E103 TMA02 ASSIGNMENT PDF

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TMA02...

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Observing children: creative and play Introduction Throughout this assessment I will be demonstrating my knowledge, understanding awareness of how play and creativity support children’s learning, the importance of play and creativity and how it can support children’s learning as well as how adults can provide opportunities for children to experience creativity and play in learning is the aim of this assignment. I have pursued the ethical guidance of the E103 Assessment Guide which follows BERA (2011) Guidelines in connection to anonymising all names in this assignment. [80 words] Observation to support learning A. Why do we observe? Working in a school, you witness how different age groups respond to different tasks as well as the common errors pupils make, and how to adapt your teaching style accordingly. There are many reason why we observe. We mainly observe to understand children’s learning because we want to see the child’s strengths and weaknesses. We also observe children if they have has a change of behaviour as we want to find the cause of this, identify and worries regarding the child and also see what their interactions with their peers are like. We also observe children who may have a change in their interaction with other children who may not be sociable with other students. Another reason why we observe children is to assess and support their individual special needs so we can plan activities within school to help them learn easier which will help stimulate them. By observing them we can find out the cause of this or we can plan activities that will encourage them to get involved and help them to build friendship, working as a team and also encourages them to get involved within activities they may not be confident with. Children learn from observations by knowing what is expected from them and how the teachers and teaching assistants respond to them. Observation is essential to the process of supporting a child’s way of learning effectively as well as acknowledging how they learn. Koshy (2010, p9)

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suggests that observation is a ‘continuous learning process’ and its main purpose being to improve practice. [256 words] B. My observation I observed J, who is 5 years old boy and is in year 1 of primary school. I spent an afternoon within the school observing J. I am aware J is very interested in dinosaurs, he also loves maths and generally really enjoys attending school and others name him the “bubbly child” as he is always outgoing and gets on really well with his peers. He is always the first child willing to give something a try, e.g. willing to answer questions even if he isn’t aware of the answer and willing to try new activities.

In the next section I will be referencing to Andrew Pollard’s four definitions (2014) Description, Dispassionate, Discerning and, Diagnostic.

In this observation, J is in the classroom with his friends and his teacher having a maths lesson, they are recapping on the previous maths lesson. The teacher drew a whole-part model on the whiteboard with the number ‘34’ in the top circle before pointing to it, asking the class if they remembered the name of the diagram and if anyone wanted to complete the answer, and J was the first one to put his hand up in excitement, the teacher pointed at him and J answered with “It’s a Part-whole model, the answers are 30 and 4 because that makes 34” and a big smile on his face. The teacher then praised J as he got the answer correct and went on to explain there are lots of ways to make the number 34 whilst writing a few examples on the whiteboard and asking children in the class if they knew any other ways they can answer the question. The children in the classroom were sat on square tables with 6 pupils on each table, the teacher set out a task for each table to see who was able to remember and could answer the most part-whole diagrams and she handed out some worksheets and some small cubes that will allow the children to use for help. They were given 10 minutes to complete the task. J loves maths so his friends allowed him to do the writing. He got straight into it and started writing them down and he really enjoyed the task, As his table was the first to complete the task, they were awarded a ‘Dojo’ point each which was exciting for them. The bell rang for break time so all the children were ready to go and play outside as they put their coats on. I followed the children to the playground

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along with the classroom teacher to observe J as he was playing with his friends. He was jumping around the playground playing tag with his friends, “tag, you’re it” he giggled as he tapped one of his friends on the back. He continued to play for 5 minutes as he then stated “I’m bored of playing this” so he and his friends decided to play with the chalk that was on the bench for them to use. J took the chalk from the bench and sat on the floor for the 10 minutes of his break and said “M, would you play with me please?” as he started to draw a dinosaur. “This is a T-Rex and it is one of the most famous dinosaurs, it is one of my favourites out of them all” J said to his friend with incitement. I believe there may of been a reason J was to get bored of playing tag after only 5 minutes, maybe he isn't that interested in sports or got even got tired from playing it, therefore teachers could observe him whilst interacting in sports to see if there is a reason behind it. [617 words] The importance of play and creativity in learning

What do playful activities and creativity bring to the curriculum and to school life more widely? Play activities and creativity is very important within learning and have a variety of positives when it comes to the impact it has on children whilst learning. Play gives children the opportunity to understand the world whilst teaching them. It allows them to make their own choices and testing their ideas, gives the control, and it is deeply engaging “Research has shown that the quality of practitioner interactions within play based learning makes a significant contribution to the development of a child’s understanding (Pascal and Bertram, 1997; Martlew et al., 2011; Pramling Samuelsson and Johansson, 2006)” The environment for play is very important. Especially schools, they have to provide a safe, secure place for children to play and relax in. The Highland Council (2010) suggests that an effective environment for children to learn allows them ‘space and time to interact within the learning and teaching processes (Hancock et al 2013 p.119). At the present time, schools have smaller groups rather than being instructed’ ‘all together by one teacher in a large hall, (Hancock et al. 2013 p.119), this has helped children to progress as if they have got any concern about the work, then they can either talk to the teacher or teaching assistant in the classroom. Creativity also directly enhances learning as it will increase motivation, promoting joy and will deepen understanding. Children will be able to pursue meaningful goals though creative play. Page 3

