Critical Reflection on Professional Practice
Introduction
While learning at Amiga Montessori Center, I interacted with children aged one to two years and another group of kids aged between three and five years, allowing me to get first-hand interaction with children in early childhood education. Thus, completing the practical assignments opened a brand new world to me, in which I was able to implement my theoretical learning in real-life situations and develop a deeper understanding of child development and pedagogy. I did five observations and offered the lesson plan, and I observed sensory, social, and independent.
Reflections on Placement Experience
When it comes to my placement experience, I have learned so much through critical reflections and feedback from others. Five observations and lesson plans were conducted and I believe that each of them played a significant part in my learning process and grasp of early childhood education. My practice was based on the everyday process of engaging the children and other staff members of the centre and it involved circle time, Montessori activities, physical activities out in the yard and during meal time. These structured routines provided me with a great source for practice in observing the children and engaging with them, thus improving my knowledge of the practice of teaching.
Observations: Age Group 0 to 2 years
Observations made on the age ranging from 0-2 years related to how toddlers react or perform when faced with certain problems or situations and how they relate to people especially the children in their age bracket. While observing for the first time, I focused on how the children responded to particular kinds of sensory activities. I observed that they pay a lot of attention and are interested in utilizing objects with better sensuous qualities such as touching different surfaces with enthusiasm. This brought out the significance of sensual learning of their worldly environment for their better cognitive and motor learning (Berg & Winther, 2020). On this basis, the lesson plan that I developed for sensory play involved the use of sand, water, and soft fabrics to support the development of the childrens senses. It was not only beneficial for the children but also for their fine motor skills and the development of their sensory processing.
My second finding with this age group focused on free play on how the toddlers interact socially. As I was watching my video clip, I concluded that at a preschool age, kids already exhibited basic elements of sociability and cooperation by engaging in interaction sharing toys and turn-taking. This observation was very helpful in studying the part of human social development at its initial phase. As a result, I organized the group activity to enhance the development of the mentioned social skills. The activity entailed organized simple games that could involve sharing, turn taking which are essential in facilitating cooperative play and communication during early childhood (Gibb et al., 2021). I was able to enhance the classroom atmosphere by creating an environment where students feel like they are in a community with others while completing each activity.
Observations: Age Group 3 to 5 years
From my observations with the children in the 3-5 age group, I got to determine additional findings that were more advanced in early childhood education. My first observation was centered on circle time which is a teaching and learning activity where children are encouraged to listen to stories and sing songs. I deduced that playdough and painting are common activities that are excellent for fine motor skills as well as colouring, and both boys and girls in this age group love storytelling and music, necessary for language and listening (Taylor & Boyer, 2019). Being aware of these kinds of activities, I created a lesson plan and integrated storytelling among the students and the patients. To help in storytelling, I incorporated the use of objects such as pictures, toys, and other items to make the stories more interesting and captivating to the children and make them learn more language and think more creatively.
During my second observation of children in the 3-5 age group I observed the children during the Montessori activity session. I pointed out that the children could select their activities on their own and sustain attention for more time than I had expected. This observation went a long way in supporting the need for young children to be encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and be independent learners (Taylor & Boyer, 2019). To support this, I created a lesson plan, which includes a website that consists of different objects and children are supposed to sort and categorise them. In this activity, knowledge integration and the understanding of patterns and categories for sorting information were the significant learning areas for children. It also fostered the development of the generation of ideas and problem-solving which are very vital in early childhood learning.
The third observation of the older age group took place at the time of students outside play. It became apparent that outdoor play not only offered an opportunity for bodily movement but also for learning to make friends and even observe (Dankiw et al., 2020). Some children freely run around, climb, discover the surrounding nature and perform other actions. This observation emphasized the role of play, especially physical play and play outside in the child development process. From this, I developed an outdoor treasure hunt where the students had to incorporate movements with their observations as they searched for the items. The Basic Scavenger Hunt involved children looking for items in groups hence enhancing their togetherness as well as body-eye coordination and confidentiality.
Impact of Reflective Practices
Professional Skill Development
Reflection assists in the understanding of various theories of teaching and how these practices can be employed in real-life conditions. By going through the various tasks involved in the teaching-learning process and analyzing the outcomes, educators are in a position to understand the real sense of what they learned during their theoretical lessons, and how best they can apply them in facilitating learning in a classroom setup (Lubbe & Botha, 2020). For instance, while working in the teaching practice, the Montessori approach that I had a taste of enabled me to understand the benefits of the independence of children in their learning processes. Through my interactions with the children during the Montessori activities, it was evident that Montessori works when the learner is given an environment that fosters independence and learning at their own pace. As is evident from the EYLF, reflective practice is critical to providing good educational experiences to children. This enables educators to dialectally analyze their actions and decide or prescribe the best practices for childrens learning and development (Farrell, 2019).
