Field Placement Describe Your Ideal Early Learning Work Environment

The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many child professionals and parents, and yet there are still lack of understanding surrounding the importance of children's play. Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment empowers children (as well as people

I am a student at Florida Atlantic University studying early childhood education. I am enrolled in EEC 3214 class this semester; the class is called designing and implementing a blending curriculum: birth to age eight. I am required to complete a field experience assignment at a preschool. I will observe young children ranging from three to five years old. I assure you that I will keep all information confidential. In addition, I reassure you that I will not share the information collected outside of my course and that no identifying information will be shared. I will respect and follow all the school’s policies and procedures in a professional manner.

In early learning environments, children acquire knowledge and develop cognitive, social and emotional, physical and language acquisition skills in the content areas such as language arts, math, science, and social studies in a variety of ways. It is up to the teachers to plan and implement in-depth studies of themes and topics that are meaningful and relevant to the children, being sure to address the development of the whole child while integrating all of the content areas. In the physical classroom the environment should provide students with hands-on opportunities to grow and develop skills, gain knowledge, and have fun as they explore carefully designed learning centers. They should be provided with materials that are related to

Teaching environment and style plays a crucial role in the child’s learning experience. According to Morris, “ direct experiences, observations and internalizations of concepts inherent in the environment are powerful determinants of child attitudes and

The inquisitiveness and enthusiasm from children has encouraged me to work with young people. To become an excellent teacher, I know I must have the ambition to guide and support children to learn. This is something I learnt whilst on work placement at St Pancras Community Association (SPCA) working with children from 1-7 years and St Michael's primary school working with year 2 children.

Consider the range of positions included on the Early Childcare and Education Career Guide Web site. Looking only at the position titles and career areas (and not at the information provided on the links), explain two insights or conclusions that you can draw from this site about career possibilities within the early childhood field.

Is about creating a learning environment that is relevant to the experiences and cultures of the children.

As my experience working with children grows, I would like to gain the skills necessary to run a preschool program. I have worked primarily with infants and toddlers in the past few months, which has become a new focus of mine. Working with such young children allows me to have a productive impact on their cognitive development. This opportunity has been a great encouragement and I hope to run an infant-toddler program within a larger school. My more immediate goals are centered around gaining experiences in different facilities. By exposing myself to different programs and their unique styles, I will be able to see how different procedures, like those for resolving conflict, work for children. With time, these ideas would be integrated into my own program.

My first day in the kindergarten class all I did was basically get to know the children, the classroom, and what went on in the classroom. Going weekly to the kindergarten class allowed me to get comfortable with children and also create a bond with the children too. They began to share their likings and their background with me. I also explained to them why I was coming in their classroom twice a week; however, a lot of them thought it was my job and I was another teacher. Some children started to tell me that they wanted me to come everyday so I can help them,s but some still were a little shy around me. As time went by the children felt even more comfortable, and they started to share their lives at home. Some

In an early years work there are different settings that our suited to different families and children. This way parents can enrol their child into a setting that they would be more comfortable with. A few examples of different settings are; workplace nursery, pre-school, childminders.

As an early childhood professional, I believe that children learn best through play. The environment set up is crucial to the success of the children’s learning. There must be adequate space set up in a visually appealing manner meant to and peak the children’s interest and encourage exploration. There should be a variety of materials provided that are developmentally appropriate and safe as well as creatively stimulating. The classroom should be set up as a “yes” environment where children are encouraged to touch and explore all items at their level. All materials should be safe, clean, and able to be manipulated by the children. The classroom should be divided into different areas based on the interests and skills of the children and materials in these areas should be rotated on a regular basis to keep the

The Early Years Learning Framework describes play as a “context for learning” in which children make sense of their world (DEEWR, 2009, p.9). Play is essential for learning and development as it provides opportunities for children to express themselves creatively, construct new understandings, and develop relationships (Undiyaundeye, 2013). Play supports the student’s developmental domains such as; social, language, and creativity, cognitive, emotional and physical development. The National Quality Framework acknowledges the educator’s role as facilitator, in which they respond to student’s ideas, play and use intentional teaching to extend and scaffold each student learning (ACECQA, 2013, p. 40). Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory describes learning as a social activity, in which the child’s social and cognitive understanding is constructed through social interaction (Duchesne et al., 2013; Arthur et al., 2015). He believes that play occurs in a socio-cultural context and provides ‘Zone of Proximal’ development for a student in which they can behave beyond their age and act in ways that are not typical of their daily behavior. The educator at pre-primary structured the classroom to support and encourage interaction, for instance, the home corner, which consisted of multiple dining chairs and a range of resources for dramatic play. The pre-primary teacher took on the role as onlooker and mediator during the children’s play, interrupting their play to manage behavior issues,

This course was emphasized on learning through play and how children can learn to understand the world around them. When children engage in a new experiences and environments, it contributes to the developmental of social and emotional, and cognitive. Children’s play can also help children build confidence, develop social skills, develop physical skills, language and communication skills. Unstructured free play is one of the most important things we can do with the children.

The setting of my learning environment pertains to a child education center base for ages 2 to 5. My floor plan for my classroom provides ample space for different activities, as well as different types of interest centers for a variety of learning and play opportunities (Kaplan, 2016). My room will also be furnished with appropriate kid-friendly furniture that can hold at maximum 12 students. The physical domain, cognitive domain, affective domain, and developmental theorist all play apart of the making of my learning environment design.

What have you learned about the creation of a classroom set up for young children?