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This Blog will discuss what social constructivism in a school age program would look like for all involved, children, teachers and parents. I will be making connections to many educational theories, and my own personal experiences. I will be explaining and focusing on the principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach to education.
Middle Childhood
Middle childhood is usually defined through the ages of 6 to 12 years old. The overall development of children includes their physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth. Middle childhood is a time where children begin to develop life skills for building healthy social relationships and lean what their role is for group work in life. The vocabulary increases and semantic development occurs, as reading becomes very important. They begin to recognize their own internal qualities and develop self-concepts and self-esteem. friendships become a fundamental part and are based more on support and loyalty. LINK
What is
Social Constructivism?
How do
children learn and construct knowledge? Before answering this question, one
should ask themselves; how do I learn best? Do you learn best when someone
tells you how to do something, or do you lean better when you explore and do it
yourself? This question has been researched for many years and many theories
have been made over the years. This has led professionals in the field of
education to believe that the best way children learn is by constructing their
own knowledge instead of having someone do it for them. The best way to
describe this is by Lev Vygotsky Social Constructivist learning theory. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Construction
theory explains that knowledge is co-constructed through social and cultural
interactions. The learner must be engaged in the whole learning process. A fundamental part of his theory is the Zone of Proximal Development where, tasks
that are difficult for an individual to grasp can be mastered with the guidance
of an adult or more skilled peer. This can be done by scaffolding the child,
which is giving the learner the right amount of assistance at the right time. LINK
The Role of the Teacher
“Highly motivated and dedicated, the constructivist teacher, because of the view of learning that she has, knows that her role is a complex one and that she has to juggle many roles and has to bring many skills and much energy to her position (Chaille, 2008, p.56).
Phoenix Child Care
Through the Bachelor or Child Development program I have been fortunate to have many great learning experience. My first placement in second semester was at Phoenix Child Care. Little did I know that this was the beggining of a wonderful learning experience. Their teaching methods are Reggio inspired. The Reggio Emilia Approach was very new to me, as I was learning more about it in my studies. I got the opportunity to become part of the Phoenix Child Care team and really get to see the wonderful ways of a Reggio inspired teaching approach. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work at Phoenix Child Care in their summer camp program for school age children. I have been a part of their team for two years. Working at Phoenix gave me the chance to work with children ages 6-12 years old. I got to really understand this age range working together with a great team.
Phoenix Child Care Philosophy: Reggio Emilia Approach
Our philosophy is based on
the guiding principles of the Reggio Emelia model of Education. These
principles include the concepts that the child is powerful, knowledgeable and
capable. The teacher's role is not that of an instructor but as a facilitator
and guide to help the children negotiate the direction of the curriculum. The
environment is defined as the third teacher. Documentation of the children’s
learning is the primary focus of a warm inviting non-commercial space where
great emphasis is placed on the beauty of the natural world. A wealth of
quality materials are made available to the children in order that they may
express their understanding of self and the world through many different media.
The curriculum is authentic. Children and teachers explore topics of genuine
interest through projects (not themes) whose direction and content is
negotiated. Children may spend as much time as they need to achieve a
personally satisfying outcome to whatever activity they are involved with.
Their day is not dictated by the clock but by their interest.
Our philosophy is based on
the guiding principles of the Reggio Emelia model of Education. These
principles include the concepts that the child is powerful, knowledgeable and
capable. The teacher's role is not that of an instructor but as a facilitator
and guide to help the children negotiate the direction of the curriculum. The
environment is defined as the third teacher. Documentation of the children’s
learning is the primary focus of a warm inviting non-commercial space where
great emphasis is placed on the beauty of the natural world. A wealth of
quality materials are made available to the children in order that they may
express their understanding of self and the world through many different media.
The curriculum is authentic. Children and teachers explore topics of genuine
interest through projects (not themes) whose direction and content is
negotiated. Children may spend as much time as they need to achieve a
personally satisfying outcome to whatever activity they are involved with.
Their day is not dictated by the clock but by their interest.
At
Phoenix Child Centre we recognize that every child is unique and possess
differing strengths and needs. Our view of the child is open - ended and inclusive
where children’s ideas and curiosities are explored. We believe that all
children are strong regardless of their level of ability. Our belief that
children express knowledge through symbolic representation including but not
limited to words, movement, play, drawing, painting, building, and sculpting
allows all children to reach their potential in an enriching and supportive
environment. LINK
REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH
The Reggio Approach gets its name from its place of origin, Reggio Emilia, a city located in Northern Italy. Loris Malaguzzi, a young teacher and the founder of this unique system, joined forces with the parents of this region to provide childcare for young children. The Reggio Emilia Approach gets its name from a place of region, Reggio Emilia, located in Northern Italy. The found of this unique system is Loris Malaguzzi, a young teacher who joined together with parents of Reggio Emilia to provide Childcare for young Childre. The Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education implements the ideas of many great theorists such as Piaget, Dewey and Vigotsky, yet it is much more than just a mix of theories (Hewett, 2001). These theories are combined to make the many ideas, principles, and theories that take place within the Reggio Emilia Approach. The main principles explored in the are, the image of the child, the role of the teacher, and the nature of the knowledge to be learned (Hewett, 2001).The fundamental belief that the child retains rights rather than needs, is the foundation on which Reggio Emilia Approach is built. The child is looked upon as intelligent, powerful, competent, creative, curious, and full of potential and ambitious desires” (Hewett, 2001, 96). This suggests that all children have the power to construct and expand their knowledge. Children develop this knowledge by becoming researchers of their own thoughts and ideas, as they question what they see, hypothesize solutions, predict outcomes, experiment, and reflect on their own discoveries (Hewett, 2001). The curriculum is project based, which are in-depth studies of a particular topic that one or more children undertake based their interests. In each project Children work through the discovery and build solutions by collaboration, dialogue, conflict, negotiation, and cooperation with peers and adluts. LINK
Theories and Personal Experience
Working with school age children at Phoenix Child Care has helped me understand many aspects of their stages of development. When planning exploration opportunities for children one must understand where and how children at this age level learn and construct knowledge. Through different theories and experience I was able to become a better team member and educator.The overall development of children includes their physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth. Middle childhood is a time where children begin to develop life skills for building healthy social relationships and lean what their role is for group work in life.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is a very important part of middle childhood development. Jean Piaget stated that there were four different stages in the cognitive development of children. The Concrete Operations Stage (7-11 years) is the third stage in his theory. During this stage children develop the ability to “conserve”, or in other words, learn that object are not always the way they seem to appear. Children are able to take in many different aspects of an object, simple by looking at it and exploring it. They can begin to imagine different scenarios before they happen. This is because they have more “operational” thoughts about things and situations. LINK
During middle childhood children begin to develop internal qualities and begin to identify their abilities. Erik Erickson came up with a theory that people move through stages of emotional development, and stated that children in middle childhood struggle between industry and inferiority. During this stage children are learning, creating an accomplishing numerous new skills and knowledge that develop through a sense of industry. If they experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority among peers, it can have serious problems in competence and self-esteem. LINK
Lev
Vygotskys Social Learning theories explains that individuals learn from one
another through observations, communication and modeling. Educators can create
n atmosphere that promotes positive development by providing and implementing
positive learning experience that encourage social development. Peers and
friendships become very important during middle childhood. Boys tend to put
more importance on competition while girls have smaller groups based on social
competence. As an educator one must always promote to build healthy
relationships and teach kindness through each activity.LINK
To end my blog, here is an inspiring video of school age children working together to make a change. It is one of my favorites
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LINK TO VIDEO
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LINK TO VIDEO