‘Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood’- Fred Rogers.
As trainee teachers, Aistear will play a huge role in our lives as future educators. Throughout this essay, I hope to explore Aistear, identifying what it is, how it is run and its benefits.
What is Aistear? Its Background and Main Components.
What is Aistear and where did it come from? Aistear can be described as the ‘journey’ of learning. It focuses on children ages 0-6 years of age, and describes what types of learning children of this age should be engaged in. Aistear focuses on early childhood development focusing on the child being a child. It was developed after research
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Aistear is based around learning through play. Children not only have the need for play, but they also have the right to play ‘States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child’ (United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, 2010).
Play has many benefits to children. It helps them to put into practice things they have learned, it helps them to socialise, to become leaders and to act naturally as children should, using imagination and make believe. According to Broadhead, 2004 children can become very protective of play, scaraed of interruption from adults. Aistear is important in this sense as it as time devoted to play, any interruption from a teacher/ classroom helper is through shared play, asking questions about their
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Aistear can be used in many settings, unlike the primary school curriculum which is for the sole use of primary schools in Ireland. Aistear may be implemented in primary schools, playschools and other child-care centres and even in the home.
Aistear’s interconnected themes reflect the integrated nature of the Primary School Curriculum. Through Aistear and the Priamry School Curriculum, there is much scope for integration between themes and subjects. Aistear in the classroom can act as a reinforcement for what children have learned during lessons, using play as a learning support tool to enhance the child’s learning experience.
Although Aistear and the PSC are aimed at varying age groups, their aims are pretty similar. ‘to enable children to meet, with self-confidence and assurance, the demands of life, both now and in the future’ (PSC, Introduction, p. 6). ‘To enable children to grow and develop as competent and confident learners within loving relationships with others’ (Principles and Themes, p. 6). Both the Primary School Curriculum and the Aistear documents aim to ensure children gain confidence as learners and to develop
SJTAA5007 The role of Teachers and support staff in identifying and implementing interventions that suit children’s individual needs using positive behaviour strategies within a primary setting. For the purpose of this project I will be looking at some of the influences that can impact on children’s social and emotional development as they move through childhood. These can often have a great impact on a child’s learning and ability to make successful transitions at key points in their lives. Difficulties often become apparent within the structured institutions such as schools where large cohorts are expected by society to conform to a certain acceptability of behaviour.
This is where the child should learn to have respect for themselves and others, develop the skills socially meaning to interact with the other children and learn their different emotions and how to deal with this which is the emotional part. A child will learn to develop their own personality and opinions but this also needs to be monitored to ensure there is no bullying towards the other children, also parents have major roles in teaching their children. Some parents however, can be over-protective and can delay the child’s development and learning but on an alternative, parents can also see no wrong with their child which can lead to too much confidence and higher risk of behaviour problems. Culture play roles in learning as some cultures do not allow certain things to be taught due to there religion e.g. food tasting and preparation.
Even if you’re not involved in their play it offers a sense of reassurance to children. You can also support a play based approach to learning by encouraging children to play with things they may not have played with before e.g playing with the resource yourself alongside the child. If a child sees what you can do with the resource then they are more likely to eventually participate along side you, copying what you are doing. 4.3 Evaluate different materials and equipment to support play based learning opportunities for children in their early years
By planning what we want to say, it is much easier to deliver clear and direct messages, whether it be speaking one-to-one with a parent or attending a governors meeting. However, written communication comes with the disadvantage of lacking any sort of body language. Non verbal communication such as emails to colleagues or written student assessments are easily miscommunicated if not carefully worded and easy to comprehend. It will make it much easier for both the student and their parents if there is a clear and consistent system for marking work - something as simple as tick boxes of ‘can do’ statements for lower primary students. This will also reassure those parents whose first language is not English, and will lead to less concern about their child’s progress.
Children are able to develop and practise motor skills and bodily movements through physical plays. During some cognitive games, such as board games and educational toys, children can improve their mental fitness and brain function. Play also provides opportunities for children to make friends, to negotiate with others, and to develop their communication skills. It helps extend language and improve children’s social ability. I believed that play is essential to children’s education that cannot be minimized and separated from learning.
