Running head : EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 1 ECE Program Proposal Section 1: Introduction When researching the theories of child development and education that have been developed throughout the years, it can be overwhelming to analyze them all and decide on which is the most effective. This is especially difficult for educators who cannot afford to spend much time researching different instructional approaches and testing them out in their classroom. Therefore, there is a need to provide educators with a collection of best practices that have been tested and proven to work in the classroom. One such collection of best practices is utilized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) within their programs, including the Primary Years Program (PYP). IB programs “reflect the best practice of a range of different educational frameworks and curricula” (IBO, n.d.) For our Early Childhood Education (ECE) program, we made a decision to follow IBO’s reasoning by implementing a collection of the best practices in education. We chose to name our project “Social Constructivism” and included such best practices as constructivism, zone of proximal development, inquiry-based learning and reflective learning.
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Running head : EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 1
ECE Program Proposal
Section 1: Introduction
When researching the theories of child development and education that have been
developed throughout the years, it can be overwhelming to analyze them all and decide on which
is the most effective. This is especially difficult for educators who cannot afford to spend much
time researching different instructional approaches and testing them out in their classroom.
Therefore, there is a need to provide educators with a collection of best practices that have been
tested and proven to work in the classroom. One such collection of best practices is utilized by
the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) within their programs, including the Primary
Years Program (PYP). IB programs “reflect the best practice of a range of different educational
frameworks and curricula” (IBO, n.d.) For our Early Childhood Education (ECE) program, we
made a decision to follow IBO’s reasoning by implementing a collection of the best practices in
education. We chose to name our project “Social Constructivism” and included such best
practices as constructivism, zone of proximal development, inquiry-based learning and reflective
learning.
We included the constructivist approach because, when it comes to PYP curriculum
model, it “is dependent on (a) commitment to a particular belief about how children learn,
encapsulated most clearly in the constructivist approach” (IBO, 2009, p.6). The constructivist
approach developed by Lev Vygotsky forms the basis of PYP curriculum model. Vygotsky
defined learning as “the creation of meaning that occurs when an individual links new
knowledge with…existing knowledge” (Williams and Woods, 1997). In our ECE program, we
chose to focus on social constructivist approach. The difference between a constructivist
classroom and a social constructivist classroom is that in the latter classroom, more emphasis is
placed on “learning through interaction” and more value is placed on “cultural background”
(UCD, n.d.). However, due to the fact that more research is available on the constructivist
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 2
approach compared to the social constructivist approach, we will be focusing on the former
while still stressing the importance of social aspect of learning.
As for zone of proximal development and inquiry-based learning, IB cites Bruner (1990)
and Gardner (1993), who stated that “the focus of teaching curriculum content needs to change
to enable teachers to make connections between learners’ existing knowledge and their
individual learning styles in the context of new experiences” (IBO, 2009, p.6). IB addresses
these challenges by enabling students to learn through structured inquiry. IB integrates
constructivism and inquiry-based approaches into teaching and, although not stated explicitly, it
appears that IB also integrates social constructivism. This can be clearly seen in the following
statement: “students’ learning and their attempts to understand the world around them are
essentially social acts of communication and collaboration” (IBO, 2009, p.6).
The target audience of this program are educators of Kazakhstan, especially educators
working in early childhood and elementary level. According to Davis-Seaver (n.d.), “historically,
there are three basic philosophical approaches to teaching in elementary school: the reductionist,
the developmental, and the constructivist” (p.1). In the reductionist approach, “knowledge can be
directly taught”, “accumulation of facts… must precede thinking critically about them”, and
teaching is “dedicated to coverage” (Davis-Seaver, n.d., p.1). In our experience, most educators
of Kazakhstan are still using the reductionist approach to teaching and our program aims to train
educators to shift their teaching approach from the reductionist to the constructivist. Another
audience of this program are educators who are already implementing the constructivist
approach but do not know or understand the basis for using this approach. We believe that
training educators in how to implement the social constructivist approach as well as developing
their understanding of why this approach is important for children will greatly benefit children’s
cognitive and social-emotional development.
