As a teacher of young children I am aware of the need to involve parents in child’s educational and developmental process. Each parent is an expert and a valuable partner when it comes to identifying and meeting their child’s needs. As I reflect on my teaching practices, I make sure tha I provide a variety of opportunities for parents as well as family members to participate in activities and experiences planned for their child. By valuing parents’ involvement in the total education of their children, it shows my competence in meeting Standard IV.…
A study conducted by Soltero-Ruiz (2013) examined the perceptions of kindergarten teachers regarding the readiness skills necessary for academic and social success for students entering kindergarten. This study used a quantitative survey to interview 30 public school teachers, six of which also participated in a qualitative interview following the survey. Through the results of this study, it can be noted that out of five primary readiness skills: social skills, literacy skills, academic skills, behavioral skills, and social-emotional skills, 14/30 teachers ranked behavioral skills as being the most important skill for entering kindergarteners followed by social and literacy skills tied with five votes each, social-emotional skills with four votes, and academic skills with only one vote as being the most important skill. One teacher opted to write…
The theory I am associated with is the sociocultural theory. My theory is believed kids interact with their parents and their teacher and also through society. I also believe in the zone of proximal development, which is the skills, knowledge, and also the concepts that kids are close to learning, but has not yet understood without help.…
When assessing and observing a child's development at my setting there are many factors that I need to take into account.…
Firstly, when looking at best practice strategies in our setting it is evident that a number of theorists have had much impact on how we interact and engage children in their learning and development. Theorists focused on cognitive development such as Piaget and Vygotsky stressed the importance of the social environment in helping children realise their potential. Whilst behaviourists like Skinner believed that children learn/develop through consequences and reinforcements after an initial behaviour.…
Williams has taken to assist in creating gains in student achievement is to institute data board meetings at each grade level. As part of the PLC process, teachers gather data about students’ specific learning needs and meet together weekly to analyze this data together. Initial screening is done early in the year to establish a base line for each student’s level of learning. Teachers record this data on color coded cards and place them into targeted intervention groups and attach the cards to a bi-folding board. They bring this data to a meeting with Mrs. Williams as well as the intervention specialist and special education teachers. During these meetings each student’s needs are discussed and decisions are made as a team about what intervention programs will best meet their needs. After six to eight weeks of working with students with these initial interventions, the team reconvenes with a second round of assessment data to analyze progress that has been made. Then the team discusses what possible changes to make to the interventions being offered and make necessary changes. This process continues until the end of the school year. At the end of the year, all the colored cards are moved around on the board indicating the progress students have made. Teachers can see that the lower achieving students who started the year at the bottom of the board have moved up closer to the top. It is an excellent way to see the…
There have been many theories on how children develop and learn, some of the theorists who influence the educators of today on how to best teach children.…
The sequence of child development is common amongst most children but what often changes is the rate in which they develop. Therefore it is important that we monitor this in order to put in place definite methods of intervention or help they need in order for their development to progress in whichever phase of their learning they are struggling in.…
References: Council for Exceptional Children (2004). Beginning Special Educator Standards. The Council for Exceptional Children: Definition of a Well-Prepared Special Education Teacher. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children…
The sequence of child development is common amongst most children but what often changes is the rate in which they develop. Therefore it is important that we monitor this in order to put in place definite methods of intervention or help they need in order for their development to progress in whichever phase of their learning they are struggling in.…
1.) The theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky have probably had the most influence on our ideas about how young children learn. Although they worked at about the same time, they approached the topic from slightly different perspectives and emphasized different aspects of children's cognitive development. Piaget focused on the way an individual child acts upon objects in the…
Vygotsky believes that the ZPD assists children develop cognitively through their social interactions with educators. Reggio also supports the idea that education based on the role of parents, teachers and the environment. Vygotsky's ZPD helps advance children's cognitive development through social interaction with skilled educators embedded in a socio-cultural backdrop (Santrock, 2000). This supports the Reggio Emilia key principles of education that is based on collaboration, image of the child, role of the parents, role of the environment and the project approach. Reggio Emilia also suggests teachers and educators to use scaffolding. This allows the child to initiate what they want to do and gives educators the option to offer limited assistance. This allows children to move to a higher level of knowledge.…
Assessments of individual children’s ability and skills can give teaching staff valuable information on which to base future planning.…
I believe that every child is a uniquely special individual who must be provided with a secure, caring, and stimulating environment in which to grow and mature cognitively, emotionally, physically, and socially. It is my desire as a future educator to help children reach optimal results in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a sharing of ideas. There are three fundamental elements that I believe are conducive to establishing such an environment:…
In Case Study 26 (Ormrod & McGuire, 2007), Ms. Struthers, a French teacher, uses multiple strategies to accommodate Wesley, a student returning to the classroom environment for the first time after recuperating from a serious head injury. Struthers understood that, to create a successful zone of proximal development for this returning student, she would need to provide adult assistance and guidance as she supplied challenging tasks that would stretch his current level of independence. Although he returned to the classroom with limitations, Wesley had already proven himself capable of the challenge by reading a chapter from the History book and answering several questions about that chapter accurately.…