Assignment 1 - Indoor Learning Environment Design

Statement of intention

To enhance Brodie and Michael’s understanding of buoyancy an educator can explore,

with them, the idea of weight and density. The children can continue to find objects that

float or sink and then compare them, leading to a discussion about what makes

something positively or negatively buoyant.

Justification of intention

An educator can chose to explore this learning intention due to the variety of benefits it

will have on the children. Open and natural materials allow for mathematical and

scientific mapping to occur in the brain. This mapping and understanding of density and

weight will be advantageous throughout the child’s life. Through using these natural

materials in play-based learning the children are engaging in higher level thinking,

outlined by Blooms Taxonomy. When children play they reach the peak of their thinking

ability, creative thinking. Through play an educator can also promote children to ask

questions and develop their problem solving abilities. Educators must be responsive to

all children’s strengths, abilities and interests. In this scenario the educator can work

with the student’s interests and guide learning from there. Finally, an educator can use

the idea of intentional teaching to recognise that learning occurs in social contexts. They

can explore the interactions and conversations between children during play and how

important they are for learning.

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Justification of choices

This learning bay explores the want for a scientific understanding of density and the

concept of sinking and floating. To begin with the children would help fill the

exploration table with water. The development of gross motor skills occurs rather early

in a child’s life so they should both be capable of being able to perform this task.

Guidance from the educator, however, is necessary to prevent any accidents. Brodie and

Michael were then asked to collect a few items each before testing whether or not they

were buoyant. One at a time the boys would test the items before sorting them into the

correctly labelled box to the side. This play bay was created to provide the students with

the opportunities to explore, experiment, construct their own knowledge, solve

problems and make choices (Robinson et al., 2018). The Early Years Learning Framework

explores a specific principle that links directly to the learning environment (Department of

Education and Training, 2019). It states that learning settings must ‘reflect and enrich’ each

student and their background and cultural context (Department of Education and Training,

2019). An effective learning area should allow for traffic flow, messy areas, storage,

extended play and provide resources and materials to promote learning (Robinson et al.,

2018). Storage is needed for collected materials and will also provide a safe space for the

items to be kept, encouraging extended play (Robinson et al., 2018). The floor of the area is

linoleum, relating to the component of messy learning areas, ensuring a non-slip and

easily cleanable surface (Robinson et al., 2018). The aspect of traffic flow ensures the fluid

movement between spaces preventing congestion (Robinson et al., 2018). This will allow

the students to move freely around the classroom to collect the materials needed

(Robinson et al., 2018). Materials and resources should facilitate the children and their

independence promoting open ended exploration (Robinson et al., 2018). The students

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required the opportunity to explore a variety of materials which will help create a deeper

understanding of buoyancy. Children should be in control of their learning in as many

ways as possible, by giving the boys full scope of the indoor and outdoor environments,

they are able to explore and make decisions about what interests them in relation to the

task at hand (Nolan & Raban, 2015). It was discussed by Jean Piaget who developed the

concept of constructivism, where learning takes place through active involvement with

materials and the real world (Nolan & Raban, 2015). The understanding the students

gain can be brought back to real life through a discussion about how boats manage to

stay afloat, regardless of their weight and size. This discussion will help to cement the

boy’s learning and understanding of density and buoyancy. In this learning bay the

students have the opportunity to collect objects both natural and man made. This aids in

building their cognitive development through synaptic mapping. Cognitive development

was redefined by Howard Gardner who explored logico-mathematical intelligence

(Nolan & Raban, 2015). I have incorporated aspects of this through the task of sorting,

where the children are asked to carry out the mathematical activity which allows for

mapping and understanding to form within the child’s brain, beneficial for later in life.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is also explored as the children enter higher levels of thinking when

they learn through play and interesting activities. These boys were both interested in the

concept of buoyancy and so being provided the opportunity to explore allows them to

engage fully. However, the educator needs to ensure they are not disrupting or

interrupting the learning of the students, rather they should scaffold the boys in building

their understanding. The theory of Scaffolding was introduced by Lev Vygotsky and

explored how the educator must be involved with the children during play actives as it

is the primary way for them to establish each child’s level of understanding (Nolan &

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Raban, 2015). From here the educator can encourage the students to extend themselves

and their understanding to promote learning and recruitment of new knowledge (Nolan

& Raban, 2015). The teacher should be present for Michael and Brodie during the

activity to answer any questions, but to also extend the students by asking questions of

their own. This scaffolding allows the children to feel comfortable in their ability as

learners and so they engage and develop a want to delve deeper. Overall, the children

were able to explore environments that provide them with a variety of materials and

objects that help to create mathematical and scientific understanding and mapping. Both

boys are exposed to mathematical concepts and activities that help cement these

synaptic connections for use later in their lives. Although the activity is child-centred

and play-based, an educator should be present to ensure maximum learning can occur to

promote creative and critical thinkers.

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Reference

Nolan, A., & Raban, B. (2015). Theories into practice. Blairgowrie, Australia:

Teaching Solutions.

Robinson, C., Treasure, T., O’Connor, D., Neylon, G., Harrison, C., & Wynne, S.

(2018). Learning through play. Victoria, Australia: Oxford University Press

Department of Education and Training. (2019). Early years learning

framework. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/

belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia_0.

pdf

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