#5 Challenge Based Learning

While it seems as though Challenge Based Learning is not really applicable to the early childhood field, it is in a smaller way possible.  I am taking the ece family class, and we discuss at length how to create an anti biased classroom.  I remember Professor Chu telling a story that took on a project approach to create.  She started by describing that the classroom atmosphere she had helped to create  was one of inquiry and wonder.  The preschoolers questioned the world around them and sought answers in the community.  The issue that these preschoolers were addressing in the classroom happened to be look related.  There were recognizing the differences among each other: hair color/texture, eye color, skin color, height, etc.  The class recognized that everyones skin was a different color and that it made them unique--it was truly anti-biased.  Well one day the kiddos were coloring and one happened to use the color 'flesh'.  The preschoolers looked for other colors also labeled flesh that better fit friends whose skin was not the same color as the first crayon found.  They had no success.  The teacher supported the class to figure out how to solve the issue and the class ended up writing the Crayola company to that labeling one color as flesh is untrue because everyone comes in different colors.  

Challenge Based Learning definitely has a place in ece classrooms.  As long as the children are taught to inquire about the world around them, they will uncover challenges in the world that must be solved.  This 'Project Approach', as referred to in ece, is not so much technology based and the teacher does have a larger part in the project: helping to guide the students through problem solving.  None-the-less, young children can also accomplish challenge based learning as it "is collaborative and handson, asking students to work with other students, their teachers, and experts in their communities and around the world to develop deeper knowledge of the subjects students are studying, accept and solve challenges, take action, share their experience, and enter into a global discussion about important issues." (p. 1)

This article tied in perfectly with the debate that has been taking place at my work.  We have had an IT guy come in and fix the problems that we are having on our computers, however we also got into a long discussion with him about the uses of technology in the classroom.  He feels like technology can revamp nearly everything that takes place in the toddler classroom.  The teachers who are less comfortable with the technology disagree, saying that the tried and true methods are the best.  It left me wondering how technology can best be used in the classroom.  After this debate, the program director left an article that discussed both the potential uses and hazards of technology.  I began to form the opinion that maybe technology can be integrated into the pre-established teaching methods in the classroom, but maintaining that face-to-face contact is still important. Then in my language development class we talked about how people are beginning to use technology as a replacement rather than an additive to a lesson.  The professor stressed her concerns with this as language absolutely is learned through social situations.  Hearing the words that someone is speaking in front of you, and relating this to how their mouth is moving is necessary when leaning language.  She continued to say that the research shows that if you video record the same situation and play it back to the child on a screen they will have difficulty language.

To relate the former tangent back to the article, I think what I am trying to say is that technology and therefore iPads have a place in the classroom to further teaching, but not to be the sole teacher. I guess this article makes me a little weary because I feel like it can be easily misunderstood.  I had the opportunity to go on home visits this quarter, and the home visitor stressed with the parents that screen time should not be apart of the child’s life before the age of 3.  She supported her opinion, and the opinion of Early Head Start with articles to show what the research has found.  While I think that iPads can be a great tool for reinforcement, I think it is important to really look at research based studies before bringing in the technology to your classroom.

As Susan Engel and Marlene Sandstrom were quoted in the article, "when a school and community adopt values that are rooted in treating others with dignity and respect, children's behavior can change." (p. 12) I fell as though this was one of the most pertinent points made in the article in relation to my future career.  In early education (birth-3yrs) I will not have to deal with a lot of the problems mentioned in the article. However, I can instill in the children I will be teaching values that will help to build a strong foundation of morals that will prevent issues of bullying and unwise decisions down the road.  I will also work with the parents to help them to become technology literate and to educate them on the potential issues that come with technology. Through parent education, I will be able to affect the conduct of the child down the road.  This goes along with one of the four steps of change as recommended by the article, I will "support parents and the school-to-home connection with parent guides." (p. 15) My work may allow me to go beyond a 'parent guide' to being able to have a discussion face to face during a home visit or other meeting.  I believe that the most important way to stop many of the troubles that arise because of the internet/technology is to educate the parents and to show them how to be support their children.

Transliteracy worries me a little bit simply because I feel like the gap in education between socioeconomic status will broaden. How can a student become technology literate when they family cannot afford to turn on the heat let alone to buy a computer?  Students who grow up in a house with iPhones, iPads, computers, tvs, gaming stations, and cameras are set up to have a foundational knowledge about technology.  I guess I am wondering how learning for a child can be equal when one has more 'advantages' at home. I guess I am going off on this tangent, because teaching internet focus skills does not pertain as much to early intervention, but giving students a foundation of learning in technology does. 

When reading the slogans, the one that caught my attention was "we need to read, not speed."  While I understand the premise behind this idea, I feel like I disagree with it in part.  I know that I assess the quality of a webpage by quickly looking at the way the information is presented.  I feel like this is a valid skill to have though.  If I search 'early intervention' on google, 76,600,000 results come up.  To slowly read all of these pages would take more than my lifetime, therefore I need to have some way to sort the information. In order to sort through this information I must quickly assess if the website (and therefore information) is worth my time.  This is where the 'speed' comes in handy.  It gets me to the information that I am looking for faster. 

Reading this article really hit home for me.  My mom has always made fun of me for taking my time in purchasing a product as I spend a good deal of time looking at ALL of my options.  Sometimes I become frustrated and annoyed with the 'task' of finding the perfect dress or the cutest sheets, or in the case of this last summer--the best car.  I spent months looking for the right car, it was a big purchase and I was going to find the perfect automobile and was willing to wait until it came about.  I looked and waited, waited and looked and nothing came about. I got so overwhelmed with all of the information, that I gave up.  Then my family went on a camping trip (technology-less) and a family friend heard that I was interested in finding a car.  He said he knew someone that had a reliable car for a great price. (Being a car dealer, I trusted him entirely.) Once we got back, I had his dealership look over the car, and then when I got the 'all clear' I bought it.  No internet involved.  This process made me feel less anxiety and was easier than using the internet alternative.  I think it is extremely easy to become overwhelmed with the options on the internet and taking a step away from it, for big decisions, can be in the person's best interest. 

I think the idea that some of our best decisions are made through a form of unconscious decision making is really interesting.  As a person, I like to feel informed and in control, so to hear that being so may not be in my best interest, surprised me. The thought that an info-glut can just lead to poor decisions down the road seems contrary.  I would think that the more information one knows about something, the more informed of a decision they will be able to make about it.  To hear the opposite, really makes me step back and look at the way in which I make choices.