This topic is important because, as IBO (2009) states, “experiences during the early years
lay the foundations for all future learning” and “it is our responsibility as educators to recognize
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 3
and maximize this crucial stage of learning” (p.7). Educators of Kazakhstan need to recognize
that this is the most important stage in children’s lives and use instructional approaches that have
been proven by research to be effective, namely constructivist and inquiry-based approaches. In
the digital age, the reductionist approach has become archaic; it is not enough to memorize and
regurgitate information since we already have all the information readily available. The crucial
thing to teach our children is what to do with all the available information and how to use it to
solve problems of today’s world. We believe our program will help achieve this goal.
Section 2: Summary of theories
“Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of culture and context in
understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding”
(Derry, 1999). Social constructivism is closely associated with the developmental theories of
Vygotsky and Bruner, and Bandura's social cognitive theory (Kim, 2001). As for the
psychological roots of constructivism, it began with the developmental work of Jean Piaget
(1896–1980), who developed a theory of genetic epistemology. Vygotsky contributed to
constructivism with his his theories about language, thought, and their mediation by society. He
“held the position that the child gradually internalizes external and social activities, including
communication, with more competent others” (State University, 2016). In his experiments,
Vygotsky studied the “difference between the child's reasoning when working independently
versus reasoning when working with a more competent person” and he invented the notion of the
zone of proximal development “to reflect on the potential of this difference” (State University,
2016). Vygotsky and Piaget's theories are often contrasted to each other in terms of Piaget’s
individual cognitive constructivism and Vygotsky’s social constructivism (Vygotsky).
There are three main assumptions in social constructivism theory concerning reality,
knowledge and learning. It is important to understand these assumptions before implementing
the models of instruction related to social constructivism. The first assumption in social
constructivism is that “reality is constructed through human activity” and that “members of a
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 4
society together invent the properties of the world (Kim, 2001). In other words, reality does not
exist until it is discovered and socially invented. The second assumption in social constructivism
is that knowledge is a human product and “is socially and culturally constructed” (Gredler,
1997). The meaning that individuals create depends on their interactions with each other and the
environment they live in. The third assumption that social constructivists hold is that learning is
a social process and it does not take place only within an individual. Learning is not “a passive
development of behaviors that are shaped by external forces” (Kim, 2001). Learning is
meaningful when individuals are engaged in social activities.
In social constructivism, both the context in which learning occurs and the social contexts
that learners bring to their learning environment are crucial. The next important question to
answer is how the ideas of social constructivism could be implemented in the classroom. There
are four general ways that we could implement social constructivism: cognitive tools
perspective, idea-based social constructivism, pragmatic or emergent approach, transactional or
situated cognitive perspectives (Gredler, 1997).
Idea-based social constructivism places education's priority on important concepts in the
various disciplines, for example, part-whole relations in mathematics, photosynthesis in science,
and point of view in literature. These big ideas “expand learner vision and become important
foundations for learners' thinking and on construction of social meaning” (Gredler, 1997). Out of
these four perspectives of implementing social constructivism, it appears that IB has chosen
idea-based social constructivism. In IB, concepts are one of five essential elements of the written
curriculum and are defined as “powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas but
also transcend them and that students must explore and re-explore in order to develop a coherent,
in-depth understanding” (IBO, 2009, p.10). The key concepts include form, function, causation,
change, connection, perspective, responsibility and reflection (IBO, 2009, p.16). When it comes
to instructional models, social constructivist approaches can include “reciprocal teaching, peer
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 5
During the visit to Haileybury School 2-3 year old kids were observed. Their teacher’s name is
Paula, she is an experienced teacher from the UK. There are 10 students in that group.
Before the lesson started Miss Paula had announced that the theme of the lesson was
“Dinosaurs”.
The first stage was defining children’s prior knowledge about dinosaurs conducted in a class
circle. Teacher asked questions: “Have you ever seen dinosaurs? Was it a real live dinosaur?
Was it a robot? Was it alive? It might eat you?” Children answered the questions, reflecting by
reminding films and cartoons they had seen about dinosaurs.
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 11
After children’s discussion concerning what they knew about dinosaurs, the teacher summarized
the information: “We have crocodiles, lizards… We don’t’ have dinosaurs. There used to be
dinosaurs.”
The second stage: she showed a big book about dinosaurs. Children of 2-3 years old could not
ask questions. Some of them even don’t speak. Nevertheless, Miss Paula encouraged them to
look at the pictures and find what the fossils ate, where they lived, how they looked like: size,
colour, parts of body.
