edcu202 assessment 3: critical reading journal jessica...

Jessica. Asvestas S00103884 EDCU202: Critical Reading Journal 1

EDCU202 Assessment 3: Critical Reading Journal

Jessica Asvestas

Australian Catholic University

Author Note

Jessica Asvestas (S00103884) is currently completing her 2nd year of her Bachelor of

Education (Early Childhood and Primary) at Australian Catholic University.


Week 2: Experience and participation: relating theories of learning

Quay, J. (2003) ‘Experience and participation: relating theories of learning’, The Journal of Experiential

Education, Vol.26, No.2.

Individual Reflection

This reading discusses the theories of learning relating to the experience and participation of

children. It explores constructivism, social constructionism and cultural discourses of

learning. Each of these theories I found very interesting because they all emphasized the

importance of education being meaningful for the child and that the child gains more

knowledge from experiencing. I personally really like the Cultural discourse because it

“encourages learner(s) to adapt and evolve while, itself [culture], changes overtime in subtle

ways in response to the actions of the individuals.”(Quay, 2003 p 107).

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed the relationship between holistic theory of education and

experiential education. We talked about the different theories of learning (constructivism,

social constructionism and cultural discourses). We discussed the limitations and benefits of

each of the different theories of learning and we also talked about which was our favourite

and why. We also shared our opinions on situated learning and how the learners are active

contributors within a social and cultural world that influences, and is influenced by them

because they continue to adapt, to evolve and to learn. As a group we decided that each of

the holistic theories of education are being used when a child is learning through

experiences because learning through experience occurs through the level of both the

individual (constructivism), the small group (social constructionism) and culture (cultural

discourse).


Week 3: Practice principle 8: Reflective Practice

Marbina, L, Chuirch, A., & Tayler, C (2010) Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework

Evidence Paper: Practice Principle 8: Reflective Practice Department of Education and Early Childhood

Development.


This reading reflects the ideal learning environment for both the educators and also for the

children. The paper specifically focuses on the Victorian Early Years Learning and

Development Framework (State of Victoria, 2009)’s practice principle 8 of reflective

practice. Reflective practice is a very important component in early childhood education,

and its importance is highlighted in this article. I like this article because it touches on a

range of reasons why reflective practice is important and also gives examples on how an

educator can apply reflecting in their practice. I thought this article was both useful for the

information it gave, and useful in the number of recourses it gave the reader.

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed that in some centers the ‘leaders’ are sometimes quite

intimidating and some staff member’s feel like that can not approach them to voice their

opinion. We discussed that some staff may not feel have same equality, and therefore they

don’t think its necessary to voice their opinion. Each of us contributed some of our own

personal experiences from placement, and we discussed that it is important that all staff

members are critical with their practice. We spoke about how it doesn’t necessarily have to

be negative, it could be a positive comment, it is still critical reflection. We then went on to

discuss the paper as a whole, and we talked about whether or not the points being made were

of a realistic or idealistic view of a centre. I believe that reflective practice is extremely

important, and that positive feedback is just as important as negative feedback and it works

with both the children and the staff members.


Week 4: Early childhood teacher’s understandings of and provision for quality

Logan, H. & Sumsion, J. (2010) Early childhood teacher’s understandings of and provision for quality.


This weeks reading discussed the many ways to define quality. Through out the article it

explores different theories and approaches used to achieve quality educations. After reading

the articles, I believed in the post modernist (program decisions are based on discussion

among children, families and teachers) and reflective approaches would achieve the most

successful quality filled practice. Also throughout the reading it emphasized the importance

of three particular themes; relationships, qualified staff and programming. It is my belief that

these three themes if addressed and executed properly are the key to creating a quality filled

curriculum for the children. I also liked how this article mentioned the importance of the

following areas (environment, professional judgment, teamwork, standard and professional

development) in creating a quality education setting where children can learn, because these

areas are often over-looked, which is unfortunate because I think that they are really

important factors in providing children with a quality education.

Group Reflection

In our reading groups we discussed the different perspectives mentioned in the article. Each

individual in our group liked the post-modernist and reflective approaches because they both

incorporate a balance between tangible and non-tangible, which is something that we all

value in a quality education setting. We discussed our definition about what is quality and

we each realized that we all had different views and opinions about quality, which is why it

is so difficult to define. We discussed how relationships are a key element in providing a

quality educational setting and curriculum for the children. We also discussed how the

metaphors used throughout the article allows for flexibility and solidity; we also talked

about how they were good for visual learners to comprehend concepts because it was

important to remember that not all people think the same. As a group we came to the

conclusion that quality is a personal context that is a changing and evolving entity and is

interconnected and interrelated with socio-contexts.


