Since I started my university career I have been interested in teaching elementary school, and over the course of five years at Capilano University I have begun to feel even more passionately towards this career path. I now volunteer on Thursday mornings at Lynn Valley Elementary school. Watching the children as they understand something new or build relationships has increased my interest in the different aspects of learning as well as the different ways children learn. I have started to pay attention and watch the way that each child learns and what I would want my own classroom learning to look like. I have been focusing on the various benefits of play based learning, social and emotional learning, outdoor education and bedtime stories. For this literature review I am going to examine the first three actions above in terms of their importance in a classroom setting. Many of the articles I find myself gravitating towards are chunked up into somewhat smaller sections which I find easier to read than one unanimous, long article. These articles were all written with a purpose to guide educators, parents, or anyone else for that matter, in order to help children be successful in the future. I believe it should be every teacher’s goal to help children understand what life skills are important, how to build relationships and how to cooperate with others; these being the main reasons that I chose these articles to discuss.
It is not clear that there is a specific author for the first article “The Importance of Play-Based Learning”, but rather a team that has come together to create the article in order to help teachers be the best they can for their students, as well as to give them resources in the classroom. I know co-authors such as this will be very useful when I begin my teaching career. Volunteering in a grade 1 and 2 classroom has been vital to my learning about the importance of play based learning within the classroom to create a social environment. I remember in my young elementary school years I used to have “free play time” at 2:30 for the last 30 minutes of class. My mentor has explained to me that play based learning is extremely beneficial for children. In her classroom specifically, she chose to do play based learning at the beginning of the day rather than the end of the day because she believes that it is best to start the day allowing the children to be creative, and it helps to keep them engaged throughout the day. The author of this piece explains the massive importance of play based learning as well as the benefits it can have on children in regards to their development and growth. Throughout the article the writers continue to showcase studies that explain the different benefits that play based learning can have on children. Lastly, the author explains that although some people believe that play based learning is not “real learning” it is in fact real learning and you should not have to choose between “play based learning opportunities and rigorous academic standards” (ResilientEducator). Play based learning is not just a free for all for children to do whatever they please, but it is “purposeful play”, where children express their learning aloud rather than through worksheets and tests.
The second article written by Roger Weissberg called “Why Social and Emotional Learning is Essential for Students” is a very informative piece of writing on the importance of social and emotional learning in order for children to succeed throughout their life and in the future. Roger Weissberg who is a professor of psychology and education, as well as a researcher wrote this article in 2016. It begins with a diagram that showcases everything students should learn through social, emotional, and academic learning. I believe this is a perfect way to start the article as it really catches my attention and I feel the need to continue reading. Right below the diagram the article showcases a statistic that expresses the importance of social and emotional learning that continues to keep me engaged. Again, this article is chunked up into smaller sections in order to not lose my interest, these sections also make it clear what five key skills should be learned within social and emotional learning. The five key skills are; self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. It is important for children to learn these skills so in the future they can problem solve on their own. As I discussed in my previous assignment, the personal narrative essay, I hope that as a teacher I am able to help lead children in the right direction when they may not get the most help from home, and these 5 key skills are extremely important to be successful in that.
As I stated for the first two articles this third article called “Benefits of Outdoor Education for Middle School Age and Teens” also begins with diagrams and bright colours which attracts me to continue reading. The writer of this article explains why outdoor learning is so beneficial for children and how outdoor learning can help improve negative moods that some tend to feel towards social studies, math and science. The article also explains that when children are exposed to the outdoors and nature it affects their cognitive abilities in a positive way and can give them a stronger ability to focus, especially with children who suffer from ADHD. We went on a neighborhood walk through the trails last Thursday and I had the opportunity to see the children play and goof around, they were picking up sticks and loving every second of it. It is amazing to see the children in classroom settings where they are learning but it is even more rewarding seeing them outside learning in nature and building relationships with their peers.
These articles are hugely important to me moving forward in my own education and future teaching career. I wholeheartedly agree with these articles and the importance of this versatile education, I have been lucky enough to see the benefits of each of these actions within a classroom setting and I am excited to use these skills in my own classroom. I emphasized a stronger focus on the content of these articles rather than the writers of the articles because I am generally more motivated by content than the author itself. I think it is admirable that these writers have invested their time into educating or studying these important actions and the benefits children can reap from different types of learning. Not only are these articles important to me personally, but they are important to the education field as a whole. These articles and many others have helped to inform educators in this field, and I am sure they are seen as helpful and important tools for the education sector as a whole. I feel that it is very important to understand what actions we can do and teach that will make the biggest differences in a child’s life; to put less of a focus on tests and assignments within a classroom and more of a focus on the child’s growth and development in a variety of areas.
TOP 10 literature review list:
Play based learning: https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/play-based-learning/
Social and Emotional learning: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-sel-essential-for-students-weissberg-durlak-domitrovich-gullotta
Outdoor learning: https://www.seewhatgrows.org/key-benefits-outdoor-learning-education-children-teens/
Benefit of bedtime stories: https://www.parents.com/fun/entertainment/books/the-brainy-benefits-of-bedtime-stories/
Social and Emotional learning: https://www.edutopia.org/social-emotional-learning-parent-resources
Importance of teachers: https://online.merrimack.edu/importance-of-teachers/
Redefining the role of the teacher: https://www.edutopia.org/redefining-role-teacher
Importance of learning outside: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_surprising_benefits_of_teaching_a_class_outside
Importance of child education: https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/importance-of-early-childhood-education/
Play based learning: https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-use-play-learning