Introduction

For my assessment I have been asked to reflect on my reading experience of educational contexts. For my assessment I have talked about four different contexts. Forest schools, Foundation Phase, Learning in other contexts and Montessori.

Each of these four contexts I am going to put in to four different blogs. Each of them will explain some facts about the subject and any experiences as well. I have researched all of my four contexts and have either referenced them or added a source section at the bottom of each of the four posts.

I have included pictures in my work as well as hyperlinks to the sources I have used and have tried to make it as interesting as possible for a reflective blog.

Montessori

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was born in Chiatavale, Italy in 1870. Montessori was the first teacher to mention the importance of the first six years of a child’s life. Leraning in these six years and creating a solid foundation can optimise their future with both learning attitudes towards the social side of life and learning.
Setting up her first school in 1906 it became the first Montessori school, the children’s house called Casa dei Bambini.

Montessori schools help every child to reach his/her potential because it is essential. Developing her own resources, Montessori helped to encourage children to learn and make education fun for them.

Some of her methods are still used today in current Montessori schools throughout the UK and encouraging the children to make sure they look after the utilities supplied, gives them the opportunity to use what the want to in the classroom as long as it is looked after and put away after the child has finished with it.

“Montessori saw that children learn best by doing and that happy self-motivated learners form positive images of themselves as confident, successful people. She created specially designed resources to foster independence and a love for learning from an early age.”(Montessori)



Learning Environment child size
 and ergonomically designed

The key principles in a Montessori school are as follows:

•         Freedom
•         The work cycle and cycle of activity
•         Vertical grouping
•         Control of error
•         Scaffolding
•         Observation and assessment
•         Promoting self discipline in Montessori environments.

 “The Montessori approach is holistic and aims to develop the whole child. Fundamental to the approach is the belief that a child's early years from birth to six are the period when they have the greatest capacity to learn.” (Montessori)

Montessori has a lot of similarities compared to the foundation phase. Both having outdoor learning, both involving play and lifetime skills etc. However Montessori can have its advantages because the learning groups are a lot smaller meaning teachers that have been trained and teach in the Montessori schools are more able to help and assist a child when needed.

A difference also between the Foundation phase and Montessori schools is that the age range and groups are mixed (Vertical Graphing). They do not have set years with set ages so the children grows older whilst still giving them option means that can gain foundation for positive learning in their own environment, their own way.

Also in Montessori the time is more flexible. The child can pick and choose when they want their break and lunch meaning that they choose when they want to learn. It can be a positive thing because the children become more responsible for their actions.

 Montessori schools optimise a Childs learning and give them the head start to the education that they need. Building the foundations of learning in early years can give them a better attitude towards learning later on in life.

 

Sources

http://www.montessori.org.uk/what_is_montessori

 

Learning in Other Contexts

Learning in other contexts other than a class room can bring many new opportunities. Giving you the opportunity to explore the history of a place i.e. historic museum, can help you to gain a better understanding in a given subject.

“Learning in different contexts relies on many of the same skills that you’re developing in your academic studies, but applied to new areas of endeavour. Recognising and communicating the transferability of many of these academic skills is a task itself, but one that is still part of the university experience.” (Sheffield University)

As part of an assessment the task was to go and explore the Egypt centre and to talk about how children can learn about Egypt. This had to be presented in groups in a presentation PowerPoint. Choosing the Egypt centre gave me the opportunity to explore something different. Teaming up with two other course members, we set out and visited the Egypt centre to obtain information.

 

When at the centre we found out that it has three core functions. The core functions are:

•         Preservation of the collection
•         Education
•         Widening participation

All of these help to gain an understanding and encourages children to learn through a variety of ways.

•         Preservation of the museum is important because without the collection of artefacts, the museum would not exist. This is a good thing because it allows the children to look at the artefacts that are being preserved to know what different items looked like in the Egyptian times.
•         With education, it is designed so learning for all takes place and ensures that the collection is suitable for all ages and abilities to get involved. Including teaching, learning and research also helps you acquire skills and inspiration.
•         Education in the Egypt Centre also relates to staff and volunteer training but is also good for personal development because it gets everybody involved which can encourage people to become interested in a given task.

Whilst at the Egypt Centre we discovered that it welcomes individuals, school parties and organised group visits of all ages and abilities. They also do themed workshops and activities for children and adults throughout the year.

It is good from an educational perspective because it has a good sense of history. Also it gives a different way of learning which is exciting and interesting and the staff and volunteers offer information and give you an insight to the collection and Egyptian life.

Having opportunities like this to go and gain an understanding of a certain subject makes learning more interesting and fun. Giving children an opportunity to go and leave the class room to go on trips to places such as museums will gain their attention because it is something different and it engages them in learning, because it is exciting.


