Reflecting on My Design Principles

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For this assignment, we were asked to think of some design principles that fit our context. The six design principles I have developed are linked to my current working context in an early childhood education setting but could also be used in future contexts, such as elementary school classrooms. Here are my six design principles. 

1. Incorporating UDL: It is important to allow children and students to have the opportunity to show their understanding and learning in various ways. Not every student learns or shows their knowledge the same way; many diverse students are in the class. That is why I chose to incorporate UDL as one of my design principles because of their three principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression (Rao, 2021). These three principles give students more flexibility in their learning. 

2. Use Technology Meaningfully: I mentioned in a previous blog post that I felt that technology in the classroom should have clear intentions behind it, and I still believe that is the case. Much potential for technology use in early childhood settings still needs to be explored in my context. Minds, O.O (2008) discussed various ways technology can be used in an early childhood setting, and some examples included using digital microscopes, tablets, and interactive whiteboards. While they gave examples of technology, they also emphasized that the “teacher’s intentional instructional planning” (Minds, O.O, 2008, p. 50) makes technology useful in children's learning. Thus, while the technology is available, reflecting on why you want to use it is essential. 

3. Supporting Students: Where I currently work, we are lucky enough to have behaviour and language specialists who come and work with the children who need extra help. To ensure that the children continue progressing, we communicate with these specialists and use their recommendations to help them in the classroom. 

4. Being Empathetic and Understanding: When completing the design thinking process, the empathy phase was one of the more important ones. It made me reflect that these students are young; they could use more empathy and understanding as they may not be able to express their thoughts as eloquently as adults. When showing them empathy, the classroom environment tends to be more positive (Owen, 2015), and it is also equally important to teach them to be more empathetic to their classmates as it helps them build relationships with their peers. 

5. Creating a Safe Space: Students spend the majority of their day at the daycare or in school; it is imperative that they feel comfortable and safe in this environment. Some ways to create a safe space would be to show students books with diverse characters, modelling proper ways to hold discussions and validate their feelings (Fierve, 2021). This principle can be connected to supporting students and being empathetic and understanding. If these principles are seen, the students could be more comfortable in the class and be more open to participating and contributing to the learning. 

6. Authentic Learning: When the students participate in projects or assignments, it is beneficial to make it so their learning can be more authentic. What I mean when I say authentic is that they can relate it to their experiences and actively participate in their learning (Pappas, 2023). In my context, the students can be exposed to authentic learning through a large project once a year spanning from January to March, where they create posters/dioramas and present them to the class. For example, this year, the focus is on the ocean, so they will have to research their ocean animal, create a visual and present it to their class. Some other examples of projects are space, community workers, cultures worldwide, and more. Thus, they have been exposed to different themes and were able to bring their knowledge and experience to the projects.

References

Fievre, M. J. (2021, October 26). Cultivating the classroom as a safe space. Edutopia. 

https://www.edutopia.org/article/cultivating-classroom-safe-space/

Minds, O. O. (2008). Meaningful Technology IntegraƟon in Early Learning Environments. Young 

Children, 49. https://ecdc.cofc.edu/documents/naeyc-youngchildren-200809.pdf

Owen, L. (2015, November 11). Empathy in the classroom: Why should I care?. Edutopia. 

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/empathy-classroom-why-should-i-care-lauren-owen

Pappas, C. (2023, April 20). Authentic learning model: Creating meaningful learning experiences. eLearning Industry.

https://elearningindustry.com/authentic-learning-model-creating-meaningful-learning-experiencs

 Rao, K. (2021). Inclusive instructional design: applying UDL to online learning. Journal of 

Applied Instructional Design, (10)1, 1-9.

(PDF) Inclusive Instructional Design: Applying UDL to Online Learning 

(researchgate.net)