The Importance of Social and Emotional Development
Through my experiences on placement I learnt how
important is for young children to progress in their social and emotional
development. It is significant for children to develop in these areas as
without them, children’s ability to engage in learning other knowledge and skills
will be diminished. In my placement centre I observed a number of ways in which
they value children’s emotional and social learning. Therefore these experiences
assisted my understanding of its importance and illustrated methods I could
potentially cater for such learning and development in my future teaching.
Mentor Teacher Guidance
Conversations with my mentor teacher led me to
reflect on the reasons why social and emotional development is vital, and how I
should make this learning a high priority in my early childhood teaching. The
reasons my mentor teacher stressed were: children’s ability to regulate their
emotions, show respect and empathy for others, and their ability to clearly express
their emotions. I now understand why such capabilities are important as
children will need these as they form their identity and continue to grow and develop
understandings about themselves, others and the world around them. These conversations
helped to change my mindset from outcome focused teaching as seen in primary
schools, to a play based and scaffolding style pedagogy. This approach will enable
the development of children’s social and emotional capabilities, as children
are able to express themselves through play and explore relationships and
understandings with others. Therefore if we ensure children’s emotional and
social abilities are continually developing, it will help them in their
transition to primary school, as well as in their everyday learning. While on
placement I witnessed numerous occasions where a child was emotionally
overwhelmed or were having social problems. We must teach and guide children in
ways to solve such issues, while promoting independence and further development
of their social and emotional capabilities. On placement I tried to encourage children
to solve their problems between one another before I intervened. I hoped that
this would encourage the children to develop their emotional and social skills,
by providing them with an opportunity to learn how to regulate their own
emotions and respond in a respectful manner to those around them. When working
with young children it is of higher importance to focus on children’s self-development,
rather than what the child is yet to learn, as without the social and emotional
foundation it will be difficult to build their knowledge, understandings and
skills in the future.
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MethodsOn placement I observed a number of ways in which to cater for social and emotional learning and development.
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VIT Standards for Graduating Teachers:
This item links to standard 5: "Teachers create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments." As displayed through the way I aim to support and extend children's social and emotional learning; encouraging feelings of safety and trust.
This item links to standard 5: "Teachers create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments." As displayed through the way I aim to support and extend children's social and emotional learning; encouraging feelings of safety and trust.