Schematic pedagogy: supporting one child's learning at home and in a group

Abstract

In this paper, we identify ways in which the learning of very young children can be supported by practitioners developing a schematic pedagogy which focuses on structures of children's thinking. First, we provide a critical overview of relevant literature on schemas and schematic approaches to pedagogy. We then outline an original study undertaken to identify and support the learning of seven young children. Taking one child, whom we call Annie, we illustrate how her attention to the fine detail of elements of her home and group environments as she played offered strong clues to her pedagogues about her persistent interests (schemas). We show how careful observation by practitioners can be used to understand and support future learning encounters through a schematic pedagogy, and we consider implications of such an approach for practice in toddlers' early learning. ARTICLE HISTORY

Signs, symbols and schemas: understanding meaning in a child’s drawings

“…The pink is the fish'. These drawings catalogue and celebrate the significant home events and capture the strong internal emotions and memories they generated (Anning and Ring 2004;Thompson 1999).…”

“…Children's drawings are interchangeably described as 'image-texts' (Bearne and Kress 2001, 90), 'visual texts' (Albers 2007, viii), 'artwork' (Ahn 2006, ii) or 'graphic representations' (Machón 2013, 77). In this paper, we adopt the convention of Anning and Ring (2004), Mavers (2011) and Coates and Coates (2011) to refer to Thea's graphic representations (whatever, the media she used) as 'drawings'. 'Drawing' in this paper fits Paine's (1997) consideration of drawing as a creative activity 'deeply resonant with the expressive side of personality and feeling and therefore having the potential for interaction' (147).…”

Are we underestimating 2-year-olds? Recognising the links between schema and mark making, implications for future pedagogy

“…(Athey, 2007: 28) Clare (2012) reports that she habitually observed toddlers and 2-year-olds being placed in environments more suited for 3-and 4-year-olds, with practitioners who appeared more 'concerned with the care as opposed to the learning' (p. 4) requirements; consequently, the children were unable to gain either the sensory or movement experiences to appropriately support their development. In caring for young children, Atherton and Nutbrown (2016) advocate equal importance to the skills of thought, action and talk, insisting perceptive adults can enable young children to flourish when 'practice is shaped by children's own creativity' (p. 3), highlighting the continued necessity for greater pedagogical understanding and discussion about the specific needs of 2-year-olds.…”

Challenging or creative? Impatient or curious? Disposition discourse in the early years

“…As a concept, schema has been traditionally associated with the theory of Piaget (1952) who used the term to explain mental representations which form the building blocks of cognition. The term in this context is not easily translated from a theoretical construct into practice but with the publication of work such as Athey (2007), Nutbrown (2015 and Atherton and Nutbrown (2016) the concept of schema became more accessible and visible in practice. This work resulted in the development of clear examples of behaviours where children are demonstrating particular schemas such as the transportation and rotation schemas frequently observed in children's play (Featherstone, 2008).…”

“…This provides reassurance that academic research can translate into workable information for practitioners providing them with new discourses to consider in practice. By introducing a 'schematic pedagogy' new and different understandings can emerge (Atherton and Nutbrown, 2016). The success of this approach provides reassurance that through supporting practitioners to extend their knowledge and understanding and confidence in aspects of practice that may be new or novel we can support them to widen the discourses which influence the way they work with young children as when practice becomes less reliant on dominant discourses or ways of knowing, new possibilities are opened up in practice (Degotardi, 2017).…”