Creative/PracticeInspired by the lightboxes in the Wonderlab and from use in Vivid Sydney, I wanted see what the cellophane sheets were like ontop of one. Through experimentation, the more layers built up the colour black and certain colours created others; i think this is a fun way to learn about the colour wheel through objects an alternative than by mixing paint; although that too is a good way to learn about colour mixing. Whilst doing this it reminded me of Mattise's The Snail collage. The idea of creating a familar image through raw shapes and colour. Report ResearchPage 4 "Play is widespread among animals because it invites problem-solving, allowing a creature to test its limits and develop strategies." "It can be a dress rehearsal for adult life,..." Page 7 "Make-believe is at the heart of play, and also at the heart of much of what passes for work. Let's make-believe we can shoot a rocket to the moon." Plega in Anglo-Saxon was Play. Plegan in Indo-European meant to risk, chance, expose oneself to hazard. Page 11 "Play is an activity enjoyed for it's own sake." Page 13 "Creativity, psychotherapy, sensation-seeking - all are ideal playgrounds for deep play." Page 14 "It [deep play] contains uncertainty, illusion, an element of make-believe or fantasy, and allows one to take risks, or explore new roles." Page 17 "The spirit of deep play is central to the life of each person, and also to society, inspiring the visual, musical and verbal arts; exploration and discovery; war; law; and other elements of culture we've come to cherish (or dread)." Page 19 "Intense creativity is one form of deep play, whose origins psychologist Phyllis Greenacre helps illuminate. After years of clinical study of children, she concluded that often those destined to become artists were children who didn't have a reliable relationship with their caretakers. Instead, they developed (or made do with) 'a love affair with the world'." Page 24 "What is the difference between simple play and deep play? Simple play can take many forms and have many purposes, but it only goes so far. When it starts focusing one's life and offering ecstatic movements, it becomes deep play." "... in deep play's altered mental state one most often find clarity, revelation, acceptance of self and other life-affirming feelings." Page 38 "The spirit of deep play is spontaneity, discovery and being open to new challenges." Chapter 6 Quote "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves." -Carl Jung Page 133 "According to Freud, a lot of play is projection, in which bad motives and feelings may be attributed to others, conflicts may be reenacted in order to master them, and fantasies and wishes may be fulfilled." "Art and play have as their hallmark freedom of choice, and that includes choosing new ways to use familiar materials and ideas." Chapter 7 Quote "We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience." Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient p.261 Page 147 "Some primitive rituals - whose purpose is to fuse friends, relatives, or communities through deep play - continue to feel deeply satisfying..." Page 170 "As many artists have found, nature is an ideal place for creative play." Final Page Quote "Life is the game that must be played..." - Edwin Arlington Robinson "Ballade by the Fire" Deep Play gave me a good insight to how play is used throughout life and is cultivated through creativity. I gathered a rough conclusion that play is integral to the individual exploring their identity and the way that society works. It's useful for my report because many of the quotes back up my beliefs that creativity has upon a child in their development.
