LAVC Child Development & Bronfrenbrenners Systems Tasks

Choose 2 of the 5 approaches to focus more deeply on. What elements do they share, and how do they differ? 

Be specific and descriptive.

Explain why you chose those approaches over the others. If you could  have chosen which approach feels like the best match for you? Explain

After reading this enlightening article answer these two questions.

1.  What is an example of how you have seen in life or in our videos a baby  or toddler learning one of the 6 C’s mentioned here in the article?

2. Name at least two things you really learned from this article. (kind of an ‘ah ha’ or understanding moment)

LINDA GROVES GILLESPIE  Play is Never Just Play    

Twenty-two-month-old Shane and 27-month-old Kara are playing nap time  in the dramatic play area. As their caregiver Vivian watches, Kara  tells Shane they are going to play nap time and asks him to get his  blanket from his cubby. Then Kara turns to Vivian and says, “Can we get  some mats out, so we can play nap time?” Vivian says, “How many mats do  you need?” Kara looks at Shane, then herself. She holds up two fingers  and says, “Two, one for me and one for Shane.” Vivian gets two mats and  asks, “Where would you like them?” Kara points to an area in the  dramatic play space.

Vivian notices Zach, a quiet 2-year-old, watching closely. She says,  “Zach, do you want to play the game with Kara and Shane?” Zach nods his  head. Vivian says, “Kara, I think Zach is interested in playing too.”  Kara says, “OK, then we need another mat!” She turns to the boys and  says, “It’s our nap time, so here’s your mat, Shane, and here’s yours,  Zach. I’ll get mine. Get your blanket, Zach. We are going to take a  rest.”

Shane says, “But I don’t want to sleep; I want to play.” Kara says,  “Shane, we’re just pretending, remember?” Shane says OK. Zach, Shane,  and Kara all lie down on the mats. As they pretend to go to sleep, Zach  says, “But we didn’t have a story! We always have a story before nap!”  Kara says, “OK, I’ll get a story to read to you.”

The two boys sit up. Kara gets a book from the shelf, and they sit in  a circle. It’s a familiar book. As Kara tells the story, she turns the  pages, pretending to read. She points to the illustrations and uses them  as guides to tell the story. When she is finished, she says, “Time for a  nap. Let’s go.”

They lie down on their mats and pretend to sleep for about two  minutes, and then Kara says, “Snack time!” They all get up and go over  to the table in the dramatic play area, where they pretend to eat  snacks, using wooden blocks as cookies.

What just happened here? And more important, what learning has  occurred during this free-play time? Let’s break it down. First, the  children choose what they want to do and how they want to do it. Kara is  the obvious leader, as well as the oldest. The younger boys are happy  to follow, but they contribute their thinking also. Kara shows many  skills in this scenario. She is leading the play, resolving conflict,  asking for help, and integrating the program’s daily routine into their  play. Kara is counting and showing an understanding of one-to-one  correspondence. She knows how to turn the pages of a book, point to  pictures, and use language to tell a story. She is demonstrating many of  the skills that professors Kathy Hirsch- Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff  (2016) call the Six Cs: collaboration, communication, content, creative innovation, critical thinking, and confidence.  These are the skills that children will need as adults to succeed in  the 21st century, and the children in this scenario are developing them  seamlessly and organically through play. Let’s explore these concepts a  little further.

Collaboration can be thought of as the  ability to work with others toward a shared goal. Kara, Shane, and Zach  are collaborating on what to play and how to play it. While Kara may be  leading the play, she is also sensitive to the needs of her two friends.  For example, at Vivian’s suggestion, she easily brings Zach into their  play and responds to his need for a story. This important skill—  collaboration—is built and cultivated early as children begin  cooperative play.

Communication can be either verbal or  nonverbal, and we see both in this vignette. Vivian notices Zach’s body  language as he watches the play unfold. It happens verbally when the  children share their needs and ideas about the direction of the play.  The children have developed this ability over time because rich  interactions with caring adults have supported the brain development  necessary for communication skills to emerge. The children converse,  listen to each other, and know how to ask for help.

