Assignment 2 EDF2038

Stephanie Lindsay- ID25941054

During a two week placement at an Early Learning Centre I had the
opportunity to be placed in Pre-prep t which was a 4 to 5 year old room,
during my time there with the help of my two mentors I was able to
develop and put into action a learning experience as well as assess and
evaluate that experience.
My first step in developing a learning experience was to find children
within pre prep t that I could focus a learning experience around and that
would benefit them in their individual development and learning needs.
For the first couple of days I observed all the children within Pre Prep t
before selecting three children that I could focused a learning experience
around. The children I chose were Alexander a 5 year old boy and Kobi
and Harrison who were both also 5 year old boys and according to them
best friends.
Before deciding on what type learning experience I would develop in
regards to its learning and development goals and outcomes I conducted
an assessment of Alexander. The assessment technique that I used to
help me understand where Alexander was in regards to learning and
development was an observation and informal conversations with the
child and my mentors.
The reasons behind my choice in assessment technique was that an
observation would allow me to see the period of time that showed me the
skills and knowledge Alexander had already developed as well as any
social interaction that he engaged in, it also allowed me to observe any
learning occurring during that period of time. As for the conversations I
chose them as an assessment technique as they gave me more
knowledge of Alexander then one observation could from Alexander I got
a clearer understanding of what he thought of his own play while from my
mentors I got a clearer picture of Alexanders interests and skills as well
as what experiences he took part in and which he didnt.
Observation 3. 16/05/2014. 10. 00 Am. Outside. Deck.
Alexander, Kobi, Harrison
S. Lindsay
Outside on the deck Alexander was sitting at a table that had a sensory learning
experience on it, the learning experience evolved multiple balance scales and
bags that could be filled to contain different amounts of bird seed and then place
on the scale to see which bags were heavier when filled. Alexander chose to sit
at the end of the rectangular table opposite to where Kobi and Harrison were
sitting together at the other end. Alexander at first maid no attemp to engage
with the learning experience but instead sat and observed both Kobi and
Harrison already playing.
During this time Kobi and Harrison were helping each other to fill the bags with
bird seed Kobi was holding the bag while Harrison used his hand to fill it while

filling their first bag Kobi suggested that Harrison should use the spoon but
Harrison ignore the suggestion and carried on using his hand.
After a couple of minutes Alexander picked up one of the bags with one hand
and while trying to hold it open used a spoon in the other to place bird seed in it
as he had seen the other children doing at the other end of the table.
Alexander after a while of trying to fill the bag with seed he called to the
educator of the room Miss Giovani and asked if she could come and help him.
Miss Giovani then said yes and came and sat beside Alexander and started to
ask him what he was trying to do and what could she do to help him. Alexander
then started to explain to Miss Giovani in great detail how you were supposed to
play and that it was his job to fill the bag with seed and it was her job to hold
the bag open for him.
At the other end of the table Kobi was trying to fill the bag he was holding at the
same time with Harrison but instead of using his hand he had chosen to use the
spoon. Harrison at this point was putting more bird seed on the table then he
was getting in the bag he seemed to become frustrated as more time went on
and in one moment said he didnt want to play anymore and got up from the
table. Kobi watch as Harrison got up and decided to follow him instead of
continuing to play.
Alexander and Miss Giovani had proceed to fill the bags when one was filled
Alexander asked Miss Giovani to close it which she did then Alexander took the
bag from Miss Giovani and placed it to the side while giving her a new empty
one. This went on until the 6 bags that were in front of Alexander to begin with
were all full, Miss Giovani then asked Alexander what the next step was and
Alexander answered that they were going to empty the bags Miss Giovani asked
Alexander why he didnt put them on the scale instead to weigh them to which
Alexander replied because I am done playing. It was at this time that Kobi and
Harrison had already left leaving only Alexander and Miss Giovani at the
experience.
Alexander emptied all the bags by himself and reset his place at the learning
experience then proceeded to head inside.

Once the observation was finished I proceeded to assess and analyse

what I had seen through the theoretical lens of Vygotsky which means
that I looked more deeply at what types of interactions which had
happened within the observation as well as what types of learning that
had occurred due to these Interactions. The reason behind my choice in
using the theoretical lens of Vygotsky is that I allows me to have no pre
judgement of what I am seeing such as if a child is below where they are
expected to be development wise if I using Piaget developmental theory.
This then allows me the opportunity to develop a learning experience that
caters to the individual learning needs of Alexander, Kobi and Harrison.
Sociocultural theory does not mean that teacher no longer value the progress in key
development abilities such as language and physical, cognitive, social and emotional
development. It does however mean recognising that the process by which these
abilities and develop and the age at which they occur are not the same for all
children.(Fleer 2013)