The third stage: the teacher took children to the sand area, where they continued an investigation
activity. They were looking for fossils in the sand. They were excited when found artificial bones
and “stones”. They broke the “stones and found toy dinosaurs inside. One boy found a toy
skeleton and started to match a rubber toy dinosaur he had found earlier with the skeleton. The
teacher showed him the book with fossil pictures to help him to find the “correct” toy dinosaur.
A little girl was fond of breaking the “stones” she had taken from the sand big box. She cut them,
knocked at them, dropped them on the tray, and even smelled them. Miss Paula counted the
found dinosaurs with another girl.
The fourth stage: after the break kids went to the classroom. There were prepared materials for
creating job. The teacher prepared dough mixed from flour, water, salt and oil. Children printed
dinosaurs’ footprints on a piece of dough and put them away for drying.
The proverb often cited by educators states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember,
involve me and I understand." Poppets touched dinosaurs and skeletons, delved in the sand,
played with “stones,” and definitely they remembered much more than if they would have
simply listened to the teacher’s lecture about fossils and saw pictures in the big book.
Activity 2
The next activity is good to develop preschool children language and creative thinking while
constructivist teaching.
Creative Thinking Fun
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 12
Providing regular opportunities for children to think creatively encourages them to be receptive
to innovation and invention, and to be open to alternatives when learning, solving problems and
facing new situations. This simple game encourages children to brainstorm and use divergent
thinking as they attempt to think of many different ways of using a common object, such as a
scarf, ball, or in the example below, a cardboard tube.
Immy had been playing with a cardboard tube, pretending it was a telescope, for quite a while.
As her initial interest in the tube began to wane I said, “I have been watching you using the tube
as a telescope, it looked like you were having so much fun. Which made me wonder, what else
could you imagine it to be?”
In no time at all she had come up with ten different potential uses, each accompanied by an
enthusiastic demonstration of how the cardboard tube would indeed function in its new role;
§ Flute
§ Trumpet
§ Carrot
§ Ice cream cone
§ Painting implement
§ Toothbrush
§ Spy glass
§ Golf stick
§ Didgeridoo
§ Teeth sharpener (???)
It really is a very simple, spontaneous game and it can be lots of fun – don’t be afraid to give it a
go yourself. Be sure to actually give the child the object to hold and move with as they play. Be
open to all of the child’s responses, no matter how out there they might appear (I am still not
quite sure what a teeth sharpener is!), and be aware that (depending upon the age of your child)
you might need to join in with a few suggestions as they get used to the idea of the game. For
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 13
older children you might like to start with, “In one minute tell me as many different uses as you
can for this _____” or “Can you think of five/ten/twelve different uses for this ____?”
Here is a list of other common, household objects that you could put to use for some creative
thinking fun;
§ Pool noodle
§ Plastic plate
§ Square of fabric
§ Hairbrush
§ Wooden spoon
§ Skipping rope
§ Saucepan
§ Pair of pants
§ Bath towel
§ Ruler
§ Leaf
§ Whisk
§ Sock
§ Elastic band
§ CD
§ A forked stick
§ Hula hoop
What else could you imagine a cardboard tube to be?
Activity 3
Lesson Plan 1
Beginning of the lesson. SPIDER ACTIVITY. Age: 3-5
Circle time (3 min)
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 14
Teacher invites all the kids to make a circle with the aim to refresh the kids’ mind about the
COLORS.
Standing in the circle teacher (holding a ball of thread) tells one name of the color RED then
throws the thread to one of the child in the circle. The child says BLUE and throws to the thread
to the next. If the pronunciation needs correction Teacher can ask to repeat the correct
pronunciation altogether. So, students repeat the names of colors and have the spider in the
circle.
Middle of the lesson. PRESENTATION. (5 min)
Teacher takes the kids to the GREENHOUSE if they have to let the kids feel the plant or brings
the plant to the room. With the help of teacher kids express their thoughts about everything they
know about plants.
PRACTICE and PRODUCTION. CONCEPT MAPS (10-15 min)
According to Dr.Bharti Dogra, Delhi Army Institute of Education, using CONCEPT MAPS is
essential. In the study of Plants, the ability to build interrelationships among concepts and
related topics, and to relate newly acquired knowledge to prior knowledge, is crucial to the
understanding of biological concepts and how the systems work together to bring about a
coordinated response.
