Appropriate Approaches in Young Children

 

 Introduction

The appropriate approaches in young children are the right ways of dealing with young children. It includes ways in which their needs are understood and taken care of. Different age groups have different understanding capabilities and so for each age group, there has to be an approach for them. The approaches in children determine their development.

1. Describe a developmentally appropriate approach for young children including

appropriate content knowledge for the different age groups (infants, toddlers,

preschoolers, Kindergartners, early Primary).

According to Gordon & Browne (2016), developmentally appropriate approaches insists on learning surroundings that are activity-based. The needs, capabilities, and interests of a child aid in their development. The components of developmentally appropriate approaches include the knowledge of age-related attributes of a child that help to generally predict the best way to promote their learning and development. The knowledge one has for a child usually gives hints on how he will respond and adapt to different situations. The values, behaviors, and expectations that control a child’s life at home and in society. These approaches help a child to develop their understanding of ideas and make good choices. It helps to develop a routine in the learning environment that helps to respond to new interests, ideas, and needs. It helps a child to practice new skills and challenge them to work to the best of their abilities.

Gordon & Browne (2016) state that the values developed at home should be improved by teaching in schools meaning that the relationship between the teacher and the parent is very important. Other than academic content, teachers teach a child how to live properly. Teachers have different ways of teaching which include intentional teaching whereby decisions and actions are made with a purpose by the teachers. This builds their strengths, ideas, interests, and needs. Evidence-based teaching involves the use of evidence to know the progress of a child in their learning. It is used to determine the teaching strategies and interventions and monitor the progress of a child and know if the strategy is effective or not.

According to Swim & Watson (2010), scientific evidence shows that it is important to create quality care and education for young children and most importantly the infants and toddlers. It has also shown the relationship between education and early care and a baby’s capability to include all the skills needed for a human being. Reacting quickly and positively to an infant is important for healthy development. An approach that is mindful of a child should involve children in activities that concern them, and having quality time with a child. Learning the ways a child communicates and teaching them your way of communication. Infants and toddlers should be treated as important people and being honest with a child about how you feel. Giving a child the chance to solve their problems whenever possible and making them know the importance of trust. For a child, the stages of developing trust, identity, attachments, and self-reliance are important in a child’s development. They determine the ability of an individual to experience an exciting, successful life and their contribution to society.

Swim & Watson (2010) states that behaviors in children can be enhanced by applying positive approaches such as praising the child and giving rewards when they complete a certain task. They can also be decreased by negative approaches such as punishments, lack of attention to the child and criticizing them. Children get knowledge and awareness by exploring the environment. Infants, toddlers, and adults need to create time to bond emotionally with one another. It is important to keep communicating with infants and toddlers, for example asking them what they are looking at and what amuses them and what sounds they are hearing. This is important in the vision and hearing development of a child.

2. Identify the role of play in the early childhood classroom in addition to experiential and hands-on learning techniques.

According to Parker & Thomsen (2019), learning through play helps a child develop emotional, social, physical and creative skills. The characteristics of playful learning include approaches such as active learning, cooperative and collaborative learning, and problem-based, project-based, and experiential learning. Active learning is a form of learning whereby the child participates in the learning process. It encourages emotional and social development in a child. Cooperative and collaborative is a form of learning where children interact with each other and get to know how to work as a team. The impacts of this approach are, learning outcomes that include reading, communication and a child’s confidence in self-motivation and behavior. Problem-based learning is an approach where the child learns about a subject by learning how to solve unrestricted problems. It helps a child to solve a mathematical problem and also helps in science learning. Project-based learning involves a classroom approach in which a child acquires knowledge by exploring real-world problems and challenges.

3. Plan developmentally appropriate lessons for children B-Grade 2 formulating child-centered, population-specific learning experiences and activities.

According to Flora & Anderson (2005), developmentally appropriate lessons for children B- grade 2 include the activities of the day which are important to the children. Having morning routines make children become organized and prepare them for the day. Activities such as show and tell are exciting for children where they bring something special to school on certain days. This enables the children to look forward to that particular day. It helps to develop language skills and know-how to express themselves. It encourages children to use descriptive language and elaborations. Weather activities help children to know more about the environment and the different seasons and the type of clothes to wear at each season. Assignment of different duties for children helps them to perform different duties and eventually learn their favorite duty. Calendar activities help children learn the different days of the week and months in a year. It helps them to enhance the skills for number recognition. It enables a child to know how to follow patterns and sequences and improves counting skills.