In this Observation I could see Zone of Proximal development in the form

of Alexander observing Kobi and Harrison at play and then copying that
play and scaffolding in the form of Alexander calling the educator to help
Solve a problem with keeping the bags open and Kobi and Harrison
attempting to problem solve together. This all tells me that Alexander can
learn through observation in addition to problem solving and involve
others to help solve that problem and that while Kobi and Harrison
interact and problem solve together Harrison has the role of leader. From
the informal conversation I had with Alexander I learnt that while he
understood that part of the experience was filling the bags and that itself
was fun to do he didnt see why he had to use the scales so he chose not
to. With Kobi he told me that he like playing with Harrison at the
experience and also how the bird seed felt. Harrison on the other hand did
not want to talk to me and walked away when I tried to talk to him.
In the informal conversations I had with my mentors they informed me
that Alexander enjoyed problem solving and Literacy but did tend to
interact with adults more than his own peers if given the choice to initiate
a social interaction this was backed up by the evidence of my observation.
They also informed me that Kobi and Harrison tended to do everything
together and that while Kobi enjoyed talking and playing with everyone
Harrison preferred to either play on his own or with Kobi.
Now with my Assessment was done and analysed I started to look at what
kind of Learning experience I could develop that would help these three
boy in their further learning and development. With that in mind I talked
to my mentors and looked at the curriculums they used in the Early
learning centre (VEYLDF and EYLF) and came up with the following goals
and out comes that I wanted incorporate for my learning experience and
why.
Belonging To belong is to feel included. Belonging helps give children
the confidence to explore the world around them.
Developing a group learning experience
As Kobi and Harrison like to do activities together the choice of a learning
experience that only includes one of them make little sense as they both
feel more comfortable in each others presence and play together it also
gives Alexander the chance to interact with his peers
Being Being is about having the chance to be yourself and to do the
things you want to do.
Developing a learning experience that is based on the childrens
interests.
As all the children like the Bird seed learning experience I decided to
incorporate it into my learning experience. And to involve a form of
problem solving for Alexander.

Becoming- Becoming highlights the importance of early childhood in

developing the skill and knowledge to deal with later life.
Developing a learning experience that help the children learn new
knowledge.
As the children already know how to work with others I will develop a
learning experience that helps them explore working as a team of more
than two.
On the suggestion of my mentors and the practice of the centre of my
placement that suggest I include at three outcomes of the VEYLDF in my
learning experience.
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
The children will be working as a group to solve the problems that arise
during the learning experience. As well as develop a wider knowledge of
their world
Outcome 4: Children are condent and involved learners
The learning experience will be interactive and allow the children to take
the initiative and solve problems.
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
The Children communicate with each other and the educator they also
expand their knowledge of descriptive words for the world around them.
The learning Experience I developed was a large measurement cyclinder
place on the ground outside on the deck area on top of a tray, the
children had to fill the large cylinder using three smaller cylinders of
different sizes with bird seed. The problem was when the large cylinder
was filled to a certain point it fell over the aim of the Learning experience
is for the children with the educator to problem solve how to fill the large
cylinder to the top without it falling over.
During the learning experience the educator will ask the children question
such as how many of the small cylinders it will take to fill the large one.
While talking about measurement (the amount each cylinder holds),
comparing (the cylinders) and guessing (how many time will the amount
in the small cylinders go into the large cylinder)
Bozhovich(2010) has shown that in Vygotskys original research he used side by side
leading questions, examples, showing and explaining a solution, the beginning of a
solution by an adult who asked the child to continue finding it.(Fleer 2013)

The implementation of the Learning experience went very well and all the
children I had focused on for its development joined in.

Beliefs about learning should be reflected in your beliefs about assessment or

evaluation is based upon the assessment of learning in relation to the intended learning
goals.(Fleer 2013)

Observation 2. 20/06/2014. 10:45am. Deck.

Group learning experience
Stephanie Lindsay

Before the children even started to play with the experience they asked me
question about why there were numbers on the side of the cylinders and why
they were different sizes, they also wanted very clear instructions on how they
were to play to answer all of these question I asked the children questions in
return so they could come up with the answers to their own questions which
seemed to make them even more interested with the experience.
When I asked how many of the small cylinders it would take to fill the large
cylinder I got a wide range of answers Harrison said 1000 and Alexander said
500 while Kobi guessed 5. We then proceeded to find out, at the point where the
large cylinder was about to fall over Alexander pointed it out and grabbed it to
stop it falling he then said he would hold it while everyone else filled it, Kobi
then said he would help also so while kobi and Alexander help up the large
Cylinder the other children continued to fill it with bird seed. When it was full I
told Alexander and Kobi they could let go as the large cylinder was so heavy
now that it would not fall over. In the end the Large cylinder held 15 of the
smaller cylinders full of birds seed, As soon as the large cylinder was full the
children decided to empty it and do It all over again. The children continue to
play with the learning experience with other children coming to play and the
children themselves now explaining to new children how to play and asking
them to guess like they did, they did this till it was time to pack up for lunch and
we packed the experience away.

