Double-Entry Journal #5

Double-Entry Journal #5

Before I begin the actual quote section of this DEJ #5, all I have to say about that article is, "Wow!" Because I have an A.A.S in Early Childhood Education, and a B.S. in Family & Consumer Science, Child Development Specialization, this article really hits home for me. There are so many sentences in the article that I could've turned into quotes, and incorporated into this blog in one fashion or another. As an Early Childhood Educator, we believe solely in play as learning. But, that simply doesn't mean that all children do is play. 

"Today, more and more kindergarten children are spending time filling out phonics worksheets and memorizing math flashcards. In short, kindergarten is becoming more like the rest of school. In my mind, exactly the opposite is needed: Instead of making kindergarten like the rest of school, we need to make the rest of of school (indeed, the rest of life) more like kindergarten." (Resnick, p. 1) ... I couldn't be more ecstatic to have found a quote such as this in an article, and I really couldn't agree more. I have worked in many different preschools, and have seen some that are run exactly like today's kindergarten classroom, where children do worksheet, upon worksheet, upon worksheet. But, then there are those AMAZING classrooms that you never want to leave, like Pierpont's Laboratory Preschool. I have been a part of the lab preschool for my entire duration of college here at Fairmont State, which has been a short four years. I've seen multiple teachers go through the classroom, but the two teachers that are in there now, are the best preschool teachers I've seen in the longest time. You never know what you'll find the children doing when you walk into the classroom on any given day.

Resnick, M. All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thnking) I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) In Kindergarten. Retrieved February 23, 2012.

While there may be some academic basis to the lab preschool, they mainly focus on a Creative Curriculum, learning through play, and also incorporate Reggio-Emilia into the classroom. The activities that are done in the classroom are based on the children's interest. A few weeks ago, the children's main interest was playing the game "Angry Birds," so what did they do? They simply played Angry Birds. Now, I don't mean they sat around on iPhones, iPods, and iPads. No, they used blocks to create structures like those found in the game, and would take turns running up to it, and trying to knock it over, sort of like what is found in the game. But, the teachers took it to a whole new level. They incorporated letter recognition - you had to say the letter that the teacher held up before you could attempt to knock down the structure, and also math, talking about how many blocks were used, how many times it took to knock it over, how tall the structure was, etc. Just like the article discussed, these children were using their imagination in the classroom.

I found an article on play, done by the Chicago Tribune. I actually found this article a few weeks ago when I was working on homework for another class. The discussion posting was on play. This article discusses the importance of play within the preschool classroom. I know the article we read for this DEJ talks primarily about the kindergarten classroom, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add an article to this journal that discusses the importance of play. The article for this DEJ tries to show the importance of having play, creativity, imagination, etc, used in the classroom beyond a preschool or kindergarten level.

Kantzavelos, M. (2002, March 1). Preschool Use Play As Teaching Tool. Retrieved February 4, 2012, from Chicago Tribue: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-03-03/news/0202280368_1_nursery-sand-table-lab-schools

"In traditional kindergartens, children are constantly designing, creating, experimenting, and exploring. Two children might start playing with wooden blocks; over time, they build a collection of towers. A classmate sees the towers and starts pushing his toy car between them. But the towers are too close together, so the children start moving the towers further apart to make room for the cars. In the process, one of the towers falls down. After a brief argument over who was at fault, the start talking about how to build a taller and stronger tower. The teacher shows them pictures of real-world skyscrapers, and they notice that the bottoms of the buildings are wider than the tops. So they decide to rebuild their block toward with a wider base than before." (Resnick, p. 1) ... I know this is more of a paragraph than a chapter, but I see this every time I step foot into the lab preschool. You constantly see structures that the children have built with blocks, and then you see them being added on to, taken apart and rebuilt, etc.

