High Stakes Testing Essay

According to Anthony & Walshaw, (2009) within a constructivist view, it is a teacher’s role to facilitate the learning of a child by providing a resource rich environment from which they guide a students learning. A student within a constructivist-learning environment must become engaged in the learning process by becoming a researcher, identifying a problem, collecting and analysing data and formulating a conclusion. This process of engagement provides a student with endless opportunity to develop his or her own understanding and knowledge. An educators ability to understand this learning theory as a process of construction and development provides a conceptual framework from which to build a teaching practice.

The center actively reflects the diversity that makes communities rich and complex, open to diversity and continuous improvement, it values the importance of play-based programs. All of our high-quality programs are based on current research and are planned by our experienced and qualified early childhood staff. The play-based programs provide a wide range of active and meaningful experiences that incorporate choice for children while enabling them to experience many of the educational elements that are important at school. These include developing understandings about:

Learning is possible when children are provided a high-quality environment. Early childhood educators will set an environment that promotes curiosity and encourages children to explore their environment. Children are able to learn through hands on experiences. “Hands-on learning is the most effective way young children make sense of their environment and form their own understanding of how the world works” (Browne, 2013. P.130). I believe that children learn through play. “Play is a natural way for children around the world to express themselves and is a basic need of children throughout their school year” (Browne, 2013. P.132). We can effectively provide this environment by emphasizing on providing children a

In early childhood education, lessons should be prepared to meet children’s needs through the use exploratory play, guided discovery, problem solving, and critical thinking. I seek ways to differentiate instruction and provide different teaching styles to reach students of all abilities and intelligence. I believe that students in an early childhood setting should be exposed to social interaction, cooperative learning, hands-on experiences, and real-life applications. Early childhood classrooms should have plenty of books for children to get exposed to enriching texts and literacy at an early age. I believe that in early childhood settings, teachers need to teach about values learn honesty, kindness, cooperation, patience, and respect to be positive role models in society. I seek to develop close relationships with my students, and their families and provide an environment where they feel welcomed and

My philosophy of children’s learning relies heavily within the aspects of the cognitive developmental philosophy, Piaget’s framework, which is grounded within all realms of development in early childhood. The cognitive based philosophy highlights a program that encourages students to build knowledge in an atmosphere molded around active exploration. This approach captures learning with enriching materials, filled with opportunities to engage with other classmates through socialization, play, and most importantly communication. The cognitive based philosophy facilitates programs which promote inquisitiveness, exploration, and problem solving, within a climate of respect, encouragement, and love. The educators plan explorations which are

Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood Classrooms. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 15(4), 977-1006. doi:10.12738/estp.2015.4.2741

Today in early childhood education, there are not only standards; there are content standards, performance standards and early learning standards (Feeney, Galper, & Seefeldt, 2009) all of which play a role in program design and curriculum implementation. There is a big push in the last few years for “school readiness” and programs are struggling to find a balance between curriculum that meets this goal while also focusing on the importance of play and following the child’s interests and understanding their abilities.

Since I took early childhood education courses at Mission College, I have changed my point of view into play when I have learned important lessons about the play is play can foster children in most of the domain. In the scholarly article, “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds” written by Ginsburg. The author stated, “Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. The play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children” (Ginsburg, 2007, n.p). Therefore, as a young mother, and an early childhood education, I need to create a positive environment, and child-center learning is one of methods I will apply in the classroom. I also make sure to provide enough time, materials, space, and opportunity to help children actively involved in the learning process and promote children’s learning through

In young children’s stages of early learning play is a crucial element as it has been acknowledged by early childhood education theorists such as Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel. Current research has and is further documenting the value of play in early childhood education. Research has shown, however, that play activities integrated into early learning programs can be a powerful medium for young children's exploration of many of everyday life and concepts. Play is the foundation for early childhood pedagogy, and; thus is cause for further research in areas of how young children benefit from quality play-based early learning programs. Also, it is critical to show the need for action to be taken in communities where disadvantaged families with young children may not have access to such quality programs

Frustratingly, the curriculum that is released from your government is having an impact on early education as you continuously push for school-testing and assessments, causing a unique child-centred education to change into preparing our early years children for school (Bradbury, 2012; Moss, 2012). Smail (2014) stresses that by valuing the experiences of the children they will be valued as a person, rather than a child in a government run assessment game. Rogers (2013) also supports this statement, as he argues that play has become increasingly imperative to improve adult-determined outcomes, rather than considering the aspects children find important (Northared et al, 2015). (Need to expand on the points I am trying to make here).

In terms of the physical domain, research substantiates play as a valuable contributing factor to a child’s development. Play supports the development of both fine and gross motor skills within the physical domain. Children fine tune their ability to run, jump, skip, climb, and throw through

Have you ever stopped to think about the importance that preschool plays in your child’s life? We may tend to think that preschool is a time for our children to interact and play with other children their own age. What we may not think about is just how important preschool years are academically as well. Many studies have shown that the preschool years lay the foundation for better academic readiness and social development in children as they get older (Hines, McCartney, Mervis, & Wible, 2011, as cited by Weisberg, Hirsh-Pasek, & Golinkoff, 2013). Many preschool teachers build this foundation through two methods of teaching: direct instruction and free play. But what if there is a better way for teachers to mold the minds of our young children that promotes even more readiness and development?

In the early childhood sector the constructivist approach is one of the theories that undergirds the curriculum. However, its notion of applying group work is not

Two psychologists have different perspectives on the constructivist learning theory because Jean Piaget believes that children begin to develop intellectually by adaptations and organization through individual experiences. Contrastly, Lev Vygotsky's believes that children should be guided during learning experiences and be taught to “ reflect on inconsistency and to change their conceptions through communication” (“Learning Theory-Constructivist

Constructivism is rooted from philosophy just like sociology, ethnography and cognitive psychology. Already in the eighteenth century, the German philosopher Kant believed that a child’s learning was an interaction between the developing child and the environment. He believed that children constructed their own knowledge and understanding about things. This is a constructivist view of how children learn (Bruce, Meggitt & Grenier 2010). The child-centered constructivist approach to early childhood education has its