Schemas In The Early Years

Evolved through conversations with key early childhood education experts, Schemas in the Early Years focuses on the value of ‘repeated patterns’ of action or ‘schemas’ in young children’s play. It stimulates readers to ask questions of themselves, to watch children closely, and to create a dialogue with parents and other educators as well. Contributors to this fascinating book discuss their observation of children in naturalistic situations when they are deeply involved in play and identify topics or themes that can be linked to and inspire professional development opportunities. This book provides an antidote to beginning with the curriculum rather than the child and really considers children as learners. Each chapter focuses on young children and schemas, considering a wide age range from babies to children attending statutory schooling. Schemas in the Early Years is an accessible and inspiring text and serves as essential reading for educators wanting to think further and in more depth about schemas. Newcomers to schema theory or anyone currently using schema theory to understand children will also find these enquiries useful. All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Shelter – the housing and homelessness charity.

What are schemas and why do they matter? Again! Again! provides an introduction to understanding and supporting schemas and schema play in young children. Practitioners will find an overview of schemas with guidance on where they fit within the EYFS. There are examples of schemas, with illustrations and descriptions of common behaviour patterns, and these are set within the general context of child development. The intention is to help early years practitioners identify schemas and to understand both how important they are and the vital role they play in the growing child's learning. The aim is to help the reader understand how they can develop, plan and resource activities which support children's learning through experiment and play.

All children are different, they look different, sound different, behave in different ways and crucially they learn differently. It is a constant challenge in Early Years settings and Reception classes to provide opportunities that are relevant and valuable for all the children in their care. Being able to recognise and identify schemas in young children enables practitioners to plan a play-based curriculum that allows for individualised learning based around each child's interests that will support the next steps of their development. Drawing on current research, the book clearly explains what schemas are and how they can be indentified in children. It then looks at how settings can plan to incorporate schemas into their schemes and topics and provides real life examples of schematic learning in practice.

The author reviews children's patterns of learning and thinking (schemas), how to support early schematic development, and implications for curriculum, assessment and working with parents.

Shortlisted for the 2013 Nursery World Awards! 'This exciting book will greatly enhance understanding of learning throughout the early years, and reinforces the importance of responsive professionals who understand children's schemas. Atherton and Nutbrown have brought together socio-cultural and cognitive learning theories with ease, and their metaphors are brilliantly evocative' -Dr Anne Meade, Consultant 'This book is drawn from a study carried out with rigour and contains several gems, such as the 'bike and slide exploration'; the idea of adults engaging in 'a dialogue of conceptual correspondence' with children; and tables outlining 'what the children might have been thinking'. A great read!' -Dr Cath Arnold, Pen Green Early Years Centre 'This is an exciting and illuminating account of babies and toddlers, following their schema fascinations with determination and competence, as they continually explore and experiment and come to know their world. This book captivated me. It should be in every early childhood education setting' -Pam Cubey This is the first book to focus specifically on Schemas and children under three. The authors trace the development of schemas from motor level through to symbolic representation, and show how to use schema theory to understand young children's learning and behaviour. This accessible and student-friendly book includes: -activities and discussion points -links to policy and practice -descriptive observational material -a look at the ethics of this kind of research -numerous photographs and illustrations -suggestions for follow-up reading The book is aimed at early childhood professionals and practitioners in ECEC settings, as well as those on initial training courses, teacher education, Early Years courses, and higher degrees.

'Chris Athey has made a major contribution to our understanding of how young children think and how educators and parents can best support their learning. This book is, without doubt, a most important text for all who are concerned to maximise the potential of early childhood education to develop effective ways of working with young children. The book explores children's schematic development and offers ways of teaching which are closely matched to children's actions, speech and graphic representations. This second edition of Extending Thought builds on the scholarly approach of the first and provides readers with clear explanation of relevant research alongside rich observations of children. It is essential reading for all who seek to provide the very best of learning opportunities for young children by bring parents, professionals and informed pedagogy together in a thoughtful and informed partnership of learning. Extending Thought is a major building block for many of us who study young children's capacity to think and learn' - Dr Cathy Nutbrown, Reader in Education, University of Sheffield In this fully revised version of Chris Athey's classic text, the author builds on her original internationally renowned research with new illustrations of 'continuity' in children's thinking from early to primary education. Drawing on her extensive experience and research evidence, she explains how teachers of young children can advance professionally towards a greater knowledge of young children's thinking and learning. The book covers: o 'forms of thought' used by young children o assimilation of curriculum content o pedagogy o parental participation o the politics of early education This book is an essential read for students and teachers in early years education. Chris Athey M Ed, was Principal Lecturer in Education at the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education (RIHE). Funded by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship, she directed the Froebel Early Education Project from 1973 to 1978. She has taught all ages of primary-school children in State and private schools. She has considerable experience of initial teacher training and INSET

This creative and highly engaging text describes how young children learn through exploring repeated patterns in their actions, known as 'schemas', and how they can help inform planning for children's learning.

Forlagets beskrivelse: This book explores the frequently observed schemas of young children-patterns of behaviour from which understanding and growth is derived-and draws out the nature of this learning.