Refection Three - How to Transfer Water into Sandpit

When children face problems, they always go ask the adults for help. Sometimes, some people will help children to solve the problems straight away. In my opinion, children do have their ability to solve all the problems. Teacher can guide, assist and support them in the center, but I don’t like to ask children to follow my thinking. Experience knowledge and problem solving is a part of learning technology. Adults’ understanding of scientific principles supporting technology is limited our ability to scaffold children’s learning and development in technological area (Smori, S., 1999, p.3).

Teachers should provide opportunities for children to explore the technological difficulties. Because children can get knowledge from the technological experience: get some of the life technology and mathematic principles. Children do have their ability to make their own decisions, choices and solve their own problems (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.84).  Teachers can help children to develop the attitude that not knowing and being uncertain, it’s a part of being a questioner. If they keep asking and keep their curiosity, it will help them to be good learners. 

Once in my center, children were playing in the sandpit in a sunny day. It was very hot. Some of the children asked me to bring them some water; they want to have water play in the sandpit. I agreed, but I found the water pipe is too short to reach the sandpit. They were sad. Actually, we got some short plastic pipelines in the sandpit toy box. I got a good idea. I asked the children if it is possible for us to make a long water pipe by ourselves? I asked them to find some material and tools for me. They can choose anything that they thought could be possible for transferring water.

Child A brought me a span which is long but can’t contain any water; child B brought me a basket, that is a useful tool for transferring liquid; child C rolled a tire to me, that was confused me; finally, child D & E brought me two short plastic pipes which I needed.

At the beginning, some of the children were using baskets to collect water, but we only have one tap in the garden. It couldn’t serve too many children at the same time. I asked child D & E, why they thought the plastic pipe could help. They said they look like the water pipes; child E said I got these pipes in my house too. I asked another question, how could we make the plastic one to connect with the water pipe. “Put the water in the plastic pipes! I can do that”, E said.  He put the sprinkler head (of the water pipe) into the plastic pipe directly, and he was holding the connecting point. I encouraged child D to turn on the water tap to see if it does work. Everyone was carefully watching the water run through the plastic pipe into the sandpit. It’s a really good technological exploration.

Children developed the ability to represent their discoveries, using creative and expressive media and the technology associated with them (Smori, S., 1999, p.4).

Children present their self-ability in problem solving.  And children learn to co-operate with each other in a job, which is wonderful and successful. “Children developed the knowledge that playing with ideas and materials, with no objective in mind, can be enjoyable, creative, and valid approach to learning” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.84). I will continue to encourage the children in exploring the technological experience in the early childhood settings. For example, use a tire to make a swing or planting trees. I think children will achieve an all-around development, and also get high-quality education through the technological experience.

Reference:

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. New Zealand: Learning    Media

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Dockett, S., Farmer, S., & Death, E. (2008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning.

Smori, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10

Reflection Two - Experience Cooking in Early Childhood Center

Technology is about helping people and solving problems, it’s not just mean for digital technology, and also included non-digital technology in our life. “Technology is a creative and purposeful activity aimed at meeting needs and opportunities through the development of products, systems or environments (Smori, S., 1999, p.1). All of the knowledge of solving problems could be a part of the technology.

Teachers always make monthly plans for children. And we made a focus on food recently. That was a good chance to show how can we use food in different ways. It’s really excited because children can make their own food. This could be their first experience of cooking. The cooking experience also helped them with their communication skills, problem-solving skills, social and co-operative skills. Teachers can plan activities that extend children’s interests. Equipment should be provided for scientific, mathematical, and technological learning (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.83). So I prepared the tools for them, just like bowls, eggs, volume-cup and spoons.

Through the processing of making muffins, children followed the instruction very well. They helped me to measure the oil and milk, and they helped with adding ingredients into the bowl. They use the spoon to mix the ingredients one by one. It’s so good to see children sharing the things together and they showed me a beautiful conversation. Child A said to child B:” Be careful don’t get the flour on your new T-shirt”; and another child asked me:” Excuse me, may I have a turn please? I want to help you”. It’s lovely to see children being gently and nicely talking. It’s a very good experience of learning communication skills, co-operation akills and social skills.

The most important part of learning technology in this activity is how they helped me to measure the volume of oil, milk and flour. First, I read them the instruction of the receipt; Second, I showed them how to read the volume on the cup; and then, children started to measure the ingredients. They were very carefully doing that, although the milk bottle was too heavy for them. Children pulled the milk out to a smaller cup first, and then measure it by the volume cup. That’s a really good idea. It’s also a good learning to transfer the milk from a big heavy bottle into a small volume cup.

