Creativity For All
Associated Course:
Project summary:
An observational study of whether open-ended resources create an inclusive environment using Froebel’s principle of “freedom with guidance” to enhance this in a 3 to 5 year old playroom.
Introduction
This project looks at the resources adults choose for children to explore, to understand if every day items can bring creativity and inclusiveness to the environment.
It takes into the account where staff knowledge was before the project helping to develop and gain understanding of Froebelian principles “freedom with guidance” to help support the transition of open ended items.
This enquiry matters to ensure we are striving to improve our practice to meet Scottish Government national guidance in Realising the Ambition which aims to help children develop creativity and curiosity.
As part of Scottish Government framework GIRFEC we aim to make our environment as inclusive as we can to enable all children to reach their full potential.
‘Man is deprived of one of the principal means of self education and self-knowledge if one takes away from him that power to create symbols, to see ideas given visible form’. (Froebel in Lilley 1967:47)
Lilley, I. (1967) Friedrich Froebel: A Selection from his Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Context
Before beginning this project our staff team felt our playroom environment was not suitable to create an inclusive feeling for all ability levels of children in our 3-5 playroom.
Staff members had become focused on safety within the playroom, having to remove a lot of items such as smaller items and pens and pencils due to choking hazards. These items were only out under staff supervision.
As an early year’s worker within the team, I spoke to all staff members in the room to find out where their concerns lay and to bounce ideas to find out how we could improve the playroom. Staff members expressed that they felt we had scaled back the playroom too much and that it meant we were being too safe for a minority of children but not being inclusive for all, restricting their creativity.
This led us to think about the resources that we used and that many were not open ended or suitable for all children within the playroom.
I felt it was important to introduce Froebelian principles and thought Freedom with Guidance along with looking at items that were more open ended may help promote a richer learning and more creative environment for all children.
“The purpose of the child’s activity is to discover from its various aspects the real nature of an object and its relation to himself, and so to establish its attraction for him.”
Lilley, I. (1967) Friedrich Froebel: A Selection from his Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 86
I created a focus group of 7 children from my key group. This happened once a week to allow children to explore various open ended items. The children were consulted weekly which items they liked the most and which ones they liked the least. The children were also consulted weekly where to place the items around the nursery playroom.
I interviewed 5 staff members within the 3-5 year old playroom. I chose questions to gauge their understanding of Froebel’s principles and of using open ended items. I decided to do these interviews in person and scribe the answers. From this I decided to add professional reading for staff members involved to further their knowledge and provide ideas of items they could use when planning for children. The staff members were provided with time to read over the information I had provided and filled out a feedback sheet which I created of what they learned and if the information helped their current practice to include open ended items with freedom with guidance.
At the end of the project, I asked Staff members the same questions from the questionnaire to see if their thoughts and ideas had changed from the start.
Ethics
I had to ensure children in the focus group had permission to take part in the project from their parents. I spoke to the parents in person explaining about the project and what it involved. All parents were happy for their child to take part and signed permission slips.
I also spoke to all staff members within the playroom and the gate keeper of the centre who were all happy to take part in the project and signed the permission forms.
One child in the focus group did not want to take part in some sessions, however when I brought the items into the playroom he was happy and engaged with the items, contributing by sharing his thoughts in ways to use the items. Adjusting the way I lead the focus group within the setting ensured everyone was being included.
One staff member reflected on their practice having used more open ended resources “I model it first and then see what they do. They make the environment more inclusive as the objects are orientated. What an adult sees it as, a child can use it differently.”
Findings
From the questionnaires I received mixed results with some staff members not knowing Froebel’s work, however all staff were able to express that adults should be supporting the child during their play but not over powering by making it adult led.
I asked staff about the resources they provide to children when they plan their experiences. Staff members explained they are comfortable using blocks, however regularly use Lego which the children enjoy in the playroom. One staff member explained “I feel as a team we struggle to use more open ended items due to the age and stage of the children”. To further support staff knowledge, I distributed ‘Froebel’s principles and practice today pamphlet’ Froebel trust website and a chapter from ‘Bringing the Froebel approach to your practice’ (Helen Tovey) for staff to read and reflect on their practice. All staff completed a reflection sheet with everyone agreeing they gained confidence understanding the benefits of open-ended resources, and were able to contribute views and agreed more resources could be introduced to support children’s learning.
