Building and Innovation

Building and Innovation by Vandhana Prakash

Carpentry is a form of technology that allows children to develop their cognitive, manipulative and social skills (Ministry of Education, 1996). According to Sorti (1999), the concept of technology also comprises of elements such as problem solving, creating and innovating. This means that children can use various materials to construct a new product. Furthermore, the child will learn to plan his/her creation and then execute the plan but learn to improvise along the way (Wang, Kinzie, McGuire & Pan, 2010). The whole process will be significant for the child as it will involve the enhancement of various skills (Rosen & Jaruszewicz, 2009). I had the opportunity to observe a four year old boy, J, who became interested in wanting to create a scroll after watching an episode of his favourite cartoon.

One morning J came to the centre talking about his favourite cartoon, Adventure Time. Apparently, the main character had to look for a scroll and went through various difficulties to find it. So, J decided that we wanted to create one of his own. I talked to him about the materials that he wanted to use. I mentioned that a scroll is made of paper. However, he insisted that he wanted to make it out of wood as the one in the cartoon was brown. Perhaps the one in the episode looked wooden. Nevertheless, he had a fair idea of what his scroll would look like. I asked if he would like to draw picture of his idea and he agreed. I explained that it would be easier for him to work on the piece of wood if he could see his idea on paper. J was provided with a large piece of paper to simulate a blueprint. He set out by using different coloured felt pens to draw. It was wonderful to see him start out by drawing an outline of a rectangle and then filling it in with his designs. During the course, I could see that he was giving it much thought because he would sit back and think before proceeding to draw. Once he had finished his blueprint, he wanted to start on the woodwork straight away. So, in the afternoon, he was provided with a piece of wood and various materials to create his design as a three dimensional product. It took him three days to finish his scroll as he would work on it for about half an hour each day. Most of the time would be taken on finding the correct pieces of materials that was suitable to his creation. Ultimately, he was happy with his product and played an adventure game with his friends which took place over a week.

The learning that occurred for J was essential to his development. For instance, making a blueprint helped him to think about what he really wanted to create. During our conversation about the scroll, J seemed sure of what the end product would exactly look like. However, while drawing his plan, J would sit back and think of what to include on his scroll. In other words, he was reflecting on ways to incorporate his ideas on paper. At times, he would opt for a different design because he would realise what he wanted would not be up to his expectations. This was evident when he told me, “Hmmm, I don’t want the sun anymore....I know!” (proceeding to draw). Moreover, creating a three dimensional figure of his scroll allowed him to learn about improvisation (Wang, Kinzie, McGuire & Pan, 2010. For instance, J had to use the materials available for his designs. So, naturally it led to some disappointment when he couldn’t find the correct shape or colour. Hence, he had to improvise his design by following what was available to him. For instance, instead of having squiggly lines to the sides of his scroll, he opted for circular and cylindrical materials with nails. Situations such as these help children to efficiently problem-solve. At the end of his project, he had learnt to be creative using tools such as paper and felt pens, hammer and nails and wood. However, the important aspect of this project was how the whole process helped his cognitive (having an idea, making a blueprint, improvising), physical (using his fine motor and gross motor skills to build a three dimensional scroll) and social developments (talking to me and his peers throughout the process).

Technology does not end at high-tech gadgets. It involves thought processes and innovations as well. This can be seen when children use available materials in the centre to create new products. However, it is not the product that matters but what the child has learnt as a result of that creation that guides the child to becoming a competent learner (Donahue, 2003).

References


Donohue, C. (2003). Technology in early childhood education. Childcare Information
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Ministry of Education.(1996). Te whāriki: he whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna
              o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Rosen, D., & Jaruszewicz, C. (2009). Developmentally appropriate technology
            use and early childhood teacher education. Journal of Early Childhood
            Teacher Education, 30(2), 162-171. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Smorti, S.(1999). Technology in early childhood. Early Education, Autumn (19),
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Wang, F., Kinzie, M. B., McGuire, P., & Pan, E. (2010). Applying technology to
            inquiry-based learning in early childhood education. Early Childhood
            Education Journal, 37(5), 381-389. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.