A positive approach to discipline in an early childhood setting

Sit Down! shouts Judy, with more than a trace of frustration in her voice. She is trying to maintain control of a group of preschoolers who are none too interested in the lesson she has worked so hard to prepare. Jonathan, if you won't join the circle you'll have to sit in the time-out chair, she states with determination.Marianne Modica is Program Coordinator for the Calvary Christian Academy and Happy Day Child Care Center in Wayne, NJ.     

From learning to development: a sociocultural approach to instruction

Theories of human development and learning provide an essential framework in which to understand the mechanisms involved in the process of formal instruction as a specific form of teaching and learning in the school setting. The sociocultural theory of development, founded on the works of Lev Vygotsky, espouses the view that social interaction among two or more people is the greatest motivating force in human development. Communication, via the use of language, provides one of the most effective means of social interaction. By collaborating toward a common cultural goal, people co‐construct new knowledge by building on each participant's contribution. Based on the main tenets of sociocultural theory, the following eight interrelated principles for instruction are presented, namely, that it should be: mediated; discursive; collaborative; responsive; contextualized; activity‐oriented; developmental; and integrated.     

A sociocultural analysis of organisational learning

The concept of organisational learning has been widely debated and frequently contested by educationalists, but the specific processes and actions which constitute this form of learning have received relatively little research attention. This paper reports a three‐year empirical investigation into organisational learning in a large industrial complex, with the aim of clarifying the practices of organisational learning and interpreting them within sociocultural learning theory. A sociocultural model is proposed which identifies dialogue as the fundamental process by which organisations learn, and relational practices as the social structure which embeds the dialogue and makes it sustainable in a potentially conflictual environment. Three relational practices are analysed in detail: opening space for the creation of shared meaning, reconstituting power relationships and providing cultural tools to mediate learning. A pedagogy of organisational learning is defined in terms of participation in these practices, either as the carrier of a practice or as the facilitator of participation by others. The theoretical requirement that adult learning must be autonomous is reconciled with the concept of collective learning in pursuit of organisational goals by rejecting the notion of an individually‐contained self in favour of a relational concept of the self, in which autonomy is achieved by building relationships with others.     

Sustained shared thinking in an early childhood setting: an exploration of practitioners' perspectives

Sustained shared thinking (SST) has been identified in the Teachers Standards (Early Years) (2013) as contributing to good progress and outcomes by children. In this paper, I define SST and discuss the outcomes of a study of practitioners' understandings of SST, its challenges and benefits. Writing frames, questionnaires and focus group interviews were used with 19 practitioners. SST was considered a child-initiated interaction with links to co-construction. The interaction occasioned deep-level learning in children, who were often totally absorbed and showed learning which was ‘sustained’ over time. Implications are highlighted, especially the need for additional training in using SST.     

Socially constructed learning in early childhood science education

This paper outlines the findings of a study in which the concept of electricity was introduced to young children in a child care centre. Three areas were examined: first, the perceived difficulties associated with the teaching of science to very young children (3–5 year olds); second, a discussion of the approach used to teach electricity to young children, and finally, the study and its findings. When the teaching of electricity (through a unit on torches) followed a socially constructed approach to learning, all of the children were able to connect up a simple electric circuit and talk about the electricity flowing around the circuit. Specialization: early childhood science education.     

Anonymous green painting: an artifact of resistance as danger and hope in an early childhood educational setting

A “child’s painting” is narrated as a contextualized artifact, situated in a school, a curriculum, and a society. It is a study of this object and the meanings that can be made by examining it in context, using an “ethic of resistance” and an analysis of curriculum spaces. This contextualization is designed to contribute to the continuing conversation about “go[ing] beyond all kinds of binary thinking”. The binary of interest here is that which positions “adults” and “children” within the constructs of power and powerlessness in educational settings.     

The challenges and possibilities of a narrative learning approach in the Finnish early childhood education system

Finnish curriculum guidelines for early education emphasise play and creative activities as significant factors in healthy child development. Constructivist theory loosely frames the guidelines, but the recommended approach lacks precise developmental goals. Since 1996, we have carried out a narrative learning project with vertically integrated multi-age groupings and carefully designed play-based learning environments for children from 4 to 8 years old. Data showed that the children learned to use symbolic tools to conquer their fears, solve problems, and master basic social skills. Findings support the view that the narrative learning approach can yield visible results in concert with the tenet that play promotes positive developmental outcomes, including the development of learning potential.     

How young people respond to learning spaces outside school: A sociocultural perspective

This article focuses on educational enterprises outside the formal sector, such as museums, botanical gardens and interactive science centres. International research is drawn on to illuminate how design, culture, educational strategies and settings combine to affect the way in which young people respond to experiences on offer, leading to analysis of the impact of such settings in promoting learning, and the likely implications for those who staff such venues. Aikenhead’s concept of the educator as ‘culture broker’ is developed to suggest ways in which learning might be best supported. It envisages a shift from ‘delivery’ strategies targeted at large groups towards approaches which focus on what learners choose to know about using dialogue between children and ‘known and trusted people’. Analysis of observed responses in various settings is undertaken from a sociocultural perspective using the notion of communities of practice. Implications for the roles of education managers and their staff in further research are developed.     

Building computer supported collaborative learning environments in early childhood classrooms

Educational technology research and development - A Multi-touch table functions as a tablet, but allows multiple children to move around and manipulate the screen simultaneously. Using social...     

Weather worlding: learning with the elements in early childhood

In the context of challenges posed by climate change, this paper draws attention to the significance of children’s relationship with weather. The paper contends that it is time to engage more closely with children’s weather relations when developing and experimenting with new environmental pedagogies. Furthermore, it is argued that there is a need look beyond the ways children learn ‘about’ the weather (where this is presented as something separate to our human selves), to more situated and entangled ways of learning in and ‘with’ weather. Notions such as the ‘weather world’ and ‘weathering’ are discussed here as valuable starting points for re-thinking child/weather relations. These offer a way forward where the lively curiosity of children, combined with the educational practice of being with the weather, may open up alternative, less human-centric ways of coming to know and respond to the environmental challenges ahead.     

A practical approach to student-centred learning

Coauthor Edwards has developed and delivered an undergraduate first year course in which students were encouraged to take more responsibility for their own learning. The techniques used included giving students responsibility for:

• 1

  setting their own objectives, and working at their own pace
• 2

  making self-assessments of their own work, and the marks to be awarded for it
• 3

  arranging their own visits, individually or in small groups, to public or private organisations
• 4

  liaising with external lecturers, and agreeing the content of their lectures with them
• 5

  keeping their own diaries of work plans and achievements
• 6

  arranging and moderating their own computer-based electronic conference.

Coauthor Sutton was invited to be an external observer of the operation of the course. He met the students in large and small groups on several occasions; observed the processes involved in self-assessment; and used two questionnaires to help elicit the students' feelings about the course. This article discusses the course, its content, the learning methods used, the students' reactions, and the results obtained.     

History through drama an enactive approach to learning

The prevailing accountability climate assumes that we can identify the quality of teachers by discovering what their pupils have learned from them. However teachers are only good if they are responsible for worthwhile learning. The current pressures to improve test performance are linked with some learning of questionable value. In any case we are necessarily limited in our ability to attribute responsibility for learning to particular teachers and to identify in any detail what learning has taken place. We need a radical change of direction. We should judge teaching quality on the basis of audited self-review.