Foundation Stage Curriculum in Design and Technology

stand branch Curriculum in Design and engineering scienceIntroductionThe following flying field is institutioned to be a very brief introduction to one and only(a) distinct plain of the fanny spirit level Curriculum. It would be im mathematical to amply discuss all the issues which confine been raised by my study, nonetheless, it will onset to provide a succinct introduction to each of the master(prenominal) points. preceptI have chosen to research the Designing and Making formulation of Knowledge and Understanding of the World from the induction Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000, 91). I have chosen this particular atomic number 18a of Learning because I tonicity that I have had limited experience of instruction Design and Technology at any point in the Primary age paradigm, and as such(prenominal) wish to develop extend and develop my correspondence through notwithstanding research. The Foundation Stage Curriculum could be considered to be the al-Qaeda for all othe r knowledge throughout a pip-squeaks life, and as such a thorough grounding in teaching and acquisition Knowledge and Understanding of the World, should provide a sound tail for teaching Design and Technology in other phases of the Primary school, as this quotation mark demonstratesIn this area of learning, barbarianren are developing the crucial knowledge,skills and understanding that help them to declare sense of the world. Thisforms the foundation for later produce in science, flesh and technology,history, geography, and information and communication technology(ICT). (DFES 2000, 82)In addition to the primer presumption above, I am also unsure how to best house a child as they develop designing and making skills at such a young age, with regard to providing them with a wide range of opportunities, to that extent taking health and safety into consideration.Understanding design movement will come from using a variety of joining methods and materials, (DFES 2000, 82), yet how should these methods be taught to best effect? It is also difficult to know which limited designing and making skills will be useful to the child, and what range of skills should be taught to the child. Should each child be taught a range of skills which are circumstantial to them?My final reason for choosing to study this particular aspect of the Foundation Stage Curriculum has been derived from looking at the Ofsted Subject Reports for 1999-2000 (Ofsted 2000). In one pull of schools standards and the quality of DT have risen markedly since the previous inspection, but in one school in six DT preparations have deteriorated, (Ofsted 2000, 1), this shows that although the provision of design and technology has improved in a quarter of our uncomplicated schools, it has either stayed the same, or deteriorated badly in three quarters of direct settings. This would seem to concentrate the assertion that the provision of good quality design and technology teaching and learni ng, should be of paramount importance to out schools, outset with facilitating children as they access the Knowledge and Understanding of the World portion of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. A solid base on which to habitus, as discussed above, should interpret that children are better placed to access the design and technology program as they progress through school.EvidenceThe following is a analysis of the evidence collected concerning the teaching of designing and making skills in the Foundation stage settings of two different Primary schools. The schools will indeedforth be referred to as inform A and School B.School A is a capacious Primary school with an integrated Foundation Unit. The majority of the module in the Foundation Unit are lavishly/Scope adept and as such the setting follows the High/Scope daily routine, as outline by Hohmann and Weikart (2002, 151-165).In the High/Scope approach path to earlier childhood education, adults andchildren share control. We recognize that the power to learn residesin the child, hence the focus on active learning practices. When weaccept that learning comes from within, we infer a critical balancein educating young children. The adults role is to support and guideyoung children through their active learning adventures andexperiences. I believe this is what makes our program work so well.(Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 3)The above quote neatly summarises the main reasons which prompt different settings to adopt a High/Scope or active learning, approach to the Foundation Stage Curriculum, the main idea being that children learn best from first hand experiences and from self-generated learning opportunities. This idea is further support by the Curriculum counselor for the Foundation Stage, for instance, they learn effectively by doing, (DFES 2000, 82).I detect a plan-do-review session, as part of the daily routine at School A. During such sessions the children take where they wish to work, for example in the water area, and formulate a plan which they will execute once they start work in their chosen area. Following the main, doing, part of the session the children are encouraged to review, what they have done and comment on the relative success or mishap of the plan. In this way the children are encouraged to learn from their mis repulses, and also to gain encouragement from their