Functions of Child Learning Through Play

Functions of Child Learning Through PlayIn new-made Zealand, frivol is considered as an important aspect of childrens acquaintance in particular in Early Childhood grooming. Dockett and Fleer (2002) explain that Play is considered as a potentially powerful medium for accomplishment and a strong experience for those mired in it. According to Oliver and Klugman (2002), tamper is the way a child explores his world, builds skills and exercises his imagination and learns by experiences (p. 66).What did I do or think in relation to children discipline done play before the treations and presentation? - Before discussions I did think that play is just for fun, am employmentment and good time pass for children. Earlier play was important for me, but wasnt that important as it comes clear after the discussions.What do I think now in relation to children instruction through play - Undoubtedly, play is the strong base for childrens physical, cognitive, emotional and affectionate discipline. Importance of social confidence long-term effects (MoE, 1996).Physical play strengthens childrens gross motor skills through activities like riding bikes, swings, water play, running, climbing, kicking balls as well as fine motor skills by involving in activities of drawing, painting, cutting, play with dolls. Play also holds signifi brookt importance for childrens cognitive maturation. It helps them in problem solving, reasoning and thinking while they are involved in plays much(prenominal) as puzzles, dramatic play, block play and storytelling. (Bruce, 2001) explains that language development through play is also fostered in children by verbal and non-verbal communication while expressing their feelings, interacting with playmates and earreach to others language (Cited in New Zealand Tertiary College NZTC, 2012).According to Glover (2001), through play, children develop and keep up their social skills and develop relationships when they interact with others. Play ing in groups or pairs (Cooperative play) allows them to practice their skills of sharing, turn taking, self-control and co-operating while participating in dramatic and creative plays. Children extend and practice their knowledge of the wider world through post play such as fire fighter, doctor, father, etc. During group plays, children get the opportunity to express and control their feelings, generalize others feelings, learn to resolve internal fears and conflicts. active participation of children in their avouch world fosters mastery and control resulting in providing the feelings of competency and self-efficacy. Play also helps children to discover about self-including likes and dislikes (Klien, Wirth, Linas, 2004).According to the principle of holistic development in Te Whriki, learning and development includes opportunities for open-ended exploration and play. For usage, children love to play in sandpit, water, papers where there is no limit of summation of things tha t they can do with them. Materials can engage them for hours as they watch the effects that their actions can have on them (Ministry of Education MoE, 1996). This surmisal is also linked with design 4 of strand of exploration which explains that children experience an environment where they develop working theories for make sense of the social, physical and natural worlds.(MoE, 1996, p.90) and learning outcomes also include knowledge, skills and attitudes.Piaget believes that stages of development are directly related to stages of play (cited in hoar, 2010) .For example Functional play (birth- 2 years) fosters sensorial-motor skills in infants when they explore objects in a variety of slipway using their different senses and physical abilities, can be linked to Te Whriki, Goal 2 of Exploration strand and learning outcomes of developing strategies for actively exploring and making sense of the world by using their bodies and all the senses (MoE, 1996, p.86). Pretend play, which enables children to socialise, incorporate others in their play, use substitutions for real objects, respect others ideas and learn to negotiate.Lev Vygotskys theory is another perspective to explain the impact of play on childrens learning in early childhood education. According to McNaughton and Williams (2004), Vygotskys theory explains that play generates imagination through which children understand their feelings and desires. It also gives importance to rules to follow during the play to make it successful and also emphasize the importance of the social settings in which learning takes place. According to Docket and Fleer (2002), Vygotsky believes that play held greatest developmental significance in early childhood years. Children have rules and roles during the play and they learn and develop inside a social and cultural setting, which can be further linked to goal 3 of Contribution and strand of Communication mentioned in Te Whriki. In his theory, play is explained as soc ial learning and sometimes play is directed by the social world and children transmit social and cultural information and knowledge (cited in Dockett Fleer, 2002) . For example If a child is playing alone and being mother, father or farmer, what these roles act and what social and cultural origin they have, varies with different social and cultural settings. It is also explained in goal 3 of Communication in Te Whriki. Moreover, Vygotsky also emphasised that parents and educators assume an important role in childrens learning which is again a vital component of Te Whriki as mentioned in goal 1 of belonging.To summarise, Play is the central component in The New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum which fulfils all curriculum requirements and learning outcomes needed by the infants, toddlers and young children as mentioned in Te Whriki. Moreover, above mentioned two theories powerfully supports the role of play for development and learning of children in early childhood years. The str ands, goals and principles of early childhood curriculum Te Whriki also explain the significance of play in childrens learning and holistic development and make it a framework in early childhood education in Aotearoa/New Zealand.What does this inform me about future my role as a beginning teacher?