Concept maps, diagrams and other graphic organizers are useful tools to illustrate the links
between concepts and topics.
Once a teacher has refreshed the colors, explained the names of Plant parts and colors, ask the
kids to connect the terms like: root, leaf, blossom, stem, flower, and seed and colors first.
Every term should be connected with the arrows labeled with a word.
When students are able to discover the links between concepts themselves, they move
away from rote or surface learning, and replace it with deep and meaningful learning, thus
increasing the level of understanding and an appreciation for the subject. This encourages
cooperative learning also which a good example of ZPD is as the kids learn from each other.
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 15
Activity 4
Lesson Plan 2
Preschool Constructivist Lesson Plan
Title of Lesson / Brief Description
Sink or Float?
Standards (Performance, Knowledge, Virginia Foundation Blocks):
- The child will develop listening and speaking skills by communicating experiences and ideas
through oral expression.
- The child will write using a variety of media.
- The child will identify and compare the attributes of length, capacity, weight, time, and
temperature.
- The child will make observations, separate objects into groups based on similar attributes, compare lengths and mass, and develop questions based upon observations using the five senses.
What concepts do you want children to understand after completing this lesson?
Children will be able to describe the differences and similarities of fruits and vegetables; they will talk about their length, weight, and color. They will be able to draw the fruits and vegetable for a class book. The children will be able to separate the fruits and vegetables into groups based on if they sink or float in water, color, size, and which ones they like after tasting each one
Essential Question:
Which fruits and vegetables float on water and which ones sink?
Criteria for Success (How will you know children have gained the understanding of the concepts?):
Half the class will draw pictures of the fruits and vegetables that sank; and the other half will draw pictures of the fruits and vegetables that float.
Resources/ Materials Needed (What resources will you and the children use?):
Paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils for drawing pictures.
Variety of fruits and vegetables, bucket and water for testing.
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 16
Management (Is this a child-directed or teacher-directed lesson? What special planning is required for this lesson? Manage Behavior? Manage materials? Manage technology? Manage learning center? How much time is needed for this lesson?)
The teacher will introduce the lesson at morning meeting by reading Tops and Bottoms, then showing the children the different fruits and vegetables they will be looking at. The children will do the sink or float part of the activity on their own. The children will sort the fruits and vegetables by color, size, and if they sink or float on their own. The teacher or assistant teacher will sit with the children while they draw their pictures, asking them questions about what they learned. The teacher will cut up the fruits and vegetables for the children to taste at snack time. Around one hour is needed for this lesson for all children to participate.
Learner Diversity (What diverse learner needs do you need to consider when selecting resources, grouping children or planning the culminating project? Are there any special considerations such as assistive equipment, technologies or second–language learning to take into account?)
I would group the more advanced children to do the activity first and have much less teacher guidance for this group. The teacher would supervise the group of children that weren’t quite as advanced and need more help expressing their thoughts
Engage/ Bridge:
Capture the children’s attention, stimulate their thinking and help them access prior knowledge.
During circle time I would show the children each fruit and vegetable, ask them to tell me what it is called then guess if they think it will sink or float in the water. I would write down their guesses for them to compare when they do the experiment themselves.
Explore/Question:
Give children time to think, plan, investigate and organize collected information.
Along with drawing pictures of the fruits or vegetables that sank or floated and the ones they liked to eat, I would have the children make a chart to hang in the room of which fruits and vegetables sank or floated.
Explain:
Involve children in an analysis of their explorations.
Use reflective activities to clarify and modify their understanding.
Having the children draw pictures of which fruits and vegetables sink and float will help them. Children will also learn to classify, sort and analyze the fruits and vegetables.
Elaborate:
Give children the opportunity to expand and solidify their understanding of the concept and/or apply it to a real-world situation.
Ask the children to bring in different fruits and vegetables to test the following day in class.
EDUC 607_ GROUP PROJECT_BAKTYGUL, RAUSHAN, YERBOLAT. 17
Evaluate and Assess:
Evaluate throughout the lesson. Use observation and assessment to track children’s progress. Scoring tools developed by teachers target what children must know and do. Consistent use of assessment tools can improve learning.
Teacher should be observing children and taking a running record of conversation between children while they are testing each fruit and vegetable. Teacher should take work samples of each child’s picture after they finish their drawings. Teacher should keep a running record of children’s conversations while they are talking to them about the picture they are drawing.