Research for BothGabriela Burkhalter Page 13 "Carl Theodor Sorensen's Skramellegeplads ("Junk Playground") in Emdrup Denmark in 1946. I had similar moments of unbelievable astonishment as I learned more and more about the history of playgrounds. What at first seemed like an insignificant niche turned out to be a realm of public experimentation, a cause of conflict between innovative and established perspectives, and something for both adults and children to project their desires onto - in short, playgrounds are sites of subversive potential." Page 14 "They were meant to promote public health, to prevent criminality, and to supervise children and protect them from the dangers of the city." Page 20 "Unlike the playground of the social reformers, the focus was now on free play as one of children's fundamental needs." Page 21 "In the Skrammellegeplads as he first realised it in Endrup in 1943, Sorensen made even more room for the creative moment: the children were given materials and tools to build their own worlds." "In New York at the beginning of the 1930s, the Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi was the first to design landscapes for play. Doing completely without playground equipment, his designs focused on sand, water and landscaping." Page 29 "The architect and artist Riccardo Dalisi was an exponent of "radical design" or anti-design, which replaced functionality and established taste with creativity." "Dalisi was actually less interested in play than in encourage children to find their own language. He and his students always took models and materials along and invited children to be inspired by them to build things, to realise their own ideas, and to respond to the space that refused them by occupying it." Page 33 "Recently, architects have also begun to rediscover the playground as a space of creative freedom. In 2014, the English architectural collective Assemble build the Baltic Adventure Playground in Glasgow." "In response to the chaos, we wanted to create a space that children could take control of - somewhere they could do things for themselves." - Assemble. Page 35 "In time of change and crisis, the most important element is the people themselves. Therefore I believe that all cultural activities should be designed to encourage the personal initiative and sense of responsibility in each individual, thereby creating and inspiring a sense of personal dignity, self respect, and community spirit. All cultural activities should, I believe, be dependant on participation and involvement by the inhabitants in their specific localised environment." Robert Rauschenberg, 1968. Page 57 "Adventure playgrounds are places where children of all ages can develop their own ideas of play." "It is my opinion that children ought to be free and by themselves to the greatest possible extent." Marjory Allen, 1969. As a lot of my practice research has been about playgrounds, I found it necessary that I include playground concepts within my research report because it's a place that does exhibit children's development via play. It's possible to see children independantly use and learn more about their social identity, and the physicality of the world, through their developing skills.
Report Researchhttps://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity 2:23 "And the third part of this is that we've all agreed, nonetheless, on the really extraordinary capacities that children have -- their capacities for innovation." 2:56 "So I want to talk about education and I want to talk about creativity. My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status." 5:21 "What we do know is, if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original -- if you're not prepared to be wrong. And by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong. And we run our companies like this. We stigmatize mistakes. And we're now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities." 6:05 "Picasso once said this, he said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately, that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it." 12:56 "We know three things about intelligence. One, it's diverse. We think about the world in all the ways that we experience it. We think visually, we think in sound, we think kinesthetically. We think in abstract terms, we think in movement. Secondly, intelligence is dynamic. If you look at the interactions of a human brain,as we heard yesterday from a number of presentations, intelligence is wonderfully interactive. The brain isn't divided into compartments. In fact, creativity -- which I define as the process of having original ideas that have value -- more often than not comes about through the interaction of different disciplinary ways of seeing things." 14:50 "And the third thing about intelligence is, it's distinct. I'm doing a new book at the moment called "Epiphany," which is based on a series of interviews with people about how they discovered their talent. I'm fascinated by how people got to be there." 16:50 "I said, "What happened?" She said, "She did. I can't tell you how wonderful it was. We walked in this room and it was full of people like me. People who couldn't sit still. People who had to move to think."" (Quotations from Gillian Lynne) 18:33 "What TED celebrates is the gift of the human imagination. We have to be careful now that we use this gift wisely and that we avert some of the scenarios that we've talked about. And the only way we'll do it is by seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are and seeing our children for the hope that they are.And our task is to educate their whole being, so they can face this future. By the way -- we may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make something of it." I'm researching the importance that creativity has in Child development and in this Speech by Robinson, he cleary dictates the crucial values creativity has upon a person. It's clear to see he fears it may be overlooked within schools, which I could probably understand from the school curriculums being very academicly approached, however schools are trying to tackle this stigma as seen when my previous Secondary school were incorporating a Lego space to cultivate innovative ideas amongst it's students. (Practice Research).
