Child (B) aged 5years 11mths female, and child (C) age 6 years 1 month, male. These two children were from the middle ability group and were able to answer approximately 60 – 70 percent of their questions correctly. In addition, they both recognised all the numbers on the board and were able to move their counter the right number of spaces. Child (C) did loose interest during the game he was too interested in what the other people in the class were up too and said that he didn’t like maths.
Child (D) aged 6years 2 month, female and from the lower ability group, was able to concentrate fully and answered at least 50 percent of her maths questions right and was also able to recognize the numbers on the board and manoeuvre her counter correctly.
During the activity all 4 children did very well, they were able to concentrate, follow the game, answer their questions and also follow the instructions.
The developmental milestones for cognitive development for children between 5 and 6yrs state that:
“ Cognitively, attention span has increased”
()
To play a game like this it is very important that you hold the children’s attention and that they concentrate in order for them to learn. As Tina Bruce states:
“Attention and concentration are important components
in the learning process because without them, children
would not be able to concentrate long enough to store
essential information.”
(Bruce & Meggitt. (1999),p.117.)
The norms also state that:
“ children between five and six know spatial relations
like ‘on top,’ ‘behind,’ ‘far,’ and ‘near.”
()
Both of these factors were demonstrated during the game, the children were able to concentrate for the duration of the activity which lasted approx 20 minutes (which is the recommended length of time for children of this age), in addition, as they manoeuvred around the board they used words like, ‘your behind me,’ or your ‘on top’ which shows they are aware of spatial relationships. Therefore, all four children are at the right stage of development for their age.
In addition, the children cooperated with each other during the game, they took turns without fighting or arguing, and they tried to help each other when they were struggling to answer a question. Cooperative play is typical for this age and stage of development.
Learning mathematical concepts is a very important skill that a child has to master, as mathematical skills are required for life. Learning theorists have suggested for some time that children's' concepts evolve through direct interaction with the environment, and materials (for e.g. the game) provide a vehicle through which this can happen. This message has been conveyed in a number of ways: “ Piaget (1971) suggested that concepts are formed by children through a reconstruction of reality, not through an imitation of it;”
“Dewey (1938) argued for the provision of firsthand experiences in a child's educational program;” “Bruner (1960) indicated that knowing is a process, not a product;”
(www.education.umn.edu/rationalnumberproject/81_4.html)
From the ages of 4 to 11 children need objects in the physical world to learn about mathematical concepts such as problem solving etc.
Throughout the game all 4 children were able to demonstrate their understanding of mathematical concepts by answering their questions correctly, identifying the numbers on the board, by problem solving, and identifying the mathematical symbols on the question cards.
In relation to child development I feel that this activity helped the children lean in all areas of their development, physical, intellectual, emotional, social and language.
Children's communication and language skills are crucial to their confidence in social situations, giving them the tools to build successful relationships with adults and other children and express emotions and desires.
This activity helped to develop language development in various ways they had to answer their questions, they used language like your ‘above me’ or ‘below me,’ they also used language to congratulate or commiserate another child when they landed on either a fish or jellyfish. The children also used mathematical terminology like ‘odd or even,’ ‘add and take away,’ which not only develops their language skills but also reinforces their mathematical knowledge.
Physical development was enhanced by the throwing of the dice and manoeuvring the counter around the board, these two actions helped to develop the children’s fine manipulative skills and their hand and eye co-ordination.
In addition, intellectual development was enhanced by the whole activity, as it involved problem solving, concentration, mathematical terminology, signs, symbols and matching the number of spaces with the number on the dice.
Social and emotional was also developed during this activity as it gave the children a good sense of achievement when they completed the game and this in turn boosted their self-esteem giving them more confidence. The activity also gave the children time to socialise with children other than those that are in their ability group, which is important for children of this age.
Upon completion of the activity my feelings were that it had gone very well as the children seemed very happy, and were rewarded with a well done sticker for taking part. In addition, the learning outcomes of the activity were accomplished which was the main objective.
If I were to repeat this activity in the future I think I would choose children of the same ability to see if they are at the same attainment level or have a game where all the children are the same gender or maybe different ages, in order to compare them with the developmental milestones.
My role during the activity was to observe the children and note their reactions and responses. It also entailed reading the mathematical questions to the children, and keeping them under control because they became very excited on numerous occasions, which distracted the rest of the class. My role also involved giving the children reassurance and guidance if required, which vygotsky stressed was very important in a child’s learning:
“The level of skill a child can produce is very much
a matter of how much support the child has from
the environment.”
Bruner,Cole, & Karmiloff-Smith(1995,p97)
From participating in this activity I have learned how important it is to make the learning experience fun as children learn through play and if its fun they will want to do it again. In addition to this I also learned that even though the children are of a similar age, there could be quite a big difference in their mathematical capabilities, child (A) was very good at mental arithmetic and answered quite quickly, whereas child (D) had to count using a number line to obtain the answer. I also learned that the role of the adult is essential to a child’s learning as it gives them reassurance and helps build their confidence and self esteem.
Recommendations: I would change the game slightly; instead of using pre printed laminated question cards I would laminate blank pieces of card so the mathematical questions could be changed for the different ability levels or children of different ages.
Making the question cards like this would make the game more adaptable, it could even be used to include further learning outcomes or even for a different subject within the national curriculum.
In addition, I would amend the theme of the game from Nemo to something like space, (use shooting stars and rockets, instead of fish and jellyfish), or some other topic from the curriculum that wouldn’t outdate like the Nemo theme.
Furthermore, I feel that using a game like this one which is based on a traditional board game like ‘Snakes & Ladders’ makes it more accessible to people with special educational needs and children whose 2nd language is English because they may already be aware of the rules which would put them at ease and also the questions can be adapted whatever the circumstances to meet their needs.
Conclusion: I believe that children learn best by becoming actively engaged in experiences that allow them to interact and discuss ideas and concepts with other learners. Games are a great way to provide learning experiences for children that are engaging, interactive and most importantly, fun! Board games like the one I made are especially good for building mathematical concepts and skills. They are fun and engage all the senses. Because learning is a social process, children learn best through fun activities like this one, that involve interaction with other people, all the senses and the opportunity to act out concepts using physical representations.
References:
Bruce,T. & Meggitt, C (2002) Child Care and Education, 3rd edition, Hodder & Stoughton, London.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Beaver, m., Brewster, J., Jones, P., Keene, A., Neaum, S. and Tallack, J. (2001) Babies and young Children, 2nd edition, Nelson Thornes, Cheltenham.
Green, S. (2002) BTEC National Early Years, Nelson Thornes, Cheltenham.
Tassoni, P. & Beith, K. (2002) Diploma- Child Care and Education. Heinemann Childcare, Oxford.
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/numeracy/teaching.resources/key_objectives