Week 5: Narrative Identity and Early Childhood Education

Farquhar, S. (2010) Narrative Identity and Early Childhood Education


This article really explores how children develop a sense of identity, and how early

childhood education may influence or have an effect on a child developing their identity. As

I was reading this article I noticed that there is a lot of emphasize and important on the child,

the child is in control of developing its own identity. Parents and educators are only one

factor that may influences the child. Their setting, the children they interact with, their

culture, their community, their family are all factors that contribute to a child developing

their own identity. I do like that Farquhar, S (2010) acknowledges that early childhood

education is important, however it is not the only factor influencing the development of the

child.

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed how childcare does not fully shape identity, although it

partially does. We also talked about the government influences early childhood education,

and how that would also influence the development of the child. It is good that the

Australian government takes initiative in early childhood funding, because in the past it has

been seen as an age when no much learning occurs however through research it has been

discovered that that is not the case. We discussed that the family helps shape identity more

than early childhood education, however this depends on the amount of time child spends at

childcare. We then went on to discuss 2 particular areas, which were also mentioned in the

article. They include:

• FUNDING: The Australian government is not major stakeholder (compared to

overseas)

• REFORM: The recent changes to the ratios of teachers per children, has put a lot of

pressure on centre’s to find good quality staff that also have the required

qualifications. Also that all the safe members must be qualified and there must be at

least one staff member with a degree in each room. This means that staff members

that have not got a qualification have to go back to university to get the qualification

to work in a field that they have been working in for most of their career.


Week 6: Best practices and consideration: including young children with disabilities in

early childhood settings. Cross, L., Salazar, M. J., Dopson-Campuzano, N., & Batchelder, H. W. (2009) ‘‘Best Practices and

Considerations: Including Young Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Settings’’. Focus on

Exceptional Children, Vol. 41, No. 8.


This article focused on creating inclusive early childhood settings where children with

disabilities, gifted children and also mainstream children can participate in the same activities in

these early childhood settings. Cross, Salazar, Dopson-Campuzano, & Batchelder (2009), focus

on three particular areas, these include:

• Family-centered practices: Educating a child is a shared responsibility between the family

and the educators. Collaboration between teachers and families is extremely important,

whether or not your child has a disability.

• Child- focused practices: Developing programs that are appropriate for the child and that

are also meaningful to them. I think is a very important point, if the learning is not

meaningful for the child then the child will not challenge themselves to learn. Children have

an innate curiosity to learn more about things that interest them, and that needs to be

encouraged and embraced.

• Professional development: The effectiveness of the inclusion ultimately depends on the

quality and efficiency of the teacher (Cross, et al., 2009). I think this is also a very

important point; it is all well and good for a teacher to plan to have an inclusive curriculum.

However, it is those teachers that put their plans into action that show the real results.

I agree with the points raised in this article, and I have already begun to adapt my own views on

how an early childhood setting should be run to include some of the points mentioned in this

article. Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed how some educators find it extremely challenging and

daunting to include children with special needs into their curriculum. We talked about how this

article and the early childhood setting should use a curriculum that it is encourages teachers to

follow the constructivist learning theory. The constructivist learning theory is the belief that we

gain knowledge and meaning for the interactions and experiences with have with others and out

environment. We also discussed that integration and inclusion are two very separate things. An

early childhood setting may claim to integrate children with special needs, however that does not

mean that they are including them into the curriculum. We also discussed that an effective

curriculum is one that can be modified and is accessible for each and every child.


Week 7: For beauty, for culture, for memory, for storytelling: Building learning

communities through pedagogical documentation.

Giamminuti, S. (2007) For beauty, for culture, for memory, for storytelling: Building learning communities

through pedagogical documentation In Educating young children Vol.13 No.2 pp.14-17.


This weeks reading focused on the Reggio Emilia Approach and how this approach

documents the benefits of the children, families and teachers. It goes into detail and

background information about the Reggio Emilia Approach and what the beliefs are and the

benefits from the approach. My favourite part of this article is that it has a range of different

perspectives from the children, families and the educators, which shows that the

documentation approach is very reflective and encourages the educator to continue bettering

their practice. I liked how it showed examples of the children’s work, and also show’s us

what the educators did in order for the children to answer their own questions. It was quite

beneficial.