Practice ResearchEvocative Objects: the Role of Architecture in Creating a Habit of Mind Cartwright, B., (2016) Evocative Objects: the Role of Architecture in Creating a Habit of Mind. The Senses and Society [Internet], July 2016, 11(2), 114-135. Available from: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2016.1190066> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "The aim of this article is to ask how architectural spaces work on those who occupy them." "It is my belief that certain objects could be defined as evocative objects because they evoke ways of being in certain spaces. In other words, they provide a framework, or a stage setting for particular actions." " This organization of categories of experience into truths created a version of shared reality which was central to the college as a social community." (In Reference to Jesus College, Cambridge. Which the article discussed upon) Introduction: Sensing and Perceiving with Light and Dark Edensor, T., (2015) Introduction: Sensing and Perceiving with Light and Dark. The Senses and Society [Internet], June 2015, 10(2), 129-137. Available from: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2015.1042227> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "The ways in which we usually apprehend light – as a quality of daylight, season, time of day, and place; as bright, dim, glaring, glowing, animated or saturated; as a beam through which to discern the way ahead; as an attractor in spectacular displays or advertising; as a functional utility to illuminate homes, stadia, streets, shops, and workplaces – are rarely considered except when we witness forms of light or darkness that are beyond normative experience – or when we encounter works of art." "A brief consideration highlights how luminosity, color, saturation, tint, animation, and shadow can make a deep impression on apprehension, mood, and atmosphere." "Artistic uses of light can address profound questions about the qualities of places, spaces, and landscapes. In addition, they may examine how spaces are perceived, symbolic meanings inhere in forms of illumination, and the affective and emotional resonances provoked by light that stimulates movement, solicits feelings and activates sensations." "...artists use light to celebrate or defamiliarize place precedes a brief account of how others produce immersive environments and interrogate perception, before a focus upon vernacular creativity and illumination." "In addition, imaginative uses of light can also summon up other times and places, taking visitors away from the here and now." "Burden’s piece is so effective because it induces a seething venue of interactivity on the often deserted streets of Los Angeles. Accordingly, many contemporary light artists are keen to foster a sensuous interactivity. This was particularly exemplified at Sydney’s 2014 Vivid festival where designers concocted ways to encourage people to dance with light, clap and laugh and sing to encourage responsive patterns, experience their likenesses cast in space, and manipulate the design of buildings and bridges." "An increasing number of artists have sought to produce immersive environments through which they move away from the representational, and in which the sensual and affective experience of the visitor becomes paramount." "These highly immersive installations envelop bodies and environment in light and color, and in moving between abstractions and identifiable image, they foreground a “haptic visuality” that diffuses the subject–object boundary." "As the examples discussed in the articles in this special issue articulate, light and dark are rich media for vernacular and professional artists alike to explore symbolic meaning, affective impact, and sensory response." Light Art, Perception, and Sensation Edensor, T., (2015) Light Art, Perception, and Sensation. The Senses and Society [Internet], June 2015, 10(2), 138-157. Available from: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2015.1042228> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "In this article, I focus on how four artists working with light can reveal the different capacities of illumination and darkness in shaping human apprehension of the world." "Light glows and radiates, it transcends the cognitive and moves into the non-representational, the realm of the affective and sensual." "In vividly disclosing the particularity of our human visual perception, encouraging a self-conscious speculation about the accuracy of what we perceive, and the partial and illusory qualities of our visual system, we are caused to speculate upon whether others see as we see. How might the color-blind or partially sighted see the world? And even more strangely, how do animals see in and with light and darkness. How to they ascertain the flow of things – as a blur or a segmented array? Upon what do they focus? What colors are they able to discern and what elements of the electromagnetic spectrum are they able to perceive that are beyond our senses? Can they make their way in the dark or are their movements thwarted?" Curating Lights and Shadows, or the Remapping of the Lived Experience of Space Papadaki, E., (2015) Curating Lights and Shadows, or the Remapping of the Lived Experience of Space. The Senses and Society [Internet], July 2015, 10(2), 217-236. Available from: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2015.1042247> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "...in an attempt to define the curated event – as an experience and as a process – based on notions of immersion and the sensorial apprehension of space." "The sensual and affective impacts of light remains intact; throughout the years, and especially recently with the possibilities offered by the advent of new technologies, artists have been exploring the use of light in public spaces." "In this respect, there is nothing exceptionally innovative about the installation of screens and projections in space." "If one opens the argument even further, it could be suggested that contemporary art production “is a proposal to live in a shared world, giving rise to other relations, and so on and so forth, ad infinitum” (Bourriaud, Nicolas. 