Unit of Study:Revisiting a Previous Project, Possibilities

for Enhancement, and Application of the Aesthetic Themes and

Philsophical Orientations

Christy SpencerEPSY 5180- Psychology of Gifted, Talented and Creative Children

Professor Jenny ArzbergerJuly 30, 2009

Background Information:

Typically, the curriculum used in my classroom and within the school I teach, does not follow a particular guide or program. The work, play, and interests of the children influences a variety of provocations in which children are invited to partake. Therefore, the two words I would use to describe our approach are emergent and integrated. Through careful observation, documentation, reflection, and collaboration teachers work to create a thoughtful environment that solicits authentic and meaningful learning experiences. With this is mind, units of study are not planned far in advance, but rather daily reflection and ideas of possibilities that may extend children’s thinking inform my daily practice. Thus for the purposes of this assignment I will use documentation from an experience that took place in a classroom of four and five year olds this past year. The documentation will be linked to the ideas presented in the course Psychology of Gifted, Talented, and Creative Children, the Colorado Preschool Building Blocks and possibilities that could be used to enhance the experience.

Introduction:

In the fall of 2008, the children created a mural representation of a fish tank. The inspiration for the mural came from a shared interest in the fish tanks housed at the Boulder Public Library. As the mural progressed we noticed that the contents began to depict more of an ocean scene, particularity with the addition of mermaids, jellyfish, and an octopus. Several months after completing the mural we wondered how the children might respond to revisiting their work; however, this time prominently placed in a location other than our classroom or the studio. In the time between the conception of the mural and the reintroduction, what was observed was that a number of children were displaying an interest in mermaids through storytelling, drawings, and dramatic play. Thus, we hung the mural in the theater as the initial provocation to see the type of response that it might elicit from the children. What has evolved is a long-term investigation of the ocean. The mural became the catalyst that launched us into a much deeper investigation, which inspired a high level of creativity, problem solving, and both individual and collaborative efforts. To date the children are still actively engaged in this project. As of late much of their work has moved into the light and shadow room to support their work in understanding and recreating the deep sea. It is important to note that every child in the class has been a part of some component of the work, not by teacher request, but rather individual interest and peer collaboration.

Eric: You must be in my head because I love sea creatures.

It is an ocean and a sea next to each other.

-Zen Rose (4 years)

I am going to be the Hawaii

mermaid. -Mina

( 4 years)

Experience: Storytelling/Dramatic Play

A number of children actively engaged in telling stories that included elements of underwater life both realistic and fantasy. The stories often included mermaids, sea creatures, and various environmental components. Pop culture, such as Disney’s The Little Mermaid, was often incorporated into the children’s unique stories.

Observations:

Colorado Preschool Building Blocks:Language Development and Communication- Children develop skills in listening and

expressing their thoughts and ideas.

Creativity- Children enjoy, express themselves, create and learn about the arts through experiences with a variety of art forms and media.

Social and Emotional Development- Children demonstrate a strong and positive self –control and growth in their awareness of their responsibilities when interacting with others.

Click tab in bottom left corner to play video footage (Cannot be in slide show mode to view)

Possibilities for extending or enhancing experience:

•Share the video footage with the children and record their observations and comments of the experience to gain insight into what was meaningful for them or components they might be interested in looking at further. • Invite the children to share their stories with younger children, this encourages sharing their knowledge and fosters new relationships. •Film and produce their stories into movie. Possible roles include: set and costume designers, video and editing team, actors, marketing and advertising groups. Children have opportunity to take on various roles and work with a wide variety of resources. This also allows children to tap into pop culture from another perspective.•Offer materials to illustrate their stories in books. Teachers can scribe if the children so desire. •Revisit Boulder Public Library. The mural that the children originally created went on display at the Boulder Public Library for a few months. We could contact library again and see if they would be interested in temporarily housing the mural for a second time. The mural would be used as backdrop for the children to come and share their stories to the community during a children’s story hour. Or rather, their books could be available for patrons to read. Intention is that children’s work becomes visible, strengthens community ties, and promotes literacy•Field trips could include the Denver aquarium, local theater or storytelling companies, book publisher. Further, invite in “experts ” (family, friends, community members) to share their knowledge and work with the children at phases during the process. Covers scientific inquiry.

Visibility and Application of Concepts:Storytelling and dramatic play is a developmentally appropriate avenue for young children

to safely explore and express emotion and feelings, either real or pretend. By engaging is such activities and partaking in role play, young children begin to navigate concepts such as moral reasoning, ethics, social and cultural differences, and perceptions of self. Careful observation and interpretation of children’s words and actions provides great insight into children’s thinking and learning in terms of cognitive and affective development.

