ROSE AGUILAR-GARCIA

Date: 15 June 2016

Criteria Number: 7

Children as co-learners

DESCRIBE:

It was again a super busy day at the centre. Almost all children were present. I don’t know if it’s only today but I find it
interesting to write this reflection about seeing children working together as one. At the beginning of the day, I saw most
of the children at the music corner. There was a song playing in the ipod and each child held their own set of musical
instruments. I love how they were exploring each musical instrument but I love it more to see them playing good music
together. Later on, when they saw that one of the teachers was setting up something in the atelier, they got curious and
they went straight there to see what was being set up. More than 5 children went round the circular table. They waited
patiently as the teacher put the painting on the table. The teacher noticed that only one child had a paper so she asked
where the other papers were. To my surprised, the child with the paper went near to the pile of papers and immediately
handed it to one of the children at the table. It was so nice of her to give the paper to the child and showed her other
friends where they could find the papers for their painting.

INFORM:

Seeing children doing the same thing at the same time is amazing. As we all know, children have different sets of interests
and is just so nice to see that at some point, they are sharing the same interest. Maybe it is because of their curiosity or it
must be because they just would like to become part of a group. No matter what their reason is, I am just happy with what
I had witnessed. When I saw them playing the musical instrument and making music together, I felt that they enjoyed
each other’s company. The music that they were playing was such a melody to my ears. And then, watching those lovely
children who were very excited in the painting activity was priceless. And I wouldn’t forget the most astonishing part of it
which was the act of the child giving the paper to her friend. For a toddler to do that, it’s just so amazing. Children just
continue to surprise me with a lot of things. And I find it so nice to witness every magical moment that they are offering
and showing to people around them.

CONFRONT:

Children learn to communicate and think with the help of their peers (Smith, 2013). According to socio-cultural theory,
children learn through their engagement with the people and things around them. They are expanding their knowledge
and skills through social interactions with their teachers, peers and whanau (Clairborne & Drewery, 2014). Through these
interactions that they form their “funds of knowledge” (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzales, 1992). Also, participation of
children in group learning experiences is positively related to the improvement of their learning in a lot of areas including
social skills and tolerance of frustrations (Mitchell, Wylie & Carr, 2008). These interactions make them learn how to cope
with the struggles, competition and challenges in their life. And aside from that, they are also starting to lay down the
foundation of a strong relationship between each other which could possibly lead to children showing concerned towards
one another. But since they (infants and toddlers) can’t communicate verbally, they are using nonverbal cues and gestures
to convey the message that they want others to perceive. At an early age, children are developing the ability to respond
to non-verbal cues, requests or messages of the people around them (Ministry of Education, 1996).
RECONSTRUCT:

As a teacher, I love seeing children being engaged in learning experiences where they share their own set of knowledge
to other children. It is nice to see that children are having a great time interacting with one another and it’s always good
to see them learning from each other. But more important than that is knowing that they care for one another. They are
happy to share what they have with their peers. The respect with each other is there. Through a range of nonverbal
communication and gestures, infants and toddlers are able to convey a message of concern to their peers. It is amasing to
see these lovely children being so mindful and caring of their friends and the people around them.

As a teacher, I would like to encourage children to work in groups so they would be able to become co-learners. It is quite
challenging for infants and toddlers because of their nature but having seen this kind of scenario, I know that it is possible
for children (infants and toddlers) to learn alongside their peers.

Reference:

Clairborne, L. & Drewery, W. (2014). Human Development: Family, place, culture (2e). Sydney, Australia: McGraw Hill.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whaariki: He whaariki maatauranga moo ngaa mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood
curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.

Mitchell, L., Wylie, C., & Carr, M. (2008). Outcomes of early childhood education: Literature review. New Zealand Council
for Educational Research.

Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D. and Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to
connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, XXXI, 2, 132-141

Smith, A., (2013) Understanding Children and Childhood: A New Zealand Perspective (5th Edition). Wellington, New
Zealand: Bridget Williams Books. 7-10