Becomings
– Changes to my thinking or practice which are emerging as a result of my current training –
This practitioner has not chosen to share this information at this time.
In addition to what my previous ‘beginnings’ comments were, I feel the process of carrying out this particular research has shown me just how enjoyable it is to look more deeply at what children's play is telling me. I have an increased awareness of whether I am valuing all play, and have enjoyed seeing our little superheroes revel in their new found freedom to engage in play that interests them.
I have gained a 'new hat' and now consider myself to be a researcher as well as an Early Years Officer. I know that I will be able to use my new skills to enhance the practice within my setting through rationale based research with clear aims. I am excited at the opportunities action research could open up now. There were many 'little niggles' that we considered before deciding on our Superhero project which could now be investigated using action research.
I feel my practice in many ways is similar to before, in that I try to look and listen to see how best I can support children. I would say that I am now much more aware of ensuring I am supporting all interests, and providing responses which show I value all play. I will also be looking for ways in which I can include the children in decision making about where their play is going. I perhaps didn't place enough emphasis on their participation and often made changes or introduced resources or experiences that I thought were right without asking the children what they wanted.
My setting are more aware that we may have been showing unconscious bias towards certain types of play i.e. superhero/gun/weapon play. We have discussed various examples of this, and examined why we think we have have held back as our findings showed that overall everyone was happy to support superhero/gun/weapon play to some extent. From this we now have a ‘superhero’ area which was set up with the children, and it has provided opportunities for exploring creative, social, and imaginative play linking to literacy, numeracy and health and well-being. I feel we will now be more aware of identifying interests and developing them in ways which include the opinions and feelings of the children, whether that be in regards to the environment and resources or our policies and procedures. Going forward we will be more aware of examining our responses to children's play and be open to play ideas which may not always seem purposeful at first glance.
As a setting we are looking at ways to increase children’s participation across all areas of the nursery. This will not happen overnight, however with a new awareness of how we can show we value all play and a more conscious appreciation of how we can use freedom with guidance to support children’s interests, I hope we see a steady stream of improvement evidence coming through.
I have a greater awareness of ‘freedom with guidance’ and how it can impact a child’s learning. I know I will still struggle at times with working out the balance of freedom and guidance that is needed, however through regular reflection I hope to continue to improve my practice.
I hope to continue embedding Frobelian Principles in my setting and use the action research process to provide evidence to support changes, new ideas and processes. I would love to involve more of my colleagues in carrying out research in their dedicated 'Champion Roles' over the next year.
I feel the same about what I value and need as I did before - a team who are willing to try out new ideas and challenge anything they are not comfortable with. Not everyone in my setting has completed a Froebelian course but I believe that they understand the principles behind Froebel’s approach and support any work which will improve the setting, our practice and the experiences our children and their families have with us.
I think I am starting to understand more about social justice and how I have a key role to play to ensure that all the children and families in my setting have equal and fair opportunities to learn in their time with us. I know I need to be considerate of all children’s interests, be supportive of them, and identify the best way I can use my skills to enhance their learning. I need to continue building relationships with families, be aware of their individual backgrounds and circumstances, and bring them along on their child’s learning journey.