Sources

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/studentskills/tash/learning/contexts/index

Foundation phase - Framework for Children’s learning for 3 to 7-year-olds in Wales

The foundation phase plays a very important role in the early years of a child from age 3-7. It enables children to learn through play rather than just sitting at a desk. Being able to learn through play allows children to use their imagination and allows them to take part in play with others through interaction. Having the resources available to do this are important.

“Children learn through first-hand experiential activities with the serious business of ‘play’ providing the vehicle.” (Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7-year-olds in Wales 2008)

The foundation phase links in with the national curriculum at key stage 2. Having the focus on the development of skills, knowledge and understanding, the children will be able to be successful both through key stage 2 and in their further education as these skills are essential.

In the foundation phase, there are seven areas of learning:
•       Personal and Social Development, Well-Being and Cultural Diversity;
•       Language, Literacy and Communication Skills;
•       Mathematical Development;
•       Knowledge and Understanding of the World;
•       Physical Development ;
•       Creative Development;
•       Welsh Language Development

 All these areas of learning come together to form the foundation phase. But the way in which they work is by getting the children to ‘learn by doing’ rather than trying to teach them sitting at desks. Getting them more actively involved means they’ll pay more attention and grasp things with a lot more understanding.

Encouraging children to use their imagination allows them to learn in a way that they find easiest. Having personal and social development as the main focus allows children to interact and learn with other people.

Although it’s aim to enhance the child’s standards of achievement, The Foundation Phase needs to allow them to have a lot more opportunities to learn in a way that provides challenge and motivation as this can enhance their thinking skills, which of course can be applied to other subjects throughout their education.

“For children with disabilities in particular, they should:

•  improve access to the curriculum

• make physical improvements to increase participation in education

•Provide information in appropriate formats.” (Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7-year-olds in Wales 2008)

You can see that children with disabilities can be included a lot more and get actively involved with everyone else. From this they can gain more confidence in themselves and not feel ‘different’ because they are being included. It can improve and emphasises their personal and social development and it can, for them, make education and the learning environment a fun place to be.

The Foundation Phase, still recently new is lays the ‘foundations’ to a fun and exciting. Role Play being a key factor makes learning for children different, in a fun way, and allowing them to explore the outer world and to understand the rules of social behaviour that are needed. It also allows them to enhance and extend their development.

Forest Schools

Forest schools have revolutionised the way in which children can learn. Giving them the opportunity to explore the outdoors forestry enables them to grasp and understanding learning methods in their own way. Allowing them to explore and try out new things not only makes learning fun for them, but can build on their confidence and allow them to gain and learn new skills such as, personal, social, health and emotional skills.

 “With over 100 Forest schools in England, 20 in Scotland and 20 in Wales, this concept is growing cross Britain. Forest school involves Children having Regular Contact with woodland over and extended period of time. It allows them to become familiar, and have contact, with the natural environment.” (O‘Brien, Learning outdoors: Approach)

The outdoor environment often needs team work rather than just individuals working by themselves to achieve objectives and for tasks to be completed but sometimes allowing the children to explore the outdoors on their own can give them the opportunity to enhance their learning by thinking for themselves.

Since the first forest school being created in 2000, many children’s education has improved and attendance levels have improved drastically because it is a fun and exciting thing to do. It also helps with behaviour. Allowing the children to get involved, give their own input and taking part in activities proves that you get results as genuine enthusiasm and interests’ gains good behaviour.

Allowing the children to play outdoors in the forestry also gives them more opportunities, because unlike their parents who could play outdoors all the time, there is a worry for health and safety with a lot more traffic on the road than what there would have been 25 years ago.

The good thing about outdoor learning is that it focuses on the learning and not the performance of the child. This is an advantage because it doesn’t single anyone out on terms of performance because they can’t do it. It gives every child and equal and fair opportunity.

“This type of approach focuses on learning by doing, with teachers posing questions to the children while they engaged in carrying out activities in order to promote child reasoning” (O‘Brien, Learning outdoors: Approach,p.47)

 Running the program is also the key. By running it weekly or fortnightly enables skills to be transferred and developments to become established in to the children’s everyday lives. This gives them a head start on building and strengthening the skills needed in higher education and as they grow into adults.

 

“Each time your children leave the woods they will take something with them to encourage parental interest and communicative interaction (continuation of the review process). This will also lead to enhanced communication within school, with friends as well as with parents or guardians.” (Forestschools.com)

 

This shows that the children become a lot more interested on learning because they are not confined to a classroom, stuck sat a desks all day. It is fun, enhances and defines the skills needed in later life and improves the child’s education drastically.

Sources

http://www.forestschools.com/what-happens-at-a-forest-school/

 http://www.tandfonline.com.v-ezproxy.smu.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1080/03004270802291798