Markiesha Gervacio

December 2, 2013
ITE 417-Part 3
UHMCC, 3-4 yrs.
Influence of Physical & Temporal Environment
Room arrangement: The classroom is arranged in several centers including blocks,
dramatic play, Play Dough, library and drawing. The various materials offered gives students the
freedom to choose what they want to play with. During indoor play one student said to two other
students, Can I play with you guys? The two students responded, No, we only play with our
friends. The first student scrunched his face and responded, But I am your friend, we play
sand. The other two students then smiled and said, Oh yeah, okay. Because the students are
freely playing with whoever they want, it creates various social interactions for the students.
In order for teachers to create learning centers that emphasize social interactions, teachers
need to participate in play with the students. By participating in play with the students, the
teacher is able to ask guided questions that enhance student thinking and creates conversations
between students. This type of centers room arrangement prompts an environment where
teachers teach through social interactions. In my opinion, centers provide students with
opportunities to work in large, small or even individual situations. Through their
experimentation with objects, language, and social interactions, students enter a new phase of
cognitive growth (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 67).
Schedule and Routines: During diaper changing/bathroom time, the students were
required to go to the bathroom and attempt to use the bathroom. There were several allotted
times for diaper changing/bathroom time. Another example of transitioning in the classroom was
between each activity. The teacher, for example, announced to the students, After this song is

done, it will be time to get ready for snack. The students were able to develop a sense of time by
having daily routines and by being prompted on what activity was coming up next. If a daily
routine is followed in the classroom, students will be able to anticipate upcoming activities.
Through implementing daily routines and transitions, the teacher is creating a sense of time
management for the students. I believe this teaching practice is important because it gives the
students a sense of time in the classroom. They will learn how to keep time by daily routines.
In my opinion, transitions are important to a childs development because it promotes
effective learning in the classroom. It creates opportunities for students to communicate with the
teacher and peers. For example, students can start conversations with the teacher about the
upcoming activity during transition time. Transitions promote learning because the students are
learning how to end one activity and start a new one. This promotes time management and is
essential for students to learn because it gives them a sense of time. The Division for Early
Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children emphasizes that transitions should be
structured to promote interaction, communication, and learning (Hemmeter, Ostosky, Artman &
Kinder, 2008, p. 1).
Influence of Relationships with Children & Families
Relationship with children: The relationship between the children and teachers highly
influence the teacher practices. An example I saw in the classroom was during indoor play. A
student was playing with Play Dough and the teacher came over to sit with the student. At first,
the teacher watched the student make something out of Play Dough. When the student was
almost done the teacher asked, Wow, can you tell me about that? The student responded,
Dog. The teacher replied, Oh, how nice! Let me try and make a house for your dog. The

teacher then molded what was supposed to be a dog house out of Play Dough. Through this
example I can see that the teacher used engaging conversation to provoke the students thought
and learning. Engaging students in conversations enhances students cognitive, expands their
vocabulary and improves their communication skills with peers and adults. I believe this follows
the appropriate teaching practices because students learn best when engaged in various
conversations. Adults are valued pay partners because they can keep the story going as they
respond to the childs lead (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 67).
Classroom community: There are classroom displays that highly reflect the classroom
community. There is a map that displays where each student is from because students come from
all over the world. The curriculum corresponds with this map display. Every week the students
learn about a different country from their classroom map. An example would be when the
students were learning about Zambia. A parent who was from Zambia, along with their child, that
came into the classroom to do an activity with the class. The students were able to taste rice pilaf,
a dish that is prepared in Zambia. Because the classroom community is diverse, it gives the
teacher the opportunity to use integrative approaches to curriculum.
Integrative approaches to curriculum is basically making connections. These connections
can be between different subjects, between students home and school life or between students
school and family. I believe this teaching approach is effective because it offers student a diverse
curriculum. They are able to learn in various ways such as cooking, drawing, or even singing
songs from different countries. In addition, since they are learning about each other, they will
more likely to be engaged in the curriculum. The skillful design of curriculum includes ensuring

that in addition to planned activities there will be time, space, and interesting things to
explore (Feeney, Moravcik & Nolte, 2013, p. 345).
Relationship with Families: In the classroom the teacher greeted a childs family, Good
morning! Hows everything? The family member responded, Oh, very tired. She woke up so
early this morning. I dont know where she gets the energy! The teacher then said, Hahaha,
yeah I need some of that energy! The teacher and family member laughed and when the family
was leaving, the teacher said, You guys have a good one! This teacher showed an example of
fostering positive relationships as a teacher practice. I believe having a positive relationship with
families is essential in teaching because families and teachers must work together to ensure the
best learning environment for a child. For example, parents must work with teachers if certain
sleeping arrangements need to be made to help the child with nap time routines. On weekends
the parent must continue the same nap schedule as the teacher has at school in order to keep a
routine up for that particular child.
In my opinion, I also agree that both the teacher and family hold valuable information
about a child. Ensuring that you, as a teacher, fosters a positive relationship with each family
increases positive experiences for students. I believe being able to also talk casually and
professionally are important in building relationship with each family. Families bring
knowledge and experience of their child as an individual and teachers bring their knowledge of
children in general and awareness of best practices.....both are vital to create optimal experience
for each child (Feeney, Moravcik & Nolte, 2013, p. 474).
Influences of Teacher Practices on Children & Families

