I worked for a little over a year at the chicago children’s museum in 2005. My position there was facilitating and creating programs for the pritzker playspace for children 0 to 5 years old.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I loved working in a such a creative and collaborative environment, but it was tough to work with the children for just a short time. Since it was a museum, they would move on to something else, and I would never see them again!Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

In early childhood education, we know that an integral part of our classroom is the families. You often hear in early childhood that the parents are the children’s first teachers, and I really believe that.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I get to know my students by getting to know the whole family. In the beginning of the year I spend time with each family talking to them and learning about the children.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this past school year, I asked each family what hopes and dreams they had for their child and created a display panel right in the entrance of my classroom so that the children and families would see it on a daily basis.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom tell us about a favorite lesson you teach. Where did the idea come from?

In my classroom there are not so much “lessons” as there are experiences.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I am an inquiry- based, emergent curriculum educator, which means that I follow the interests of the students. For example, during a study on clothes, the students really showed an interest in washing clothes.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom they asked a lot of questions about washing machines, especially while we were reading the book “knuffle bunny,” in which a little girl goes to the laundromat with her dad.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Based on this interest, I planned a visit to a local laundromat where the children were able to see, hear, touch and smell how clothes are washed.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom after that visit, the children expressed interest in making a laundromat inside the classroom so I purchased the largest moving boxes I could find and supported the children in building a “washer” and “dryer” that they could use in our pretend play area.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

I started this research based on my observations last year. Once a week, I would take my students to a nature playground (jardincito nature playground) two blocks away from spry elementary in little village, where I taught.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it seemed like the children were more collaborative and used much more pretend play than at the traditional playground.

This year, I really wanted to know if those observations were real, or, rather, had merit, so I applied for a fellowship with the chicago foundation for education.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom with the support of fellow teachers, I developed a research plan and implemented it. The bulk of the research was videos of the children playing in the classroom, traditional playground, and the nature playground.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I then watched all the videos and coded them to see patterns.

Through this process, I found that the children engaged in cooperative and pretend-play language 44 percent of the time in the nature playground versus 15 percent cooperative and 30 percent pretend play in the classroom and 8 percent cooperative and 15 percent pretend play in the traditional playground.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom on the other end of the spectrum of language, I found that in the traditional playground, 50 percent of the language was minimal — meaning that children in the videos were not talking or just screaming and yelling — and 27 percent was conflict language, meaning the children were arguing or fighting.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom in the nature playground, it was a lot less: 8 percent minimal language and 15 percent conflict language.

What this tells us is that the children are engaging in much more rich and complex language in the nature playground versus the traditional playground and the classroom.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom when children are engaged in pretend play they have to use complex language and thought processes as they create play scenarios. I liken it to the improv game “yes, and…” because the children really have to think deeply and critically.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it’s really exciting to watch and hear. Can you give us an example?

This use of pretend play and cooperative language is integral to young children’s learning, since oral language development is a crucial precursor to written language development.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom children who do well academically have been found to have rich oral language skills. Research has also found that children with better verbal ability show better general cognitive abilities and school performance.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this is a crucial finding.

Part of my research is also focused on the environmental social justice of nature play. The majority of the nature playgrounds in chicago are on the north side, and the majority of children enrolled in nature play schools are white.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this means that lower-income children on the south side of the city are not gaining these incredible benefits from nature play. I believe it is crucial to bring nature play to lower-income neighborhoods in chicago.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

There are so many! I want to know why there is greater cooperative language and pretend-play language in the nature playground then in the classroom and the traditional playground.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom what is it about the nature playground that creates these language opportunities? I also want to know what languages my students were choosing to use — english or spanish — and why?Cognitive learning theory in the classroom is there more spanish used in one setting than another and is there more english used in one setting or another? I also want to know if there are changes that can be made to the traditional playground and the classroom that can cause more of that rich cooperative and pretend-play language to be used.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom what object would you be helpless without during the school day?

Unfortunately, the violence outside of the school really affects what goes on inside of my classroom.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I have students tell me on a daily basis about things that happen in their community that they witness firsthand. Shootings and gang activity are part of their daily lives.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom many of my students also have family members in jail and they see the effects of that on their home lives. What part of your job is most difficult?Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

The most difficult part of my job is the lack of resources. I spend over $2,000 per year on classroom supplies such as hand soap and paper. In addition, as teachers we have so little time, if any, to work together and collaborate.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom I mentioned that I would be helpless without my teaching assistant and yet she and I do not have any shared planning time during the week to talk about what is happening in the classroom.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this means that I am telling her what we will be doing with the kids right as we are doing it. I would liken this to two doctors talking about their surgical plan when the scalpel is in their hands.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it’s crazy. What was your biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?

The biggest misconception I had was that classroom management was all about the children and setting the rules and expectations of the classroom.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom while that is a major part of classroom management, I have found that your environment is a an even bigger part of classroom management. You can either spend your entire day telling children not to touch something, or you can just move that item out of the way in the first place.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it is up to the teacher to create an environment where children are free to explore and create without having to “be careful.” what’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching?Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

The best advice I got wasn’t directly related to teaching but rather to self-care, which really plays a big role in being a great teacher. I volunteered at a women’s shelter and one of the women I worked with asked me to walk to the local music store with her.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom while we were walking she said that she saves the little money she has and once in a while she buys herself some music. She said that to take care of her family, she needed to take care of herself first.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for a very long time, I didn’t quite get it — but now, as a mother, a teacher, and a student, I know she was so right.