everyday activities
and a way of expression. This point was reinforced when Murphy discussed the need
for children to be aware that there are many different forms of math, just like
there is many different forms of literacy and that these forms and skills
should be taught simultaneously and used to expand on each other.
Reading Two
Wood, Jeffrey. (2005). Moses’s Story: Critical Literacy and
Social Justice in an Urban Kindergarten. Voyager:
National Association for the Education of Young Children, pp. 1-12.
This article focusses on another class again (and
coincidentally) in Canada, where the teacher, Wood, decided to focus on critical
literacy and social justice in a kindergarten setting. Wood argued that
critical literacy is not just about reading and writing, but is also about
perspectives and ways of thinking, the lived experiences of students, and is a
cultural and functional practice. Wood aimed to create critical conversations
crossing gender, race, culture, and class, and to help his students think
critically about books and the world around them.
Interestingly, Wood’s desire to create these sorts of
conversations almost hindered his teaching, as he did not initially see the
children’s efforts to keep the playground as a work of social justice because
he believed it to be too small. This, of course, was action towards social
justice for the children and was especially relevant to them as it affected their
everyday lives, a factor I like to emphasise when teaching children.
This article was particularly helpful in showing how books can
be used to create discussion about social justice issues, and how writing and
drama can be used by children to engage and take part in actions for these
issues. The emphasis on social justice within the students’ lives (after the
playground incident Wood focused on social justice inside the classroom) was
interesting and shows how complex ideas like these can be simplified by making
them relevant to children’s everyday experiences.
This all ties in with my original ideas about education and
making learning relevant to children’s lives, to educate critical thinkers, and
lifelong learners, and to help children see and strive for social justice throughout
their lives.
Given very young
children's development of language and abstraction, how do contextual,
multimodal symbols and conventions support their encoding or decoding of the
world around them?
This week’s theme is still about
literacy and numeracy technicians and children encoding and decoding signs,
symbols, and messages around them to create their own meanings and
understandings of the world. The two readings I chose this week focus heavily
on this idea of signs, and being able to read those signs, and were chosen due
to their emphasis on how children decode the signs around themselves.
Reading
One
Knight, Linda. (2012). Grotesque
Gestures of Sensuous Signs? Rethinking Notions of Apprenticeship in Early
Childhood Education. Discourse: Studies
in the Cultural Politics of Education, 33(1), pp. 101-111.
This reading compared Gilles Deleuze
and Lev Vygotsky’s definition and understanding of apprenticeship, in relation
to children reading and understanding signs, symbols, and messages, with Knight
arguing that the Deleuzian approach is more correct.
In the Deleuzian method,
education can be contextualised as a swarm of signs, with Deleuze contending
that all things that teach us something will emit signs. In a school or
kindergarten-based context these signs range from letters of the alphabet,
numbers, and mathematical equations, to gestures, emotions, facial expressions
of both peers and teachers, and also schedules, dress codes, instructions, and expected
behaviours such as when to sit still and listen and when to eat. For example,
at the kindergarten I am placed at, the children cannot start eating their
lunch until everybody on that table is seated so this is a sign that they must
learn to read.
According to Vygotsky, children’s
learning of signs is sequential, ordered, and culturally driven. Once signs are
recognised it is like a boundary line has been crossed and a new chapter opens
as children move on to the next sign to learn. Learning awakens internal
development processes that are only able to operate when children are interacting
with people, and in Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, children learn
signs in a linear developmental sequence guided by more experienced and competent
peers.
Deleuze, on the other hand,
believes that children learn signs in an ever-shifting series of assemblages,
that are not guided by age-defined, age-appropriate material offered by more experienced
or competent others. Learning signs is also not sequential, with children
learning signs at different paces and in different orders, and previously
learned signs can be used to further their understandings of newly learned
signs and vice versa. Teachers are also apprenticed in this way of thinking as
they can learn from their students and use this learning to create better learning
opportunities for their students.
Knight also has a particular
emphasis on the positive learning we can observe in children’s drawing. Knight
argued that far from drawing just being the precursor to other literary stages
such as writing (fine motor skills acquisition and character writing development),
drawing shows us children’s ability to read and produce their own signs. This is
part of children’s encoding process, as they draw a picture that to many adults
may look simple but to the drawer it can be telling a complex and detailed
story, observation, memory, or fantasy.