What about content? The content in this  scenario is rich. There is numeracy learning unfolding as the children  calculate how many mats are needed and assign one mat per child  (one-to-one correspondence). Literacy skills are apparent as well, as  Kara models book behaviors like storytelling, page turning, and using  illustrations to support comprehension. While content is everywhere  here, no one is explicitly teaching it. Through  free play, the children demonstrate what they know and what they are  thinking about. Vivian, their skilled teacher, watches and facilitates  this content and skill development by using prompts—for example, asking  how many mats they need and supporting the dramatic play arc by  providing real mats for them to use.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and sift through  information in order to make sense of it and apply it in the context of  the environment. This skill involves the part of the brain that manages  attention, memory, control, and flexibility—typically called executive  functioning—and it’s in the front part of the brain. How do we see this  aspect of development unfolding in the play scene? Zach states, “Wait,  we haven’t had story time yet. We always have story time before nap.”  His brain is working overtime to make that statement: he uses his memory  to recall the daily routine and discover that something (a story) is  missing. He then refocuses his attention to communicate this discovery  to Kara. She, in turn, is flexible as well and pays attention to his  suggestion, getting a storybook to read to the group. She is able to  totally switch her original idea to include another’s. Isn’t that a  skill that will serve her well later in school and life?

Creative innovation is what allows  content and critical thinking to come together to produce something new  or different. Kara shows this skill when she sets up the snack table,  using blocks for cookies. Even the development of the play scheme is a  result of creative innovation—Kara takes the content of nap time and  incorporates it into her pretend play.

The last of the Cs, confidence, may be  the most important. Without confidence, the ability to take risks and  try new things is compromised. Kara has confidence in her ability to  lead, think, and keep two peers interested in pretending with her.  Confidence begins early, in babyhood, as infants learn that their needs,  feelings, and wants are important to the caregiving adults in their  lives. As young toddlers, children use adults as a secure base from  which to explore and learn, and their confidence grows as they discover  all they can do on their own. As Kara approaches preschool age, she  still uses the trusted adults in her life when she needs help, but she  also has the confidence to take charge.

How do we foster these six skills in our work with babies and their  families? The most important aspect of our work is to know and  understand child development. It’s within this developmental framework  that we can see the 6 Cs emerging and build on them.

Think about it

Reflect on the 6 Cs and write down some examples of how you have developed these abilities through your own life experiences.

Reflect on the barriers you might have encountered as you were  developing the 6 Cs. How did (or could) a supportive partner have  assisted you in overcoming these barriers?

Think about how you see babies using these skills—even really little  babies. What is one observation you’ve seen that captures one of the 6  Cs in babyhood?

Try It

Make a checklist with the 6 Cs. Observe children of different ages, and check when you see any of these skills happening.

Discuss these skills with your colleagues and with parents, and think  about how you can include the 6 C’s when planning experiences for the  babies and toddlers in your care.

Remember, it’s never “just play”—it’s learning. Learning that emerges  through play is deep and meaningful to children because they have  shaped it themselves. Play helps children make sense of their world and  gives them an opportunity to learn how to get along, think, communicate,  make decisions, delay gratification, solve problems, and build  confidence. The 6 Cs are skills that not only support the development of  happy, productive children but also produce happy, productive adults!

BRONFENBRENNER 

This Task is designed for you to increase your awareness of the range of experiences that have shaped who you are.

Step 1: Familiarize yourself with Bronfrenbrenner’s systems by researching his theoryof  bioecological development. on the internet and textbook. Know each of  the systems and be able to place experiences in the appropriate system.

Step2: From your memories or input from family, identify the specific  contexts in each system that are significant to your development. Be  specific an describe their influence.

You may use Bronfrenbrener’s model of concentric circles to  illustrate those experiences, or any other format that makes sense to  you. Length will be determined by the format you use.

You will be graded on:

*Thoroughness and specificity [a minimum of 4 examples for each system]

* Demonstration of an understanding of the systems via use of appropriate examples

*Grammar, spelling, etc.

Example:

IN my ecosystem, the school system in my neighborhood was  underfunded. I did not have access of good textbooks, experienced  teachers or other resources. I grew to dislike school and found it to be  boring and not challenging. Later, I had trouble with how to use a  library and especially how to research on a computer.