Children also learnt to break the eggs. One child just broke the egg by his two hands. Obviously, it didn’t work very well. Another child said we might use the spoon. She asked me to hold the egg for her, she use the spoon knock, knock, knock on the shell gently. She knocked the egg three times and broke open the egg successfully.  Children develop and test ideas and solutions as they explore and make sense of their world (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.98). I saw children were thinking. They solved the problem by themselves.

As a teacher, I should create a nutrient and supportive environment for children. I always follow children’s interests and opinions. Give them more opportunities for them to think by themselves. I am the role to assist them to solve the problem or make the decision, but I don’t want to instead of them. “The experience of cooking processed a technological system, developed, used and adapted by early childhood service to meet children’s learning needs. It’s a creative and purposeful activity to produce food” (Smori, S., 1999, p.2).

Here is relevant video on Youtube for you to have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PbyN1HTSy0

Reference:

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. New Zealand: Learning    Media

Smori, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10

REFLECTION ONE

Reelection One: Digital Technology in Early Childhood Centers

Nowadays, televisions, CD-players and computers are widely used in the early childhood centers in New Zealand.  How the high technology helps with children’s development? How the teachers use the high technologies in teaching? Discovered in the Te Whariki and New Zealand Curriculum, here I made a link to Te Whariki: children use a variety of technologies for different purposes as they explore their world (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.98). “Technology is associated with the transformation of energy, information, and materials” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.32).

In my center, children have a variety of technology materials to explore. Teachers just put the computer keyboard, displayed-camera, and cell-phone models on the floor that children can easily reach. It’s common to see the teacher using CD-players or DVD-player in the center. I noticed that a lot of children know how to use the digital tools. They know the button in the middle top can make the CD-player work and they can enjoy the songs. Nobody told children how to use it, how did they learn that? In fact, children recorded the action in their mind when teachers were using the CD-player -- push the button in the middle. Technology is everywhere in our life. Teachers and adults are bringing technology into children’s world. We provide more and more opportunities for them to learn about the high technology. Dockett and Fleer (1999) indicate that modelling can provide important cues to children seeking to enter play, but unsure how to do this (Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Dockett, S., Farmer, S., & Death, E, 2008, p.328).

Each room has an inner-line, when the phone is ringing children would be exciting. Some of the children will remind and ask me to answer the phone. Once a child said, “The phone, the phone is ringing, that could be my mummy”. Because the child’s mummy was in traffic jam that day, he thought his mummy would give the teachers a call to explain why she was late. That’s very interesting. I was supervised that, the child noticed how does the phone working in our life. Obviously, he knows cell-phone/phone is a very convenient communication tool we used to chat with the person far away from us. It is true that, technology is a part of our life now. And technology is changing our life in this age. I believed that children have the ability to represent their discoveries, using creative and expressive media and the technology associated with them (Smori, S., 1999, p.4).

I still remember when I first met Child D and his mother in the center. D cried a lot, because he just came from America and that was his first in the center. It was very hard for both of D and his mother. After D’s sleep, I told D I would play game with him; I wanted to choose him as my model, because I need some lovely photos and video to share at the mat time. D agreed to do that. I used the camera to record D’s happy first day in our big room and shared with the children.D assistant me at the mat time, he clicked mouse to turn the pictures on the computer for me. D also helped to laminate his own photo. When his mother arrived in the afternoon, I shared the photos that D was climbing on the monkey and riding a motorbike, and a video that D joined our game with the other children. D’s mother was very happy to see the video. I think in this case, the digital technology helps teacher to record children’s special and important moments in the centers; and build up a good and trusted relationship between the new comers’ families. Children will get more confident in the center for the transition from home to center, which will help children’s development. Through this experience D learnt to use technology in the center, and experienced how technology works for his development. Children learn to critique the impact of technology on societies and the environment (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.34).

In conclusion, children get more benefits from the technology today. They can watch interesting videos on TV; they can listen and dance with their favorite music  by a CD-player; they can use computer and cell-phones to contact with the person who is far away from them. Technology is changing our life, and children will also be influenced. Use the technology with teachers' help in the center, which assists children's development. 

Reference:

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. New Zealand: Learning    Media

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Dockett, S., Farmer, S., & Death, E. (2008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning.

Smori, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education.   


Tsantis, L., Bewick, C., & Thornton, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computers in the early years. Young Children on the Web, November 2003, 1-9.