Strategies to Improve Early Childhood Education

Nature versus Nurture
Nature versus nurture discussion is the psychological conversation that has been around for so many years, and the definition given to nature is that of pre-wiring which is mostly influenced by people’s genetic inheritance plus other biological factors. Nurture, on the other hand, is an influence that comes from external forces after the conception of an individual. That is, it looks at the exposure of the product, experience, and individual learning processes. Therefore, the debate of nature versus nurture has major concerns that are relative to the contribution that would influence both human behaviors. Therefore, the debate is centered on the relative influences of genetic makeup and the environment factors responding to human development. In concert, one has to look at nature and nurture because it shapes the developmental pathways and outcomes of an individual, from health to behavior to competence (Keating, 2011).
Teacher’s Goals and Objectives
As a teacher, I have been given the role of facilitating, nurturing, and guiding the child to development considering that they are active participants when it comes to their learning. Therefore, the goal is to create a learning environment that has various learning activities that will invite the child’s interests. Moreover, the environment should be able to validate the child’s present knowledge and continue building it through creating more and more activities that would challenge his or her mind. However, I also need to consider their developmental levels, as well as the child’s progress when it comes to learning. In my teaching practice, the goal is to be effective when it comes to guiding the children through learning (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
Early Childhood Educator’s Role as a Profession
I am instrumental in my professional role by guiding the children to new paths and ensure they are safe from any harm. Therefore, the new path acts as a challenge for an educator because it means sharing with the children and ensuring that it goes well with their interests. Hence, in the learning process, the educator becomes a partner and through this ensures that the child is encouraged to find their answers. By incorporating this into my profession, I can learn with the children and share their experiences because to nurture means nourishing. The nurturing of the child will encompass different development aspects such as the physical, social, cognitive and emotional areas. However, when it comes to interacting, educators will need to nurture the appropriate growth and development patterns in a child. Listening and communicating with a child are important things that need to be considered and assimilated in the learning process (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
When it comes to upholding the ethical standards, I intend to respect the worth, dignity, and uniqueness of every child in the classroom. Secondly, I look forward to helping both children and adults when it concerns achieving their full potential with their varied relationships basing on positive regard for one another, trust, and respect for others. Professional standards of practice will be attained through basing my work on knowledge transmission to children to attain various aspects of development in the individuals (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
Role of Early Childhood Educator as Children’s Advocate
Early childhood educator also plays the role of advocates on behalf of the children by being their ‘voice’ because, in a classroom setup, there are those students whose ‘voice’ is least or even never heard. Through advocacy, children are provided success pathways and ensuring that educators have a positive influence on their lives and their families. Early childhood educators face numerous challenges especially when it comes to teaching because they start from as early as birth through to grade three. Some of the challenges will include growth and development issues, in accepting the diverse cultures and backgrounds of their students, and the embracing of family values instilled in the children (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
Methods of Assessing Student Understanding
Traditionally, most educators assessed their learner’s comprehension by giving them exams and papers. However, this method is somewhat flawed since the educator gets to know whether the learners understood the concepts after the final exams. Other teachers track the learner’s progress more regularly by providing them with problem sets. However, while some students do well on homework, they may not replicate the same in the final exams. It is, therefore, important to incorporate multiple assessment methods since depending on a single technique will only reflect a section of the learners’ achievement. To assess children in preschool to third grade, I will administer tests in a one-on-one setting. It is important to ensure that the test administrator is well known to the child. The session should also be short; the educator has to continue reinforcing the child all through the testing session. Observing the behavior and skills of the child also gives the educator an overview of the child’s abilities.
The focus is on the interests of the children and an open mind is always present especially when embracing affirmations like “all children can learn.” Educators are well aware that they can learn using different paces because they are at different developmental stages. Therefore, educators should customize their teaching method for them to satisfy the needs of all their children. Thus, the teaching method will need to be unique to every individual child in the classroom considering that slower children take longer to understand compared to those who learn fast (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
Role of Technology in the Classroom
Technology is important in the classroom because it helps an educator in delivering information to the young children using interactive methods. We are in a technologically advanced world, and therefore, by introducing various forms of technology to the child, an educator is preparing the way for a child to face the outside world. Nonetheless, the technology used needs to be appropriate developmentally, culturally and individually so as not to erode the family values held by children (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
Importance of Environment to Teaching
The environment is also an important factor that needs to be considered when it comes to teaching and learning because they need to be child-centered. The compatibility of learning environments for the child should be in line with their developmental needs that will look at fostering child growth and development through positive experiences of learning. The environment will, therefore, look at the safety, well-being, and health of the children, compatibility measures, activities conducted also need to be compatible, and materials engaged during playtime need to work for the children’s needs (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014).
Implications
In summary, my practice as an educator has been able to provide children with the necessary skills when it comes to problem-solving mechanisms. Moreover, I have realized that all children have different potentials. By engaging them in the classroom, I have managed to identify their weak and strong areas. The other thing was including the parents and caregivers in the learning process. Some of them were very hostile when they began learning, but they became social beings who embraced other students because their parents were involved in their learning with time. Thus, by embracing the constructivist theory of Piaget and Burns, learning processes became an active process (Hong, Torquati & Molfese, 2013). In this scenario, learners are given the ability to construct new ideas by basing on their past and even current knowledge. Therefore, by having high involvement in the classroom, children can discover various principles since they can participate in dialogue, exploring ideas fell safe, and knowledge is integrated and discovered.


References
Hong, S. Y., Torquati, J., & Molfese, V. J. (2013). Theory-guided professional development in early childhood science education. In Learning Across the Early Childhood Curriculum (pp. 1-32). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Keating, D. P. (2011). Nature and nurture in early childhood development. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Nutbrown, C., & Clough, P. (2014). Early childhood education: History, philosophy, and experience. Thousands Oak, California: SAGE Publications.