Physical development: The teacher practice, teaching through social interactions, effects
the physical development of students positively through play. An example I observed in the
classroom; A student was climbing up the jungle gym during outdoor play. Some students had a
hard time going back down the ladder on the jungle gym. Students called for the teacher, I
need help! However, the teacher did not assist them. She told them, If you can climb up, you
can climb back down. Just use your muscles. Through this social interaction between students
and teacher, the teacher was able to clarify the importance of building muscles. The teacher had
the students challenge themselves in order to enhance their physical development. Teachers,
caregivers, and parents should provide opportunities for preschoolers to exercise large muscles
every day (Pearson, 2010, p. 1).
Social Emotional Development
Moving on to the next teacher practice, using engaging conversations also positively
impacts students social and emotional development. This teaching practice should be used
throughout the whole day. Having engaging conversations promotes social and emotional
development by incorporating teachers in play with the students or interacting with peers during
play. If students are engaged in conversations with adults, their vocabulary will expand because
of the thought-provoking questions teachers ask students. I believe having engaging
conversations is essential to students social and emotional development because interacting with
others will test their emotions. They will explore feelings of anger, if someone does not want to
play with them, or happiness if they make a new friend. An example I saw in the classroom;
During indoor play one student said to two other students, Can I play with you guys? The two
students responded, No, we only play with our friends. The first student scrunched his face and

responded, But I am your friend, we play sand. The other two students then smiled and said,
Oh yeah, okay. Preschoolers are unfailingly curious about both the physical and social world
and may exhaust adults with their many questions (Feeney, Moravcik & Nolte, 2013, p. 136).
Cognitive Development!
!

The example I presented previously, assisting students in building daily routines, is a

good example of how creating a balanced daily schedule impacts students cognitive
development. I believe this because if students learn their daily routines, they will know where
they need to be during each part of the day. The same goes for transitions; when teachers
announce what activity is following the current one, students will know where to move their
body to next. The example of a transition I saw in the classroom was; During a transition, the
teacher announced, After this song is done, it will me time to get ready for snack. The teacher
practice, creating a balanced daily schedule, impact students cognitive development. In my
opinion, the teacher practice creating a balanced daily schedule is important because it helps
them gain a sense of time. Gaining this sense of time management will help students regulation
of other aspects in the classroom. Such as regulating their own behavior. Routine tasks of living
are important opportunities to help children learn about their world, acquire skills, and regulate
their own behavior (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 101).
Creating Support for Play
One teacher practice that I observed in the classroom that promoted enjoyment in the
learning environment is, creating support for play. I observed the teacher participating in play
with a student. A student was playing with Play Dough and the teacher came over to sit with the
student. At first, the teacher watched the student make something out of Play Dough. When the

student was almost done the teacher asked, Wow, can you tell me about that? The student
responded, Dog. The teacher replied, Oh, how nice! Let me try and make a house for your
dog. The teacher the molded what was supposed to be a dog house out of Play Dough. This
showed that the teacher was supporting play by actively engaging in play with a student.
Through this teacher practice, I believe that it gets students more interested in play because they
see that the teacher is enjoying it, as well. Personally, I believe teachers should role play with
students during play in order to create support for play. It creates a much more enjoyable
atmosphere for the students to learn in. The quiet support of observing a childs play and
commenting verbally encourages childrens active engagement (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p.
81).
Influence Families
The next teacher practice I observed in the classroom was, integrating approaches to
curriculum (described on p. 3). This teacher practice influenced students by expanding on
students interests and making connections between school and other students cultures. This
teacher practice can be used in many different ways to influence families. I will use the cooking
example I observed to further explain. While I observed the class, their curriculum included
integrating countries around the world. On this particular day, a parent was invited into the class
to show the students how to make rice pilaf; rice pilaf is a food made in Zambia, which was the
current country the class was studying at the time. From this example, I can see how the
integration of all the students cultural backgrounds in the classroom, influenced the families as
well. The families were able to come into the classroom to share more about their culture. I
believe this influences the families because if teachers integrate students cultures into the

curriculum, the students gain a sense of themselves as they learn about where their family came
from. When family members participate as volunteers in the classroom, they can enrich your
program and enable you to do more (Feeney, Moravcik & Nolte, 2013, p. 482).

Sources
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice. (3rd ed.).
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education.
Hemmeter, M., Ostosky, M., Artman, K. & Kinder, K. (2008). Planning transitions to prevent
challenging behavior. Beyond the Journal, Retrieved from http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200805/
pdf/BTJ_Hemmeter_Transitions.pdf
Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., & Nolte, S. (2013). Who am I in the lives of children?. (9th ed.). NJ:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Pearson. (2010). Preschool Physical and Motor Development. Retrieved from http://
wps.prenhall.com/chet_trawicksmith_earlychild_4/37/9577/2451942.cw/index.html