The Australian Professional Teachers Standards (APTS) also show a desire for professional learning and reflective practice. Standard 6 and Standard 3 both recommend that teachers should assess the outcomes of their or other teachers professional learning practice to enhance the teaching practice and address students needs (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2023). Reflection used by educators may help teachers analyze outcomes of various actions that were taken in and outside the classroom, focus on the learning process, acknowledge the effectiveness of used strategies, and, if necessary, modify them (Machost & Stains, 2023). Not only is teaching enhanced by this process but it also lays down professional training, making educators more sensitive and professional in handling their tasks. It is, therefore, accurate to conclude that reflective practice is one of the significant components of professional development in early childhood education, which fosters the spirit of improved service delivery (Ruge & Mackintosh, 2020).
Improvement of Teaching Practices
Reflection in practical teaching makes it possible for the teachers to assess the viability of the proposed course of action and its applicability in solving the problem encountered in class by the students. It is a vital part of ongoing improvement processes, which reflect the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Australian Professional Teacher Standards (APTS). Reflecting allows teachers to reconsider their methods, and assess the effectiveness, as well as the efficiency of their strategies and their plans (Ruge & Mackintosh, 2020). For example, while in my teaching practice, I read and documented myself on a sensory play activity meant for toddlers; it was clear from the observation that while some kids seemed to be very captivated by some of the textures I provided, others did not seem to be very interested. This observation made me ensure that for a follow-up lesson, I had to select a variety of sensory items that would better cater for more kids such that no child would be left out. The EYLF outcomes of belonging, being, and becoming foster educators to assist children in participating in supportive and responsive environments (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2023). This is because reflective practice will help teachers improve and develop more effective strategies and methods that fit childrens needs, care about their belonging and address their growth in all aspects (Machost & Stains, 2023).
Further, contemplative practice is integral within the APTS, this time in Standard 6 (Engage in Professional Learning) and Standard 3 (Organise for Effective Teaching and Learning). In this way, the presented methods allow for walking through the guidelines of these standards and providing only high-quality education for each child. These are some of the things that reflective practice assists teachers in acknowledging and addressing the cultural, linguistic as well as developmental differentiations in the learners (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2023; Oo et al., 2023). Due to the complexity of teaching and learning processes, it is helpful for educators to evaluate and improve their teaching strategies. This not only improves education at schools but also creates a proper atmosphere for children where they can feel like valued members who are capable of achieving educational goals (Oo et al., 2023). Therefore, it can be concluded that reflective practice is an essential part of the professional growth of Early Childhood Education, as it fosters improvement and high standards.
Continuous/Ongoing Improvement and Development
Teacher-reflective practices uphold professional teaching skills by providing the teacher avenues to critically examine her observations and teaching plans, besides recognizing any areas that require enhancement. From this, it became evident that there were several important learnings that I identified during my placement that positively impacted the teaching process. For instance, I have seen that some of the lessons I planned at the start of my teaching career did not capture every childs interests, especially students with learning modalities or difficulties. Thus, I noticed the lack of incorporation of other teaching strategies like using materials as well as group and individual activities to cater for all kinds of learners. This approach is subsections with the EYLF where a key principle of practice is program and practice reflection. It engages educators to consistently reflect on the context and enact change based on the learning, development, welfare, and protection of children and their rights (The Australian Childrens Education and Care Quality Authority, 2022). Thus, reflective practice helps educators to enhance their practice and facilitate appropriate learning environments, which in turn can lead to higher levels of learning accomplishments and learners engagement, while the role of personalising learning becomes unclear. The Australian Professional Teachers Standards (APTS) also provide more emphasis on reflective practice as a way towards professional development. Standard 6 (Engage in Professional Learning) and Standard 1 (Know Students and How They Learn) state very clearly that it is vital that educators should be in a position to understand the needs of the students that they are teaching and should employ the most appropriate methods in disseminating information. (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2023) Unfortunately, the key concept of CRI (Culturally Responsive Instruction) is missing; however, in general, reflective practice allows teachers to improve their practices, learn something new, and become aware of the tendencies in the field of early childhood education.
Conclusion
The time I spent at the Center has made me realize the significance of reflective practice in early childhood education lessons. I have learned about good practice that has helped me acknowledge crucial aspects of teaching and embrace the need to be in a constant process of improvement. Pre-service teachers need to engage in reflective practices that will enhance their practices for the better, professionally, and to ensure that their practices meet the EYLF and the APTS. This ongoing process of reflection and improvement is termed as professionalism and plays a significant role in improving early childhood education to develop young learners.
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