All to often people discredit the competence of children and discredit their capability to construct knowledge, actively participate, and serve as a resource. Nonetheless, there are concepts and materials that are not developmentally appropriate without the incorporation of direct instruction. However, the term direct instruction can be misinterpreted as simply “lecturing.” Take for example the idea of making a movie, most of the technology would be to complex for young children, particularly non-readers. Through a blend of direct and student centered instruction the children’s ideas can be honored and carried out with support from the teacher. Teachers can use their knowledge to guide the children actively bring their ideas to fruition.

As with many experiences, not just one aesthetic theme applies to the observations already made and the list of possibilities. The most prominent include: sensory experience, imagination, active engagement, and risk-taking. There is a strong link to visual, audio, and tactile senses incorporated in understanding and recreating a new ecosystem. Revisiting the video, watch carefully, the children are engaged in dialogue with one another’s reflections in the mirror. Approaching an audience with a story whether expressed through video, drawings and writing, or orally ignites and fuels an endless amount of imagination. As evident in the video documentation, there is no presence of a teacher facilitating the children during story development, social role negotiations, and transition into new investigations. That does not mean that the teacher is absent, but at this time taking on the role of researcher, available to act as a resources when needed. This allows both child and teacher to take risks and have ownership in the experience.

Experience: Creating Sea Creatures

Observations:

Using some reference books about underwater life that were brought into the classroom the children began to draw some of there own creatures. Next, they expressed an interest in creating sea creatures out of recycled materials. Children shopped the school for materials that could be used to recreate various creatures to include: shark, octopus, jellyfish, sea urchins, and fish. Their initial creatures were quite small (later used in a diorama box). To extend on the notion of turning the theater into the ocean, we strongly encouraged the children to think about how to recreate such creatures to scale. This required the children to make careful observations, seek information, measure height and length, consider weight, count, problem solve, sort and so fourth.

Small Scale

Large Scale

Colorado Preschool Building Blocks:Mathematics- Children develop ways to solve problems and to think about math.

Science- Children will understand and use the scientific method of asking questions, observing and recording their findings and discussing their conclusions.

Creativity- Children enjoy, express themselves, create and learn about the arts through experiences with a variety of art forms and media.

Possibilities for extending or enhancing experience:•Elaborate on creating aquatic ecosystem in the classroom by exploring absence/presence of light. Work in the light and shadow room using flashlights, black lights, filaments. Notice differences in the physical environment of the deep sea as well as physical differences of the creatures found in the deep.•Elaborate on creating aquatic ecosystem in the classroom by exploring sounds. Incorporate instruments, sound boxes, recording devices, technology.•Investigate water, by working in the water flume, sensory tables, wave machines. Pose age appropriate thought provoking questions for dialogue pertaining to properties of water. Introduce idea of movement. Examine cause and size of waves.

Visibility and Application of Concepts:Many teachers and I have discussed how studying the ocean is kind of complex for some of

the children as we live in a geographic location where there are mountains and limited water sources. Further many of these children have not yet visited the ocean. So as many of the children began to go on vacations to the beach we invited them to make observations, record data, or bring back any resources that might inform our work back at school. When these children returned from experiencing the ocean the children at school began to seek them out when they had a questions or were working on a particular project. Also numerous parents commented on how their children were sharing information about the ocean while there and were very curiously exploring, inquiring and posing new questions. Although this was not a shared experience of all the children, still it made connections and informed us of how the knowledge we hold or seek can carry over beyond the confines of the classroom.

The actual and potential experiences in this section are clearly aligned with the following aesthetic themes: sensory, perceptivity, active engagement, and connections,. The children rely heavily on their senses to explore water, the various sounds in the depths and on the surface of the ocean, and the visual differences again in the depths and the surface. For children who have little to no real physical experience with the ocean their perceptions and observations may differ from those who have had such experiences. This may be reflected in how they describe and represent elements of the ocean.. Allowing children to explore, shop for, and choose their own materials supports creativity and encourages children to be actively engaged in the process. In turn children might be more inclined to develop and test new theories and ideas. Not to mention it supports intrinsic motivation and only strengthens children’s understanding and ability to make connections to the world.

The Hundred Languages Of Children

The childis made of one hundred.

The child hasa hundred languages

a hundred handsa hundred thoughts

a hundred ways of thinkingof playing, of speaking.

A hundred always a hundredways of listening

of marveling, of lovinga hundred joys

for singing and understandinga hundred worlds

to discovera hundred worlds

to inventa hundred worlds

to dream.The child has

a hundred languages(and a hundred hundred hundred more)

but they steal ninety-nine.The school and the culture

separate the head from the body.They tell the child:

to think without handsto do without head

to listen and not to speakto understand without joy

to love and to marvelonly at Easter and at Christmas.

They tell the child:to discover the world already there

and of the hundredthey steal ninety-nine.

They tell the child:that work and playreality and fantasy

science and imaginationsky and earth

reason and dreamare things

that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the childthat the hundred is not there.

The child says:No way. The hundred is there.

-Loris Malaguzzi(translated by Lella Gandini)