"This is Our Road aye?"
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R and M are working busily in the sandpit. I overhear their
conversation.
M “Now we gonna build a road round the volcano ‘kay R?”
R “Yea and the cars are driving on it”
M “I know… the road can go this way over here” (draws a
trail with the edge of the spade around the volcano)
R “Yeah and we need a bridge aye? Our road will have a
bridge”
M “Yeah! Let’s dig the bridge. We’re gonna make it real
high, coz it’s a high bridge. This is our
bridge aye!”
The boys dig and dig together.
R “I’m gonna get a bigger spade coz then we’ll be heaps
faster aye M”
After observing this road project I was prompted to reflect
upon the significance of what the two boys were engaging in; they were working
together to create something and were using certain tools (technology) to
enable them to work more efficiently. I recognised that the technology being
used were the digging spades. “Technology is about helping people and solving
problems….knowledge, skills and resources are combined to find solutions” (Smorti, 1999, p. 5). In this particular
experience the spade was the technology that enabled R and M to achieve their
objective of building their road. This, to me, reflects the essence of what
Smorti is describing; technology in its most basic form.
What learning occurred throughout this experience? Te Whāriki makes clear the need for
children to develop problem solving skills through creative and critical
thinking. Problem solving skills are particularly important; as children begin
to explore their social and physical worlds and encounter a wide range of
technologies they will begin to understand
how these technologies could be used to help them (Ministry of
Education, 1996). Further to this, The New Zealand Curriculum says ""adaptation and innovation are at the heart of technological practice" (Ministry of Education, 2007). The innovation(or problem
solving) within this context appeared to be the length of time it was taking
the two of them to build the road. As one child recognised that there were
bigger spades he concluded that the bigger spade would make the job much
faster. The new technology (spade) helped them both to achieve a positive
outcome.
I also found the process the boys were engaged in to be
significant because it was such a common occurrence in every early childhood
setting. When describing what technology might ‘look like’ in an early
childhood setting Smorti (1999) likens this to creative
processes, saying “Using a process approach to technology…children will be
encouraged to design, make and appraise their work” (p. 6). When technology is understood
to be something that helps to solve a problem or a resource that becomes part
of a process, we can understand that technology is an integral part of so many
early childhood experiences. It has encouraged me to consider how, in my
Kindergarten, children are using technology in abundance; perhaps we overlook
this at times?
Creative exploration of technology is supported by socio-cultural
human developmental theory. Vygotsky believed that “when something completely
new is imagined and created, it becomes a real…it exists in our world and we
can think and act differently because it has been invented” (Fleer & Jane, 2011, p. 91). In this sense I am able to
understand the importance of sometimes stepping back and allowing children to
become engrossed in their experience; to truly explore what they are creating.
I believe my approach supported R and M’s exploration of technology and the
creative process.
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I love this reflection because it shows how even a low level technology – the spade, drives children’s learning in their play. It was great to see that the boys were able to problem solve to figure out that they could use the larger spades to get the job done faster. I feel that the sandpit provides children with numerous opportunities for learning, communicating and problem solving. When children problem solve they are developing critical thinking skills that they will use throughout their lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that “technology is an integral part of many early childhood experiences”. From doing this assignment I am now more aware of the technology that is used in the centre and also how it influences and supports children’s learning and development. As educators; it is important that we reflect on technology experiences to understand that it is essential to further enhance children’s experiences in the early childhood environment.
To further extend the children’s experiences in the sandpit maybe they could be provided with a range of low level technology (rakes, diggers, buckets, etc.) which will allow them to problem solve and share their learning with one another.