Personal Experience of Education - Essay Example

SPECIAL EDUCATION of preschool/school and when you visited. 2- what disabilities were represented by learners in group ? In his preschool, I have observed that some of the young learners were having speech problems and they are not interacting with their teachers extensively. Most of them speak by means not understandable to strangers or are stutter or stammer. .As verbalize by the teachers, some of them are not yet able to communicate completely in "adult like" sentences. Also, the said students are able to produce only one up to two word sentences most of the time while few are obvious having signs of struggle as they talk. They hold their breath previous to a sound coming out with visual stress and neck tension. 3-What lessons/sessions did you observe? I found it necessary that preschool teachers needs to acquire full knowledge on the background of their students (family types, racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, income strata, parent-education levels and language backgrounds); Learn their strengths academically as well as their weaknesses, so that they would be able to determine which teaching strategy to adopt and implement to this kind of learners. I also observed during the sessions with both the preschoolers and their teachers that, most of time, preschool teachers are exerting more effort to get the attention of the children, to let them speak and interact during the small group activities. Preschool teachers are very patient and never lose their patience and temperament. Another observation is that, only few parents or guardians are around with the kids, to observe them as well as to monitor their daily activities. The preschool teachers were good in seeing the children in a variety of situations at the school and are able to identify their respective needs and problems. 4- What physical modifications to the environment did you observe? Practically, I can say that the classrooms are very conducive to preschoolers’ learning process; the walls of the classrooms are quite attractive, with visual aids posted on it, flashcards, coloring books, educational toys and wide-range of multimedia are readily available for the students’ use. Perhaps, these are the means of the educators in order to stimulate the preschoolers more intellectually. The preschoolers were also provided with books, worksheets, and other forms of learning materials. They have good playground, security and there were kiosks for the parents and guardians as they stay. 5- what were the approaches to teaching? ( e.g, small group, whole group). There were varied approaches to teaching observed. Most activities start in large group where the students dance, sing or recite poems all together. There were instances that they do activities alone like when they practice to write their names, color their drawing book, answer workbooks as well as doing their spelling skills as letters are marked on their respective notes. 6- what teaching and learning provisions did the educator use to support the learner/s with a disability? The teaching and learning provisions in which the educator use to support the learner/s with a disability is the Child Care Act 2001 (Number 62 of 2001) which mandates preschools to provide for the establishment as well as maintenance of all standards for the quality child care; and so with child care which is a nurturing, safe, and educational experience. The child care programs which promote the intellectual, emotional, social and physical development of the learners (children); and also to support families through enabling the development of a variety of child care services sensitive and responsive to different needs as well as appropriate to diverse stages of child rearing; support the planning and the delivery of culturally suitable child care in a multicultural society; supportive in the development of a solid and integrated child care within the community (Office of the Parliamentary Council of Australia, 2000). 7- how did instruction and/or programming(as described in points 6 above) address the specific needs of the learner? The school adheres to the Child Care Provision through the proper instruction given to children and their respective developmental programs. They see it that the facilities as upgraded particularly the books, classrooms and teaching supplies. The school also fosters parent and community partnerships and these are manifested during the significant occasions of the preschoolers, for invited stakeholders are invited and attended the said occasions (examples: parents’ general assembly, conferences, youth camps, conducted parenting seminars, symposia for the community, etc.). The preschool teachers are sent by the school for a teacher development programs. They regularly update by attending seminars and trainings, conferences, conventions and symposia about Quality Child Care related topics. 8 - using information from lectures, set reading and additional self selected reading, what theories and concepts do you believe explain what the educator did? The life and works of educators in can be considered as implications of the theory of MacNaughton in his new developmental model theories. The said theories encompass the following: (1) Young children’s physical, mental, emotional and social functioning is distinctively unlike from that of adults and older children, comprising distinctive stages, phases, and milestones of development; (2) There are abundant progressive transformations that occur in children’s physical, mental, social-emotional and cognitive competencies, from the start of infancy until the onset of schooling in modern societies and the said transformations underscore the acquisition of skills as well as capacities, communicating, ways of relating, learning and playing etc; (3) Early childhood is considered a period of life while humans are mainly dependent on responsive, secure relationships with others (parents, teachers, siblings and peers), not only to ensure their continued existence, but also their emotional security, cognitive, social integration and cultural competencies. 9 - if you were educator, what other interventions might you consider for use with the learner/s and what might you do differently? Since the primary difficulties of children in the school I have visited are “speech problems” I would like to propose to the school the so called “Speaking Skills Enhancement Program”. The program will advance early acquisition of reading skills intended for preschool children; and aims to increase level of spoken language among preschoolers as well as awareness about of the alphabet. This is combined research, school and parent partnership and professional development program that will prepare preschoolers for successful speaking abilities. The program can start by sponsoring preschool teachers (who teaches in school) and parents (to assist the child for home-based instruction) for a training on the effective teaching preschool children with speaking disabilities. The program will basically build teaching methods for learning assessment progress, detection and management of early literacy problems and developing a language as well as print-rich classroom environment. Once they have gained the correct or appropriate competencies, they will help prepare the children towards a more effective learning process and individualize instruction. Teachers, who will be willing to extend services in teaching these kids, will be given added remuneration. All activities involved in this program will be documented by the teachers as well as the trained parent or guardian in order to monitor and evaluate whether there is progress taking place among the children. The trained participants may be useful in mentoring process, like trained teacher to coach another teacher and for the parent to share the experience with another parent as well. REFERENCES Office of Parliamentary Counsel of Australia (2009). Child care. Office of Parliamentary Counsel. 