Problem solving in block corner
Watch a teacher join a group of children in a block construction area. She provides mathematical language and concepts relating to space, scale, size, balance and height-to-weight ratio and assists students to problem-solve and generate new ideas.
Resource information
The teacher joins a group of children in a block construction area. She supports a child to plan how to build his desired replica of the MCG and to select his co-workers. She facilitates entry to the 'building site' by other children, modelling and discussing negotiation and collaboration strategies. She provides mathematical language and concepts relating to space, scale, size, balance and height-to-weight ratio and assists students to problem-solve and generate new ideas. The teacher works with groups of children, using her knowledge of their stage of development, interests and emerging literacy skills to allow them to reach new levels of understanding. She keeps detailed records of student progress, which she reviews regularly, communicates to families and uses as a basis for her forward planning.
This community kindergarten provides sessional learning programs for three- and four-year old children in a metropolitan setting. The kindergarten is located within the grounds of a primary school. The teacher plans and implements learning experiences based on her deep theoretical understanding of how young children learn and her detailed knowledge of each child’s development, skills and interests. She connects her cognitive goals - around sustainability, for example - to students’ interests in planting and maintaining a vegetable garden. She notes that a group of students is showing emerging concepts in literacy and provides materials and support to enable them to create ‘books’ with their name as author.
Discussion questions:
- What are the cognitive learning possibilities in various play spaces?
- How could you plan to scaffold and extend students’ understanding as they explore and play?
- Are there ways you could improve your records of students’ learning and interpret them insightfully through conversations with colleagues and families?
