In today’s session we were looking at the Maslow’s Hierarchy diagram. We also started to look at Bronfenbrenner’s theory and how in his theory he looked at the child being the centre of the theory and how its surroundings affect the child’s learning. The child being at the centre of the theory he discovered the were 5 different systems around the child to help the child learn these being:

• Microsystem = Family, Teacher and Peers etc.
• Mesosystem – Childs home, Classroom setting etc.
• Exosystem – Parents Workplace and extended family.
• Macrosystem – Culture
• Chronosystem – Things that happen overtime.

We established that looking at these systems and how they affect the child can help the child learn. If the child feels comfortable with the teacher and at home with their family can have a positive impact on their learning skills. Looking at the exosystem and how a parent’s workplace can affect the child if the parent gets paid the child could get treated to something nice which can make the child go to school happy and feeling positive.

We moved on to looking at how to maintain a positive relationship with Children and Parents which we then watched a video on. The video helped look at what positive affects you can have on a child to help build a good relationship with.  I found that children also respond through relationships which can help them start to feel and then they can learn and explore. I also found out that you need to make sure the child feels understood and you should encourage the child when they do well because it helps build the child’s self-esteem. If you also make sure the child knows you are there for them as moral support it helps them gain trust in you and help them gain the confidence to come to you when they need to.

You can also build an emotional bond with them and find a balance with a child’s learning skills so you know you can adjust the work to help their needs and help them understand better. A child will also gain an interest in a specific way through play such as; building or being artistic so putting this in place in their work can help them build more of an interest because you know what the child likes to do so they will be excited to learn and look forward to doing the activity in a lesson. Once you build a relationship with a child you will then understand what makes them happy, sad and what they like. You will then be able to identify their weak points in learning. Building a relationship with parents would be more difficult because a parent knows what they want their child to be learning and what expectation they have for their child. So to build a relationship with a parent you need to talk to have regular contact with them even if it’s a brief conversation when they pick their child up from school or you can give the child a communication book where if you or the parent have any concerns you can write it down or even arrange a meeting.

In today’s session we worked in groups that we were put in to last week to research different theorists. Our theorist was Piaget. We researched that Piaget based his theory on the intellectual development. He also based his theory on his daughter where he then found that there were 4 different stages of development.

• Sensorimotor Stage which happens from the age of 0 – 2years. Where a child’s knowledge comes from physical action and their senses (Sight, sound, taste and smell)
• Preoperational Stage which happens from the age of 2 – 7years. Where a child starts to use words, and understand the environment through play.
• Concrete Operational Stage this stage happens from the age of 7 – 11years. This is where the child starts to be able to use their own thoughts.
• Formal Operational Stage is the final stage which happens from the age of 11years through to adulthood. Which is where a child starts to understand logical thought and orderly thinking.

Pound.L (2012) How Children Learn (Digital Edition)

In our groups we had to present our research through a presentation. My group did our presentation by putting notes on Piaget and his theory, we also found that Jean Piaget:

• Piaget was born in 1896 and died in 1980.
• Became a Doctor of Natural Sciences in 1918.
• In 1921 he became Director of Studies at Jean Jacques Rousseau Institute in Geneva.
• Became a Professor of Child Psychology in 1929.
• Became a Director of Institute for Educational Sciences at the University of Geneva in 1933.
• In 1938 he became Director of Psychology and Sociology at the University of Lausanne.
• In 1940 he became Director of Experimental Psychology at the University of Geneva.

As a group it was different for us as we hadn’t really worked together properly before which benefitted us and helped our presentation skills for the future. I feel doing presentations helps boost our confidence especially mine as I am usually not comfortable with speaking out loud in front of people. So, I feel it will be good preparation for the future if I qualify and become a teacher. We also started to look at Behaviourism, Constructivist Approaches and Social Constructivist Approaches.

We also partially looked at the theorist B.F Skinner who based his theory on Behaviourism. His theories were demonstrated by doing an experiment on rats, which he found showed that animals and people learn through the consequences of their own actions. We found that with behaviourism asking a child a closed question can be more difficult so you must keep the interaction with the child around the area of work activities that helps the child work. Constructivists Approach we found that it helps stimulate the child’s approach to learning through thinking and experiment. It also provides a rich, varied and stimulating environment. Social Constructivist we found helps your self-esteem as a learner and helps you build on something can do.

