Another skill that can be highlighted from Johari’s window which would be important within a forest school is being able to encourage and allow children to think critically. It is stated that ‘helping children to think critically means not teaching a body of knowledge but providing an environment, in which children are able to debate issues, evaluate arguments, question evidence, formulate theories.’ (Bilton, 2010). Practitioners must be aware of this in order to provide a space and environment that does allow children to express themselves and experience different feelings and emotions. This will allow children to grow into comfortable individuals, that are able to confidently resolve issues between themselves and others, and begin to understand and create their own ideas. In order to help children think critically, practitioners must be aware of the way they question children. From an journal, it states that “the teacher’s careful questioning provide a metacognitive experience for Naomi (and the other children) which enables her to think about herself as a thinker, to compare herself to others and to abstract from simply solving the task to begin engaging in ruminations about the nature of knowledge and evidence' (Larkin and Shirley, 2015). This allows us to see just how important the way in which practitioners question children must be done in a empowering way that suit the group of children. Children can learn so much from being outside, as long as it aside the right questioning from practitioners which allows children to take their thoughts just a little bit deeper each time, and expanding their knowledge.
One final skill that practitioners must use constantly within all aspects of setting is reflecting. Practitioners should be constantly reflecting on a day to day practice to find out new ways of improving practice in order to benefit the children within their setting. There are many ways of reflecting within practice, but a personal favourite, was devised by Schon (1983). Schon suggested there were two types of reflection that should be carried out by practitioners, reflection in action, and reflection on action. (Palaiologou, 2013).
A few final thoughts, how do you feel practitioner skills can influence children's learning? What skills do you think influence children the most? What skills do you think you possess?
References:
Bilton, H. (2010) Outdoor Learning in the Early Years: Management and Innovation. United Kingdom: Routledge.
Larkin and Shirley. (2015) Metacognition in Young Children. 1st ed. Oxon: Routledge. [Online] Available at: http://www.imd.inder.cu/adjuntos/article/486/Metacognition%20in%20Young%
20Children.pdf (Accessed: 19 Sept. 2015).
Palaiologou, I. (2013). The Early Years Foundation Stage: Theory and Practice. 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Taplin, M. and Chan, C. (2001) ‘Developing Problem-Solving Practitioners’, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 4(4), p. 285.