successes, (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 167-243).I find one child during the aforementioned session, minor A, and followed her through the entire process. She had planned to work in the construction area with the large bricks, and had decided to build a gravy boat. Before beginning work she collected a piece of paper and a pencil and sit down to plan her boat. Child A worked for some time on this design before starting work. She used the large bricks to build her boat and then started to collect other equipment from around the setting to place onboard, including large quantities of plastic food from the role play area. When asked about this Child A explained that she was going on a long journey and needed to take lashings of food with her. During review time Child A explained to the nap of her group and the adults who were present, that she felt she had successfully carried out her plan, however, she would have preferred to build a boat that would float. The class teacher explained to her that this might be possible in the following plan-do-review session. Indeed for the following session, the teacher collected lots of materials, such as plastic bottles and corks to give Child A the mountain range to build her own floating boatWhen adults seek out and support childrens interests, children are freeto follow through on interests and activities they are already highlymotivated to pursue. They are also willing to punish new things and tobuild on what they are already doing.(Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 55)The evidence depict above shows a good example of how children digest be supported in developing their own designing and making skills, and indeed rear end be highly motivated to do so. Child A was given the opportunity to meet an early learning goal through the intermediate of playProvide opportunities for children to practise their skills, initiate andplan simple projects and select, choose and devise their own solutionsin design and making processes.(DFES 2000, 91)In School B, I was able to observe the teaching of designing and making skills in a completely different way to that outlined above. I observed a Reception teacher leading a planned lesson in which the aim was for each child to produce a money box. The children were interpreted in small groups to sit with a classroom assistant to make their money boxes, while the rest of the children played. The children were asked to assemble the net of a box, which had already been cut out for them, by gluing the flaps and sticking them together. They were then permitted to trim their boxes as they chos e. It was difficult to assess whether any true learning had interpreted place during the lesson as the children were all producing exactly the same piece of work, and in many cases much of the actual assembly work was carried out by the teaching assistant.School B does not appear to have embraced the tonality features of the Foundation Stage Curriculum as outlined by Tassoni (2002, 1) in Appendix I, as such the children are unlikely to meet the first learning goals for designing and making skills, one of which is detailed above (DFES 2000, 91). They would welfare from developing a child initiated approach to teaching design and technology in the early years, as advocated by the High/Scope approach (Hohmann and Weikart 2002) and the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000). It is obvious from the evidence given that no real learning took place in the design and technology lesson which was observed in School B. Such a directed activity can leave no room for the childs initiative and the festering of their individual designing and making skills.ConclusionIn conclusion, the evidence outlined above has led me to conclude that designing and making skills can be best taught through child initiated learning. The adult can support the childs learning by providing further opportunities and materials once they have highlighted the childs own interests. A directed approach to teaching design and technology in the Early Years does not follow the steering given in the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000), and as such should have no place in our schools as it does nothing to further the childrens learning. I now feel more confident that I would know how to approach the teaching of designing and making skills if placed in a Foundation Stage setting.Appendix IKey Features of the Foundation StageRecognition that young children need to learn through pragmatical experiences rather than being taught.Play is emphasised as the vehicle of learning for children.The importance o f working from childrens interests and needs is highlighted.It is the first curriculum in England to cross the divide between pre-schools and schools.Personal, social and emotional development of children is recognise as providing the backdrop for other learning.The role of parents is promoted as that of being an mate partner.(Tassoni 2002, 1)BibliographyDFES (2000) Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage London Department for grooming and Skills.Hohmann, Mary and Weikart, David P. (2002) Educating Young Children London High/Scope Educational enquiry FoundationOfsted (2000) Ofsted Subject Reports, 1999-2000 Primary Design and Technology (DT) LondonOfstedTassoni, cent (2002) Planning for the Foundation Stage Ideas for themes and activities Oxford Heinemann Educational Publishers