I believe I achieved the outcomes of my learning experience I can tell

this with the language the children started to use to explain to other
children how play as well as observing the children working as a team
within the learning experience. I also observed the use of Zone of
proximal development in the way the children filled the smaller cylinders
from previous knowledge and also scaffolding in the way the children
while guide by the educator came to the answers to problems that
arouse. Overall my actions as the educator in the experience supported
the learning and development of the children. I also ask my mentors what
they thought of the experience to which the said that it was well thought
out and had the interest of all the children and it gave them ideas for
their own development of learning experiences
From this observation I would expand this learning experience to lead to
other learning experiences that involve a form of measuring such
measuring the height of the children or how heavy objects are.

Reference

.Claire McLachlan, Marilyn Fleer, Susan Edwards. 2013. Early

Childhood Curriculum. 2ed. Cambridge University Press

Appendix
Observation 3. 16/05/2014. 10. 00 Am. Outside. Deck.
Alexander, Kobi, Harrison
S. Lindsay
Outside on the deck Alexander was sitting at a table that had a sensory learning
experience on it, the learning experience evolved multiple balance scales and
bags that could be filled to contain different amounts of bird seed and then place
on the scale to see which bags were heavier when filled. Alexander chose to sit
at the end of the rectangular table opposite to where Kobi and Harrison were
sitting together at the other end. Alexander at first maid no attempt to engage
with the learning experience but instead sat and observed both Kobi and
Harrison already playing.
During this time Kobi and Harrison were helping each other to fill the bags with
bird seed Kobi was holding the bag while Harrison used his hand to fill it while
filling their first bag Kobi suggested that Harrison should use the spoon but
Harrison ignore the suggestion and carried on using his hand.
After a couple of minutes Alexander picked up one of the bags with one hand
and while trying to hold it open used a spoon in the other to place bird seed in it
as he had seen the other children doing at the other end of the table.
Alexander after a while of trying to fill the bag with seed he called to the
educator of the room Miss Giovani and asked if she could come and help him.
Miss Giovani then said yes and came and sat beside Alexander and started to
ask him what he was trying to do and what could she do to help him. Alexander
then started to explain to Miss Giovani in great detail how you were supposed to
play and that it was his job to fill the bag with seed and it was her job to hold
the bag open for him.
At the other end of the table Kobi was trying to fill the bag he was holding at the
same time with Harrison but instead of using his hand he had chosen to use the
spoon. Harrison at this point was putting more bird seed on the table then he
was getting in the bag he seemed to become frustrated as more time went on
and in one moment said he didnt want to play anymore and got up from the
table. Kobi watch as Harrison got up and decided to follow him instead of
continuing to play.
Alexander and Miss Giovani had proceed to fill the bags when one was filled
Alexander asked Miss Giovani to close it which she did then Alexander took the
bag from Miss Giovani and placed it to the side while giving her a new empty
one. This went on until the 6 bags that were in front of Alexander to begin with
were all full, Miss Giovani then asked Alexander what the next step was and
Alexander answered that they were going to empty the bags Miss Giovani asked
Alexander why he didnt put them on the scale instead to weigh them to which
Alexander replied because I am done playing. It was at this time that Kobi and
Harrison had already left leaving only Alexander and Miss Giovani at the
experience.
Alexander emptied all the bags by himself and reset his place at the learning
experience then proceeded to head inside.

Observation 2. 20/06/2014. 10:45am. Deck.

Group learning experience
Stephanie Lindsay
Before the children even started to play with the experience they asked me
question about why there were numbers on the side of the cylinders and why
they were different sizes, they also wanted very clear instructions on how they
were to play to answer all of these question I asked the children questions in
return so they could come up with the answers to their own questions which
seemed to make them even more interested with the experience.
When I asked how many of the small cylinders it would take to fill the large
cylinder I got a wide range of answers Harrison said 1000 and Alexander said
500 while Kobi guessed 5. We then proceeded to find out, at the point where the
large cylinder was about to fall over Alexander pointed it out and grabbed it to
stop it falling he then said he would hold it while everyone else filled it, Kobi
then said he would help also so while kobi and Alexander help up the large
Cylinder the other children continued to fill it with bird seed. When it was full I
told Alexander and Kobi they could let go as the large cylinder was so heavy
now that it would not fall over. In the end the Large cylinder held 15 of the
smaller cylinders full of birds seed, As soon as the large cylinder was full the
children decided to empty it and do It all over again. The children continue to
play with the learning experience with other children coming to play and the
children themselves now explaining to new children how to play and asking
them to guess like they did, they did this till it was time to pack up for lunch and
we packed the experience away.