2002. Relational Aesthetics. Dijon: Les presses du réel.: 22). The aesthetic experience here is closer to the notion of social exchanges than artistic appreciation." "Lozano-Hemmer has stated that, for him, “a piece is successful if the behaviours and relationships that emerge from participation manage to surprise the artist/designer” (Graham, Beryl. 2007. “Interaction/Participation: Disembodied Performance in New Media Art.” In Jonathan Harris (ed.), Dead History, Live Art?: Spectacle, Subjectivity and Subversion in Visual Culture since the 1960s, [pp 254–8]. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.: 254), explaining how pieces that feature interactivity for groups that are usually out of control." Sensory Play, Wordplay: the Common Sense of Sensing Le Breton, D., (2015) Sensory Play, Wordplay: the Common Sense of Sensing. The Senses and Society [Internet], October 2016, 11(3), 251-261. Available from: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17458927.2016.1195108> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "Perception is born of an individual’s necessary immersion in an environment ricocheting through his or her flesh, and while sensory perceptions seem to emanate from the sensory organs as pure physiological functions, in actuality they are always already socially and culturally shaped. They delineate a world of meanings and values." "Sensory perceptions are neither true nor false. They yield up the environment to us through their own means." "Even at this basic level, sensory perceptions trace out a language, a system of communication that allows people to share their experiences with one another in ways that are individually nuanced but that draw on a common register." "The senses correct each other, take turns, intermingle, and call up memories or experiences that engage the whole person, giving consistency to his or her environment." "Visual metaphors describe thought in terms of clarity, light, perspective, point of view, worldview, imagination, intuition, reflection, contemplation, and representation. Ignorance, on the other hand, draws on metaphors evoking loss of vision: darkness, obscurity, blindness, night, and fog." "The senses constitute a matrix of meanings and values that give expression to certain aspects of the social bond as well as individual disposition. They transcend the skin’s boundaries to apprehend the surrounding world and, in this way, become mediators between self and other, between the private and the public." Whilst finding research material for my research report, I came across these articles that I found relevant to my practice in terms of light and social engagement. If I do want to incorporate light within an environment/space as a co-herant theme for my practice, it feels appropriate that I understand the prospects of light further.
Report Research"The pre-school child's imagination has a positive educational value because in the process of playing he develops a firm desire to imitate adults, to take on the role of good people, to act as they do." Zhukovskaya, R. I., (2014) Development of the Child's Imagination in the Process of Play. Soviet Education. [Internet] December 2014, 4(5), 44-52. Available at: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2753/RES1060-9393040544> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "All children need to have an environment where the act of imagining and its expression are not only respected but given visible outlets. Children's playing should be seen as a profound manifestation of this process." "Out of playing and dreaming comes the child's love of creating and doing - of bringing together what the child is thinking and feeling, of finding a means of expressing the inward world outwardly." "For all children, the world is freshly revealed, ready to be experienced in all it's subleties and elements. To allow children to gather the world, to embrace its energy and vitality, is to allow their imagination to be a life force in their becoming fully human." Lewis, R., (1984) Reaffirmations: Speaking Out for Children: A Child's Right to Imagine. Childhood Education. [Internet] July 2012, 62(1), 52. Available at: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00094056.1984.10522343> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "The role of the arts in the development of imagination in early childhood is linked with children's need to explore and learn about their world. Learning to imagine is a crucial step in symbol‐making in early childhood. Decentration skills are hypothesised as the link between fantasy or pretense play activities and development in areas such as communication, co‐operation, perspective‐taking ability, creativity, problem‐solving skills and many areas of cognitive development. Children develop their own theories of the world well before starting school and, by being aware of these theories, teachers can build on children's prior learning rather than negating it. Examples of children's symbol‐making are used to illustrate the