At the beginning of this month, I
noticed and observed 3 children playing in the construction corner that we have
in our 3 ½ - 5 year old room. They were building towers with the different
shaped and sized blocks that are always on the shelf. Once they had a clear
understanding of what they wanted their tower to look like, they decided that
they needed different materials as the different shapes and sizes of the wooden
blocks on the shelf were not going to be enough to make the type of tower that
they had in mind.
They needed a “strong tunnel”
according to one of the boys so that the dinosaurs could hide inside. The
tunnel that they made with the blocks kept collapsing so he went looking around
the room for something that could be the strong tunnel; he went to the art
table and found the spare/empty scissor holder which was not being used anymore
because the room got a new set. He looked a bit hesitant when he took it off
the art trolley as some teachers in the room like the resources to stay in the
right areas, so I think he could have been waiting for someone to tell him that
it needed to stay where it was. I encouraged him to bring it over to his
friends to show them what he had found; this made him very confident and proud
of what he found as his friends became very excited to make space for it to fit
in the tower.
This is a photograph from Google images; which is similar to the scissor holder the children used but the one in the centre is wooden. I found this photo just to give you idea about what it looked like.
During this experience the 3 children
were working together to implement a vision that they wanted to create by using
the blocks. Through trial and error they found out that their wooden materials
were not making the type of tunnel that they needed to hide their dinosaurs;
which led them to search for a different type of material to help construct a
stable tunnel which solved their problem. This experience links to the
Exploration strand in Te Whāriki (Ministry
of education, 1996, p. 98) as it suggests that “children use a variety of
technologies for different purposes as they explore their world.” I believe
that the children did learn to use a mixture of technologies especially seen as
they have never been encouraged to use different materials from other areas of
the room before, unless a teacher sets it up.
During this observation my
understanding of technology was very basic, but now looking back on what I
observed after building my personal understanding I am very excited that the
little boy brought back the scissor holder. The children were able to
“recognise that different technologies may be used in various places and
settings” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 95), I believe that this
understanding of materials and the confidence to use them will increase their
learning and development.
Hey J!
ReplyDeleteGreat first post! I really like the way you broke the rules to allow this child to be creative and share his findings with the group to create the tower they wanted. That is not easy to do but proved beneficial for this activity.
I agree with what you thought technology was, I was the same but it is great to see you have learnt something new about technology and can see it when you are at your centre.
I really like the example you used to demonstrate technology at your centre as most people would probably not consider blocks to be technology. Ministry of Education (1996) states that through technology children develop the capability to solve problems and this contributes to their wellbeing and self confidence. I bet the group was proud of their final result!
Heya Jaclyn :)
ReplyDeleteNice first post! I really enjoyed reading it. After reading this I gained some new knowledge myself as I did not realise that blocks could be a type of technology but after reading this I see how it is.
I can see how children in this group activity are gaining different skills, block building contributes to childrens gross motor skills, and their social skills while working along side other children.
I liked the was you assisted and facilitated the childrens learning throughout this, giving them the opportunity to build what the children wanted to build.
Ministry of Education (1996) states that children develop skills with media that can be used for expressing a mood or a feeling or for representing information such as crayons, pencils, blocks, wood, musical instruments, and movement skills, (pg.80). So well done for allowing children to express themsleves using blocks :).
From Jess!
Hey Jac,
ReplyDeleteNice first reflection!
I had no idea construction play was technology, but like you referenced technology is helping people solve problems (Smorti, 1999).
After reading this I had a better understanding that everything is technology in one way or another! In your reflection you mentioned how the child was hesitant to bring something from another area over to where he was playing. I think as a part of “exploration” children should feel free to take what they need in order to reach their desired outcome in a project/goal (Ministry of Education, 1996).
I feel you encouraging him to bring it over was great, and due to that he was able to construct with the others their tunnel.
Perhaps you could discuss with the others in your team about children being able and encouraged to “recognise that different technologies may be used in various places and settings” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 95), as you mentioned in your reflection.
Chanelle :)
Hey Jac
ReplyDeleteIm the same as everyone else did not think that consrtuction play was technology. But now that iv read your post and thought about it, I can see how the children were using their imagination using the blocks to build and probably thinking about how buildings they have seen are constructed. Smorti 1999 states that technology "emphasises creative and productive aspects of solving problems and answers questions such as 'how can we design/make something that will...'.(pg 6-7). I think this really relates to what the children in your centre were doing. Finding something to use for the dinosaurs to hide in, and to add to their construction.
chloe
I have to agree with you Jaclyn I first thought that this assignment covered what is considered ‘technology’ all those gadget type things that run with power and use a computer.
ReplyDeleteI have always seen blocks and construction as a fantastic learning tool as the children can gaining an understanding of balance, co-ordination and having to use their minds to create their building and make sure that it stands upright. I did struggle to see how blocks and construction could be seen as technology as it is a very basic form of a learning medium. But the more I read your reflection the more I could see how they are developing skills for later in life where they might use those skills to build bridges and bridge building is a skill and is technical.
I found through reading Smorti (1999) that she says “technology is about helping people and solving problems” (pg.5) using the scissor rack was a great way to solve their collapsing tunnel problem and now their dinosaurs have a place to hide.