20 The child in ECCE classroom, integrated learning, thematic learning, play way method of learning

G. Baradha

1 Introduction

Children have to be moulded in the right direction at the young age; whatever they learn during this period will be embedded in their mind, if learning is in proper direction, will be the foundation for further learning; if the learning is without proper guidance, however hard the parents or care givers or educators try, it is difficult to correct in the later years. Thus the parents, teachers, classroom, method of teaching/ learning and the instructional materials used to play a prominent role in child’s learning process. Since it is the first time children are coming out of home, everything is new to them. They require a proper orientation about the world he enters for which ECCE centres, people with whom they come into contact and activities they do in ECCE centres in order to make the children comfortable; so as to have good basic foundation, progress in learning which enables all the domains of the development qualitative.

Learning objectives

By learning this lesson the students are able to understand:

how the child experiences in ECCE classroom
the kind of learning children have such as integrated, thematic and play way method of learning.

2 The child in the ECCE classroom

In recent times it can be noted that too many children enter formal school inadequately prepared for learning. This lack of preparedness has led children not being able to understand learning goals, high rates of school dropout and more so children falling behind the optimal progress line. Further, if children have to succeed and be ready for formal school, it is required that early childhood services are provided to children which cater to holistic developmental needs. The bottom line is that “A child forms the crux of the classroom in any early childhood centre”. Therefore, it is essential to understand the child’s psychology, the level of child’s development, the early education process, the environment i.e., kind of classroom, and kind of education practices along with best facilities for care. All these aspects together form a child centric practice, which are key to achieve the best in a child.

If metaphorically, a child was to be considered a blank slate and the classroom experience, the writing medium, most of what the child understands and relates to is built through early experience. Foundations are set in the classroom. However, one cannot overlook the biological environment. The early childhood classroom must attempt to bring together the child’s family and facilitating individuals to enable the child’s learning and development.

Children in the early childhood classroom possess many roles:

Learner: the child is the primary learner in the classroom. All that is designed, developed and organised, facilitates the building of scaffolding for further structuring. It is at the classroom that most of his learning takes place with the help of skilled professionals. The home forms a means of constant reinforcement only when the classroom and home come in to active contact.
Explorer: While learning and even before learning, children explore spaces and object to feed their inquisitive minds. The mere wandering of the mind, leads to incidental learning in an active classroom. Research has strong evidence to support that less rigid evironment of learning, provide for exploration.
Initiator of learning: With exploration a child initiates his learning. An observant early childhood professional will promote exploratory learning, to fuel the building mind. To promote anatomy in thought and to build on skills of early analysis and reasoning, children should be allowed to direct and initiate the learning in a classroom.
Social existence: Every classroom is a model of social existence. It is here, where many learners come together, to gather ideas: ideas of the world. A child develops theory of mind with relation to other social existence. Social development routes to emotional development and in turn connects to cognitive development. Each child is a model himself and other learners in the classroom also form social models, to help in mutual learning. The early childhood professional, aids in the social development process and also navigates the child’s learning process. Marbina, Church and Tayler, (2011), consider the following practises “child friendly” and emphasize the need for the below stated in the ECCE classroom

Research in brain development and neuroscience proves that early experiences in learning predict positive future outcomes

Genetics play an important role in nature’s selective process; however a child’s experiences in the early childhood classroom promote and partially determine brain development. Research indicates ways of learning in a major stimulating classroom as a major promoter of brain development.

Play way of learning: Learning takes place best in the language children understand best, i.e., play, the development of cognitive skills and knowledge takes place through play. Early childhood professionals need to understand the meaningful need of play in the early years, to aid in building of concepts through the medium of play.
Equilibrium between child-directed play, guided play and adult-led learning is essential

Self-directed learning, facilitated learning and instructed learning allows for holistic learning. The child and the teacher, both of whom form the crux of the classroom, come together to integrate learning to yield the best of the cognitive process.

Teaching and learning by means of integration is most effective when it caters to the chil

Identification and response to impulsive teaching moments in the classroom by early childhood professionals, achieve the best outcomes. Integrating methods and curriculum to suit the immediate needs in a classroom requires skills and a deep understanding of how learning takes place in early years.

A curriculum that flexes itself to cater to individual needs in a classroom predicts positive outcomes.

Every individual learns differently as supposed to their cognitive abilities and early stimulation. Learner/ child centred practices allows a child to explore and experience without inhibition.

Active interaction by early childhood professional with children contributes to a good early education foundation.

