Reflective Journal on Early Childhood Profession

My Understanding of the Early Childhood Profession

Before I took the course, I used to think that teaching young children is only about what is taught and not how it is taught. However, this course made me realize that ‘how’ is as important as ‘what’ in this context. I have learnt that by following a planned approach, I can improve the quality of the teaching and learning for children. This is important as I believe that young children are like blank notebooks and are highly impressionable. So, it is necessary that students develop an attitude and perception and skills like comprehensive, memorization, and evaluation (Clandinin, & Connelly, 2004).

I learnt that there are several types of pedagogy: First is the social pedagogy that is related to the social development of the student and impacts the individual’s role in society for the entire lifetime. Second is the critical pedagogy that is related to deconstructing various theories and philosophies so that the student can think critically and develop a deep understanding. Third is culturally responsive pedagogy that is related to different dimensions of culture (personal, instructional, and institutional) so that the individual identifies his cultural strengths and can easily achieve his goals. Fourth is Socratic pedagogy that is related to developing the intellectual and social skills of students so that they can actively contribute towards the society (Cochran-Smith et al. 1999). I have realized that different pedagogies are needed at different stages, so I should develop my own pedagogy based on my objective. I need to first devise my philosophy of how I want to teach children and what I feel is the most appropriate manner. I also need to ensure that children are able to find the best ways to understand the subject matter while respecting their preferences for language, culture, and communication. Given the context and focus on young children, I think social pedagogy is most appropriate as the focus should be on creating a foundation for young children. This foundation can help to understand other aspects as well (Dinkelman, 2003).

I also learnt that in order to cater to the changing dynamics of society, there is a need to change the manner of teaching.  The traditional method of classroom lecture is losing its effectiveness and there is a need to include new forms of learning that promote interaction and collaboration. There are three ways in which teaching is changing. The first way is to focus on real-world scenarios. This will result in students learning aspects beyond basic theory. The second way is to focus on learning through online medium. It has made learning more interactive and has also increased access to more information. The third way is to focus on personalization. It has made learning an informal and self-directed activity (Tillman, 2009).

I have learnt that there can be four approaches that can be used in pedagogy: liberationist, constructivism, behaviorism, and social constructivism. As per the liberationist approach, the focus is on the student, while placing the teacher also as a co-learner. As per the constructivism approach, the learning is focused on sharing reflection and experiences with the student. As per the behaviorism approach, the learning is focused on the professional and promotes the use of direct lectures. As per the social constructivism approach, the learning is focused on collaborative efforts by both the student as well as the teacher. Of the four approaches, I feel there is a need for a mix of all the four approaches, based on the situation. In case, a child has a keen interest in a particular subject, then the liberationist approach must be used. In case, a child requires a holistic development, then the constructivism approach must be used. In case, a child requires basic knowledge, the behavioral approach must be used. In case, a child has a moderate interest towards a subject, then social constructivism approach must be used.  However, my perspective is that an early childhood professional must rely more on behaviorism in the initial days and then use other approaches. The rationale behind the perspective is that behaviorism approach establishes the foundation on which other approaches can be utilized (Grimett & MacKinnon, 1992; Guilfoyle et al. 1995).

For an early childhood professional, it is necessary to consider several aspects including context, their experience and teaching preferences while working on the content to be delivered. I learnt that ‘context’ as identified by the content being delivered and the age of the student has an impact on the pedagogical practices. I also learnt that a teaching professional must use experience and preferred medium to teach.

My Strategy

I learnt that as a professional, I must take into consideration various factors including learning techniques, cultural factors, educator’s beliefs, and skill and attitude of both educators and students and then develop my strategy so that meaningful cognitive learning can be achieved. Based on insights from Berry and Crow (2007), I would like to incorporate several elements in my strategy as discussed below:

 The first element is promoting joint productivity for which I would use the following approach:

• I must design instructional activities that require the student to collaboration to accomplish a joint objective.
• I must try to match the objectives of the activity with the time available for accomplishing them.
• I must arrange the learning environment to ensure that the individual and group needs of students are looked after.
• I must organize students in various groups, based on several factors including language, culture, skills, interests, and academic ability to promote interaction.
• I must develop plans on how students can work in groups and easily transition from one activity to another.
• I must manage the access which the students have towards technology and material to facilitate joint productive activity.
• I must monitor and support collaboration in positive ways by the students (St. Pierre, 2002).

The second element is learning development for which I would use the following approach:

• I must listen to students talking about familiar topics including community and home.
• I must respond to students’ questions and answers, and also make continuous changes in the answers by the students if it can benefit the student.
• I must assist in language development by using several techniques including praising, questioning, clarifying, and restating to promote purpose in learning.
• I must interact with students while respecting for their preferences for speaking that may be different from mine.
• I must connect the student language with knowledge, literacy, and content areas through different language mediums.
• I must encourage students to develop their content vocabulary to demonstrate their understanding.
• I must provide regular opportunities for students to interact with each other.
• I must encourage students to use their first and second languages in learning activities (St. Pierre, 2002).

 The third element is contextualization for which I would use the following approach:

• I must begin activities with what students already know. These learnings can be based on experiences from home, community, and school.
• I must design instructional activities that are meaningful to students and increase their understanding of the norms and knowledge of society.
• I must acquire knowledge of local norms and knowledge before interacting with students, parents and other family members, and community members.
• I must assist the students in connecting and applying their learning to society.
• I must jointly plan with students on designing community-focused learning activities.
• I must provide opportunities for parents and other family members to engage in classroom instructional activities.
• I must conduct varies activities that include students’ preferences (related to various aspects including collective, cooperative, individual and competitive).
• I must promote various styles of conversation and participation to include students’ cultural preferences (including co-narration and call-and-response) (St. Pierre, 2002).