Lesson 11

Lesson 11: Child Initiated Activities and STEM

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

Explain the importance of STEM in preschool
Link STEM to child initiated activities
Post their own questions about STEM

Teaching

The balance between child initiated and teacher led activities is important. For young children the balance should lean more towards child initiated. Allowing child directed learning educators are constantly making accommodations and adjustments. These are important elements in the planning-observation-individualization cycle in the curriculum process.

Preschooler teachers know the importance of offering choices to children. When preschoolers are offered choices, they are more willing to participate and become more engaged in the activities. As preschoolers develop their independence and move to greater competence they learn by trying things out for themselves. Children learn to trust that adults will provide them with reasonable choices within the safety of those adults and the environment.

Preschool teachers also know the importance of planning for the entire day. They plan for possibilities for children to make choices that facilitate interactions with materials and other children. For a large part of the day the plan allows for child-initiated activities - what a child chooses, how it is played with or used and with whom the child plays. A teacher also provides some activities that require adult initiation or teaching. The balance of child-initiated and teacher led activities is based on an educators consideration of both the ages and developmental levels of the children in his care. Also considered are children’s interests, personalities, learning styles, past experiences and cultural background. Throughout the day whether the activity is teacher led or child initiated, there is always learning and growth happening.

Something to think about: You are planning to do a unit on emergency vehicles: Police, Ambulance and Fire trucks. You also know one of your students was recently in a car accident where there were fire trucks, ambulances and police cars present. How will this information impact your planning?

Offering Balanced Opportunities

The entire day needs to be considered when determining a balance of teacher led and child-initiated activities. It is also important to consider that in teacher led activities, children tend to play a more passive role. They are receivers of information, ideas or suggestions. In child-initiated activities, children make decisions and take actions. Sylvia Ashton-Warner explains it a different way in her book, Teacher (1963). Ashton-Warner explains that breathing in - is taking in new information: listening, learning a new concept, watching a demonstration, pondering or thinking. Breathing out consists of expressing oneself by dancing, moving, writing, drawing, creating building, crying, quarreling, daydreaming and loving. When children are breathing in teachers are initiators. When they are breathing out, children are the initiators. Children must be given opportunities to breathe out before they are ready to breathe in.

With that being said, let’s look at a daily schedule. If breathing out should precede breathing in, it makes sense to provide children with opportunities to expend physical and creative energy before we expect them to sit and be quiet. These opportunities also allow for time to express and process any urgent feelings or experiences they have brought into the building with them. After these opportunities to make choices, movement and expressing emotions; children are ready to take in information from others, listen to a story or follow directions.

Something to think about: Does this information have any impact on your daily schedule? Why? Why not?

Preschool teachers often have to try various schedules prior to finding the right combination of teacher led and child-initiated activities. Often the energy children bring into an environment requires a longer open learning or breathing out period. Another consideration in a daily schedule is the actual amount of time for children to be sitting for breathing in activities. At the beginning of a new school year with new children who have never experienced a circle time, it needs be kept quite short – adding minutes on as the children become more able to sit longer. Another time the schedule may need to be adjusted as colder weather arrives since it takes much longer to dress in snow pants, boots, jackets, hats and mittens than it does to put on a sweatshirt to go outside to play. Taking time for these adjustments and following children’s lead are important to making a schedule that allows for active play and attentive listening and sitting quietly.

Planning for Active Experiences

As an educator, one knows it is important to include active experiences in a child’s day. A preschool teacher needs to determine how much exploration should be based on children’s interests and choices and how much should be based on teacher suggestions or directions? Often a teacher has a planned set of choices that are within a child’s interests and choices in a developmentally appropriate environment. Preschool teachers will have shown children where to find the materials and how they are used. Children are also aware of classroom expectations and the procedures of the day. Having provided the environment, teachers do not need to add structure to open learning by telling children what they should do or where they should play. (Praise and reminders may be needed)

Children may choose an area to play for several reasons:

The area represents a strength or interest
It provides opportunities to practice skills a child is trying to master
It is a playmates favorite area
It has something the child has not tried yet

As a preschool teacher, one tries to encourage children to make good choices, choices that allow a child to be independent and responsible at the same time. Occasionally, children may need guidance in making those choices to be successful and involved in sustained play. One strategy some educators use is to determine how many children can play in one area at a time. Limiting the number of children may lead to fewer behavior problems and more positive engagement with the activities. A few things to consider when determining the number of children allowed in an area:

The amount of square footage in the area
The number of materials available so children can participate fully in the activity
The number of chairs that will fit comfortably at a table

Something to think about: State regulations require 35 sq. ft. per child in an environment. Do you know how that figure was determined? At an orphanage, children were placed in cribs – 3ft. X 5 ft. Workers needed two feet around each crib to move and function. The space then became 5 ft. X 7 ft. equaling 35 square feet. How do you think that relates to an active child’s needs? Inside? Outside?