Furthermore, Staff were encouraged to remove one item from their area which they felt was not open-ended and to replace it with an item that was. This lead to a full movement of the nursery playroom which all staff felt created an inclusive environment.
I involved my Key work children in a Focus group to gain their views. Using a wide variety of open ended resources I asked “if we had no toys in the nursery, what this could be used for?”. This sparked many discussions with the children. Some began creating instruments from the items “listen to this sound!” The children were then asked where they would like to place the items around the nursery. Children who were not part of the focus group began gravitating towards the items, creating different ways of using them around the playroom.
At the end of the project, I revisited the questionnaire. Staff were confident, explaining what open ended resources they had used and were comfortable in planning for use. It was evident staff knowledge of Froebel’s Freedom of Guidance principle, as they were able to explain, reflect, and discuss good practice.
One staff member elaborated, “I do think they are more inclusive as children have been more engaged in their play. There has been a range of items available to help their creativity” another commented “Giving children the freedom to play with resources as they like while having guidance when required such as modelling”
This showed that staff members understood the importance of them being the educator while providing a richer learning environment.
Conclusion
Staff were thinking more about their role as an educator and what resources they were using. Staff began using terms like modelling when completing their planning to show what they aimed to do to help teach the children.
The children seemed to show excitement with having these open ended resources displayed better in the room. Giving them the sense of independence to play with these items in various areas and to take control of their creativity had a greater engagement level within the playroom. Children who were before not playing with each other or were knocking items over were not doing this as often showing it was an inclusive environment which allowed us to place simple items like pencils and pens back out as there was more interesting items out for all to access now.
I feel it is important to continue educating staff through Froebelian principles to help create a richer learning environment.
Research implications
This enquiry is underpinned by Scottish Government national guidance ‘Realising the ambition’ which aims to help child development of creativity and curiosity. This project aims to promote the understanding of Froebelian principle “Freedom with Guidance” to help staff support the transition of open-ended resources. This project looks at the resources adults choose for children to explore, to understand the use of everyday items (open-ended resources) can promote creativity and inclusiveness in the environment.
All staff views were considered before deciding on an area of improvement to embed Froebel principles. We reflected on practice that due to needs of some children we held back on use of many open-ended resources due to risk. Due to the limitations in staff knowledge, information was shared from Froebel Trust.
Staff are now realising and thinking more about their role as an educator and what resources they are using to support this. Staff began using terms like modelling when completing their planning to show what they aimed to do to help teach the children.
Reflection on practice allowed staff to evaluate their own understanding of the term Freedom with Guidance and how it links to the role of the adult to promote effective provocations of learning. To further embed further training and constant reflection and sharing on practice will promote confidence in staff when creating the learning environment to promote creativity and curiosity for children. Positive interactions should continue where children are asked open-ended questions to support their knowledge and make choices. Staff should continue to use their knowledge of freedom with guidance to observe and discuss children’s interests.
As a result of the project we actively promote learning through real life and natural materials and have a wide variety of resources to support children making choices with guidance and support from practitioners. We encourage children to use open-ended resources in all curricular area. Staff are encouraged to focus on resources they are bringing in to their area and observe how children make choices and develop creativity and knowledge. Staff scaffold this for children needing support and involve children in choosing resources to promote their play. Children seemed to show excitement with having these open ended resources displayed better in the room. Giving them the sense of independence to play with these items in various areas and to take control of their creativity had a greater engagement level within the playroom. Children who were before not playing with each other or were knocking items over were not doing this as often showing it was an inclusive environment which allowed us to place simple items back out as there was more interesting items out for all to access now.
Practitioner enquiry
Practitioner research has shown to have a purpose in our setting. It allowed us to reflect as a team what is going well and what we felt we needed to improve on.
The lead researcher was able to involve all staff members within the playroom from the start of the project until the end which helped to ensure all staff members felt included in the changes being introduced.
This enquiry allowed us to make time to improve as a team and we are hoping to continue this by educating our staff on other Froebelian Principles to provide a rich learning environment.
Leadership learning
I have learned the value of planning accordingly when making changes within our playrooms. It is important to understand the reason why we are looking to change our current practice and apply various methods to allow us to determine if the plan is working or if we need to adjust our original plan.
I have learned it is crucial to bring all staff members involved along in the research project as it requires all staff to have a shared vision to allow the project to have sustainability and growth.
Author and role
Keli Hutchinson - Deputy Manager
Comments from other network members
What did you appreciate about this research? What forward-looking questions did it raise for you?