Knight emphasised that learning
is an assemblage of knowledge, and not everybody is an identical learner, with
children (and adults) learning to read the signs and symbols in different ways
and orders in a non-controllable, non-sequential, non-organised way. This can
be seen in observing children, with some learning signs faster than others, whether
in learning letters, numbers and mathematical equations, or gestures, emotions
and facial expressions, or even things such as schedules like how the day is
ordered or bed times.
From my observations in working
with children I agree with Deleuze and Knight in saying that children all learn
how to read signs, symbols, and message at different paces and in different
orders. For example I have seen children unable to read the signs in the room (such as all other children staying quiet and listening to the adult) during group time and continue to make noises or talk to other children, despite being told that it is inappropriate time and time again. I have seen younger children remember and behave according to schedules and patterns during the day, faster than older children. I believe that children, and adults, are able to further old
understandings with new knowledge, and combine new knowledge of signs with old understandings.
I don’t believe children can only learn by being taught or assisted by a more
competent and experienced learner, and that children have the ability to teach more experienced peers, and educators many things as well. I do agree with both Vygotsky and Delezue in emphasising
the importance of social interaction in learning, however, I also believe a
great deal of learning can happen by the individual. Sometimes quiet reflection and individual reading or problem solving can do a lot more good than discussion and group thinking, however there is benefits to both types of learning.
Reading Two
Nabuzoka,
Dabie & Smith, Peter. (1999). Distinguishing Serious and Playful Fighting
by Children with Learning Disabilities and Nondisabled Children. The Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 40(6), pp. 883-890.
This
article was a report on a study conducted to examine whether children with
learning difficulties could distinguish the differences between serious
fighting playful fighting, or rough and tumble play. This article was chosen
because this distinction can only be made by reading a number of subtle and
various signs and symbols in the actions and expressions of the participants
and those around them. Making this distinction is a sign of a literacy
technician, as children need to decode the signs around them to make their
decision.
This
article was good in describing the effects children may face when not being
able to read the social cues, and messages that are surrounding them, with it
found that children with learning difficulties who may have difficulties
reading these cues, and reduced ability to read the non-verbal signs around
them are seen to have less positive and more negative descriptions of them by
their peers, and are devalued more than children without learning difficulties.
Difficulties in reading non-verbal messages, and social cues can lead to
children being unaware of what behaviours are appropriate in what situations,
from not knowing when to sit and listen, to not knowing when another child is
engaging in rough and tumble play, not serious fighting.
The
ability to read social cues, and non-verbal signs is an ability found in the
literacy technician, however, numerical aspects can also factor in too. For example
in being able to distinguish the difference between playful fighting and real
fighting the number of participants was included as a sign. In another example,
knowing that 2 is greater than 1 in counting how many warnings a teacher has
given you is important in knowing how carefully you must act in the classroom
from now on.
Interestingly,
the study found that children with learning difficulties could make the
distinction between playful fighting and serious fighting. However, children
with learning difficulties were found to be able to distinguish the difference
later in life than children with no learning difficulties. This, according to
the researchers signifies a ‘lag’ in development, or a developmental delay. This
somewhat ties in with the Deleuzian theory of children learning to read signs
and messages at different stages and levels, with children with learning
difficulties or disabilities being an extreme example of this difference.
Offers a careful
interpretation & analysis of children’s early literacy/numeracy skills
& interests Also Outcome 2.2 Recognises subtle differences & levels in literacy & numerical learning & development according to age, ability, culture & social circumstances
First, I want to analyse two
clips of the same boy performing songs seen on the TV show: Glee. This young ‘Warbler’
is obviously familiar with the show and his family have encouraged this
interest by buying, or making him his own ‘Warbler’ costume like those worn by
Blaine and the other boys at Dalton Academy. By encouraging his interest in the
show, his family are helping his literacy and numeracy development in a number
of ways. In both clips, ‘Mini Warbler’ shows signs these literacy and numeracy
concepts:
Spatial awareness – this is most evident in the second clip (‘Raise
Your Glass’) where he avoids running into the chair, and even uses the chair as
a prop late in the song. He also shows signs of spatial awareness by not running
out of room on his ‘stage’.
Pattern – especially in the first clip (‘Teenage Dream’) the idea
of pattern is important as many of the same words and dance moves are used
multiple times. In the clips, Mini Warbler is able to remember the words and moves
in patterns, from verse to chorus, another verse and back to the chorus.
