Personal Learning Philosophy

Answer

Personal Learning Philosophy

Early childhood education is a wide concept that incorporates the teaching of young children, either formally or informally, till the age of five or eight when they are readily prepared for the primary school section. This is a learning philosophy essay that focuses on my reflections on a number of concepts related to early childhood development contexts, and a description of its relevance and implications to practice and classroom settings. It will highlight what I have learned through previous practicum experiences and employ the balance to make discussions on the different elements of personal learning philosophy.

The nature verses nurture debate is an old issue in psychology. It majorly centers on the relative contributions of environmental factors as well as genetic inheritance on human development. Genetic traits that are handed down from parents to their young ones influence the individual differences that make individuals unique. Physical development entails the mastering of balance, movements, gross and fine motor skills (Black et al., 2017). It improves a child’s balance. The social domain is important as it enables children establish and maintain relationships through development of better conflict resolution skills, and empathy for others through understanding the concept of fair playing. Cognitive skills are necessary for learning and thinking through expansion of their class concentration span and sourcing information form others using the “when” and “how” questions. Communicative development allows children understand spoken words and verbal expressions. It facilitates the back and forth communication patterns (Black et al., 2017).

Of importance, classes on the interrelationship of the early childhood domains are essential. They create better awareness on development of a child’s life equilibrium. Children click their development at birth and is a continuous process thereafter into adulthood. Its implication to practice is that the successful completion of the identified development milestones supports children to hit their full potential. It is possible for professionals to track children development progress using well-child check-ups. A child’s communicative, social, adaptive and cognitive development determines his/her lifetime success, just as physical development does.

The early childhood profession is a wide field in practice. An early childhood educator is responsible and accountable for the implementation and unified planning of intentional and developmentally appropriate childhood experiences in learning. Of importance, the teaching is diversely relevant because it facilitates networking and sharing of knowledge on how best early childhood educators can develop and expand their skills. It equips educators with diverse aspects of early childhood development. It facilitates collaboration with colleagues as they adapt to teaching and learning from each other, building on social networking, taking up large projects in schools to ensure everyone works towards getting on the same page. Such professional development is crucial in practice for the maximization of learning outcomes since the available development opportunities are appropriately connected to the works assigned to teachers in school contexts.

An early childhood educator holds a number of professional roles when working with families and colleagues. Teaching is majorly about relationships. While administrators, scholars and teachers expect a collaborative partnership, creating better connections with colleagues holds a big role in one’s ability to enjoy work and attain a professional growth (Black et al., 2017). Adults are expected to demonstrate collegiality, concern and care. Establishment of safe and positive learning conditions that facilitate openness, positive relationship and mutual respect for all necessitates good listening skills and respect for all. Of relevance, developing quality skills as an early childhood educator with families and colleagues lets everyone feel comfortable, have a sense of peer and teacher rapport and believe they can achieve better results and relationships. They are encouraged to feel a sense of belonging, feel encouraged to take up and tackle challenges, adopt to risks of varying natures as well as establish trust for all.

An early childhood educator is also entitled to an advocacy role on behalf of children. Inclusive education is a successful learning approach for scholars with varying abilities. Early childhood educators must learn to explore education options especially in school systems that have children with special needs (Britto et al., 2017). They must contain the capability to practice education to children with all abilities in a single classroom. Educators must strive to providing quality resources and materials that facilitate appropriate response to any suspected and confirmed child abuse cases. Strengthening family teacher relationships as an advocacy strategy for promoting learning opportunities to strengthen the learning environment for advancing early childhood profession. 

This tool is relevant to practice because provision of this type of a learning environment is subject to an educator’s ability to achieve them. It enables students meet appropriate education levels regardless of challenges they might be exposed to. It allows children get exposure to high quality interventions through provision of support resources and ideas that enable them meet their core-curriculum expectations. It highlights the importance of understanding the different forms of abuse and learning how to allocate resources, and how to handle victims of abuses and neglect in order to feel at ease while in school.

Informal assessment method is the most relevant technique through use of natural observations in various situations. Summarizing, planning and proper communications informs one on specific needs and future curriculum of a child. Teaching the new skills will include use of instructions, modelling and stepwise process because children take time to develop and practice skills to enable all young scholars learn and embrace the ideology of “all children can learn”. This concept is appropriate to my practice as I will be in a better position to know when to monitor and adjust instructions. Use of gestures when demonstrating things that you expect your child to notice, and gradually phasing out reminders and appropriate instructions as the child tries to get better at remembering how to partake tasks. Recognition of effective teaching can be done by monitoring how fast children can stick to directives.

Technology holds a big role in the education of young children. Assistive technology based literacy activities are essential for provision of adaptations and modifications for supporting children with physical or nonverbal disabilities to aid in instructional process (Waite, 2017). Student technology is important especially when integrated in school program for facilitation of e-learning activities to enable students access the most up-to-date information much easily and swiftly. Technology facilitates student-parent communication especially ones in boarding institutions to help parents stay updated on their school progress (Britto et al., 2017). Digital devices like screen media is diversely common in children’s lives because they enhance school learning through the relevant programs they provide. Children can master colors, art and drawing, sound patterns among other features. This is an essential learning unit to practice as it informs how to help young scholars with limited opportunities of learning, so that they are exposed to equal potential with the rest. It highlights the role of technology by allowing students stay more creative and evenly connected, and lets people embrace the role of technology and screen media and the direct impact it has on their learning progress.

A positive learning environment provides a relevant content for children, precise learning goals and feedback, as well as better opportunities for building socially cognitive skills. Use of differentiated instructions entails provision of highly differentiated learning environments that collectively meet a child’s emotional needs (Britto et al., 2017). Teachers must be flexible enough to embrace diversity and student’s cultural characteristics. Parental involvement is crucial in any child’s academic performance. It results into high academic improvements, personal behavior, and attitude and school attendance. It also has an impact on a child’s mental stability. A physical classroom set up is an important variable that affects a child’s morale in learning. It empowers them to actively learn and develop their skills. The session is important to practice as it outlines the relevant strategies that help children succeed uniformly to become all round adults. It focuses on need for teachers to focus on children’s learning abilities as opposed to relying much on ethnic and racial stereotypes and prior experiences of former students with similar backgrounds. It highlights on the importance of providing a more relevant and highly inclusive physical classroom set-up that favors all students.

In conclusion, early childhood programs can only be effective if appropriate interventions are incorporated by the educators. The learning philosophy template highlights a number of concepts which are relevant to practice, and how the different domains relate to the general success of early development profile of a child.