Entry 1
I noticed that two toddlers were playing with the baby dolls in the family corner. One of them is a boy and the other one is a little girl and I noticed that they always play together. I saw them wrapping the dolls in small blankets and talking about their babies at the same time. I heard the little girl saying “puke pepe” in her mother-tongue which basically means that the “baby is sick”. The little boy replied “eh, puke pepe?” The girl said “yes” and grabbed the stethoscope from the shelf and put in on before starting to examine the baby doll. The little boy started to say something but the little girl cut him off “ssh, ssh” while looking at the baby doll very seriously.
The little boy stopped and kept quiet until the little girl finished examining the baby and confirmed to him that “pepe puke” or “baby is sick”. The little boy looked sad and took his baby doll from the doctor and he went to explain to the children that were playing on the side that “ta mahaki puke pepe” which means that the “doctor in the hospital said, baby is sick”. The children came up to the baby doll to see how she was and they looked very interested. Some of them approached the doctor and started to talk to her and the doctor put on her stethoscope immediately and examined the children one by one.
I observed the children playing and I took some pictures so I could do a learning story for their portfolios. The children could revisit them later and share their learning with their friends and families.
Looking back at this learning experience, it is obvious that technology plays an important role in children’s learning and development. Technology or the “use of practical and intellectual resources to develop products and systems (technological outcomes) that expand human possibilities by addressing needs and realising opportunities” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.32) is a very important teaching tool for me as well as an effective learning tool for children. The use of the stethoscope in the family corner highlighted how technology supports children’s learning and playing, as they try to make sense of their play and their world (Ministry of Education, 1996). When it was established that the baby was sick, they instantly thought of the hospital, doctors and their roles and responsibilities to sick people. Therefore, they reached for the stethoscope to find out and to confirm whether the baby was sick or not.
The children role played really well and it was obvious that they had seen and experienced being sick and going to the doctor before. The stethoscope is used confidently because they had seen it used to tell their physical conditions. This shows that children’s development is further extended through “experiences and understanding of people, places, events and things” (MoE, 1996, p. 21).
Technology helped the children to develop their language and communication skills, as they tried to explain what happened to the baby dolls. Language is so important to children to express their feelings and thoughts and to communicate to others. Therefore, as teachers we need to support them in shaping their language development to become good communicators. We also need to respect the image of the child and develop good communication skills in order to understand what they are going through. If we continue to respect them and the challenges that they are going through in developing their language skills, then children will prosper as they will feel secure and confident in their language abilities (MoE, 1996).
When they found out that the doctor said the baby was sick, they went and shared this information with their friends and families and they were encouraged to see the doctor as well. This shows how important it is to know the context of the children and to understand their diversities. These children are pacific islanders and they live collectively, so anything that is happening to anyone in their community is shared with the rest of the community. The use of technology encouraged children to share information because “through responsive and reciprocal relationship with people, places, and things” (MoE, 1996, p.43) children are empowered to go further in life.
References
Google Image. (2012). Image of child girl doctor. Retrieved from
Google Image. (2012). Image of stethoscope. Retrieved from
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, he whaariki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
comment
ReplyDeleteHi Mi! where is your feedback because I cant see it!
DeleteIt is a nice story that I enjoy reading. The stethoscope as props to help the two toddlers was playing in make-believe. The toddlers understood why they use and how they use the stethoscope, so clever they are. The Early Childhood Curriculum ‘Te Whāriki’ recommends our early childhood setting should be providing different props and materials to encourage children fantasy play (Ministry of Education, 1996). Therefore, if teachers can provide more props such as doctor costume, toy medical instruments, e.g. otoscope and syringe also contribution and valuable in their make-believe play. ‘Te Whāriki’ also suggests “adults interact with toddlers’ emerging make-believe play” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 81). However, you can play with the toddlers next time. You pretend you sick and ask the children help you to do examine. In the process, you introduce the tools in different function for them. For instance, you can talk to the toddler say, “Doctor! My ear hurts, can you use your otoscope to check for me please?” Let the toddlers know that otoscope is for examine our ears.
ReplyDeleteReference
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, he whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Thanks Ki, I did that last week because it was part of my plan to extend the learning of these children but I did not use the otoscope! So, i will use that today!!Kapai Ki!
DeleteHi Sulieti Slethscope
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me with your digital device and you related it appropriately to real life experiences. When I hear the word technology I think more of a medical term and you presented the evidence in your scenario. Ki te pai to mahi Sulieti. This is an authentic learning experience for me as I have a different perspective on technology. I did not realise the significant role technology plays in our lives until now. I’m very impressed with the children’s reaction when the baby got sick especially when the resource was available at the time of the incident. Although the children were just acting it out in play, there was a special moment of closeness and support demonstrated in children’s concern about the baby being sick. It is quite important for us as educators to encourage children to have empathy towards others and protect and nurture their emotional well-being (Ministry of Education, 1996). When we teach the children the advantage of particular devices, they will learn to appreciate the availability of resources for their development and future learning. Through technology children learn to connect and build a responsive and reciprocal relationship with the wider world including people, places and things. Please check again on your referencing on (MOE, 1996) I’m not sure how strict the marking is for this semester, but it has to be written in full, as such (Ministry of Education, 1996),
Reference
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki matauranga mō ngā
mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New
Zealand: Learning Media.
Hi Daphne thannks for a very good feedback!! It makes me feel good about my feedback and I am more determined to write even though we have a million to write for our group!! Thanks Daphne and all the best!
DeleteTalofa Sulieti!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a pleasure reading your entry and what a remarkable one it was! I was particularly interested in the fact that the children were able to communicate to one another about the baby doll being sick and acting like it was real-life! I agree with your comment about children always learning from what they experience of in this case, what they saw happen at the doctors. The children using the stethoscope to check the baby doll was a memorable moment, where we as educators could build on these experiences through discussion, asking the children what they know about the tool, what they thought it was used for. I’m glad that you understand the importance of encouraging the children to become effective communicators through respecting them and the challenges they may face in terms of language skills. The Te Whaariki Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996) suggests that children extend on their language and communication through on-going learning experiences that foster their need to be confident in their language abilities. I also liked the way you linked the children’s experience with the experiences in their cultures and the influence that culture has on the growing minds and development of children, as well as the technology they use.
Ka Pai Sulieti, keep up the good work!
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whaariki: He Whaariki Maatauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Hi Gina! Thanks for your feedback and words of wisdom!! I really appreciate your constructive feedback and I really enjoy reading them! Thanks girl and catch up in class later!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for writing such an interesting article on this topic. This has really made me think and I hope to read more. best rated stethoscope for emt
ReplyDelete