Mirroring and direction – Mini Warbler’s use of mirroring is most
evident in Teenage Dream, where it is as if he has learned the moves when looking
at the screen and not turned them around to fit when he is facing away from the
screen. During this clip, there are occasional signs to show that he
understands how to flip these dance moves around correctly, but for most of the
song, he is mirroring the Warblers actions on the screen. During Raise Your
Glass, there is visible improvement in this area, with only a few examples of
mirroring.
Mimicking prior experiences – In both clips Mini Warbler shows
signs of having seen this song performed on Glee previously. This is apparent
in his memorisation of the lyrics and dance moves. In this, he was mimicking
the actions shown on the screen, and in performing them in the clips (facing
away from the screen) he was mimicking both the screen and his own prior
actions.
Balance – the signs of balance are obvious in both clips as Mini
Warbler does not lose his balance and fall down at any point during the
routines. He is able to dance, jump, walk, and skip during both clips, while
singing, and keep his balance.
Practicing verbal language and conventions of speech – By mimicking,
memorising, and singing the lyrics Mini Warbler is practicing verbal language. By
singing in time with the song as well as mimicking specific singing actions,
such as at 1:38 in Teenage Dream, he is practicing conventions of speech.
Timing – in keeping time with the song he is also practicing
timing, both with his singing and dancing. Most impressive is Mini Warbler’s
ability to keep performing even when the camera is not focused on the Warblers on
the screen and to be where he should be when they next appear.
Movement and gesture – Mini Warbler’s use of movement and gesture
is evident throughout both clips.
Clip One: whatucalldat. (2011). Mini Warbler Performing to Teenage Dream. Video.
YouTube, 5 June. Viewed 20October 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxuWSXwR4Mc>.
Clip Two: whatucallthat. (2011). Mini Warbler – Raise Your Glass. Video.
YouTube, 22 June. Viewed 20 October 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8FCP0ZoZiA>.
Next I would like to analyse a
music video by American country music artist, Randy Houser, which features a
toddler performing in the back seat of a car with a mini guitar fly swatter.
Spatial awareness - this young toddler’s knowledge of spatial
awareness is less obvious than Mini Warbler’s, as he is shown in his car seat
the entire clip. However, one aspect of spatial awareness he is showing is his
knowledge that he has to stroke or strum the ‘guitar’ he is holding. He does
not leave any room between his hand and the guitar when he is ‘playing’ it.
Pattern – Just like Mini Warbler, the toddler in Boots On is aware
of the patterns that occur in his song, memorising when it is time for the
chorus and when it is time for the verses, or even the guitar solos.
Mirroring and direction – signs of mirroring and direction are less
evident in this clip as there is not background video playing to show us how
this toddler has learned this particular song. Some direction is evident,
however, in terms of correctly positioning the guitar so it is pointed
diagonally upwards not down, and he strokes down on the guitar to play it, not
up.
Mimicking prior experiences – After a little research, I found that
this toddler, whose name is Drake Dixon, is the song of
singer/songwriter/guitarist Dillon Dixon. It is therefore a good chance that a
lot of the guitar playing, singing, and dance moves that Drake is showing in
this clip have been learned from prior experiences and exposure to his dad, as
well as other musicians his dad may have exposed him to (as well as regular
exposure such as music channels on TV). Drake is obviously mimicking guitar
playing, and he is mimicking very well. He holds the guitar correctly, and plays
strokes only when the sound of the guitar is playing in the song. He is
mimicking chords and different styles of playing such as more enthusiastic
during the chorus, and smaller playing during the verses, as well as at 1:46
during the guitar solo, and most impressively at 2:10. Drake is mimicking his
own prior experiences playing this song as he has the song, lyrics, guitar
playing and pauses all nearly perfectly memorised. Drake's performance is an example of how social and cultural differences can effect the literacy and numeracy experiences of children.
Balance – Drake shows signs of balance by sitting up in his chair, holding
his guitar up, as well as balancing his leg on the seat or compartment in from
of him.
Practicing verbal language and conventions of speech – Just like
Mini Warbler Drake is mimicking, memorising, and singing lyrics to a song, and
in this he is practicing verbal language, and is exposed to words he might not
have otherwise been exposed to (such as Copenhagen). He is practicing
conventions of speech by changing his singing to fit the song, such as when
singing ‘and do it country style!’
Timing – Drake is perfecting his timing by singing and playing his
guitar. As you can see, Drake has an excellent grasp of timing in this clip,
singing the lyrics in time with the song as well as strumming his guitar (not
to mention mimicking chord changes) in time with the guitar sounds in the song.
