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I watch my friends and the people around me each day, they play a big part in my learning and development. 

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I watch my friends and the people around me each day, they play a big part in my learning and development. 

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The 4-year-old Kindergarten at Blue bird ELC provides educational experience which allow children to grow, learn and develop. The class can hold up to 20 children and have one qualified Kinder teacher with 2 permanent assistants. The room is filled with endless opportunities which range from literacy, numeracy, STEM, construction, creative arts and role play. All these areas of learning play a funder mental role in young children’s learning as it assists them with their development and growth as an individual.

This class is very much driven by the children, run by the children as they have such strong voices, personalities and a will to engage and learn. Kinder teacher, Aysen has beautiful relationships with her children and knows all their individual interests. From there Aysen provides an environment where children can explore freely and openly. Children display strong personalities as their knowledge grows and develops each day.

By exposing these children to the opportunity to engage and socialise in groups allows them to learn from each other and their actions. Children can utilise each other known as the ‘More Knowledgeable other’ as they learn from each other’s actions as some children may be visual learners. During my time at Blue Bird ELC while working alongside with Kinder teacher Aysen, I have learnt many new things as she teaches me her way and structure to learning new strategies to being a great teacher.

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As I return to my observation group ,I set up a threading activity which required strong fine motor skill, concentration and hand control. ‘I can’t do it!’ said a child to their friend nearby. ‘Yes you can, look just watch me’, said the more knowledgeable other. The MKO sat closer and demonstrated how to attempt this threading task. ‘So, you hold it with one hand and with the other hand you put the string through the little hole, there see that hole, that one’. As the MKO demonstrated she talked throughout as she explained step by step. The other child began to develop more self-confidence and interest in this activity as now she had a bit more of an understanding of what to do next. For a while the child sat and observed before she actually attempted to put the string through the bead. By that time the MKO had completed a string of beads. At this point I realised what was happening, not only did this child require an explanation but she required to sit and observe the MKO in completing the task. At this stage I linked John Watson and BF Skinners Behaviourist theory to the observation taken. Is it that this child is learning through observing other people’s actions and behaviours along with having a MKO?

Offering other experiences

I thought ‘What else can I do to provoke this and strengthen my ideas?’ so I provided another activity of a similar nature to observe if behaviours were similar. I poked holes through cardboard rolls and used pipe cleaners through the hole to extend from the bead threading. I observed as the child sat there starting at the materials, ‘can you show me how you thread the pipe cleaner through the holes?’. The child continued to sit and shook her head. Shortly she observed her friends at the table and waited for them to finish, she then picked up the roll and began to poke the pipe cleaner through the hole. ‘Look this is how you do it’ said a child sitting by her. The child watched her demonstrate and then began to complete the activity. Could it be that this child is motivating her, does she have a stronger relationship with her and feel more comfortable to learn from and relate with her?

This interest me as I begin to think how much other people/ children really influence and generate others learning.

VEYLDF

Children develop disposition for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflectivity. (Department of Education and Training, 2016)

Confident and involved learners.

Children feel safe, secure and supported in their development and ability to explore freely and safely. (Department of Education and Training, 2016)

Children have a strong sense of identity

Demonstrates fine motor skills required for further learning and development such as holding objects. (Department of Education and Training, 2016)

Children have a strong sense of wellbeing

Communicates verbally or non-verbally. (Department of Education and Training, 2016)

Children are effective communicators

Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials(Department of Education and Training, 2016)

Children are confident and involved learners

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Aims

For learner to:

·       Experience more social interaction where children can learn from each others behaviours and actions to promote and extend learning. Children’s movements and actions have effects on their world and contribute to their learning.

Provide children with a range of activities that extend on their learning which stem from observing behaviours and gaining knowledge from a ‘More Knowledgeable other’. By ensuring you provide children with a safe environment, social exploration and interaction is suitable for children's development.

With assistance from my mentor, we have provided children with more inquired learning opportunities where children have the opportunity to engage in more social groups. The aim of this is to encourage children to raise and ask questions which allow further thinking. We conducted a group time session as we focused on literacy and object which aline with the letters. Children sang together as they observed images along with provided examples for example ‘Watch starts with the letter W’. When a child puts there hand up in involve in a conversation child listen, observe and repeat these actions. Does this also promote confidence? Having children have the confidence to raise their hand and talk in front of all these peers displays the child has a strong sense of wellbeing as they feel safe and secure in their protected environment. Involving children in the experience allows them to make predictions. Children can see the changes being made through out the experience. To achieve this, it is important that I provide children with accessible indoor/outdoor environments where children can interact with their peers and experiences such as small group interactions, role play, cognitive play such as literacy and numeracy which initiate children's based enquiry learning and self directed learning.

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Can children learn purely from observing other people’s actions and does having a MKO promote and support learning? 

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Can children learn purely from observing other people’s actions and does having a MKO promote and support learning? 

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While I observed children engaging, they displayed social interaction with each other which lead to a learning opportunity. As the children participate in these group interactions, their confidents develop as their share stories, experiences and learning. Children who are older or knowledgeable who then transfer their knowledge to another child to enhance their learning is known as the ‘more Knowledgeable other’.  I believe, children observing other children’s behaviour and actions play a role in their development and influence individuals learning, leading to think further and more in depth about this situation.

Children display actions which then lead other children to observe and learn from those actions. This interaction is important as it allows children to take what is learnt and transform them into meaningful developmental moments.

This makes me want to stand back and watch, it made me think ‘should teachers intervein as much as they do? Or should children take the lead for their own education?’.

Within this question there are 2 similar but at the same time very different questions which allow.

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·       Did children learn from other childrens actions?

·       It is only childrens actions they learn from or is verbal communication considered able to observe also?

When children are given the opportunity to engage in conversation and activity together, they are able to participate in rich conversations and interactions which enhance many other learning skills. Through observation I could see that children were engaging in conversation which provoked childrens learning through conversation. Other children who were of more Knowledge were used as a tool to some as they encouraged children to become more confident in group settings, understanding meanings of books and other educational opportunities. Over all I have observed great learning from child to child. To further this leaning experience I will provide children with constant safe, motivating environments to encourage children to feel safe and secure while fostering each others learning opportunities.

The pedagogy of listening is relevant in this content as listening and observing were the main factors to foster children learning as children listened to important content and transformed that information into actions.
Multiple perspectives
Having a group discussion allowed me to think further about this question and where to plan and think next. From this discussion I looked deeper and it enticed me to explore children's social interaction and self confidence.. Why? Because to me, self confidence and self regulation is so important in Childs play but adult life, it is something that doesn't stop! Self confidence and emotional awareness is a skill that is forever altered and re visited and I feel it is most important to foster for all children's areas of learning, but this more so in particular.

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VICTORIAN EARLY YEARS LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK2019, viewed 17 October 2019, <https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf>.

An introduction to child development theories 2006, viewed 17 October 2019, <http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/1lrrSecure/Sites/LRRView/7401/documents/theories_outline.pdf>.