Last week while I was in the lab school, the children had made a sort of ramp out of slanted wooden blocks. The coolest part about this entire structure, which I wish I had pictures of, was that they were using it as a ski slope... or snowboard, as one of the boys called it. With the help of the teacher, the children used rectangular blocks, and "snowboarded" down the structure. Being 21 years old, it looked like an amazing idea, but I thought I'd stay with my two feet firmly planted on the ground because I didn't want to break an arm or a hip. These children "snowboarded" down this ramp structure for HOURS. Some of the parents walked in and were first completely shocked that the teachers would let their children do this, but then eased into the idea of it, once they saw a teacher was standing there and holding the children, and also after the teachers and children explained what was going on. Throughout the few hours that I was there, I saw more blocks added to it, some taken away, and sometimes the structure was damaged and needed to be rebuilt. Then, one of the children got a great idea. Instead of having to climb onto the wooden rectangular block as it was scooting down the ramp, he decided he was going to be a flat platform behind the very first block to make it so they could climb on on a flat surface and then "snowboard" down. His idea worked amazingly, and all the children were happy that they could actually get on the block before it started sliding down the ramp. He used his creativeness to come up with a way to climb onto the block without it sliding.

"This is where, in my opinion, digital technologies can play a transformational role in education. I believe that digital technology, if properly designed and supported, can extend the kindergarten approach, so that learners of all ages can continue to learn in the kindergarten style - and, in the process, continue to develop as creative thinkers." (Resnick, p. 2) ... This quote sort of goes along with my Action Research project for this semester. I love technology, and use it every day, including right this second, since I'm using my laptop, the internet, and a blog to do my homework. Children love technology too, which is how I came to figure out a question for my AR topic. My question being answered is "Are children more likely to engage in mathematical functions if technology is incorporated?" Well, since most children like technology and enjoy using it, I'm hoping the answer to this question is simply, yes.

Just like the quote says, ". . . I believe that digital technologies, if properly designed and supported, can extend the kindergarten approach . . ." I'm hoping to find out whether children's mathematical knowledge is heightened when the iPad is incorporated. The only limit to this quote is whether there are guidelines for the amount of time children can spend using technology in the classroom? I know in the preschool classroom, children are only allowed to have 15 minutes of "technology" time. This is a state-mandated licensing regulation. Our laboratory preschool on campus doesn't have a computer at the children's disposal. However, the teacher does use her laptop to show videos that go along with the lesson or activity that the children are interested in, and she also has a kindle for reading, and they're waiting for two iPads. The only technology component that the children have at their disposal are digital cameras for taking pictures.

"Piaget famously proclaimed that 'play is the work of children.' Certainly, play has been an integral part of the traditional kindergarten approach to learning, and most adults recognize the importance of providing young children with opportunity to play." (Resnick, p. 3) ... I couldn't agree more with this quote, except for one specific part. The very last sentence that says, ". . . most adults recognize the importance of providing young children with opportunity to play." I've never found a parent that didn't have an EC or FACS degree that knew why play was best for children. When I worked in a child care center of the summer there were numerous times when I heard, "I don't know why teachers can't provide my child with worksheets for learning letters and numbers. Why do they have to play all day? They're not learning anything academic." ... And, every time I heard it, I cringed. Contrary to what the quote says, most parents don't understand why all their child does at school is play. I hear it in the lab school every year when the program starts. And, the teacher's explanation is always the same, "play is children's work." Because, simply put, that's exactly what play is to the child.

If public school systems incorporated play into the daily classroom, beyond kindergarten, there might be a rise in the attendance rate, the test scores, and the drop out rate, simply because we don't enjoy sitting at a desk, reading out of a book, and taking notes on a daily basis. We are born to play. We like to play. We also like to play with technology. I loved this article, and just had to throw in that last quote, simply because I love Piaget and stand behind everything he stood for, but I didn't agree with the last part of the quote. If all of my classes were more like this Game Design & Learning Class, I'd be over the moon. I think the incorporation of play, such as playing Gardens of Time, and the use of technology, Blogger, Scratch, etc, drives people to become involved.

Bibliography

Kantzavelos, M. (2002, March 1). Preschool Use Play As Teaching Tool. Retrieved February 4, 2012, from Chicago Tribue: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-03-03/news/0202280368_1_nursery-sand-table-lab-schools

Resnick, M. All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thnking) I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) In Kindergarten. Retrieved February 23, 2012.