- Early childhood teacher plays an important role in childrens learning and development. Children need a safe and secure learning environment in which they should be given opportunities to explore and understand their feelings, emotions, experiences from which they will construct knowledge. Teachers can toss children with a range of quality learning experiences which will encourage active learning, problem solving, effective communication, creativity, social adjustment and participation. To provide children with active learning environment, teachers should understand the individual child by knowing childrens background, family situations, parental expectations play experiences and prior l earning experiences. Dunkin and Hanna (2001) believe that teacher plays various roles such as facilitator (by providing ideas and strategies to extend their thinking and reasoning), co-learner (by using open-ended questions, supporting them in difficult tasks and by modelling of language), co-partner, listener/decoder, observer, planner, while involved in childs learning through play. They also emphasize that a teacher should also have formal or informal observation of childs strengths, interests and stages of development and should discuss and share the observation results with colleagues and families/whnau. While engaging in childrens play, teachers should encourage them to express their ideas through communication. At the same time, allow children to play themselves to develop their own learning, providing different kinds of play such as physical, sensory, explorative, creative and individual and group play (Dunkin Hanna, 2001).To implement a play-based curriculum, the role of a teacher is actually crucial. For exampleIn physical play, young children need opportunities to further develop their physical skills and practice to control their body movements, teachers need to facilitate these opportunities with availability of space and equipment. By providing sufficient range of equipment and materials, time and space, a teacher can support to develop their concentration skills by explorative play. Teachers can be play-partners or co-constructors for sensory play such as by providing opportunities to explore a variety of natural materials (sand, water, dust etc.) (NZTC, 2012).Teachers should also use strategies of problem solving, encouraging, praising and helping, questioning and suggesting (Macnaughton and Williams, 2009). They should use open-ended questions rather than direct answers and allow children to share their knowledge, ideas, beliefs and thoughts to extend their interests. Another very useful teaching strategy is following childrens Interest, wher e teacher can adjust the activities according to childs lead rather than using own pre-planned activities.Implication for my teaching role in future- Play is very important aspect of childrens learning especially in Early Childhood Education in New Zealand. It focuses on the learning and holistic development of child through various types of plays (social, physical, sensory, explorative and creative) and creates the right atmosphere for children to learn life skills and paves the way for holistic development (MoE, 1996). As children spend most of their wakeful hours in Early Childhood Education in New Zealand, so teachers play central role in their lives. As a future teacher I will focus on encouraging children for play and will create an environment which is non-violent, inviting, informative, fun loving and homely. Therefore, I will follow limited and effective teaching strategies which are already discussed earliar in previous section, to enhance and extend childrens learning t hrough play.Reference ListBruce, T. (2001). Learning through play Babies, toddlers and the foundationyears. London Hodder Stoughton.Dockett, S., Fleer, M. (2002). Play and pedagogy in early childhood Bending therules. Southbank, VIC Thomson.Dunkin, D., Hanna, P. (2001). Thinking together Quality adult-childinteractions. Wellington New Zealand Council foreducational Research.Glover, A. (2001). The role of play in development and learning. In E.Dau(Ed.), Childs play Revisiting play in early childhood settings.Rosebury, NSW MacLennan Petty.Klien, T., Wirth, D., Linas, K. (2004). Play Childrens context for development. InD. Koralek (Ed.), Spotlight on young children and play. Washington, DC NationalAssociation for the Education of Young Children.Grey, A. (2010). Developmental theories in early childhood education. In B. Clark A. Grey (Eds.), Perspectives on early childhood education. Ata kite ate pae scanning the horizon (pp. 46-54). North Shore, New Zealand Pearson.MacNaughton, G., Williams, G. (2004). Techniques for teaching youngchildren Choices in theory and practice (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest,NSW Pearson Education Australia.Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whriki He whriki mtauranga m ngamokopuna o Aotearoa/Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New ZealandLearning Media.New Zealand Tertiary College. (2012). Play as framework for learning 1study guide. Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand TertiaryCollegeOliver, S. J., Klugman, E. (2002). Playing the day away. Child CareInformation Exchange, 5, 66-69