A personal philosophy of Early childhood Education
My philosophy of Early childhood education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness, and cultural heritage. A high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment, which promotes physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development will ensure a positive continuation of the child’s education process. The National Association for the Education of Young Children states that high quality, developmentally appropriate programs should be available for all children. Bredekamp, S., and T. Rosegrant. 1992. Reaching Potentials: Introduction.
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3 conceptual models that influence my philosophy of teaching: 1. John Dewey. What I find of interest in Dewey’s theory is that “ Childhood has ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling, peculiar to itself. http://www.marxists.org/archive/novack/works/1960/x03.htm Dewey advocated that the need to know comes from within the child. Each child has an innate curiosity that should be nurtured and developed. He believed that children learn by doing. This theory is beneficial in an early childhood setting as that it encourages children to explore areas of interest and to creatively expand the knowledge. 2. Jean Piaget: His research shows that children cognitively develop in stages. His theory is the foundation for constructivist learning. Piaget’s theory emphasizes discovery learning and supporting the developing interests of the child utilizing this theory in early childhood education I would I challenge the child's abilities, but not present material or information that is too far beyond the child's level. I would also use a wide variety of concrete experiences to help the child learn. 3. Maria Montessori: The Montessori method of teaching stresses that all children have similar needs regardless of social status or intellectual abilities. The Montessori Method is a way about thinking about who children are. It is a philosophy that respects the unique individuality of each child. By utilizing this method , the teaches does
Vygotsky and Piaget theories can apply to an Early Childhood classroom simply because most of their theories will benefit the teachers to use in their classroom. Vygotsky’s scaffolding is when teacher to show guidance towards their students so the students can have the ability to comprehend and think on their own. Solving problems and solution is a boundless to use in the classroom especially if the teachers need and want the children to prepare themselves for the real world. Piaget’s theory has the four stages of Cognitive ability. Thus it will benefit the teacher to use when they are observing the child thinking abilities with proper use of the assessment and difference of the child’s age. For an example if the teacher is teaching two years old she would want to look for make believe play, when a child likes to pretend they are a character from movie or book this stage is call Preoperational Stage. Teachers should observe the activities when the child is pretending to be Queen Elsa or Princess Anna.
Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson are very well known men for their different theories of development. Although each of them believe different things about how a child develops, I believe that a child can go through all of these theories and benefit from them. I also understand that not everyone is the same, and what might be true for someone could be different for someone else. In my own personal experience, I believe I went through and I’m going through all these different stages in theories throughout my life. I also work at a daycare and we use aspects from each of these theories when going about teaching children. The three different theories include: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Vygotsky;s sociocultural theory of
There are many different theories of development that help us to understand children’s behaviour, reactions and ways of learning. All equally important as they influence practice. To begin with there is Piaget’s constructivist theories which look at the way in which children seem to be able to make sense of their world as a result of their experiences and how they are active learners. He also suggested that as children develop so does their thinking. Piaget’s work has influenced early years settings into providing more hands on and relevant tasks for children and young people. In other words the children are ‘learning through play’. Teachers are working out the needs of children and plan activities accordingly.
Early childhood is a time of curiosity, a time for play, and a time of rapid development. Every child is unique and deserving of an early childhood education that facilitates academic, social, and developmental growth through a variety of enjoyable experiences. Differentiated instruction adapts content, products and processes to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of students (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). Friedrich Froebel, the creator of Kindergarten, believed that children grow and learn as they play (Bruno, 2009). Play-based instruction not only enables young learners to have fun, but it also encourages interactive and cooperative learning, passion for discovery, and a foundation for later learning experiences
Piaget – Cognitive Development - Observed his own children, plus others to develop his theories. His theory is broad and runs from birth to adolescence and includes concepts of language, scientific reasoning, moral development and memory. Piaget believed that children went
Piaget developed a workable theory that has had considerable implications for education, most notably for child-centred learning methods in nursery and infant schools. Piaget argued that young children think quite differently from adults so therefore the teacher should adapt the teaching methods to suit the child. For example, nursery school classrooms can provide children with play materials that encourage their learning. Using sets of toys that encourage the practice of sorting, grading and counting. Play areas, where children can develop role-taking skills through imaginative play. Materials like water, sand, bricks and crayons that help children make their own constructions and create symbolic representations of objects and people in their lives. A teacher’s role is to create the conditions in which learning may best take place.