“Creativity is a process which generates ideas that have value to the individual. It involves looking at familiar things with a fresh eye, examining problems with an open mind, making connections, learning from mistakes and using imagination to explore new possibilities.” (Education Scotland, 2013, p. 3)

In what ways do they enhance learning? In terms of impact of creativity skills, they should enable children to become increasingly motivated and ambitious, able to lead to work well with others, confident in validity of their own view point, able to see their own capabilities, as well as being able to apply a creative process to other situations. In the audio-visual Sequence, ‘Number songs’, the teacher linked different songs to different activities and involved parents to support their child. (Sequence 26, The Open University 2015). They started with the song ‘ten in the bed’ and used different toys to encourage the children to join in. The teachers linked the song to Numeracy as they counted the toys and subtracted them once they had fallen out of the bed. The parents and teachers asked lots of questions such as ‘How many are left?’ Questions are used a lot with the children to encourage them to communicate and problem solve. The sequence was mainly adult led however the children could still ask and answer questions throughout. This sequence shows that play can be entertaining and can also improve curriculum areas such as Mathematics and Literacy. This is a good example of how play and creativity can enhance the children’s learning. [481 words]

Relating my observations to play and/or creativity Concentrating on one child does show you a much greater depth of understanding and powers of ‘reasoning things out’. (Jane Holt, 2013, p112) I observed a 5 year old boy as part of this TMA and I referred to him as ‘J’. When observing J was having a lesson on maths. J was very confident with the task, I could see that he had a big interest for maths and enjoying the lesson. This tells me that if he is interested in something, he will complete Page 4

the task with no problem at all. Writing about my chosen activity has helped to develop my understanding and future thinking about practice in primary education. The observation also gave me an insight into the different methods and strategies the teacher uses to allow play bring within the lesson, as J’s teacher was able to giving each groups blocks to help them complete the task set and by doing this it allowed the children to play whilst working out the answers. Observing J also gave me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the type of individual he is and how intelligent he is for his age. If a child has created something valuable to them through creative play, children are allowed to feel proud of themselves. J was then playing in the outdoor area of his classroom where free-flow play between indoor and outdoor spaces are available at all times which allows him to develop confidence, self-esteem and communication skills. As J plays with his peers during break and lunchtime, where they make up their own games, this helps his physical development as well as his intellectual development. It is obvious that primary school will test J as he learns new information daily through both play and experiments. Play and creativity were very evident during the observation. J was having fun interacting with his peers during the task they were provided and when he was drawing dinosaurs on the playground, he used his imagination to explore by making up a story about him, his friend M and the dinosaurs. In imaginative play, young children show a capacity for expressing meaning-making and negotiating identity. (Goodliff, 2013, p1059) The teacher encourages the children to use their creativity while their imagination is developing when involved in social play. They are able to understand how to share, work in groups as well as clearing up any conflict by promoting undirected play. [403 words]

Conclusion Before studying E103 I didn’t think play and creativity was so important to incorporate within learning. From this subject and placement within a primary school, I have realised that play can be integrated into any lesson that children participate in school. Equally with creativity, that can also be integrated into lessons and doesn't just need to be physically creative but also mentally. I have also learnt how to encourage play and creativity into lessons and how I could include parent’s into the children’s school life as this is important for both parents and children and the children enjoy showing parents their achievements Sometimes adults underestimate a child’s ability and letting children play during lessons suggest that play enables children to be a ‘head taller’ as Vygotsky suggests. (Hancock et Page 5

al. 2013 p. 165). Vygotsky also emphasised about letting the children be social and that be achieved through play during during lessons also having break times with their peers. [158 words]

Personal reflection Peer assessment Task 1 – William stated that one benefit of peer assessment is that it helps their own subsequent attempt at the same work are much improved because they are now much clearer about what a good work in that task looks like, I particularly believe this is correct when a child has struggled with the task. He also stated "the students are forced to internalized a success criteria" In the video, William also mentioned feedback is easier to handle from peers due to their relationship, students will have a closer relationship with each other than they have with the teacher. Task 2 – I believe 'Amy' has met the requirements for the assessment, however I believe she could of gave more information on the topic before referring to her own observations. The assignment is well structured other than this. Amy has managed some effective links with the module materials which shows she has good understanding of what was expected of her, however I feel there could be a couple more references and referring to module materials. [174 words]

