High Scope and Play

Play is an essential part of any child’s life as it allows children to develop key skills as well as being able to physically, mentally and socially develop. The High Scope approach is based around the natural development of children and was originally started by David Weikart in 1962, has been based around the works of Piaget and John Dewey, but has also been influenced by the work of Vygotsky. There are many key principles of the High Scope approach, these range from; active learning and adults working alongside children through to methods of assessment. From my experience of being in a reception class, I have been able to notice the similarities and differences between their way of teaching and High Scopes approach. There were many aspects of the High Scope approach that were evident whilst I was in a reception class for seven weeks for my university placement.

High Scope believed in active learning in which children have an impact on what they learn, as they have control and choose what they want to play with as; “Children are active participants in their own learning”( Nutbrown, 2006). This was evident during my placement in the reception class as, at the end of each day, the children would be asked what they would like on the tables for the following day. But every day as well as these activities they were able to choose what they wanted to play with. In particular I noticed that the girls would often go and draw. By doing this they were meeting one of high scopes goals  “to develop children’s creativity”( Peyton,2005:434), whereas the boys would be in the construction area. However, this active learning principle may not work best for all children. As, for some children structure may be best in order for them to be productive learners, by being guided rather than have free control over what they do.

One of high scopes goals is “To learn to plan many of their own activities, carry them out, and talk with others about what they have done and what they have learned” (Education.com). It is evident that this relates to the plan-do-review aspect of High Scope. Moreover, High Scope believes that children need to have a daily routine for their play so that they are able to use their time effectively and efficiently. Part of this daily routine involves the idea of Plan- do- review, through this“each child is encouraged to plan how to use their time and resources available” (Nutbrown, 2006). Within plan-do-review a child plans what they are going to do, then once they have carried out the activity they then review and evaluate what they did to others. A positive aspect of this system is that it supports childrens “language and communication” (White, 2012). Although, this principle can be seen as very time consuming .And it could be questioned would children really think and plan out what they want to do and what materials/resources they need, or do they just get started on an activity without planning? Also it can be considered would children benefit from reviewing what they did and evaluating it? In my opinion I do believe that it would be beneficial for children to talk to someone about what they did, in order to improve their communication skills and confidence in interacting with others. This plan-do-review, specifically the plan aspect relates to what Vygotsky said which is that he “sees ‘private speech’ (occasions when people talk aloud to themselves) as a means for children to plan activities and strategies and therefore aid their development” (McLeod, 2007).

 

High Scope also believes that the Learning environment has an impact on children’s play. High Scope believes that the classroom should be divided into key areas of interest in order for the children to work at their best. This was evident in the reception class as the classroom was set up into key areas such as the construction area, creative/ art area, role play area and reading area. From implementing this it was evidently beneficial, however, it could be questioned that is it appropriate to divide the classroom into set areas as wouldn’t it be more beneficial for areas of interest to be joined together in order for children to realise that different aspects of learning link together.

High Scope also encourages role play and has  a specific zone known as the “dramatic zone”(Holt, 2007:52) in which “children can have the opportunity to try out other roles”(Holt, 2007: 52) .This has evidently been carried through to modern day classrooms as within the reception class there was a strong emphasis on role play. The role play area would often change in accordance to the children’s changing interest. It started off as a train station, due to the boys current interest, however, it quickly changed to a classroom as this was something that the girls were showing an interest in. It was important for the role play area to be changed into something that specific children were showing an interest in, as some of the quieter children in the class were in effect ‘finding their voice’ through role play. I once observed one of the quieter children taking up the role of the class teacher and it was evident that, by using the role play area she was able to develop her confidence. Therefore it’s clear that play can be beneficial for children building their confidence and improving their communication skills through play.

One criticism of the High Scope approach is that it “has been characterised as ‘too structured’ on one hand and ‘too free’ on the other” (L, Miller & L, Pound, 2010)

Which do you agree with?

 

REFERENCES

Holt, N. (2007) Bringing the high/scope approach to your early years practice. London: Routledge.

McLeod, S. A. (2007). Vygotsky. Available at http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html  (Last Accessed 10/5/13)

Miller, L., & Pound, L. (2010). Theories and approaches to learning in the early years. London, Sage.

Nutbrown, C. (2006). Key concepts in early childhood education & care. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications.

Peyton, L. (2005). “High/Scope supporting the child, the family, the community": A Report of the proceedings of the High/Scope Ireland Third Annual Conference, 12^th October 2004, Newry, Northern Ireland. Child Care in Practice. 11, 433-456.

S, Ann. (2007). All About HighScope. Available: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_All_About_High_Scope/?page=2. Last accessed 8th May 2013.

White, R (2012). Session 3: Key pioneers and children’s centres, Professional studies and early years placement [online]. Available at:     https://bblearn.londonmet.ac.uk/ (Last Accessed 10/5/13).