Response:
To begin with, "the traditional kindergarten approach" statement is what I find interesting. Recently, I had a conversation with a kindergarten teacher. She intimated that the implementation of the Common Core Standards is going to require the kindergarten environment to revert back to "play". Play in the sense of the teacher creating an environment that allows students to participate in or simulate authentic or real-life situations. Planned and unplanned situations that require creative thinking, problem-solving and collaboration. Hopefully, this means "gone are the redundant worksheets". It's disheartening to walk into a kindergarten classroom and see children sitting in their desks with stacks and stacks of worksheets that must be completed before they get to play.
Quote: " Too often, educational technologies are overly constrained, such as tutoring software for teaching algebra, or simulation software for modeling planetary motion in the solar system. Our goal is to provide
tools that can be used in multiple ways, leaving more room for children’s imagination."
Response:
This quote has made me think about some software programs that I use in a new light. It's true that a lot of software and programs associated with our text books are designed for repetitive practice of skills without much room for students to change or use in a creative manner. Maybe using software of this nature (the majority of the time) isn't the best way to promote critical thinking. So, I will definitely think about intended outcomes, besides regurgitation of information before using particular programs.
Quote: " 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. But as children grow older, educators and parents often talk about play dismissively, referring to activities as “just play,” as if play is separate and even in opposition to learning."
Response:
I believe the attitude about play being just play and not important in the learning process stems from the feeling of not having control or structure. Because play is not always specifically designed with defined or measured outcomes in some situations, some cannot easily observe the learning that is taking place. Educators are under an extreme amount of pressure in relation to standardized testing. It's my opinion that educators have to keep a pace that correlates with covering material before testing and this leaves little room for imagination. Some, K-2 teachers feel the pressure from colleagues that are teaching grade levels just above K-2 and feel the need to try to prepare students at an early age for testing. I make this comment based on witnessing comments such as, "We work hard in 3rd grade, you have to work harder in K-2 so it's not so hard to get them test ready".
Reference:
Resnick, M. (n.d.). All I Really Need to Know About Creative Thinking I Learned by Studying How Children in Kindergarten . Retrieved February 24, 2012, from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/kindergarten-learning-approach.pdf
Additional Resource:
I chose Play: It's the way young children learn mainly because it explains how play promotes success in school. For example:
"Using experimentation and logic
When children play with materials such as blocks, clay, sand, and water, they develop skills in logic. They experiment with cause and effect, with counting and sorting things and solving problems.
What you see:
- Children experiment with blocks to figure out how to build a stable structure
- Children count the number of cups needed for a “tea party”
- Children pour sand into different sized containers.
How it promotes school success:
This practice in experimenting, observing, comparing, and working with shapes, sizes, and quantities forms the basis for understanding math and science and for all higher-order thinking."
Reference:
Tepperman, J. (2007, May). Play: It's the way young children learn. In Children's Advocate. Retrieved February 24, 2012, from http://www.4children.org/issues/2007/may_june/play_itrsquos_the_way_young_children_learn/
Your second quote made me think about software programs differently also. You have to learn how to use the programs before you can learn the actual lesson. If students could create their own program to learn a particular lesson, I think it would have a result of a multiple learning process. Students would be able to use more imagination that involves critical thinking.
ReplyDeleteI think the key to incorporating more play into classroom is structured reflection. Teacher need to become astute "kid watchers" and ask good questions to help student see how their play is connected to content learning! This ultimately means that students really need to know the content so they can also see the connections! More fun than grading tests I think!
ReplyDeleteTeachers are so concerned about testing. I have never thought before about some third grade teachers pressuring K-2 teachers to prepare students for testing. We need to let our students be children as long as we can, and let them be creative in their own ways, learning as they go.
ReplyDeleteI can see where third grade teachers are pressuring K-2 teachers to prepare students for testing because third grade is when students begin taking the WESTEST and writing assessment. Although, I think the writing assessment is a joke. I subbed in a third grade class who was prepping for the writing assessment and I helped a student revise a paper where there where multiple spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors. They could check their scores on WV Writes, before the corrections the student had a four, after the corrections the students score went down to a three. I talked about this to one of the other third grade teachers and she said since it was computer scored it was looking for certain things, such as compound sentences and descriptive words. She said that one year a student in special education retyped the prompt and scored higher than some of the students who had been preparing for the test. It would seem with something that is given so much emphasis that they would have a better way to score.
ReplyDeleteThe first quote you used caught my attention entirely. Society and life is characterized by uncertainty and constant change. If the upper grade levels would take on more of a kindergarten style of teaching, then students would be better prepared for their future. Life is far from structured all the time; problems, enormous and minute, get thrown at you when you least expect or are least prepared. Being prepared to handle unorganized and unexpected events with appropriate thinking skills and actions is key for a successful future; implementing a kindergarten teaching style would promote learning, and ensure that students possess the tools they need to face the real world.
ReplyDeleteI also like your link; especially how it provides information from different viewpoints; giving examples of "what you see" and "how it promotes school success."