In her seminar at the Nursery World Show, Helen Moylett of National Strategies provided some thought-provoking guidance on how practitioners can approach observation, planning and assessment under the EYFS. She urged them to observe what children can do rather than what they can't, and to accept that no plan is forever or for all children.
Ms Moylett also addressed ways of thinking. 'Good thinkers don't think in boxes. They return to things and ideas; they are tentative but confident.'
One of her reading recommendations was Peter Hobson's The Cradle of Thought: Exploring the Origins of Thinking (Pan Books). This book features as preparatory reading for the Open University's postgraduate course, 'Understanding children's development and learning'. This distance learning course counts towards an MA. There is no residential school and group tutorials are optional.
The course aims to help candidates understand theories, controversies and research findings linked with social, cognitive and emotional development from early infancy through the school years.
Areas of study include:
- How babies and young children actively shape their own experiences through meaningful interaction with other people
- Ways in which children's thinking changes and develops during the school years
- How traditional theories of child development are being challenged by studies of different cultural practices and research on children who do not follow typical developmental pathways
- Reflection on how rapidly changing cultural and technological contexts influence children's lives and development at home, at school and in the wider community.
The continuous assessment component involves three essay assignments and an observation-based small-scale investigation of a teaching and learning interaction. This can be with learners of any age and carried out in a range of settings including home, nursery, playgroup, after-school club, school or adult learning centre.
Candidates will use what they have learnt from this investigation as a basis for a project proposal (the examinable component) for a larger-scale investigation into an aspect of teaching and learning related to an aspect of their professional practice.
This course has a strong link to inclusion and will appeal to those who were inspired by Mary Dickins' seminar at the Nursery World Show, in which she explored aspects of emotional development and how these link to children's participation and sense of belonging. This OU course will enhance practitioners' understanding of issues around inclusion and provide new insights into developing this vital area of practice.
www.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/course/ed841