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed the Reggio Emilia approach, focusing particularly on

documentation. After reading the article and discussing our thoughts as a group we realized

that the article was biased because there was no negativity towards the Reggio Emilia

documentation and also had no suggestions about how to improve the Reggio Emilia

documentation. The article was only discussing how positive and effective the

documentation is using the Reggio Emilia approach rather then exploring different types of

effective ways of documentation. We all agreed that the article was good because it

contained a range of perspectives and also shows what the different stakeholders gain by

showing their opinion. The article shows that the Reggio Emilia approach values the

perspective and opinions of the families and children. We agreed that the Reggio Emilia

approach views the child as intelligent and that there is a strong emphasis on relationships

and different cultures. We all agreed that the articles main point is that the Reggio Emilia

approach documents the beauty by seeing potential of every child, regardless of outside

factors.


Week 8: Monet, Malaguzzi and the constructive conversations of preschoolers in a

Reggio-inspired classroom.

Kim,B. & Darling,L (2009) Monet, Malaguzzi and the constructive conversations of preschoolers in a Reggio-

inspired classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal Vol. 37 pp 137-145


This weeks reading focused the Reggio Emilia Approach and how this approach benefits

children. What I like most about the Reggio Emilia Approach is that ‘children are

considered to be meaning makers and active participants in their own learning’ (Kim &

Darling, 2009, pg 137). This article explores how children are constructing and in control of

their own learning. The examples given in this articles such as the Poppy field at Argenteuil

discussion and the different questions raised from that one painting was just amazing. I

found it really beneficial just being about to read what the children asked questions about

and how the educators responded to the questions.

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed how the Reggio Emilia Approach benefits children and

their development. We all agreed with Malguzzi’s (1998) image of a child where a ‘child is

considered powerful, competent, creative, curious and full of potential and ambitious

desires.’ I think almost every person who has worked with children before would agree with

that statement. We also went on to discuss other important areas of the Reggio Emilia

Approach, which included negotiated learning, documentation and social relationships. As a

group we also explore and discussed the examples that they gave in the article, we all had

different opinions of it, each of them positive. We came to the conclusion that children have

a strong idea or sense about what they believe and will share their ideas with you if you ask

them to.


Week 9: No! It’s not okay. Drawing a line in the sand.

McLachlan, J. (2006) No! It’s not okay. Drawing a line in the sand in Fleet, A., Patterson, C. & Robertson, J.

(Eds) Insights: Behind early childhood pedagogical documentation. Castle Hill, NSW: Pademelon Press pp

25-‐36


This weeks reading explores the ideas about where the teacher stands in the education of a

child. There is a point made in this article that I really admire and think it sums up the whole

article’s views… “Teaching needs to move from something we do to something we are in

relationship to children” (McLachlan, 2006 p35). This quote addresses the idea that

educating children needs to be personal and meaningful, and for that to occur the child needs

to feel like they are connected to the educator. It is important to remember that teachers are

not only there to educate children about information they need to know, they are also

educating the children about relationships, social expectations, about themselves and the

world that surrounds them. In relation to discipline, a teacher must know their children' in

order to use relevant discipline strategies and teachers can only know their students if they

have a relationship with them.

Group Reflection

In our reading groups we discussed the notion of 'power' in the classroom. We discussed

how stereotypically the teacher is the individual in the classroom with the most power and it

is their responsibility to discipline the child accordingly. We talked about that not all

discipline strategies work for every child and that it is the teacher’s responsibility to build a

relationship with the child and learn about what best suits the child. We also discussed how

it was difficult to define what ‘good’ behaviour is, because the idea of what is ‘good’

behaviour is debatable and also depends on the individual who is judging. We talked about

how the values of child are influenced by parents, media, society expectations and family

beliefs and values, so who are we to judge whether they are right or wrong. We all agreed

that power should acknowledge these factors.


Week 10: Outdoor Play: Does avoiding the risks reduce the benefits?

Little, H. & Wyver, S. (2008) Outdoor play: does avoiding the risks reduce the benefits?

Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 33, no.2, pp 33-40


This weeks reading focuses on importance of providing children with the opportunity to take

risks in outdoor play. My favourite part of this whole article is Figure 1. Possible pathways

from five main factors that lead to risk minimization in early childhood play contexts. (Little

& Wyver, 2008 p38). I like this figure because it takes the factors into consideration and

then shows how they can be altered so that the child can still experience outdoor play at the

same level of quality with more safety.

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed the importance of providing children with the

opportunities to take risks, because it is only natural that children take risks and it is

important for their development. We also discussed our placements and how they offer

outdoor play and how they encourage or discourage risk taking.