This is shown throughout the song, from beginning to end, when he lifts his
hand to a longer guitar note, and stays silent during the guitar solo.
Movement and gesture – the use of movement and gesture is evident
throughout this clip, as Drake taps his leg along to the music, plays his
guitar, bobs his head, and just generally rocks out to the song.
Boots On: RandyHouserVEVO.
(2009). Randy Houser – Boots On. YouTube,
15 December. Viewed 20 October 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0go5Q_v0EIk>.
Next I am going to analyse a
slightly younger child, one just entering the toddler stage, as shown by the
use of a table as balance support for standing and dancing. This child is shown
from behind to be dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies.’
Spatial awareness – As this child is younger and not as far along
the physical development line than both Mini Warbler and Drake the spatial
awareness observations is limited. One prominent example of spatial awareness
shown by this boy is his ability to kneel down without losing his balance or
hitting the table in front of him. He is also able to use the table as balance,
standing not too close, but not too far away from it when doing this.
Pattern – This young dancer’s ability to recognise patterns is far
less developed than the previous boy’s examples. At no point does this baby
recognise pattern and sing or dance along with it.
Mirroring and direction – Examples of mirroring are not evident in
the clip, as the young boy has not developed enough literacy and numeracy capabilities
to exhibit this yet. Direction is used when he sways from side to side and bobs
up and down, both significant features of his dancing during this clip.
Mimicking prior experiences – Two subtle but relevant examples of
this boy having danced to and experienced this song before occur at 0:35 and at
1:22. In both cases the boy bobs his head (and body) side to side to mimic the
dancing on the screen, with the case at 0:35 not being in time with the dance,
hinting at prior experience with the song. 0:35 also involves the boy mimicking
hand gestures used by Beyonce and the other dances in the clip.
Balance – The dancing boy’s sense of balance is not as developed as
Mini Warbler’s (and probably not as Drake’s either, though this is hard to say
since Drake is sitting down during his entire clip), as he is not able to stand
without support yet and uses the table to help him. He is able to kneel without
support, however, and does not fall over at any point during the clip,
suggesting his ability to stand without support is not far off.
Practicing verbal language and conventions of speech – There aren’t
any signs of speech or language conventions coming from the boy during this
clip. Listening to music and being involved in it would, however, have some
positive effects on his speech and language knowledge.
Timing – Timing is not evident in this clip, there is no stop
start areas, and he has not developed enough (or been exposed to this song
enough) to know which steps go with certain parts of the song. His few
mimicking examples either happen separately, or as purely mimicking the screen
(not remembering from past experiences)
Movement and gesture – Movement and gesture is evident in this clip
as the baby continually bobs up and down, shakes his legs, kneels, moves his
body from side to side, and uses his hands to move, gesture, and dance to the
song.
Being younger than both Mini Warbler and Drake, this boy shows signs of less development in all the areas I am critiquing.
Baby Dancing: machack95. (2009). Baby dances to Single Ladies-Beyonce(funny), 27 September. Viewed on 19 November 2013. <http://youtu.be/mD-4cQz0s8E>
Given
very young children's development of language and abstraction, how do
contextual, multimodal symbols and conventions support their encoding or
decoding of the world around them?
This week’s theme is about being
a literacy and numeracy technician as a progression from user and participant. During
tutorials this week, we created our own codes and messages for our peers to
decode. This was an activity designed to get us thinking about how children
decode everyday literacy and numeracy. Previously this blog has focused heavily
(not by design) on the idea that children encounter literacy and numeracy
ideas, concepts, activities, themes, and learning in normal, everyday play and
activities. This can include being talked or read to, watching TV, shopping
with mum or dad, and playing with blocks. As technicians, children decode these
literacy and numeracy related experiences, creating their own rules,
understandings, and meanings.
Because I was unclear about what
exactly a literacy or numeracy technician was, or how children act as
technicians, this week’s readings are again taken from the textbook as an
easier way to understand these concepts.
Reading One
Seefeldt, C., Galper, A. & Stevenson,
J. (2012). Connecting Everyday Experiences with Mathematical Content. In Active Experiences for Active Children:
Mathematics (3rd Ed., pp. 42-53). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson
Australia.
One of the first points this
reading made was to emphasise that children’s firsthand experiences and
investigations with maths happen before formal school begins, and that these
experiences help children make sense of their world and construct a solid
foundation for success in school (p. 43). I thought this was an interesting point
to make as it called attention to children’s success in school and not life.
