Principles into practice: A teacher's guide to research evidence on ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

GETTY IMAGES24 EARLY YEARSHow do we begin?Giving children the right start makes a big differenceThe EPPE project hasrobustly demonstrated theimportance ofhigh-quality pre-school inchildren’s intellectual andsocial development. It haspinpointed what makes good preschoolteaching, what makes a goodcentre and what difference parentscan make.Its findings have been instrumentalin formulating the Sure Startprogramme as well as governmentguidance for early years curricula.Teaching: good <strong>practice</strong>Most important forearly-years teachers is that,through careful studyof settings which weremeasurably successful,EPPE found that there wereseven characteristics ofeffective provision.They are:sustained sharedthinkingHigh-quality interactionbetween adult and childor between two childrenrequires one-<strong>to</strong>-one workbetween two individuals, orhighly focussed group work.Both or all participants mustjoin in, working <strong>to</strong>gether<strong>to</strong> solve a problem, extenda s<strong>to</strong>ry or carry out someother intellectual activity.Allied <strong>to</strong> this is open-endedquestioning from staff <strong>to</strong>children.initiation of activitiesIn good provision,children and adults eachsuggest about half of theactivities. In addition,child-initiated activitieswere often extendedin ambition by adultsuggestion. These findingssuggest that the best wayfor children <strong>to</strong> learn ina pre-school setting isfor them <strong>to</strong> initiate anactivity <strong>to</strong> which an adultEPPE found that children who don’treceive pre-school provision sufferin their development. Children whoattended the higher-quality centresshowed less anti-social and worriedbehaviour and more independencewhen they started school.The biggest impact comes fromhaving qualified teachers workingwith young children, and the fourkey curriculum areas which need <strong>to</strong>be included are maths, literacy,science and the environment anddiversity.then suggests extensions,although teacher-initiatedgroup work also has arole. There appears <strong>to</strong>be a correlation betweensuccessful cognitivedevelopment and theamount and quality ofplanned and focussedgroup work undertaken.curriculumknowledgeWorkers in pre-schoolsettings need a goodknowledge of thecurriculum.WHAT IS EPPE 3-11?The Effective Pre-School andPrimary Education Project isthe most significant Europeanstudy <strong>to</strong> date on the impact ofpre-school and the contributionof family background onchildren’s developmentbetween three and 11. Thestudy is funded by England’sDepartment for Educationand Skills and is an associateproject of the TLRP.Researchers collectedlongitudinal data on more than3,000 children and theirparents, home environments,pre-school settings andachievement once they enteredschool. They examined 141pre-school settings in rural,pedagogic knowledgeThe same staff need<strong>to</strong> be aware of howchildren learn. Thisis a complex field andtheir knowledge may bedated or incomplete. Itshould be enhanced bycontinuous professionaldevelopment. There hasbeen a long-runningdebate over whether preschoolchildren should bein a setting that is more orless formal, a distinctionoften summarised aswhether it is based on“play.” However, EPPE hasshown that children canlearn from activities theyhave chosen providedmetropolitan, shire county andinner city settings, providingboth social and economicdiversity in the sample. EPPEhas produced 12 TechnicalPapers (available from theEPPE office 0207 612 6219) aswell as a Final Report and anumber of <strong>research</strong> briefs (alldownloadable from the DfESResearch Website or orderedfrom DfES Publications, PO Box5050, Sherwood Park, AnnesleyNottingham, NG15 0DJ.email dfes@prolog.uk.comTel: 0845 602 2260)More information is available onthe EPPE website:www.ioe.ac.uk/schools/ecpe/eppeImportantly, it concludes that“what parents do matters more thanwho they are.” Engaging in learningactivities at home is more importantthan having a university degree.The <strong>research</strong> shows that theactions of children’s parents andcarers, such as reading with a child,visiting the library or teaching lettersand numbers are associated witheducational and social attainment.The study has found that the gainsfor children from good pre-schools lastwell <strong>in<strong>to</strong></strong> the primary years.they have the right adultintervention.adult skillsThe best adult staffprovide more activitiesconcerned withcurriculum learning, suchas maths and literacy,and encourage morepurposeful interaction.More highly-qualifiedstaff perform more andbetter interventions. Inthe presence of trainedteachers, less qualifiedstaff also become moreactive and effective.parental involvementStaff seek out informationfrom them about thechildren, and involve themin decisions. More significantstill is the provider’swillingness <strong>to</strong> engageparents in its educationaland other aims. This allowsparents <strong>to</strong> add <strong>to</strong> the preschoolcentre’s provisionwith appropriate activitiesand materials at home.discipline and behaviourThe most effectivepre-school centres applysubstantial humanresources <strong>to</strong> these issues,especially by helpingchildren <strong>to</strong> discuss andrationalise their behaviour.Less well-consideredapproaches involve simplysilencing or distracting thechild.What doessharedthinkinglook like?These vignettes are fromResearching Effective Pedagogyin the Early Years by IramSiraj-Blatchford, Kathy Sylva,Stella Mut<strong>to</strong>ck, Rose Gilden andDanny BellFROM TINY ACORNSBoy We found a coconut Miss!Teacher Well done! Oh it’s anacorn, if we planted it what doyou think would grow?Girl A flowerTeacher Not quite, if it came offthat tree what would grow?Child Don’t know!Teacher Ok, lets get a pot, somes<strong>to</strong>nes and soil and plant it <strong>to</strong>see. (goes with 5 children) Whichway up do you think? I think onits side it will have the most