Week 11: Nurturing the spirit to teach and Nemachtilli: The spirit of learning Nimmo, J. (2002) Nurturing the spirit to teach, Australian Journal of Early Childhood Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 8-‐12. Rodriguez, L. J. (2005) Nemachtilli: The spirit of learning, The English Journal, Vol. 94, No. 3, pp. 42-‐45


This week readings focus on the importance in encouraging and embracing the teacher’s

spirit and how it benefits the children’s education. Both articles discuss the importance of

the teaching spirit and how a lack of it can impact the quality of education we are offering

for the children. I agree with the points both of these articles, I believe that the spirit of the

teacher is very important when teaching young children in an early childhood setting. I

remember when I was a child at kindergarten my teacher was full of spirit and enthusiasm. I

think that my teacher was the main reason behind my early childhood education experiences

being so positive and enjoyable. I also believe that because my teacher’s spirit for teaching

was so strong and powerful it also encouraged the children in her class to develop their own

spirits to be strong and powerful. She encouraged all the children to be confident and

content with themselves, which in turn made them confident and active learners.

Group Reflection

In our reading group we discussed these two articles and the similarities between them. Both

articles had a heavy emphasis on the importance of the spirit and how the spirit of the child,

teacher and learning are connected. We discussed how Nimmo (2002)’s article was focused

on the spirit of the educator and how it is important for teachers to not only recognize the

spirits around them, but to also strengthen and encourage them. We talked about how it was

important for teachers to take risk and to take information from the community that

surrounds the children so that the learning is meaningful to them. We then discussed how

Rodriguez (2005)’s article was focused on encouraging the spirit of teaching because it is

not encouraged or nurtured in schools these days. We talked about how it is unfortunate that

the school system does not really encourage us to make learning creative and fun, it is more

something that is monitored and assessed. We talked about our experiences (in particular our

experiences at placement) and whether or not the teachers are embracing the teaching spirit

and how that is effecting the children’s education.


Final Reflection

Each of these articles has brought new information to all of us; being able to explore such a

vast about of information and really dissecting the key points of the articles has been very

beneficial. As a result of each of the articles being on a different topic, as an individual we

were able to broaden our understanding of the influences on children and also the influences

on early childhood education. Having reading groups was beneficial for this task because we

were learning collaboratively. Each member of the group would read the article and through

their own personal reflection find what they thought was most important about the article.

Then when we met during tutorials and discussed our thoughts about the reading for the

week we were able to see though each of the different members perspectives. What I may of

found to be extremely important about the article, may of not even crossed the mind of

another member of the group. This is why the group discussions were so useful we were

able to discuss and explore ideas that we discovered through our own reflections, and

through this discussion process our ideas and opinions may change though hearing the ideas

and opinions of another person. Being able to share my ideas and also listening to other

ideas from other members of my groups was very beneficial for my own understanding of

the different topics that we explored through the articles. With others opinions comes others

experiences which may be different from your own and may be useful in bettering your own

opinions or views on something. Each of my group members has influenced my opinions

and has bettered my understanding on the topics that we explored through these readings,

and these readings have also influenced and bettered my understanding of early childhood

education.

The reading from week 6, which was Cross, Salazar, Dopson-Campuzano, & Batchelder

(2009) Best Practices and Considerations: Including Young Children with Disabilities

in Early Childhood Settings, interest me greatly. The article focused on creating inclusive

early childhood settings where children with disabilities, gifted children and also

mainstream children can participate in the same activities in these early childhood settings.

Cross, et al., (2009) focused on three particular areas that were essential in including

children with disabilities in early childhood settings. The area’s included; being family-

centered, being child focused and professional development. After reflecting, taking into

consideration my own experiences and other people’s opinions and experiences they shared

with me, I gathering my thoughts and have come to the conclusions that the three area’s of

importance that Cross, et al., (2009) focused on should be applied to every child, not just


children with a disability or with children who are gifted. Each child in an early childhood

educational setting should be including the family in the education of the child. Each child

in an early childhood educational setting should be participating in programs and activities

that are appropriate for the child and is also meaningful to them. Each educator in an early

childhood educational setting should be putting their inclusive curriculum into practice, and

adapting as the children develop and their interest, needs and wants change. Catering for

each an every child is important, whether they are considered to be ‘mainstream’ or not

should not affect the way you treat a child. As the Victorian Early Years Learning and

Development Framework (State of Victoria, 2009) states that a child needs to feel safe,

secure and wanted in their environment. If the educator creates an inclusive curriculum

where each and every child in their care is included, the children can feel save, secure and

wanted and from there they can develop and learn in their own way.

