Hi my colleagues of this course! Welcome to my
blog!
My chosen topic for the simulation is How a Play-based Curriculum Affects
Children's Learning and Development, according to which I developed three
subtopics: 1. the benefits of different types of play to child development; 2.
the outcomes of focusing on children's academic achievements; 3. how early
childhood teachers implement a play-based curriculum in preschools.
The reason why chose this topic and subtopics is
related to my early childhood experience and my concerns about the development
of preschools in China. I still remember when I was in kindergarten, I was made
sit down with hands on the laps, look at Pinyins on the blackboard, listen to
how the teacher pronounced and repeat after the teacher. I still remember how
disappointed I felt when teachers said it was clean-up time but I was just
about to play. My early childhood experience is quite common in kindergartens
or higher level of schools in China though some of schools have realized the
significance of play and allowed some time for children to play. However, the
concept of play is still not prevalent in China. I would like to try to
convince the people around me of the benefits of play, and start with my sister
who has a four-year-old daughter in a Chinese kindergarten where academics is
placed more emphasis on. I hope through this research I can have a better
understanding of a play-based curriculum and how it can be better combined
together with academic learning for the good of the overall development of
young children. In this way, I can advocate for play in Chinese preschools.
From reading the content of the text for this week,
l learn some basic knowledge of how to construct a significant research. The
research process is as follows: select a topic; search and review the
literature; formulate a specific research issue; design the research; collect
data; analyze data; draw conclusions; and write research reports. ((Mac Naughton, Rolfe, &
Siraj-Blatchford, 2010) I can sense each step demands of lots of
effort and patience and it may not be full of fun, but I am sure once we get
started, we may find some surprises and find it worthy in the journey of
research, just like travelling, tiring but surprising and satisfying.
My colleagues, after reading my research topic for
this course, if you have any suggestion about my topic, or any reliable
research resources, could you please share your valuable opinion with me? I
will really appreciate it. Thank you!
Reference:
Great blog! Play is such an important part in young children's lives. Through play children learn hands on real-life experiences. Children build social and language skills. This is a wonderful topic to research. Vivian Paley has excellent literature on play. Good luck!
回复删除Hello Xiaowan
回复删除I love your topic, and I think your subtopics are very well thought out. Your experience in kindergarten is interesting and sad. It is sad that professionals do not understand and promote the value of play in young children. I know that NAEYC is clear about the value of play, and the American Academy of Pediatrics is as well. I look forward to hearing more about your research!
Bonnie
Hellol Xiaowan,
回复删除Great topic. Play is very important. Some schools do not honor play.. Children learn from play. Play is the language of childhood. Children build social skills and relationships through play.. I look forward to reading more on your topic.
Xiaowan,
回复删除Play is significant for a child's develop. Through play children learn social skills and it allows their minds to imaginary like what they desire to be and do in life. Academics is important but pre-school children learn through play. I just couldn't imagine taking the joy of play out of the curricula because I feel that it would be cheating children out of their childhood experience! Children childhood experience should be fun and adventurous! Thanks for sharing, great post!