Philosophy Statement
Throughout the duration of this topic, I have learnt the significance of incorporating and enhancing early literacy and numeracy experiences to successfully develop and advance children's learning. Literacy and numeracy is everywhere and this topic has really opened my eyes in learning how to detect signs of early literacy and numeracy in play and how to further enhance or develop a particular learning opportunity. This was evident in the previous modules as part of this blog, when recognising and noting literate or numerate experiences and then having to respond to these opportunities to further learning outcomes.
I strongly believe that literacy and numeracy concepts should be challenged and enhanced in an early learning setting or at home with family, by providing appropriate materials and activities, and by also stepping in and challenging literate and numerate play through questioning and reasoning. Knaus (2013) states that an effective teacher will ask questions to provoke children's thinking and will introduce mathematical and literate language to help children see the connections between the world and mathematical/literate concepts. As a qualified teacher in the future, I will purposefully encourage and support early literacy and numeracy learning, as I now have the appropriate knowledge to successfully observe and recognise literate and numerate signs within play. I will also make sure that signs of learning are responded too in a thoughtful and planned manner so that children are positively furthering their development in maths and literacy skills. However, children's play should not be interrupted by an adult or educator if it is not purposeful to a child's learning. Instead, it should be beneficial and thought through before stepping in, so that children are developing from constructive questioning and reasoning. Children should be allowed to take risks and explore different options within their play before it is instantly challenged and workshopped.
As part of building an appropriate literacy and numeracy pedagogy, I believe that implementing and constantly using literate and mathematical terminology with children birth-4 (and older), will encourage and positively develop literate and numerate concepts. In a numerate context, it is important to constantly incorporate mathematical language in everyday scenarios, such as asking children 'how many would you like?', 'how much sunscreen do you need?' or 'how long would you like your piece of string?'. Reinforcing these questions with children instead of presuming their quantities and amounts will encourage mathematical answers and reasoning from the children, which will assist in understanding fundamental math concepts. Knaus (2013) states that children encounter mathematical experiences daily, which require the meaningful use of numbers, measurement, shape and spatial thinking. They are constructing a great deal of informal knowledge based on their experiences. That's why I think it is important to use these daily encounters, such as meal time, to enhance these experiences by incorporating mathematical based conversations with children around quantities or amounts of food they need. This is also evident in a literate context, by using consistent and valuable language to communicate mathematically with children. This will work towards receiving adequate responses and conversations between adult and child, and will hopefully improve other literate skills such as reading and writing in the near future. Makin & Whitehead (2012) suggest that the main foundations of literacy are 'communication' and 'talk', as well as enjoying books and understanding that marks (such as letters and numbers), pictures and print carry messages. As I am now a strong believer of beneficial mathematical and literate interactions for children, as an educator, I will ensure that my conversations with children are positively encouraging these skills, and will always incorporate the use of books, picture books and other literacy resources to maximise children's engagement in the literacy world.
I thoroughly believe that scaffolding children's literacy and numeracy learning is one of the most important parts to a child's developmental phase. It is extremely easy to observe a child's interest and take note on their learning opportunity, but it is the next step- responding and scaffolding, which will advance the child's learning experience and make this initial learning experience worthwhile and beneficial rather than just simply observing and keeping the experience on file. I am a strong believer in scaffolding and following on from certain learning experiences, as I think that children learn greatly from partaking in a similar or expanded event of their interest. The EYLF (2009) identifies responsive teaching as an important strategy for scaffolding learning, and explains that educators assess, anticipate and extend children's learning via open-ended questioning, providing feedback, challenging their thinking, and guiding their learning. While I was on placement, I constantly observed literate and numerate interactions within children's play-based experiences and I always planned and followed up on these observations, while aiming to extend children's numerate and literate views and skills. This was demonstrated in module 1, where I initially observed Bob showing an interest in building towers with blocks. I recognised this numerate experience and instantly started planning and thinking about other possible ways to further Bob's learning and thinking processes. I came to a conclusion, and decided to widen Bob's interpretation of what blocks can do, by introducing him to a larger, softer and lighter type of block. These blocks also had numbers written on them, as well as groups of objects to represent an amount. I decided to sit with Bob while he was undertaking this activity so that I could purposefully and appropriately question his knowledge on numbers and to beneficially test his spatial awareness, measurement and number recognition skills, and also point out the number figures on the blocks so that he became aware of what they represent. From this responsive experience, I could see and notice that Bob had gained a different perspective of using blocks and it have him a different medium to explore with. As an educator I will purposely keep a look out for experiences like this one and at an appropriate time, I will think critically about what I can do to help encourage a certain learning experience.
I believe that play based-experiences provide wonderfully rich and important scenarios for children to be involved in, as they are normally formed around an activity which a child shows interest and passion towards. This is where I found majority of early numeracy signs with children on placement who were not necessarily using numbers and obvious numeracy skills in their play, but were in fact participants in numerate concepts, such as pattern, measurement and spatial awareness. As an early childhood educator I will definitely be allocating adequate time where children are able to explore and be involved in play-based experiences of their own choice and need at the time. This is the time where educators can observe children's learning experiences and plan for other sessions around children's interests. I believe that play based-experiences also encourage social interactions with other children around the area who they are able to work with to problem solve or work as a team. Vygotsky's (1978) theory stresses the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition. Social experiences allow children to develop communicative and literate skills through personal interactions with others. As an educator I will purposely devote time and provide activities which encourage social interactions, as I believe they are an extremely important part of children's initial cognitive development, which also assist in advancing many other future skills. However, it is still important for time in the day to be allocated for structured learning such as group art sessions or reading time, so that children gain an understanding of listening to instructions, sharing with others, and working with other people in a confined space.
In conclusion, literacy and numeracy is an extremely important subject that needs to be efficiently incorporated and pursued with children in the early years. I hope to provide a purposeful, engaging and beneficial environment which encourages early literate and numerate development through appropriate actions, resources and materials. I also believe that a holistic approach is important to advocate, as it pays attention to children's physical, social, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing with a focus on cognitive development. I believe that as part of building a holistic approach, children should have the opportunity to be in touch with nature, where teaching and learning is incorporated with the natural environment that surrounds us. Wonderful things can be formed by using natural materials and outdoor facilities, and if thoughtfully and carefully planned, early literate and numerate learning can be incorporated with natural outdoor materials such as sticks, rocks, grass, leaves and more.
Overall, I hope to be a communicative, efficient and caring educator who takes a holistic approach in providing children with adequate opportunities to enhance literacy and numeracy skills in the early years.
References
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments (2009). Belonging, Being and Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework
Knaus, M. (2013). Maths is all around you (1st ed.). Albert Park, Victoria: Teaching Solutions
Makin, L., & Whitehead, M. (2004). How to develop children's early literacy. London: Paul Chapman.
McLeod, S. (2014). Vygotsky | Simply Psychology. Simplypsychology.org. Retrieved 15 November 2014, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
Raise Learning - Early childhood services (inc. programming and planning for the EYLF and the National Quality Standards),. (2012). Exploring Holistic Approaches for Early Childhood Educators. Retrieved 15 November 2014, from http://www.raiselearning.com.au/blogs/news/5818384-exploring-holistic-approaches-for-early-childhood-educators
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