The reading from week 10, which was Little & Wyver (2008) Outdoor play: does

avoiding the risks reduce the benefits, also interested me greatly. This article focused on

the importance of providing children with the opportunity to take risks in outdoor play.

From my personal experience, I think that risk taking is something that all children need to

experience and explore. I believe that risk taking is a part of learning about our limits and

ourselves. By providing children with the opportunity for outdoor play, we as educators are

giving children the chance to take risks in a safe environment with supervision. This article

also shares the view of the importance of outdoor play. However, the reason I like this

article is because it shows educator’s different ways of implicating outdoor play in a safe

and secure manner without affecting the quality of play. As the Victorian Early Years

Learning and Development Framework (State of Victoria, 2009) states that a child has the

right to feel safe an secure in their environment, which is why it is important to make the

outdoor play area one that children can explore, play an learn in safely. The Victorian Early

Years Learning and Development Framework (State of Victoria, 2009) also states that a

child is a confident and involved learner, which is why it is important that the educator does

make sure the outdoor area is safe because children often learn whilst they are playing and

exploring their surrounding which usually occurs when they are engaging in outdoor play.

One of the main points that is raised in this article it is important to make the outdoor play

area safe, however, it is also important to take into consideration that risk taking is a part of

learning and developing and that it is important to not lose that quality play that children

love the most.


The reading from week 11, which was Rodriguez, L. J. (2005) Nemachtilli: The spirit of

learning, The English Journal, Vol. 94, No. 3, pp. 42-‐45, also interested me greatly. This

article focused on the importance in encouraging and embracing the teacher’s spirit and how

it benefits the children’s education. It also talks about the importance of the teaching spirit

and how a lack of it can impact the quality of education we are offering for the children. The

part I love most about this whole article is the last paragraph, in particular ‘loving to teach

and loving to learn’ (Rodriguez, 2005 p 45). Each child that an educator encounters is an

individual; they have their own beliefs, views and life. This means that the educator needs to

be constantly observing and adapting their practices so that the child can gain the most they

can during their time together. During this time, the educator is learning. We are learning

about the children and their views and opinions on the world though we may not realize it

are effecting and adapting our own opinions of the world. This process is called reflective

practice and it is also one of the practice principles in the Victorian Early Years Learning

and Development Framework (State of Victoria, 2009). The Victorian Government value

reflective practice to be important because as an educator we need to be continually

developing our skills and expanding our knowledge to benefit and encourages children’s

learning. So as we continue to learn as teachers, we encourage children to learn and reflect

on their knowledge they already have and adapt it when they learn something new. As I

would say… we are learning together. As human beings we never lose the desire to learn

new things about the world, which is why we all love to learn.


References

Cross, L., Salazar, M. J., Dopson-Campuzano, N., & Batchelder, H. W. (2009) ‘‘Best Practices and

Considerations: Including Young Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Settings’’.

Focus on Exceptional Children, Vol. 41, No. 8.

Farquhar, S. (2010) Narrative Identity and Early Childhood Education

Giamminuti, S. (2007) For beauty, for culture, for memory, for storytelling: Building learning

communities through pedagogical documentation In Educating young children Vol.13 No.2

pp.14-17.

Kim,B. & Darling,L (2009) Monet, Malaguzzi and the constructive conversations of preschoolers in

a Reggio-inspired classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal Vol. 37 pp 137-145

Little, H. & Wyver, S. (2008) Outdoor play: does avoiding the risks reduce the benefits? Australian

Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 33, no.2, pp 33-40

Logan, H. & Sumsion, J. (2010) Early childhood teacher’s understandings of and provision for

quality.

Marbina, L, Chuirch, A., & Tayler, C (2010) Victorian Early Years Learning and Development

Framework Evidence Paper: Practice Principle 8: Reflective Practice Department of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

McLachlan, J. (2006) No! It’s not okay. Drawing a line in the sand in Fleet, A., Patterson, C. &

Robertson, J. (Eds) Insights: Behind early childhood pedagogical documentation. Castle Hill,

NSW: Pademelon Press pp 25-‐36

Nimmo, J. (2002) Nurturing the spirit to teach, Australian Journal of Early Childhood Vol. 27, No.

2, pp. 8-‐12.

Quay, J. (2003) ‘Experience and participation: relating theories of learning’, The Journal of

Experiential Education, Vol.26, No.2.

Rodriguez, L. J. (2005) Nemachtilli: The spirit of learning, The English Journal, Vol. 94, No. 3, pp.

42-‐45

State of Victoria (2009) Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Department

of Education and Early Childhood Development. East Melbourne.

edcu202 assessment 3: critical reading journal jessica...

Documents