TCHR2003: Curriculum Studies in Early Childhood Education Assessment 1 – Critical Review
Title Assessment 1
Type Critical Review
Due Date 11:59 pm AEST/AEDT (start of Week 4)
Length 1500 words
Task Description
Assessment 1 requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the use of play when
implementing the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (2022) and the National Quality Standard (ACECQA, 2020) and to critically reflect on teacher and children’s interactions during an early childhood activity with relevant links to EYLF, NQS Quality Areas and Australian Curriculum key learning areas.
TCHR2003 Curriculum Studies in Early Childhood Education
Task Instructions
Write a response to the following three points to demonstrate a good working knowledge and understanding of early childhood education curriculum, frameworks, and concepts.
1. Scenario: You are an Early Childhood Teacher in an Early Childhood Education setting. The Director of the setting has asked you to contribute to the service’s newsletter by writing a statement. The statement should address the concept of curriculum within early childhood education. The Director has asked you to justify the statement by incorporating supporting information from the EYLF, AC, and the unit readings. The newsletter will be distributed to families (100 words)
2. Scenario: You are an Early Childhood Teacher in an Early Childhood Education setting. A parent has emailed you to ask why educators use children’s play to implement curriculum in early childhood education settings. Write a response that explains why and how you do this. Justify your response by using theory, NQS, EYLF, and scholarly references. (500 words).
3. Watch the video provided in the Assessment 1 folder on the unit Blackboard Site. Observe the teacher and children’s interactions during the activity then:
• Analyse one (1) EYLF Principle and one (1) Practice the educator is embedding in their interactions with the children and outline how they are doing this (150 words)
• Examine one NQS Quality Area that the educator is implementing in their interaction with the children and outline how they are doing this (150 words)
• Analyse which EYLF Learning Outcomes can be linked to the children’s learning and support with examples from the video (300 words)
• Propose which three (3) Learning Areas from the Australian Curriculum could be linked to the video and support with one (1) example for each Learning Area (300 words)
Resources
NQS QA= National Quality Standard Quality Area https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-
standard
EYLF = Early Years Learning Framework https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-
01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf
ACARA = Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and reporting Authority
https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Assessment 1
The concept of curriculum within early childhood education.
Curriculum in early childhood education is a course of study that comprises organizing activities aimed at children’s holistic development and the acquisition of knowledge in different aspects of learning (Lalani, 2020). It covers not only the subject knowledge and skills but also includes the pedagogical strategies, learning spaces, and interactions that encourage students to be creative and think out of the box. The best curriculum that can be used in early learning environments is based on researched-based theories and frameworks which acknowledge the special needs of young children and their specific developmental process throughout their stages of growth. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the National Quality Standard (NQS) form the basis of curricula in the Australian ECEC context by offering guidelines for their design and implementation. EYLF defines basic principles, practices and learning aims that help in children’s development and learning, starting from a year old (AGDE, 2022). Alongside setting standards of quality for early childhood education and care settings, the NQS requires programs and curricula of ECEC to be beneficial for the learning and well-being of children.
The Role of Play in Implementing Curriculum
Playing is one of the main elements of cognitive education at an early age because it is just the way children interact and make sense of the world around them. In this way, being involved in play helps children actively build their knowledge, bolsters their emotional and social skills and stimulates their interests and curiosities (Blahey, 2021). The play-based learning approach corresponds with the values outlined by the EYLF, which include relationships that are trustworthy, respectful, and mutually beneficial, as well as partnership with families and high standards for each child (AGDE, 2022). Educators purposefully create play-based experiences and environments that are designed to integrate different learning areas, such as literacy, numeracy, science, arts and other creative activities. (ACARA, 2022). Such as when kids participate in imaginary play by storytelling, exploring text and role-playing which brings about linguistic and literacy advancement. While, they both may play roles together, resolve conflicts and practice social skills, improving their social and emotional abilities.
Play-based learning, which is the guiding principle of the EYLF, the curriculum of early childhood learning in Australia, refers to the importance of play in children’s learning process. One of its key principles, “Practice: “Learning through Play”, claimed that: “play provides a context for learning, and in which children are allowed to give expression to their uniqueness and personality, dispositions like curiosity and creativity are enhanced, and children are able to make sense of their world.” (AGDE, 2022). The EYLF recommends giving children space for open-ended, exploratory playing as essential for developing their sense of agency, inquiry and meaning-making. Moreover, the NQS Quality Area 1: In Educational Program and Practice, education program as a factor that elevates children’s learning and development is demonstrated. The ACECQA standard 1.1 addresses the issue that the learning process is designed for the development of each child (ACECQA, 2018). Play-based pedagogies and intentional teaching are what it takes to build an educational program of a standard that can be used effectively in support of children’s learning across all domains of development.
In our classroom, we actively construct play-based learning experiences that combine mathematical operations, literacy, science and creative arts exercises into a single experience. For example, in Inside Dramatic Play, children take part in the storytelling, reading and roleplaying that foster language and literacy advancement. However, while they’re exchanging their roles, struggling to settle conflicting situations, and enhancing their social and psychic development. Through their play around construction, the children are able to comprehend concepts of measurement, spatial awareness and problem-solving, which boost their mathematical thinking and reasoning abilities. Various studies reveal the positive effect of play-based learning on children’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development (Parker et al., 2022). Play encourages children to interact with materials, as well as cognitively and physically analyze and comprehend the world surrounding them. Moreover, the opportunities to practice the necessary skills like communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking ultimately build future leaders (Parker et al., 2022).