Observing, listening, interacting, encouraging, guiding and constructive feedback contribute to better and enhanced learning. This also calls for early childhood professionals to play an active and facilitative role in a child’s learning.

Early childhood professionals need to reflect on their practice

A reflective practice keeps an early childhood professional informed of his/her work.

This reflection should include effective planning, execution, observations and learning in the classroom. This will allow to build on strengths, mend flaws and strengthen abilities facilitate the child better in the classroom.

v Ideal classroom

An ideal ECCE classroom should have a spacious outdoor area with equipment namely slide, swing, seesaw, built in types, horses, cycles, ears, sand pit, rope ladder which facilitates physical and motor development.
Thematic displays in the outdoor area
Display boards both inside rooms and outside area, in which pictures related to the theme, daily and weekly schedules, announcements, remarkable product of child’s activity, photos and so on
Wall paintings inside the classrooms and on the walls outside
Meaningful and variety of displays of play materials/ sand tray model/ puppets
Wall ventilation and lighting
Availability of equipment such as TV/ record player/ LCD projects/ cameras/ mike setup
Clean and tidy bathroom and toilets
Mirror with napkins/ combs
Purified drinking water facility
Space for children’s lunch time and parents arrival and waiting
Sufficient musical instruments/ story aids/ play equipment
Children’s library
Space for creative corner, manipulative corner, science corner, play corner, doll corner, story corner, book corner

3 Integrated learning

Integrated learning makes way for exploration, accumulation, analysis and cognition in the early childhood classroom (Pigdon and Wooley, 1992) It further allows children to participate in focused and applicable learning. The integrated learning approach allows the child to build connections and relationships between theme, concepts and various areas of the curriculum. Integrated learning is said to be the best way to promote analytical thinking in the early years. Much of the success of the integrated learning approach can be attributed to the rapid brain development that occurs during the early years. While, both of the integrated learning and brain development are interdependent, a conducive learning environment and teachers/ facilitators that understand the purpose of the curriculum in the early years make the process successful completion.

Drake and Burns (2004) have conceptualized two different integrated learning approaches based on their observation in the field. The claim that every educator has a variation of their understanding of integrated themes and their observation had given rise to classifications.

Integrated learning classification
The multidisciplinary integration: This approach focuses primarily of disciplines, or subjects. Each of these subjects is organized around a central theme. For example if the theme is ‘Family’, then all the activities are centered on the theme ‘Family’.

The interdisciplinary integration: In this approach the teacher organizes the curriculum around common learning that occur across various disciplines/subject. Common learning across subjects are grouped together that focus and emphasize cross disciplinary skills and concepts. Furthermore, while the disciplines are identifiable, they assume lesser importance than that of the former stated integration approach

4 The thematic approach in early childhood education

A pedagogical method that basis itself on the “selection of a theme or a topic of learning” can be said to be a thematic approach. In this method, the curriculum is organized around a theme. The thematic approach as a way of teaching and learning, where in multiple areas of curriculum are linked and integrated into a theme. All of the connections, links and integration are common to a theme. The thematic approach can also be termed as a constructivist approach as it allows for construction of knowledge in both individual and social environment.

This pedagogical method unifies unrelated information to facilitate learning in the early childhood classroom. It suffices the integration principle that is a vital principle of the early childhood classroom. Various educationists also call it a wholesome and holistic approach to learning. As the approach enables the child build connections between and within themes, the crucial skill of analysis and reasoning is facilitated early in life. Most phenomenon in the universe occur with existence to others, and the thematic approach facilitates thinking within and also outside the classroom.

Basic steps in thematic learning are:

Selection of a theme
Duration to introduce the theme
Plan activities related theme
Collect resource materials related to theme
Integrate the theme with regular schedule of the ECCE centre

Points to keep in mind while selecting a theme

Children learn from the crux of every experience in the ECCE classroom. ECCE personnel/ teachers must brainstorm while selecting themes to check for:

o feasibility, so as to experience without threat

o accessibility, so as to provide a direct experience with related materials

o to be interesting, meaningful and worth knowing about the theme

o complexity, able to provide a gradual experience from simple to complex

o duration of each activity

o age appropriateness, so as to develop developmentally appropriate concepts.