chance. What do you think it willgrow <strong>in<strong>to</strong></strong>? (Using opportunitypresented by children <strong>to</strong>model growth/wonder and <strong>to</strong>investigate. Children now havean investment in it.)Child A tree.Teacher Mmmm, I wonder whatkind?IN THE BEGINNINGThis interaction shows whatmay be achieved when childrenare supported and encouraged:Boy How did God make himself?Teacher Well in most of thebooks about God, it says Godjust is.Boy Well how did God make us?Teacher I don’t know. What doyou think?Boy I don’t know.Teacher Well how would youmake yourself?Girl I would make myself happy.Boy I think when God made us,we made God.Girl He putted (sic) our bonesin first and then he putted ourblood on the bones and then heputted our skin on.Boy No – he opened up ourbones and put the blood in us.Girl No – if he put it in ourbones, the blood wouldn’tcome out.Girl (drawing) He’s got longarms <strong>to</strong> let him make his dinner.‘Cos my mum’s got long armslike me. (pauses and thinks)... If the blood was inside yourbones...Boy (interrupting) I know yourblood is out of your bones...Girl (ignoring Boy’s commentand pointing <strong>to</strong> a blood vesselin her finger) Look! So Why areyou telling me blood’s in thebones?...I know God’s got blood.Boy No he hasn’t.Girl Yes he has. Why do youthink we have blood andeverybody has blood and hedoesn’t?... (Showing her picture<strong>to</strong> Zoe) Look I done (sic) God.[The following week the teacherbrings in a dog’s skull and thefollowing week a skele<strong>to</strong>n - thediscussion about bones andblood continues in detail and inan equally dramatic fashion!]Groovy moves for mini-geeksThe use of ICT may atfirst seem contrary <strong>to</strong>the sort of play-basedactive learningassociated with the bestearly-years education – but itdoesn’t have <strong>to</strong> be.Extending the defiinitionof ICT <strong>to</strong> include digital stilland video cameras, mobilephones, electronickeyboards and <strong>to</strong>ys thatsimulate technologies suchas lap<strong>to</strong>ps and barcodereaders can enhance earlylearning in all sorts of ways.They also tend <strong>to</strong> be betterfor collaborative use, easier<strong>to</strong> integrate <strong>in<strong>to</strong></strong> play andmore fun than desk<strong>to</strong>pcomputers at this age.This expanded definitionof ICT has implications forproviding resources innurseries. Practitioners wereable <strong>to</strong> look again attechnology such as thelistening centre or <strong>to</strong>ytelephones and think aboutusing them in differentways. They also bought newequipment, such as acomputer microscope, akaraoke machine,disposable cameras, walkietalkies, a dance mat and anelectronic music keyboard.ICT can help developchildren’s dispositions <strong>to</strong>learn by increasing selfesteemand confidence or bysupporting independenceand persistence in the faceof initial difficulties.Practitioners can help <strong>guide</strong>children’s learning throughquestioning, modelling andsupport. It’s also importantfor staff <strong>to</strong> recognisechildren’s competence withICT at home, and not <strong>to</strong>make assumptions aboutclass and experience withtechnology.Teachers make this sort oflearning real for childrenwhen they deploy itthemselves, for instance byusing digital pho<strong>to</strong>graphyand video <strong>to</strong> documentpupils’ development.Researchers found thatyoung children weredeveloping technicalcompetence – the ability <strong>to</strong>switch items off and on, andconduct other operations –and cultural competence –an understanding of ICT’ssocial roles and an ability <strong>to</strong>use it for communication,self-expression or entertainment.They found that ICTwas being used at home <strong>to</strong>support early literacy andnumeracy, communicationand musical skills, and alsohad a role <strong>to</strong> play in helpingchildren learn how <strong>to</strong> learn.Interplay: Play, learning and ICTin pre-school education is atwww.tlrp.org/proj/phase111/Scot _extc.html
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS3468101317182022242627The l
Page 5 and 6: 5CASE STUDY: PERFORMANCE ARTSSecond
Page 7 and 8: 7• Establishing a more democratic
Page 9 and 10: 9acquisition of knowledge and skill
Page 11 and 12: 11HER WE STANDthe formation of each
Page 13 and 14: AND THEN THEREWERE...THE PRINCIPLES
Page 15 and 16: 15recognises the importance ofprior
Page 17 and 18: 17Gettingto thehea
Page 19 and 20: 19Food for thoughtAmong the many re
Page 21: 21a?themEPSE (Evidence-based Practi
Page 28: New opportunities, new challengesTh

Principles into practice: A teacher's guide to research evidence on ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?