Critical Review of Video: Educator and Children’s Interactions
EYLF principles and practices, as well as alignment with the NQS Quality Area
In the above video, the educator validates the Principle of “Ongoing Learning and Reflective Practice” as she intently watches and listens to a group of playful children (AGDE, 2022). She poses observatory questions for children, for example, “What do you think about materials?” Answers to these questions will help her to understand the age, level of development, ideas and interests of the children. And she can use the information she gathers during children’s responses for further planning of activities. Another step is practicing “Learning through Play” by providing an open-ended, exploratory play experience with various materials in the process (AGDE, 2022). Specifically, she plans the learning space with a lack of discipline parts, for instance, cardboard tubes, blocks, and fabrics, so that children can perform, get to know, and make their creations all by themselves. The educator fosters children’s creativity, problem-solving and inquiry skills by giving the children a chance to experiment with the properties of the toys and come up with solutions that are needed during their play.
NQS Quality Area
The educator’s interactions with the children align with NQS Quality Area 1: Educational Program and Practice, Particularly Standard 1.1: “The educational program provides learning experience and development for each child (ACECQA, 2018). The teacher promotes a play-based education platform to help children develop physically, mentally, socially, and intellectually through games. She makes use of necessary materials and encourages kids’ discovery, investigation and problem-solving as well, thus their cognitive development and critical thinking improvement are promoted. She goes further than the standard instruction by asking the children to explain their thought processes, make inferences, and comprehend their hypotheses concerning the play. This aligns with the NQS’s core value, which talks about the teaching strategies that intentionally promote children’s learning and development, as stated in the National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2018).
EYLF Learning Outcomes
One learning outcome was children are connected with and contribute to their world. The play-based learning experience fosters opportunities for children to connect with others and contribute to their world (Gordon et al., 2015). Throughout the video, there are several instances where children engage in collaborative play, sharing materials and negotiating roles. For example, two children are observed working cooperatively to build a large structure together. They communicate their ideas verbally and through gestures, taking turns adding components and ensuring their visions align. This cooperative play allows children to form connections with their peers, learn about perspectives beyond their own, and contribute their unique strengths to achieve a shared goal (Montessori Academy, 2023).
The video shows the children with their shining smiles that show they are doing great. This excitement and experience of new things are reflected in their blissful, receptive, and concentrated faces as they actively participate in creating and exploring. On the other hand, a child beaming with a wide smile may be the one who figured out a new way of manipulating the materials and as they share this discovery, they clearly display, consequently demonstrating, their pleasure in the learning process. In addition, they develop the ability to cope with problems that may naturally arise during their play-based learning. It happens that the child constructs this tower, and it starts shaking and falling apart in another scene. Instead of feeling discouraged or quitting, the child stops for a few moments, examines how the structure failed to balance, and then tries a different approach. Their capacity to withstand setbacks and view them as a means of solving problems makes children stronger, hence their overall sense of well-being and positive self-concept (AGDE, 2022).
Throughout the play scenario, children display the characteristics of confident and involved learners who are actively co-constructing their knowledge. They confidently make choices about which materials to use and how to engage with them, driven by their interests and curiosities. One child is seen deliberately selecting various components and arranging them in a specific way, demonstrating agency and ownership over their learning process.
Australian Curriculum Learning Areas
The exploratory characteristic of the play scene that coincides with the Science Learning Area is what defines the play strand. Children are presented with a range of open-ended types of materials that encourage a sense of exploration by teaching them the properties of texture, rigidity, and their reactions in the end. As an illustration, a child who is working with fabric material and cardboard tubes will be, without realising it, doing experiments to analyze the properties and characteristics of matter. The action-based inquiry method helps develop students’ knowledge in the Science Understanding and Science Inquiry Skills domains (ACARA, 2022).
When the children assemble the materials, they design their specific creations, and they learn about design processes related to the Technologies learning area (ACARA, 2022). One example is when a child chooses different elements, which are tubes, bricks, and textiles and then puts them in a certain shape. This continuous cycle of the need analysis, solutions generation and the production of solutions presents the concept of Design and Technologies. Children demonstrate the ability to resolve problems as they interact with the tools and materials that they have.
Joining the Arts Learning Area, Visual Arts (ACARA, 2022), the artistic and creative world that comes from this limitless fantasy play integrates into the Art. Children get the opportunity to express themselves by making markers from fabrics, even blocks, into three-dimensional art and artwork. Many of these poems have characters expressing their thoughts and sentiments and even miming the world in which they live. As an illustration, a child would have a deliberate option of choosing colors, textures and shapes to stand for something he or she has experienced or is thinking of as symbolic.
References
ACARA. (2022). Home: V9 Australian curriculum. Home | V9 Australian Curriculum. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
ACECQA. (2018). Guide to the National Quality Framework. Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-11/Guide-to-the-NQF_0.pdf
Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE]. (2022). The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf
Blahey, L. (2021, August 4). The power of play: 6 benefits for child development. Edmonton Public Library. https://www.epl.ca/blogs/post/importance-of-play-for-kids/
Gordon, K. A., Garcia-Nevarez, A., & Henderson, W. J. R. (2015). Chapter 10 Play and the learning environment. SagePub. https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/53567_ch_10.pdf
Lalani, A. P. (2020). Play-based curriculum and the holistic development … – spark. Bethel University. https://spark.bethel.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1378&context=etd
Montessori Academy. (2023, May 18). Stages of play: Ways to encourage cooperative play in children. https://montessori-academy.com/blog/cooperative-play-in-children/
Parker, R., Thomsen, B. S., & Berry, A. (2022). Learning through play at school – A framework for policy and Practice. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.751801