My philosophy of Early childhood education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness, and cultural heritage. A high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment, which promotes physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development will ensure a positive continuation of the child’s education process
Many child development centers, preschools, and school programs are passed on Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory. When you combine the theory with teachers challenging a child’s ability without introducing concepts beyond their understand, hands on learning, field trips, art crafts, and games you have the perfect learning program for children.
Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget are two educational philosophers whose theories are still being used and influence today’s educational system. Their theories and methods were revolutionary for their times, but they came to be greatly respected. Both of these theorist developed their own stages of child development and were able to base education on these stages. Although in many ways Piaget and Montessori were very similar in their thinking they were also very different in their teaching approaches. Piaget and Montessori are two main players in the early childhood education field and based most of their ideas on their observations of children.
The developmental theories can not be more evident than during the out of class assignment at the daycare facility. During this independent assignment, I was able to observe and interact with pre-school children in an environment that is both encouraging and facilitating to a child’s developmental growth. So, just as Piaget in his developmental theory believed that children takes an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world; the pre-school teachers allowed them to do just that. Indeed, the teachers at the day care provided room for the child to learn and explore while at the same time adhering to a structure that set boundaries and limitations. Thus, the pre-school children, begrudgingly, learns to follow a meticulous schedule of activities and rest.
Piaget and Vygotsky both believed that young children actively learn from their hands-on, day-to-day experiences. Jean Piaget portrayed children as "little scientists" who go about actively constructing their understanding of the world. His theories hold the essence of developmentally appropriate curriculum since Piaget believed that children undergo cognitive development in a stage-based manner, such that a very young child would not think about things the same way that an adult might. He referred to the knowledge and the manner in which the knowledge is gained as a schema. In order to build on the cognitive stages that children experience, informal learning opportunities, formal instructional sessions, and the utilized curriculum must all dovetail with a child's current cognitive stage so that assimilation of the new knowledge may occur. Working with what the child knows and experiences, parents and teachers create bridges to the next cognitive stage that are characterized by the child's accommodation. Piaget argued that optimal learning took place in this manner and that adults should avoid thinking that they can accelerate a child's development through the age-based, maturity-referenced stages. This is because a child works toward establishing an equilibrium between the assimilation and application of new knowledge and changing their behavior to accommodate their newly adopted schemas.
The success of the Montessori method depends on how the environment us set up, it is essential that it is prepared and simplified for the students’ understanding.
During my interview with Ms. Jenkins, a preschool teacher in a Head Start classroom explained that her students were between the age of 4 and 5. Soon after I asked Ms. Jenkins which of the developmental theories does her classroom practices reflect? Her response was “According to Jean Piaget’s theory on early childhood briefly states that not all children of the same age will have acquired the same level of development. The appropriate practice I implement to first assess each child then based on the information I am able to identify the manner in which to create differentiated instructions for each of the activities. I also do a lot of one to one and peer group activities based on the children’s interest throughout
Child Development is a text book based upon children’s development looking at all issues, influences and theories. The section of the book that I am referring too looks into detail the likes of Jean Piaget’s and Lev Vygotsky’s perspectives, in relation to cognitive development. In the book, Piaget’s developmental theory was described as a constructive approach, this refers to the ways we build our own understanding of the world around us and how we fit into it.
Montessori Method is a view of how children learn and develop, which Dr. Montessori translated into a systematic method of education based on her observations and scientific study. It is unique in that it has withstood the test of time and transcended boundaries and boarders. It has been used effectively with all children including children with learning differences, physically handicapped and the gifted in different countries around the world. There are 45,000 Montessori schools worldwide. All high-fidelity Montessori programs use the same materials and teaching strategies.