While Seefeldt et al. may have a firm belief that success in school leads to
success in life, I believe we should emphasise success in life as our main
goal. Children, parents, and educators should be promoting this goal, instead
of promoting the idea of success in school. Success in school may be out of the
range of some children’s capabilities, or the promotion of success in school
may put too much pressure on children. Maybe I’m being picky, but I think language
like this is something serious that needs to be worked on in order to educate children
to be lifelong learners, and global citizens who are able to participate
successfully in society.
Next point was that in order to
educate children in mathematics educators first need a firm grasp of how
children learn as well as of the subject they are teaching, whether numeracy
for one year olds of 17 year olds. Only with this knowledge can educators begin
to create meaningful, appropriate learning experiences.
Seefeldt et al. outlined what
they believe to be important principles for teaching mathematics to young
children:
Equity
Curriculum
Teaching
Technology
Learning
Problem Solving
Assessment
The NCTM Standards are outlined
in this reading as well as interwoven strands designed to support the learning
of meaningful mathematics. These standards are:
Number Operations
Algebra
Geometry/Spatial Awareness
Measurement
Data Description, Organisation,
Representation, and Analysis
Problem Solving
In both of these standards or
principles problem solving is listed as being an important focus. This ties in
with previous week’s discussion (week nine) which also had a focus on problem
solving being an important skill to teach young children. By teaching children
to solve problems, educators are participating in an education that will help
create critical thinkers, which will help children as they progress through
life.
The last point of this reading
was to expand on and extend children’s firsthand experiences of mathematics by
providing books with mathematical concepts, create open ended questions, use
mathematical language around children, allow children to learn from each other,
and show children how to use number operations to solve problems. By extending
and expanding on children’s firsthand mathematical experiences in this way,
educators are also creating meaningful literacy experiences for children to
engage in. In this way, we can see that literacy and numeracy do not have to be
experienced in separate learning environments, and that children can immerse
themselves in literacy and numeracy rich environments at the same time.
Reading Two
Fields, M.V., Groth, L.A., &
Spangler, K.L. (2008). Understanding How Literacy Emerges. In Let’s Begin Reading Right: A Developmental
Approach to Emergent Literacy (6th Ed., pp. 20-47). Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
The most significant point in
this reading was the emphasis on teaching children to read as they are taught
to speak. The reading first outlined how children are able to grasp such a
large knowledge of the spoken language between birth and preschool age, as when
they arrive at preschool they are already able to speak well enough to make
their meaning clear. Fields et al. argued that this is because children are
immersed in the spoken language from their very first day, and that it is used
frequently in their everyday lives (either by them or around them).
Fields et al. contend that this
immersion does not just result in children imitating language; it sees them
creating their own understanding of language and its rules. This is why we hear
children say words like ‘runned’, ‘goed’, and ‘foots’, because they are
creating their own understanding of the rules of the English language, not
merely imitating adult speak. Important in this section is the ideas of not
stopping children to correct them, or slowing them down when it seems like they
are stuttering, but rather to elaborate on children’s own sentences when
replying to them.
The chapter argued that we should
teaching children to read in the same way they learn spoken language, by
immersing them in written language. Several articles and chapters in previous
weeks’ posts (weeks five, six, seven and eight) back up this argument. Fields
et al. argue that children should be immersed in written language from as early
in their lives as possible, with immersion including being read to and using
books in other play activities. Another point is that reading helps with
vocabulary development by exposing children to other words and ways of saying
things, rather than just learning how their parents, or family talks to them.
One point I found interesting was
the idea of watching TV. Nowadays leaving children to watch TV for prolonged
periods of time is seen as bad or lazy parenting, however, Fields et al.
outlined the positives in allowing children TV time. Watching TV (or even
listening to the radio) can extend children’s literacy development, as well as
other areas in their development such as empathy, problem solving, and critical
thinking. One example given was the watching of inappropriate shows (within limits),
with Fields et al. arguing that instead of banning these shows, to occasionally
watch them with children and explain why they are inappropriate or why they are
not usually allowed to watch these shows. This teaches children to think
critically about what they are viewing.
With an emphasis on how children
create their own rules and understandings of language, this chapter outlined
what it is to be a literacy technician. Being a literacy technician is how
children decode spoken and written language, either by creating words such as ‘runned’
or by creating their own stories based on pictures in a book before they can
read the words. By doing this they are decoding literacy in their everyday
lives in a way that makes sense to them, but that might not make sense to the
adults around them yet.