process of making meaning. Aspects of children's learning environments are considered in terms of how effectively they facilitate children's exploration and the development of imagination." White, M. H., (1993) Imagination in Learning: Learning to Imagine. Early Child Development and Care. [Internet] May 1993, 90(1), 99-111. Available at: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0300443930900112> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "Results showed that activities such as gardening and construction were as valuable for supporting creative thinking as ones traditionally associated with creativity, for example, music and painting. Outdoor play of all kinds and socio-dramatic play were particularly effective contexts." "Child-initiated activities featured the highest levels of involvement, and were associated with trying out and analysing ideas, flexibility and originality, imagining and hypothesising." "There is increasing recognition of the importance of supporting creativity and creative thinking at all phases of education (Siraj-Blatchford, I. 2007. Creativity, communication and collaboration: The identification of pedagogic progression in sustained shared thinking. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 1(2): 3–23. ).This paper presents data produced as part of the Froebel Research Fellowship Project, ‘The Voice of the Child: Ownership and Autonomy in Early Learning’, at the University of Roehampton. In particular, it looks at young children's creative thinking, as inferred through observations of their everyday behaviour whilst they engage in child-initiated, adult-directed and adult-led activities in an early childhood setting." "The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) defines creativityas ‘imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value’ (National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) . 1999 . All our futures: Creativity, culture, and education . London : DfEE ., 29), whilst Sternberg defines creative thinking as ‘thinking that is novel and that produces ideas that are of value’ (2003, 325–6). They share ideas of imagination, and originality or novelty" "Rather, creative thinking is thinking which is new for that individual." " Hypothesising, and making leaps of the imagination require confidence on the thinker's part, and a willingness to take risks, suggesting a key role for motivation, particularly intrinsic motivation (Amabile, T.M. 1996. Creativity in context, Boulder, CO: Westview Press. )." "Accordingly, this paper addresses the research question: How do children express their creativity and creative thinking in early childhood settings?" "The data show that all participant children displayed evidence of creative thinking, although in some this was more frequent than others." "In addressing the research question: ‘How do children express their creativity and creative thinking in early childhood settings?’ the data are considered from three perspectives:
"In the case of the first factor, the data here endorse the view that child-initiated play may be more supportive of creative thinking (Craft, A., Cremin, T., Burnard, P. and Chappell, K. 2008. “Possibility thinking with children in England aged 3-7”. In Creative learning 3-11 and how we document it, Edited by: Craft, A., Cremin, T. and Burnard, P.65–73. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books. ). In the case of the second factor, the differences between indoors and outdoors as contexts for creative thinking may be significant. The vast majority of outdoor play we recorded showed high levels of creative thinking behaviour in the participants, whether alone or with others, and regardless of adult presence or absence." "Pretend play, particularly socio-dramatic play, was the most likely activity to lead to high levels of creative thinking." "Much pretend play, particularly in this age group, is collaborative, providing a context for children to engage with others, hypothesising about their wishes and intentions, as they negotiate story lines, and imagine how co-players will feel, think and act." "At the same time, however, it was evident that children's exploratory play with materials and resources of all kinds proved a very strong context for their creative thinking." "Laevers believes that a key factor of support for higher levels of involvement (seen by him as an indicator of children's ‘intense mental activity’) is the opportunities children have for choice: ‘the more children can choose their own activities, the higher will be their level of involvement’ (Laevers, F. 2000. Forward to basics! Deep-level-learning and the experiential approach. Early Years, 20(2): 20–9. [Taylor & Francis Online], 26)." "In RDs, children often referred to the presence of friends as important, and friends have been shown to be more likely to succeed in problem solving activities than non-friends (Smith, P.K., Cowie, H. and Blades, M.2011. Understanding children's development, 5th ed, Oxford: Blackwell. ). Some children also talked about not wanting to play with children that they did not count as friends, and the impact this had on their choices of activity." "However, whilst using prior knowledge is important, Vygotsky's famous statement, ‘What a child can do with assistance today she will be able to do by herself tomorrow’ (Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in society, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. , Vygotsky, L.S. 1986. Thought and language, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ), emphasises the value of the acquisition of new knowledge and