o availability of the methods and materials to be used

o teachers knowledge about the theme

o possibility for assessment

v Execution of the thematic approach

Classroom setup: to execute a theme in the ECCE classroom, the teacher can plan a lot of theme related activities that are designed to intrigue the child’s cognitive process. This will facilitate in the child to imagine as the theme is being introduced by the teacher. A well set environment with lots of models and displays, means for communication between teacher and child, therefore promoting the learning experience. Classroom setups can include:
Material setup: Activity areas for example manipulative corner, creative corner, story corner, science corner, block corner, doll corner; group areas such as pre KG, LKG, UKG and teaching material should be setup before children come into the classroom. This saves time and also avoids confusion during the execution process. Designated areas within the classroom can have all related materials laid out. For example: activity area can have material for the execution of a painting activity.
Wall displays: Scenes related to the theme can be drawn or banners of the same can be put up to help the child “feel the experience”. The same can also aid in role play or activities like dramatization. Theme display can be setup in the outdoor area, as the child enters the school, can observe, analyse and synchronize with the theme.
3 Dimensional objects: All material within the classroom need not always be on charts or drawn on boards. The use of 3dimensional object or models or live models, gives the child an interesting experience. Puppet show is the most interesting and exciting one for children.
Inviting children: The children can be brought in to learning areas by the teacher. While children are brought in to the classroom, the teacher can encourage dialogue and discuss the theme as questions arise. A well set classroom can be a feast for questions and answers.
Explaining the theme: Get the children to seat themselves on mats or chairs in a semicircle so as to have eye contact with all. This helps in full attention and less distraction. Teachers can start their sessions with informal dialogue or a theme related story or any literature. The introduction can be followed by planned activities and recap session at the end of the day.

List of themes to be used in ECCE centres

5 The play-way method

Of the many approaches to learning in early childhood education, the play way method moulds itself around the interest of the child. The play way method propagates the need for learning through play activities.

Philosophy of the play-way method

Prochner (2002), describes the play way method to be one of the many European- styled preschool methods that were bought to India in the early 19th century as a means of philanthropic and missionary efforts. Furthermore, it also claims that these European methods were adapted as time passed to suit the Indian ideas on education.

Frobel developed the kindergarten (kindergarten in German meaning “child garden”) concept as a school, for four to five year olds that focused on the needs of the child just before entering formal school. Frobel emphasized that play forms a means for children to imitate activities observed and socialize with their peer group. Stimulating activities (play) that are self-initiated was to be the best practice according to Frobel. Furthermore, the play way approach had to comprise of the child’s creative thinking power, physical movements, thoughts that bring together self-image as well as educational interests.

v Principles of the play way method

As per Maheshwari (2013), the principles are:

An approach that builds itself on the concept of learning through activities (play activities)
Self initiated learning with little guidance from the educator/teacher
Being self initiated it also aids in self expression
Helps in developing an active learning environment
Provides for all the domains of development
Participation is the core and play way approaches allows for the same
Skills of memory, reasoning, and thinking promoted
Enables multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary learning

v Materials and methods in the play way approach

Kindergarten method uses unique visual material that are used to construct the play way system, so as to help children experience art, design, math concepts and their environment and nature. The material and methods developed and designed by Frobel were called gifts and occupations for the use of kindergarten. The “gifts” included a hidden meaning and just not a physical form. These gifts therefore could be used to convey the concept along with cognitive consciousness.

Six soft, colored balls
A wooden sphere, cube, and cylinder
A large cube divided into eight smaller cubes
A large cube divided into eight oblong blocks
A large cube divided into twenty-one whole, six half, and twelve quarter cubes
A large cube divided into eighteen whole oblongs: three divided lengthwise; three divided breadthwise
Quadrangular and triangular tablets used for arranging figures
Sticks for outlining figures
Whole and half wire rings for outlining figures

Various materials for drawing, perforating, embroidering, paper cutting, weaving, paper folding, modelling, and interlacing

The “gifts” as a series begins with simple objects and gradually progresses to the complex objects. All of these help in concept development through the environment experiences and also through teacher facilitation. Additionally, the occupations were defined to be items like paper, pencils, wood, sand, clay, straw and sticks all of which could be used for constructive activity.

6 Conclusion

Parents these days have shifted focus from the need of play in early years to activities that are competitive and self-centric for their child. While the focus in current years is on readiness through rote learning of more so by the means of formal learning, play and its importance has taken a back seat. Furthermore, if a child is to learn or build on concepts and initiate the learning curve, it ought to be done in a language that he understands best and many researchers argue that the only medium is play. Arguably, while the multiple intelligence approach identifies itself as a early childhood approach, it also grooms itself around learning through play activities in the early years and activities that the child relates to. Interesting, enthusiastic and motivating classroom with various colourful equipments for integrated and thematic learning attracts parents and children to preschool which is the focal point for laying the foundation for various domains of development of the child in the qualitative path.

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