Acting on feedback A big improvement I planed on including into TMA02 was using referencing correctly, this was feedback from TMA01 as I had never reference before I wasn’t entirely confident with doing so, but from reading though my feedback it allowed me to have a more understanding of referencing and what was expected of me referring back to module materials and also where I could add referencing that I had missed. I believe I have met this requirement more within this assessment and have tried my best to add referencing wherever possible. Another suggestion was that for TMA02 I continue to concentrate on criteria 7 which is to select relevant information from module material to support my discussion, I have tried to Page 6

do so by continually reading through the study topics for this assessment to check any relevant statement to my topic. [140 words]

Word count: 2309 words

References BERA, 2011 Koshy, 2010, p9 Andrew Pollard’s four definitions, 2014 (Pascal and Bertram, 1997 Martlew et al. 2011 Pramling Samuelsson and Johansson, 2006 The Highland Council, 2010 Hancock et al 2013 p.119) Education Scotland, 2013, p. 3 Sequence 26, The Open University 2015 Jane Holt, 2013, p112 Goodliff, 2013, p1059

TMA self-assessment check list

Reflection 1.

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3

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I have addressed the targets from my previous TMA 2. I have included each element of the TMA according to TMA

2

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guidance and an ethical statement in line with BERA Guidance (see 5.3 of the Assessment Guide) Criterion 1

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4

3.

I have used Cite them Right to ensure that in-text citations

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and reference list are presented correctly Criterion 1 4.

I have kept to the required word count and included it at the

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end of each section of the assignment Criterion 1 5.

I have discussed and evaluated the main points of the

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assignment Criterion 2 6.

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I have used key vocabulary from the module to demonstrate

my understanding Criterion 2 7.

I have selected relevant information from the module

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materials to support my discussion Criterion 3 8.

I have supported my discussion with examples of practice

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where appropriate Criterion 3 9.

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I have always cited the source when summarising,

paraphrasing or quoting from other people’s words. Criterion 3 10.

I have maintained a formal written style throughout my

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assignment Criterion 4 11. I have presented my work in a series of coherent paragraphs

12.

Criterion 4

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I have used a range of proof-reading strategies to ensure my

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assignment makes sense Criterion 4

Criterion 1:

met the requirements for the assignment (i.e. ethical considerations, content and coverage, inclusion of academic language and learning checklist, word count and referencing

Criterion 2: demonstrated the ability to present a discussion of the main points relevant to the requirements of the assignment

Criterion 3: linked your assignment to the module materials, to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

Criterion 4: written an assignment that is well argued, coherently structured and clearly expressed

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Band A: Excellent (85, 90, 95 or 100)

The requirements for the assignment have been met in an excellent way

Excellent evidence, and excellent discussion, evaluation and interpretation of the main issues relevant to the assignment

Excellent links made to the module material to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

The structure of the assignment is excellent. Ideas are expressed very clearly and logically

Band B: Good (70, 75 or 80)

The requirements for the assignment have been met to a good standard

Good evidence and highquality discussion, evaluation and interpretation of the main issues relevant to the assignment

Good links made to the module materials to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

The structure of the assignment is good. Ideas are expressed clearly and logically

Band C: Clear The requirements for the pass (55, 60 or assignment have been soundly met 65)

Sound evidence and sound discussion and evaluation of the main issues as they relate to the assignment

Sound links made to the module material to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

The structure of the assignment is sound. Most ideas are expressed clearly and logically

Band D: Pass (40, 45 or 50)

The requirements for the assignment have been met adequately

Adequate evidence and some discussion and evaluation of the main issues as they relate to the assignment

Adequate links made to the module material to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

The structure of the assignment is adequate. Some ideas are expressed clearly and logically

Band E: Bare fail (30 or 35)

The requirements for the assignment have not been sufficiently met

Limited evidence and limited discussion or evaluation of the main issues as they relate to the assignment

Limited links made to the module material to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

The assignment is not well structured. A limited number of ideas are expressed clearly and logically

Band F: Fail (15, 20 or 25)

The requirements for the assignment have barely been addressed

Little evidence presented and little discussion or evaluation of the main issues

Few links made to the module material to reflect on and discuss the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice and practice

The assignment is poorly structured. A small number of ideas are expressed clearly and logically

Band G: No submission (0, 5, 10)

The requirements for the assignment have not been addressed

No evidence and no discussion or evaluation of the main issues

No links made to the module material in reflecting on and discussing the relationship between educational theory, policy and practice

The assignment is very poorly structured. No ideas are expressed clearly and logi...