insights, gained through joint thinking." "Children's exploratory play with materials and resources of all kinds proved a very strong context for their creative thinking. However, two particular contexts which may be supportive of creative thinking are outdoor play and pretence. Socio-dramatic play, in particular, was the activity most likely to lead to high levels of creative thinking." Robson, S., Rowe, V., (2012) Observing young children's creative thinking: engagement, involvement and persistence. International Journal of Early Years Education. [Internet] December 2012, 20(4), 349-364. Available at: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669760.2012.743098>. [Accessed 16 November 2016] "Imagination is closely related to creativity. It is also distinct from fantasy. The basic distinction between imagination and fantasy is that while imagination is related to reality, fantasy is related to unreality. The key link between imagination and creativity lies in the opportunity that, based upon reality, imagination provides for innovation and original changes and possibilities. That is creativity itself as well." Mellon, E., (1995) Creativity: The Imagination Condition. Early Child Development and Care. [Internet] June 1995, 114(1), 97-106. Available at: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0300443951140108>. [Accessed 16 November 2016] "From the three translated papers of Vygotsky which directly addressed creativity, one can extract the outlines of a viable theory explaining the development of creativity. Vygotsky claimed that creative imagination is the distinguishing feature between the world of culture and the world of nature, and the basis of all mature mental activity. He found the origins of creative imagination in early manifestations of play, and explained that it goes through a process of integration and evolution following the development of concepts and reasoning during adolescence. It develops into mature creative imagination only in adulthood. The argument in the present article is that Vygotsky's explanation can resolve contradictions that exist in the empirical findings on the development of creativity during adolescence. In addition to a general theoretical examination of Vygotsky's perspective on creativity, the theory's relevance to developmental issues in creativity is critically examined, and its relationship to existing knowledge about development of creativity is discussed." Ayman-Nolley, S., (1992) Vygotsky's Perspective on the Development of Imagination and Creativity. Creativity Research Journal. [Internet] November 2009, 5(1), 77-85. Available at: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419209534424>. [Accessed 16 November 2016] Multiple journals to gather extensive research to back up any points included in my report in reference to how imagination, creativity and play are used within child development. The conclusion of my report is becoming more and more clear the more I read. Many different sources agree with the same statement that play manifests creativity and imagination (play is a way for a child to experiment with their imaginative and creative skills to help further their development).
Report ResearchN/A (N/A) Play: The Work of Lev Vygotsky. Available from: <http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/articles/play-the-work-of-lev-vygotsky> [Accessed 16 November 2016] "Imaginative play is a crucial component of a child's normal development." "Children have dialogues with themselves when they engage in imaginative play. Role-playing means creating a story and giving a voice to the different characters in the story. When children imitate others, they are developing a vocabulary that allows them to name and navigate the world around them. Less verbal children may talk more during imaginative play than in other settings." "Children at play are making sense of the world through a process of "inner speech" - that is, they are often talking out loud to themselves. As adults, we lose this capacity because it is not socially sanctioned." "If we really listen to children at play, we can hear the way they converse with themselves in order to make sense of the external world. Mimicking adults is often the most obvious way this process can be observed." "Vygotsky was also interested in the role of social interaction on cognitive development and argued that development first takes place socially." "Through child-centered play, children take on different roles and try out different language uses, all of which help them on the journey from being externally regulated to internally regulated in cognition. Through play, children become more competent in their language use and begin to regulate their own thought processes." " If a child is learning to complete a task, such as building a bridge with blocks, and a more competent person provides assistance, then the child is able to move into a new zone of development and problem solving. " What I can base Vygotsky's views on play within child development upon, is that children develop strongly with the involvement of communication and social engagement. The social aspect within a child's youth is very important because it allows interaction with the world.
Report ResearchNotes
Overall, I'm feeling very confident with how my report is taking place. I believe that I've got a strong use of research to back up my points and conclusion of how these roles affect child development. My issue lies in that I feel that I've "finished" my report with 3000 words spare to write. I've managed to explain my findings in relevance to the title/question.
