Establishing Context and Content for Learning

Within the classroom are children with diverse abilities and interests with materials also
provided for them to be able to interact with and develop their learning and knowledge.
However, there are moments when the children feel as if though the available materials do not
suit their interests or needs. Additionally, the scarcity of materials may prompt educators to
consider the concept of item-sharing which is not familiar to all children with most children
preferring to use the materials individually and are impatient to practice turn-taking or item-
sharing. However, I also notice that some children stay quiet throughout the learning process
while others isolate themselves from the groups whereas some has better experiences working in
groups.
I wonder
 How does the learning environment impact the learning outcomes for the children?
 How can I involve parents in collaborative curriculum decisions?
 How can I increase the participation of quiet children?
Methods I use
Most importantly, my teaching practice is guided by the Reggio Emilia Approach which
identifies the three major aspects of the child’s learning to include the learning environment, the
child, and the teacher. The other theories that I incorporate in my teaching practice include
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory that advocates for scaffolding in teaching while also
incorporating Jean-Piaget’s theory that advocates for child-led play (Sibakova, 2023). However,
I understand that the family form’s a core in understanding the children’s needs and interests,
therefore, I engage them from time to time to have a better understanding of the children’s needs
and tailoring them into my teaching practice (Sibakova, 2023). The findings from my
engagement with family of guardians helps me understand the child’s learning needs and tailor
them to my teaching pedagogies.
Describing the Question
Understanding how the child and the environment interact to meet the learning outcomes is
important to understand the extent show which the environment supports the child’s learning
process and development. According to McArdle and Zollo (2015), integrating the concept of
inclusivity into the learning environments and the teaching strategies and pedagogies is critical in
encouraging learners to be respectful to diversity. Additionally, McArdle and Zollo (2015) posit
that it is important to encourage all children within the classroom to actively participate in
learning activities. It is important that educators perform a thorough assessment of their
classrooms to understand the extent of diversity and the needs to meet the children’s diverse
needs. In performing the assessment of the classroom’s diversity, it is important to identify the
gifted children, the Aboriginal and Torres Islander children, and also identify if there are any
adjustments within the teaching approaches that input the necessity to make the learning
experiences more accessible to all learners.
Teaching Practices and action plan I use
In my teaching practice, I organize the learners into groups in order to facilitate learning at a peer
level. However, the grouping is done on the basis of similarity in the pace of learning critical in
bridging the knowledge gap between the fast and slow learners. To enhance the children’s social
and emotional development, I engaged the learners in shared activities. Furthermore, I also
incorporate child-led play activities to provide the children with the autonomy and independence
to express themselves and their abilities while also enhancing their interactions with each other
as posited by McArdle and Zollo (2015). Also within my practice I utilize the dialogic approach
to ensure that I engage all learners including those that are quiet through the learning
experiences. I facilitate the participation of the children regardless using the open-ended
questions which also has the benefit of enabling the children to develop their cognitive and
literacy skills (McArdle & Zollo, 2015). To develop a culture of responsiveness to diversity, I
engage the children in story telling learning experiences about different cultures.
Evaluate
At the care center of practice, management has made significant efforts to add the playing and
learning materials frequently to ensure that the children are able to develop their interests while
also taking part in new experiences. While teaching the children the numerical concept of
counting, some children faced the challenge of completing the count of 1 to 10. However, after
engaging them in the counting activity, the children were able to comfortably count the ten pens
I provided to them. After reading the story about the three pigs, I asked the children the number
of pigs in the story; I provided Robert – the quiet child – with the opportunity and he answered
“Three!”. Additionally, I also observed that the group activity engaged the children who prior to
the activity isolated themselves. The children also showed curiosity after the reading session to
understand the concepts of diversity referring to each other as ‘friend’ regardless of skin colour
or cultural background.
I also noticed that the incidences of fights due to shared materials had reduced as the children
had found joy in sharing materials and turn-taking. The engagement levels of the parents also
increased with them striving to know more about their children’s progress in learning. Some of
the children also developed new interests something I can owe to the Care Center’s efforts to
frequently add to the available materials.
Future Improvements
Basing my understanding on the reading by Docket (2019) I find it important to consider slight
tweaks in my teaching practice to improve my output. I will group children with different
abilities to develop their learning activities. I will also incorporating diverse teaching strategies
to address the diverse leaning needs of the children to develop their diverse learning abilities
(Docket, 2019). I also leverage the reading experiences to encourage the learner’s development.