When arranging activities for play based learning within early years provision there can be barriers towards it from taking place. Before the week begins, planning is needed. When planned activities are prepared resources are needed too. Resources can become a barrier towards play. This is because the resources that were needed were not available to be used.
EYE37WB-2.1 Describe areas of learning and development within the current framework which relate to school readiness. Prime areas of learning Specific areas of learning Persona, social and emotional development • The development of the children‘s confidence. • How children manage their feelings.
Artifact Assignment Arpandeep Kaur Sheridan College ARTIFACT ASSIGNMENT Hello, my name is Arpandeep Kaur. I am a student of Early Childhood Education which is a branch of education theory where hands-on hands experience are achieved and which relates to the teaching of young children up until the age of about eight. Being a student of early childhood education, in this assignment, I would like to discuss
It is important that children are able to receive holistic care while in a play environment, both inside and outside. Some of the principles which would apply to both indoor and outdoor play include a child centred practice, ensuring the child 's welfare and safety, promoting a child 's rights, and enabling a child to reach their full potential. It is important that we provide a child centred practice, as it promotes a child 's learning and development through play. By having a child centred approach, we should support the children giving them guidance, but to allow the opportunities for them to learn independently, instead of taking over an activity and showing them. It encourages us as practitioners, to encourage children to explore and to make their own
As humans, all of us are entitled to human rights and children are entitled to their own rights. This comes in the form of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) as world leaders recognised that people under the age of 18 might need special care and consideration. Under the CRC, the articles listed recognised the child’s rights to various issues such as the “inherent right to life” from Article 6.1 and the “right to freedom of expression” from Article 13.1. It even recognises the “right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child” as seen from Article 31.1. This signifies the importance of play in a child’s life. There are many theories that support play as a way for the child to develop socially, cognitively and emotionally.
Many theorists discuss ways in which children are developing. Physically, emotionally, socially and language progressions. Within the early childhood sector, the study of children's development is vividly important as teachers learn to observe the children's individual learning patterns and habits. The practical knowledge of how to develop a child further will assist in utilising the children's skills and holistic development to their fullest potential, however, knowing how to practically aid children in the separate developmental domains is also key as individual kids need more help in some areas than others.
Through this knowledge, the teacher can presume how children of a particular age group will act, what they are capable of doing and what they are not likely able to do. Consequently, the teacher can devise activities rather confidently by taking all these aspects into consideration. At this stage, the teacher can take advantage of the windows of opportunity for the child’s growth. In other words, the teacher benefits from the sensitive period of a child’s development to provide him with enriching activities; the best period for the child to learn and develop further. In addition, what the children learn should be relevant to their environment and life experiences.
Having the right knowledge, skills and experience in understanding how children or young people develop are very important tools for early years practitioners. We must put to mind that each child born to this world is unique; they are born with different characters and their personalities and behaviours are formed and influenced by variety of factors. These factors may affect their ways of interacting to the environment and community or setting in which they live in. In my experience as a child care practitioner most of the time, adults mainly focus on the physical development of a child and so quick to base their conclusion or judgement on the physical aspect.
Being a pre-service training educator, specific goals and objectives should be set to achieve educator’s own educational philosophy. The Educational philosophy is an individual statement of educators’ guiding principles about the education-related issues, which helps to guide when drawing up curricula and structuring classroom discussions for children. Every educator should have their unique set of principles and ideas to affect students’ performance. I strongly believe that early childhood education is to help children to achieve whole person development which including cognitive, physical, mental and social aspects. Children’s programs should be based on children’s needs and interests as they are going to grow, develop and mature in educators’
Theme B: Review on the Impact of Social Constructivism for Pre-school Education. Early childhood education generally means an education before the child start of formal schooling or before the age they required to attend the school. It is crucial stage of life in development the physical, intellectual, emotional and social lifestyle of the children. For the basic education method the approach must base on their prior knowledge and practice is called “constructivism”. Social constructivism is the one of the theories of learning and pedagogy that had the utmost impact on tutoring and curriculum design because they seem to be the most conducive to integration into current educational approaches.