Thankfully when I adressed this issue, the reader group session was able to provide me with some new directions to take my report further. I still need to input images, not so much as a visual aid, but more so for raising a point further, analysing the image to see if the theories are in practice by children. I'm hoping to return to the Primary School again during school ours to see child development within the school environment. Research for BothHe spent the whole afternoon in the newly arranged forest school area in his primary junior school. He climbed trees. He said the afternoon was for fun and had free roam, and he played with friends playing chase around the trees. All the children were individual animals based on the first letter of their name, and Euan was an eagle. This led him to pretend to be an eagle at points when playing. Euan could see the circle, at the centre of the forest, when he was in the tree. Three whistles and they had to return to and sit at the circle where there was a fire. The adult demonstrated how to light the fire. They spoke about what they did in the forest and what they liked/enjoyed about it. Then they had to say their name and do their action (Euan was pretend to be an eagle). Euan did a lot of digging as well. He found a root from a tree creating a hole around it. He very, very enjoyed being an eagle, climbing and running around in the mud. He liked running around in the mud because he made everyone else muddy. His class, Year 4, does this once a week every Wednesday until end of year. One thing to say about writing the notes for this topic was that when I asked Euan to explan what he did for my notes, I had to cut out alot of the notes because he said honestly that half of it was lies/made-up. I kind of wish at this moment that I hadn't erased those lies/stories because I believe that's part of his imagination being developed from his experience. He managed to make up new stories based on his personal experience of venturing in the forest location. (I think I can remember him speaking about finding dinosaur bones, I initially thought he meant toy ones, however I think he meant real dinosaur bones - similar to what an archeologist may discover through digging in the dirt).
What I've learnt from visiting Ravens Academy and from Euan's story is that schools efficiently use the technique of repetition. Here the adults/teachers at the end of the day make children speak about their experience, a mode to re-live it but carefully thinking as to why and how to demonstrate this to their peers, expecially through the terms of "playing"/pretending to be an animal of the forest. The natural setting of the forest provided Euan with many opportunities to use it as a "laboratory"; to experiment and find new possibilities, such as seeing the ground from a different perspective in a tree. Research for Both10:00am Reception - Swans Carpet for sitting space in the centre (core) of the classroom. Dedicated space on each animal face on the carpet. Milk and water drinks break in a circle before sitting on their dedicated space. Discussion about the film Up, watched previously in the week. Using conversations amongst each other and with the tutor as a group to learn about adjectives. Write a single sentence and read it aloud. Understanding when to use capitals and pronunciations. Also acting out certain writing rules such as acting out a full stop with a motion of a fist. 10:30am Outdoor Play Group play initially running against the wind which was very strong and first thing everyone noted when emerging outside. Then Teacher initiated duck duck goose group play. Children began to leave the group play and dispersed into their own play. Playing individually or a group of them. One girl dressed as a cat immediately and stayed pretending to be a cat the whole session. In the construction area, two children had built a see-saw using wooden blocks. One girl held a baby doll the entire session, through both group play at the start when playing self-initiated, and during the group play she treated her alike any of her peers in the rules of the game. 11:00am Phonics Indoors YouTube video of nursery rhymes, listening and singing to nursery rhymes to improve their phonics. 11:30am Lunch As a new stranger in the classroom, I was a distraction to some children and treated me like a teacher - adult association. 12:30pm Reception - Robins Begin with JollyPhonics, activities with pronunciation, reading and writing. Conversations within pairs and working together to solve problems. Self delegated roles when tidying up after an activity, working with each other. Independence and free roam of choice of play in an area that encourages learning through play. More capable children designated an afternoon task, working in pairs using lego to create a house and tie on a 'hot air balloon' they previously made in order to imitate the Up house, with an image for referenced which the teacher 'researched' for them for inspiration. When the balloon inside the paper-machè was popped, the teacher would request the entire class to stop and listen to the crackling it made of the balloon separating from the decorations. I got the opportunity to re-visit Ravens Academy during school hours which gave me an great insight as to how the children responded and behaved with the plan of their day. When playing children made the upmost use of all the materials around them to play - including the wind and their peers for games such as duck, duck, goose that requires just interaction. As I saw in the afternoon, after practising their phonics and writing skills, children were free to choose their activities apart from one group who were designated an activity to build a house with lego to create an 'UP' house. The children in this group were more developed and so needed a different progression level of using team-work to approach the task.
I could really see the techniques being used that the teachers spoke about in my previous visit. I could also see how children were using the most out of their environment to create games and play, especially during the outdoor play where a majority of the class played and relied with each other to play, compared to indoors when they would segregate into little groups; probably due to the nature of the seperate areas being smaller than the outdoor play area. |
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