Throughout this session I learned a lot about the different theorists and how they discovered their theories, some of them based their experiments through animals and some of them based them through people.

In the session today, I learnt that from the time you’re a baby up until the age of 25 you have brain spurts where your brain is still developing and you are still able to be educated. We also focused on Early Years Foundation Skills (EYFS) which is the guide provision of learning that happens from 0-5year olds. We looked at the importance of education and how play helps a child’s learning development.

We were asked last week to look at the different types of learning that takes place outside of the classroom. In today’s group discussion we were asked to look at ‘The Hive’ based in the University. As a group we discovered that many different learning skills happen there such as;

• Observation – focus on what on is going on around you, watching and listening to the TV.
• Mathematical – Money Exchanging – Adding and Subtracting money.
• Communication – Group discussions.
• Auditory- Can sit there and take notes with friends.

In a child’s early years learning is the most important part from birth to 5years old as from birth they are learning their sensory skills, how to hold their heads up, their sense of taste and how to feel and hold their toys. The most common way for a child to learn and improve on their skills is through play. As it’s a way for them to have fun and improve on their learning skills.

In our lesson today, we watched a video where there were children building a car. It was nice to watch because you could see the children were using all the skills they needed to work as a team. They were being creative and thinking about the parts they need to build the car. The children were using a book to look at a picture so they had the mental image of what they need to find. They were also looking for things to use outside and inside. They were using their communication skills, constantly talking about what they need and where to put things and helping each other move everything around. One child was showing empathy as it became hot and they were outside in the sun working hard he realised that all the children needed water, hats and sun cream so by using his mathematical skills he was counting how many children were taking part in the activity so he knew the number of cups he needed for the water.

We also had a discussion where we had to find someone in our class to compare notes on what helps me learn. I realised what helps me learn a lot is having a good teacher who can support you through the subject and if you feel like you have lost motivation you can talk to and they can help motivate you to push harder at your work. I have noticed recently that coming to my lessons in a positive mindset helps me focus better and get more involved in group discussion and it also helps me focus more in lessons. It also helps if you have a good class around you that you can build a bond with and feel comfortable to talk to as it will benefit you when you get stuck with something you can ask them for their opinion which can help you use your initiative and think more outside the box when it comes to your own work.

There are many different contexts in which someone can Learn but everyone finds it easier to learn in many ways. Some people find it easier to learn whilst doing an activity and being physical. This type of learner is something called being a kinaesthetic learner. Others may find it easier to learn by taking notes and making lists. This is also a structure of learning by reading and writing which be very common in many people as it is easier for someone to look back on notes they have taken to refresh their memory and help it sink in their memory. Some people may read things repeatedly so they remember better. Some people may see themselves as visual learner so they may find it easier to look at pictures or diagrams to learn and memorise detail this way. Being an auditory learner means someone learns things better listening and hearing the information from the mouth this can be learnt on the radio or from talking to someone and them giving them information or even by listening to a recording repeatedly.

In this week’s session we looked what kind of learner am I? I think I learn best by taking notes so I can read back over my notes if I am stuck or need to refresh my memory. I also feel I learn better by doing things and being physical as I think it makes me use my head a lot more as I have to keep focus and concentrate harder. I feel like my weak points in learning is that I lack in speaking out loud in front of people which I would like to improve on as it would help my confidence in the near future. I also think it would benefit me to is if I feel like I don’t understand a topic in my lesson it would be good for me to grow more confidence to ask for help or advice. I feel like I am quite good at learning things quickly and being able to help others if they don’t understand something. I also think I am quite good at taking notes and get most of the information given to me so that I can look back on them.

I think in the future to help me in my journey in my Education Degree it would be good to be able to gain support from the peers within my class so that if there are any points I don’t understand or they don’t we can each share opinions and learn different things from each other. It would also be a benefit for me to do a lot of research and studying to help me keep on track with my sessions every week. My organisation skills could also improve so always turning up to my sessions prepared such as looking on moodle every week so I know what to expect in my sessions where I can do some research beforehand. I also think it would be good to speak to my lecturer or someone I feel comfortable talking on a weekly  basis so I know where I am at, and what I can improve on this will also help me in the future when it comes to my exams and help me strengthen my weaknesses.