Flora and Anderson (2005) state that reading to a child frequently and making them read independently advances children learning and development. Children should be given opportunities to work in groups so that they can learn how to collaborate with other children. They should be given opportunities and teacher support to write different types of texts to enhance their writing skills and experiences. Programs that include meaningful reading and writing activities are important for children. An engaging program that enhances the knowledge of words and vocabularies in a child.

 Parker & Thomsen (2019) state that these characteristics altogether affect a child through social, emotional, physical and creative areas. They enable a child to create a meaningful, engaging, social and interactive learning experience. Integrated approaches combine teacher-guided learning, teacher-directed and children directed learning. They become meaningful when they are developed to include engaging tasks. They should be socially interactive to enhance communication, interpersonal and social skills. Active participation enables a child to rely on and support other children and help to develop new skills. They should be iterative so that the child can repeatedly try out a concept until they get it right. They should be exciting, the interactions between the child and the teacher should be positive to enhance the learning experiences.

According to Parker & Thomsen (2019), experiential learning is the process of learning through experiments. It comprises four stages which include observation, conceptualization, and experimentation. The activities included in experiential learning are outdoor learning and adventures, community development programs, creative programs, and environmental activities. This approach enables children to have a chance to come up with solutions for their direct experiences. It develops social and interpersonal skills and helps children not to have conflicts rather they should work together. It actively engages children when teachers provide hands-on learning. It helps children to experiment and explore different activities. It is a motivating approach to children since they are excited to experiment and find solutions for different activities.

4. Show various ways to observe, document and assess young children’s learning including distinguishing the diverse ways in which young children communicate their interests, wishes, needs, and understanding

According to Neaum (2016), it is important to observe and assess a child because you get to know what the child is capable of doing his strengths, preferences, and weaknesses. Observation and assessment is an effective way to know and understand a child’s development. Observation in children helps one to know which ways to use to support their learning and development. It is important because it aids in matching the approaches to the strategies that should be used to help their learning and development. The different types of observations that can be used on a child include, time sampling. This involves repeated short focused stories of a child done at different intervals. It shows the behavior pattern of a child and develops suitable strategies to manage the child’s behavior. Tracking is another way of observation which includes following children’s different activities, and the time they spend between each activity.

Neaum (2016), explains that checklists are established lists that identify skills, knowledge and children’s capabilities. This method is helpful when one is looking for something in particular. Target child observation includes identifying a specific child to observe. The child is observed alongside other children and is done within the academic setting. Learning stories are records of observation written as a story format. The idea of this type of observation is to develop a story. The main aim of recording learning stories is to enhance children’s learning. Documenting is another way of developing a story of what the child has achieved. It also shows how children planned, performed and finished a certain task. The purpose of observation in a child should be made clear so that while assessing and documenting, the observations made match the purpose. Observations help to closely monitor and identify certain aspects of a child. They help to monitor the characters, social and emotional and learning development of a child.

According to Neaum (2016), continuous assessment is a vital part of the process of learning and development. It helps to understand the children’s level of understanding and achievements, their interests and learning styles and abilities. Observation and assessment of children play help to determine their strengths and needs. An observation-based assessment provides the chance to observe children and depending on what they observe, assess a child’s learning development. There are different ways to approach the assessment of a child’s learning. One is purposing and being specific to a particular area of a child’s learning. The other way is being open and assessing whatever comes from observation. Some of the things we can find out from observation are children's interests and what they enjoy doing. The specific need of a child and their friendships could be shown through observation. It helps to get to know a child, their well-being and their capabilities in a specific area of development, for example, the emotional, physical, and social areas. It helps to know a child better and know if they need any kind of intervention. It also helps to know the patterns of behavior and thinking of a child.

Conclusion

Appropriate approaches in children enable them to improve their learning development. It enables their teachers to know how to deal with a particular child and what is needed for their development. They enable a child to discover their strengths, capabilities, needs and also give room for them to try new things. They are inclusive and made for each age group. Observation and assessment in a child help to gain social, emotional and learning developments and help to identify various aspects of a child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Gordon, A. M., & Browne, K. W. (2016). Beginnings & beyond: Foundations in early childhood

education: Boston, MA : Cengage learning,

Flora, S. B., & Anderson, J. (2005). Early learning thematic lesson plans: 32 thematic lesson

plans for a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Minneapolis, MN: Key Education Publishing Company, LLC.

Neaum S. (2016). Observing and assessing children’s learning and development: http ://study .

sagepub.com

Parker R. & Thomsen S. B.(2019).Learning through play at school: A study of playful integrated

pedagogies that foster children’s holistic skills development in the primary school

classroom: www.lego foundation.com

Swim J. T. & Watson D. L. (2010) Infants and toddlers: curriculum and teaching: United states

of America