As an educator who allows children to make choices she needs to consider how many children are already present in the area and needs to provide a recognizable sign that reminds everyone how many children can be in that area at one time. Some preschool teachers use pictures with specific numbers or objects, spots for children to Velcro a name, or a sign-in sheet. Others may use any of these systems while at the same time encouraging a child to ask a peer for a turn when he is done. The child who was asked is encouraged to respond to acknowledge the first speaking child. When a child in area is showing signs of needing to use the bathroom, a seasoned preschool teacher may introduce a SAVE card. This card allows the child to save his spot in an area or work at a table while using the bathroom. This strategy limits accidents and aides in building a child’s trust in his teacher as his space/work is saved when he returns.

Letting children figure out how long they want to stay with specific activities is another way of providing choice. By allowing children the opportunity to play for extended periods of time, there is more time for planning and extending play through completion. Adults who use the “fifteen minutes at a center” are limiting a child’s engagement, ability to increase one’s attention span, and opportunities for play scenarios to unfold. Preschool teachers also know that they may have to limit children’s participation occasionally. A child who has had several reminders to make safe choices (throwing sand, knocking over other children’s block structures, or eating playdoh) who continues with the unsafe behavior may need to be given other choices.

Planning for Adult-led Large and Small Group Activities

Large group activities are generally teacher led. Children are expected to sit in a group and receive information about the day, listen to a story and take turns participating by waiting for their name to be called or raise their hand and waiting to be called on to make a comment or ask a question. Educators find large group time an opportunity to:

Build community among children
Help to get to know one another better
Offer experience for children to listen and follow directions
Provide opportunities for turn taking

There are no set times for the length of a large group time. However it should be very clear when a large group time should end – when children no longer show interest!! A book does not need to be read to the end, songs can finish early and turn taking does not have to include all children. Teachers need to be able to hold everyone’s attention, offer information, and include everyone at large group times. They also need to let some of that go when children are not cooperating and getting very restless. An effective teacher who understands her children’s body language during large group activities is showing sensitivity to children’s needs.

They have spaces for teachers to list learning goals, activities and teaching strategies. These may be very detailed or offer very limited information. The purpose is for teachers to intentionally think about large group time. Effective large group times are ones that offer activities that move from breathing out to breathing in activities would proceed as follows:

Call children together through ritual and routine
Move from more active to more passive activities
Keep the group time going as long as most of the children are interested and engaged and end when many are no longer interested
Have a routine for dismissing to the next activity

Small group activities allow preschool teachers time to devote more attention to individual children and get a better sense of their abilities. Educators may plan to address specific skills or give children opportunities to practice something they are learning during small group time. Teachers need to decide when to plan small group activities. Are all children going to be required to participate at some time or only those who choose to participate? If a child is fully engaged in another activity do they have to participate now or can they be part of another small group later? Educators need to keep the purpose of the small group clear and by establishing time limits to ensure that children gain from the experience rather than just pass time.

Time limits should differ depending on the small group activity. If there is an experiment or cooking activity planned, children should stay with the activity until completion. Other activities may allow for children to leave prior to completion. The key for an educator is to know which child is able to stay longer than others. By knowing individual children’s goals it makes it easier to know which child may leave a small group more quickly. Individual goals may be: to increase attention span, whose goal is to sit within close proximity for a shorter time or whose goal is to respond to peers. These goals have specific meaning to a teacher and she can excuse students from the small group when the goal is met.

Child intitiated activities as it relates to STEM

STEM are everywhere in a preschool classroom. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math is naturally built into our daily routines. These important components of learning begin from curiousity. It can be as simple asking "what and why" questions or statements such as, "I wonder if....." or, "how did you know that would happen?"

Watch the following video and take note of all the instances that Science, Technology, Engineering or Math is happening naturally in the classroom. You might even see some ART in there which would make it STEAM

Assessment

Lesson 11 Assignment

Read chapter 7 OR 8 in The Intentional Teacher (Mathematics pg 127-156 OR Science pg 157-175).

Write a two page summary including the following information:

A summary of the importance of the chapter
How your chapter relates to the STEM component directly
How you can relate the other STEM comoponents to what you learned (For example - if I read the Science chaper, I am not reporting on how Technology, Engineering and Math relates to Science)
Discuss why STEM is important in preschool
Provide examples and activity ideas for preschool STEM experiences.

Lesson 11 Discussion

Post your own question here that you have about STEM in preschool. Then your two posts would be an answer to others questions.