Module 4FD028 - Introduction The aim of this module is to show an understanding of the key concepts and approaches in Early Years provision and practice. By reflecting on how these are applied in practice, evaluating the impact on children’s learning and development and the practitioner’s role. The notion of ‘quality’ and the impact of one key concept on the child’s development and providing quality provision and practice will be discussed. Namely Transition from an Early years setting into a school environment for the first time paying particular attention to the role of the adult and the impact on the child’s well-being. In the developing field of Early Years, it is becoming more and more important for practitioners to have an awareness of the many topics that impact on the provision available to young children.
Jean Piaget best described the stages from birth to two years in what he called the sensorimotor stage. It is a stage based on infants and toddlers cognitive development. An infant uses his or her senses and motor abilities to understand the world, beginning with reflexes and ending with complex combinations of sensorimotor skills (Boeree, G.C. (2009). During the first four months of life, according to Piaget, infants interact with the world through primary circular reactions.
“Kiddy Thinks” In “Kiddy Thinks”, Alison Gopnik discusses the stages of thinking abilities of babies and young children. Using examples from her personal experiences as a parent and her experiments as a developmental psychologist, she defines these stages and explains the learning processes that take place during them. Through process analysis, Gopnik develops her thesis that babies and young children use the same learning strategies as scientists. Gopnik explains the stages of cognitive development for children from birth to the age of 4 years old. At birth, babies already know they are similar to other people.
These goals are important as they form the building blocks for children’s later education and they make available the basis for planning and learning throughout the EYFS. The aim is that each child can meet the goals by the end of their reception year. However, some children would have exceeded the goals whilst others may still be working towards the goals by the end of the EYFS. The seven arears of learning and development mentioned above are: Communication and language- This is about the child listening and attention, understanding, and speaking. Physical development- How children gain control of their bodies, use equipment’s successfully and how they learn to use equipment.
There are assessments when a child is aged between 2 and 3 years and at the end of the academic year when they turn 5. The assessments are based on EYFS practitioners’ observations. Information from the assessments is used for parents, practitioners and teachers to support children’s learning and development. The 7 areas that early years learning concentrates on are: * communication and language * physical development * personal, social and emotional development * literacy * mathematics * understanding of the world * expressive arts and design Teaching is often done through play, where the child learns about subjects and other people through games. At the end of the academic year when a child turns 5, the practitioner records each child’s development by watching the child playing and in the classroom.
The staff should be aware of the children’s needs, interests, what they like to play with, and provide activities which reflect their needs and interests and support children through group times. Very useful is to help children to know each other and encourage them to play together. It it good to encourage children to try new experiences, to make their own choice of activity and to have responsibility to tidy away. This is making them to be independent giving them time and confidence to do things for themselves. The information should be shared between the whole staff team to ensure everybody
(For full explanation on schemas, conservation, assimilation and accommodation and explanations of terminology see appendix 2). He put forward a theory of cognitive developmental stages and theorised that children would operate at a certain level/stage (this would also apply to adults in the Formal Operations stage). His particular insight was the role of maturation (growing up) in children's increasing capacity to understand their world: they cannot undertake certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so. He put forward a theory of 4 stages of development: Sensori-motor Birth – 2 years Preoperational 2 – 7 Years Concrete Operational 7 – 12 Years Formal Operational 12 Years and up (See appendix 1 for detailed description of four stages) Example of sensorimotor and contradiction of Piaget’s theory Children can be more cognitively skilled than Piaget recognised. For example, babies as young as four months appear to have a concept of object permanence and young children are capable of conservation if given meaningful context.
The preschool years, age three to five years, are the next step after toddlerhood. A child should continue to make vast progress in their language, motor skills development, and their overall view of the world (McGoldrick, Carter, & Garcia-Preto, The Expanded Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives, 2011). According to Erikson these preschool years are referred to as the stage of “initiative versus guilt” (Cloninger, 2004). The goal of this stage is for the child to develop more purpose. This stage builds upon the autonomy the child has developed.
Initiative versus guilt, Erikson’s second stage (one to three years), is the stage where children being to explore and make choices, teaching them self-control. Child Care A provides an interactive environment, with plenty of space to crawl around and explore, giving them the chance to interrelate with other children; when children have this around them they learn to gain self-control and make the appropriate choices (Bukatko, 2008). Lastly (but not Erikson’s last stage), there is initiative versus guilt (three to six years), which is the stage where children being to develop a willingness to lead and interact with other children. This daycare seems to have a heavy presence of safety, love and equality, which can encourage the children to develop further socially (McLeod, 2008). The two stages of Piaget’s approach that
Kelly Cline Professor Michael Lee Sociology 101 September 20, 2013 Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development The first stage of Piaget’s four stage process is called the Sensorimotor Stage. This lasts from when the child is born until they are around 2 years old. This particular stage is divided into six sub-stages and is where basic reflexes are acquired. The six substages are: 1) Simple Reflexes – These are reflexes that are considered “primary” like closing of the hand in response to palm contact or following objects with the eyes. 2) First habits and primary circular reactions phase – This is where the infant learns to repeat actions.