Discussion Questions SEE FILE FOR FULL INSTRUCTIONS AND RESOURCES 1. Module 2 Discussion 1: Beauty and Aesthetics in Early Childhood Settings Psychologists Abraham Maslow and Howard Gardner hav
Discussion Questions
Module 2 Discussion 1: Beauty and Aesthetics in Early Childhood Settings
Psychologists Abraham Maslow and Howard Gardner have stated that beauty is a human need. Maslow asserted that humans have basic needs such as food, air, water, shelter, friendship, and love. And we also have “being needs,” which help us become all we can be. These needs include creativity, spontaneity, independence, self-expression, morality, and beauty. Author and early childhood environmental educator Ruth Wilson tells us that “putting children in touch with beauty will enrich their lives and foster their sense of wonder” (Wilson, 2014).
Resources:
Danko-McGhee, K. (2009). The environment as third teacher: Pre-service teacher’s aesthetic transformation of an art learning environment for young children in a museum settingLinks to an external site.. International Art in Early Childhood Research Journal, 1(1). https://www.artinearlychildhood.org/content/uploads/2022/03/ARTEC_2009_Research_Journal_1_Article_5.pdf
Duncan, S., & Bilezikian, G. (2019, November–December). Heart-centered environmental design: A fresh perspective. Exchange, 250, 8–14. https://ccie-catalog.s3.amazonaws.com/library/5025008.pdf
Note: Read this article up to “Biophilic Design Thinking: Simple Strategies,” which you will read in Module 3.
Wilson, R. A. (2010, May–June). Aesthetics and a sense of wonder. Exchange. 193, 24–26.
Duncan, S., & Salcedo, M. (2012, November–December). Are your children in Times Square? Moving from sensory overload to sensory engagement. Exchange, 208, 48–52.
Vasandani, S. (2015, November–December). Creating environments that reduce children’s stress. Exchange, 226, 40–44.
Wilson, R. A. (2014, March–April). Beauty in the lives of young children. Exchange, 216, 36–40.
Apps, L., & MacDonald, M. (2012). Classroom aesthetics in early childhood education. Journal of Education and Learning, 1(1), 49–59. http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jel/article/view/14143
Links to an external site.
Tarr, P. (2004, May). Consider the walls. Download Consider the walls.Young Children on the Web. https://coursemedia.erikson.edu/eriksononline/CPC/2014_2015/Module1/Documents/Environments/ConsidertheWalls_Journal_article.pdf
Links to an external site.
Honegger, D. (n.d.). Honoring children’s identities and their families. Journey into Early Childhood. https://journeyintoearlychildhood.com/honoring-our-children/
Links to an external site.
Read, M. (2019). Designing with color in the early childhood education classroom: A theoretical perspectiveLinks to an external site.. Creative Education, 10(6). https://www.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.106080
Links to an external site.
Lozier, D. (2017, May 25). Building a rich, aesthetic play-based environment for preschool. University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice, 1(1), 1–25. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=ecsip
Links to an external site.
Rosekat, S. (2016, April 23). Do I really need to create an aesthetically pleasing environment that could be on the pages of a home magazine? Sparks and Gems. https://sparksandgems.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/do-i-really-need-to-create-an-aesthetically-pleasing-environment-that-could-be-on-the-pages-of-a-home-mag
Links to an external site.
Morin, A. (n.d.). Classroom accommodations for sensory processing issuesLinks to an external site.. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/at-a-glance-classroom-accommodations-for-sensory-processing-issues
Links to an external site.
Clarke, P. (n.d.). Creating positive environments that promote listening and speaking.Links to an external site. NALDIC. https://www.naldic.org.uk/Resources/NALDIC/Professional%20Development/Documents/Creatingpositiveenvironments.pdf
To Prepare for this Discussion:
View the video “A Brief Look at an Early Childhood Setting.”
Walden University, LLC. (2021). A brief look at an early childhood setting [Video]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com
Time Estimate: 5 minutes
Transcript - A Brief Look at an Early Childhood Setting [PDF]Download Transcript - A Brief Look at an Early Childhood Setting [PDF]
Consider all you have learned about aesthetics, beauty, and young children from the resources in this module.
Close your eyes and imagine what you now believe an early childhood setting should look and feel like in order to surround children with nurturing and inspiring aesthetics and beauty.