86 Collins Street AUSTRALIA. Woodhead, M. (2006) Changing perspectives on early childhood: theory, research and policy. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2007 Strong foundations: early childhood care and education. UNESCO, p 6 1- name of preschool/school and date when you visited. 2 - what disabilities were represented by learners in group ? I have noticed that some students in this group have short attention spans, they seemed to be restless most of the time, and most of them are do not exhibit good behaviors. They do not follow instructions and they keep shouting at anytime of the class period. As observed, the preschoolers were somewhat demanding, self-centered, have occasional crying spells and temper tantrums. Most of the students have an average to high intelligence. 3-What lessons/sessions did you observe? It is not easy to become preschool teachers and being one, entails so much preparation and patience. Handling young students with such unique behaviors namely: inattentive, low attention span, attention seekers and other will challenge teachers abilities in terms of instruction, classroom management and relationship with parents. I have noticed that teachers who are handling preschoolers with unsatisfactory behaviors tend to offer a broad range of activities and materials to their respective students who may be are at risk of boredoms. They carried out diverse learning activities from one group to another. Small groups in a class were formed and each group had different activities to do and achievements. According to the preschool teachers, students like them must be given a classroom and fewer than a typical preschool class. The child-to-staff ratio is not also too large, while the main teacher must be skilled, enthusiastic and energetic enough to handle or manage a class. Unexpected things can happen at once. 4- what physical modifications to the environment did you observe? The class added 1-2 more staff to oversee the children aside from the main teacher, specially the boisterous ones. The classrooms have more learning materials such as books, posters, toys and they have computers as well. The number of students is fewer when compared to other classes. Surprisingly, most of the children have 1-2 guardians or nannies. 5- what were the approaches to teaching? ( e.g.1:1, small group, whole group). The teacher set the rules at the beginning of the class and clarifies the students that the rules need to be followed. From time to time, she reminded the students about the rules especially if they are not behaving well. Generally, the kids were most of the time in small group. They have more and different activities like games, puzzles, story-telling, coloring, drawings, etc. The teachers used positive reinforcement like rewards in dealing with children specially those who demonstrate sits appropriately, good self-control, do not shout when taking, takes turns in games, etc. 6- what teaching and learning provisions did the educator use to support the learner/s with a disability? The institution believes that every child who is with them is unique and special, whether they are normal or has a disability. They recognize children’s inherent human rights as reiterated by the Commission of Human Rights ratified in 1984 and force in 1987, in accordance with article 55, “to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms,…” and article 7 which agreed that, “there shall be no indirect or direct discrimination against children with any form of disability” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1987) 7- how did instruction and/or programming( as described in points 6 above) address the specific needs of the learner? The policies stated above, served as guidance or framework for preschool administrators and implementers on how they must deal with their young students. It reminds them that they ought to maintain the interest as well as promote the quality learning and growth of the students who may have demonstrated signs of literacy, at the same time of learning disability; that they will continue to provide a strong support system; encouragement and love for them. The said provisions obviously protect the innate rights of the children wherever preschool they would enroll. 8-using information from lectures, set reading and additional self selected reading, what theories and concepts do you believe explain what the educator did? The cited situation of the school and the learners can be linked to Vygotsky’s ‘Social Constructivist’ theory cited by Woodhead (2006). This theory elaborated that, the young child’s development is affected by social and cultural dimensions. He further explained that the patterns of nurturance, teaching and communication are not something that simply influences childrens development The social and cultural perspectives must not be seen as somewhat outer surface of the process of development, but, as factors (Cole 1996, p 132-135) which weaves together". The most considerable features of every childs environment are the people with whom they create close relationships, namely: Parents, guardians, siblings, peers and etc. The people who provided meaning and direction to their precious experiences and introduced to the important cultural practices, skills in communicating; collaboration, and many other significant works in life (Woodhead, 2006; p 20). 9- if you were educator, what other interventions might you consider for use with the learner/s and what might you do differently? If I am an educator, I am going to propose to the school to hire a counselor or child psychologist who can study the pattern of behavior of each preschool student. I shall be encouraging my peers and colleagues in the institution where I work to engage in teaching activities which will teach the children more listening skills and motivate them to praise the kids if and when he is able to spend a quantity of quiet time playing. I would like to engage in continuing education or take advantage of the several educational programs like computer assisted instruction, so that more teaching strategies are learned. Other than that, I will ensure that I have good relationship with the parents of my students so that, it would be a lot easy to find out the social and cultural factors which can affect the child. Parents have the most significant functions as far as molding of attitudes and behaviors of the child. REFERENCES Commonwealth of Australian Law (2009) Disability discrimination act of 1992. Retrieved on April 9, 2009 from http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/0/FC69105BAF504384CA2571400006FD7F?OpenDocument Woodhead, M. (2006) Changing perspectives on early childhood: theory, research and policy. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2007 Strong foundations: early childhood care and education. UNESCO, p 6 Read More