By Wednesday of Week 3:
Post your response to the following:
A brief analysis of whether the early childhood setting in the video represents the elements of aesthetics that nurture an appreciation of beauty and healthy development for young children
A short explanation you would share with the teacher in the video setting to substantiate why aesthetics and beauty are important to young children’s healthy development
A short explanation you would share with the teacher to illuminate how the aesthetic environment can support children’s engagement and learning in at least 2 content areas
At least 3 suggestions for improving the aesthetics in the environment in the video along with your rationale for each
Module 2 Discussion 2: How Child-Centered Environments Minimize Challenging Behavior
How do you feel when you are in a noisy, crowded, poorly lit, chaotic environment for hours at a time? What would that type of environment make you want to do and say? How might it influence the way you interact with others?
There is no doubt that environments influence the way people of all ages think and feel, grow, interact, and learn. Early childhood author, Michelle Salcedo takes this thinking even further when she shares that actions of young children, who feel crowded and overwhelmed tend to become more and more chaotic (Walden University, LLC, 2021d). And, as early childhood professionals know, these feelings and actions often result in challenging behavior.
To Prepare for this Discussion:
View the video “A Preschool Altercation.”
Walden University, LLC. (2021). A preschool altercation [Video]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com
Time Estimate: 1 minute
Transcript - A Preschool Altercation [PDF]Download Transcript - A Preschool Altercation [PDF]
Consider what you have learned from the resources in this module about the ways environments influence children’s dispositions and actions.
Review the video “How Child-Centered Environments Minimize Challenging Behaviors” located in the media piece “Your Early Childhood Community.”
By Wednesday of Week 4:
Post your response to the following:
Based on the resources in this module and your professional experience:
Share your advice regarding how child-centered environments can minimize challenging behaviors and why
Offer recommended changes to the environment in the video that could have helped minimize or prevent the altercation you viewed and others like it.
By Sunday of Week 4:
Review a selection of your colleagues’ posts and respond to at least two in one or more of the following ways:
Share an example of how an altercation between children or a child’s challenging behavior could have been minimized by making the environment more child-centered.
Offer an insight about the effects of child-centered environments on young children that changed the way you might set up your environment or advise others to do so. Consider how child-centered environments can help children feel calmer, experience less crowded spaces, and/or have a better sense of control.
Explain what you would say to the teacher in the video that might help him make changes to his environment to support children getting along with each other, i.e., less challenging behaviors.
Module 3 Discussion 1: Attention Restoration Theory
Close your eyes and recall your favorite place in nature. Breathe deeply. Where are you? What are you looking at? What do you smell? What colors do you see? How does your skin feel? What is your body sensing and experiencing? How does your mind feel?
Though each of us have our own primal landscapes and unique emotional connections to natural places, we share the ability to be nourished and restored by natural environments. What does that tell us about how to best renew ourselves, respond to mental fatigue, and even increase our presence and focus? How might we help children do the same?
Resources for Discussion 1 and 2
Ackerman, C. E. (2023, April 26). What is Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory (ART)?Links to an external site. Positive Psychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/attention-restoration-theory/Links to an external site
Oliver Heath Design. (2016, March 10). A focus on nature: The Attention Restoration TheoryLinks to an external site.. Oliver Heath Design. https://blog.interface.com/the-attention-restoration-theory/
Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children.Links to an external site. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412215595441
Note: Though lengthy, this article offers fascinating insights from Louise Chawla, professor emerita in the Program in Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Duncan, S., & Bilezikian, G. (2019, November–December). Heart-centered environmental design: A fresh perspectiveLinks to an external site.. Exchange, 250, 8–14. https://www.exchangepress.com/article/heart-centered-environmental-design-a-fresh-perspective/5025008/
Note: For this module, read the section of this article titled: “Biophilic Design Thinking: Simple Strategies.”
Kellert, S. R., & Calabrese, E. F. (2015). The practice of biophilic designLinks to an external site.. https://4eb001d0-b89e-44ef-8a43-a66d4e82feb3.filesusr.com/ugd/21459d_81ccb84caf6d4bee8195f9b5af92d8f4.pdf
Links to an external site.
Note: As you review this resource, think of the many ways it applies to early childhood environments.
Green Hearts Institute for Nature in Childhood. (n.d.). 25 easy nature play ideas for early childhood centers.Links to an external site. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/25-easy-nature-ideas.pdf
Links to an external site.Ward, C. (2014). Connecting young children with nature.Links to an external site. Teaching Young Children, 8(1), 24–27.
Nebelong, H. (2008, May). A sense of place: Improving children’s quality of life through designLinks to an external site.. Green Places. http://www.sansehaver.dk/brochurer/GP_MAY08_p20-24.pdf
Children’s Environmental Health Network. (n.d.). FAQs: PlasticsLinks to an external site.. https://cehn.org/our-work/eco-healthy-child-care/ehcc-faqs/plastics/
Wilson, R. A. (2014, March–April). Beauty in the lives of young children.Links to an external site. Exchange, 216, 36–40.
Note: Though you read this article to support your work related to child-centered environments in Module 2, take time to read it again. This time, instead of thinking about young children, think about yourself and other adults in early childhood settings and how beauty affects and can nurture all of you and why this is important.
Russel, N. (2019, May 20). The importance of environmental aesthetics to educator and child wellbeing.Links to an external site. The Sector. https://thesector.com.au/2019/05/20/the-importance-of-environmental-aesthetics-to-educator-and-child-wellbeing/
Links to an external site.
Phillips, E. (2011, March). Creating beautiful learning space for adults: How the world of the child and the adult learner can intersectLinks to an external site.. He Kupu: The Word, 2(4). https://www.hekupu.ac.nz/article/creating-beautiful-learning-spaces-adults-how-world-child-and-adult-learner-can-intersectLinks to an external site.
Keim, J. (2018, August 7). Why beautiful spaces make us healthierLinks to an external site.. International WELL Building Institute. https://resources.wellcertified.com/articles/why-beautiful-spaces-make-us-healthier/Links to an external site.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009, June/July). 11x: Welcome children and families to your classroomLinks to an external site.. Teaching Young Children. 2(5). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/jun2009/welcome-children-and-familiesLinks to an external site.
Good2Know Network. (2019, August 8). How to create a welcoming environment for families. Links to an external site.https://www.good2knownetwork.org/g2k-info-hub/how-to-create-a-welcoming-environment-for-familiesLinks to an external site.
Gelnaw, A. (n.d.). Creating a welcoming early childhood education program.Links to an external site. Welcoming Schools. https://www.welcomingschools.org/pages/welcoming-schools-and-early-childhood-education/Links to an external site.
Kaplan Early Learning Company. (2016, September 12). Designing preschool environments that welcome families.Links to an external site. https://www.kaplanco.com/ii/preschool-environments-that-welcome-families
Review the resources on Attention Restoration Theory in this module.
By Wednesday of Week 5:
Post an insight you gleaned from reading about Attention Restoration Theory. Include a brief discussion of how knowledge of this theory could be applied to the work of early childhood professionals.
Share observations about your own personal experience with nature or your experience of engaging with children and nature that helps to illuminate your thinking about the restorative benefits of nature.
By Sunday of Week 5:
Review a selection of your colleagues’ posts and respond to at least two in one or more the following ways:
Elaborate on a colleague’s ideas about how this theory can be applied in an early childhood setting.
Ask a question to elicit further information or insights.
Share a peer-reviewed resource that supports deeper understanding of the topic.
Module 3 Discussion 2: Environments That Nurture Adults in Early Childhood Settings
Once again, close your eyes and imagine a setting that is calming to you. What are the aesthetic elements in this environment? How do your ideas of optimum light, air, color, and even smell figure into this picture and make you feel? What elements of beauty in this environment restore and inspire you? How would you apply insights from this vision to re-envision an early childhood setting where you worked every day?
By Wednesday of Week 6:
Post your response to the following:
Share your perspective on why aesthetics and beauty are essential components of early childhood environments for adults who work in these settings and family members of the children who attend.
Share your thoughts regarding how the rising need for early childhood professional self-care aligns with enhancing early childhood settings with aesthetics and beauty.
Considering what you have learned about beauty and aesthetics, share 3 examples of how you would design an early childhood environment to a nurture the souls of the adults who work in the setting.
Considering what you have learned about beauty and aesthetics, as well as the resources on families and environments for this week, share 3 examples of how you would design an early childhood environment to also nurture the souls and foster feelings of welcome and community for the families of children in an early childhood setting.
By Sunday of Week 6:
Review a selection of your colleagues’ posts and respond to at least two in one or more the following ways:
Expand on a colleague’s insight by sharing a related experience of your own and/or how this insight has helped change your perspective or open your mind.
Recommend a resource on the role of beauty, aesthetics, self-care, and/or nurturing and renewal in work environments. Explain how the information could apply to early childhood professionals.
Consider how families may feel walking into an early childhood setting for the first time. Based on your colleague’s posts and/or resources and your own experiences, expand on the ways environments can nurture families.
