Content area
Full Text
Akira, a 4-year-old boy, wanders into a classroom of 3-year-olds, observing the younger children. The teacher is aware that Akira is in the room, but she does not say anything to stop him from interacting with the younger children. Akira goes over to Masaharu, who is working on a puzzle, and asks him, "How are you doing with the puzzle?" Masaharu, who is having a problem making a piece fit, says nothing. Akira says, "You want me to help you?" Masaharu nods and gives the puzzle piece to Akira. Akira works on fitting the piece into the puzzle while the 3-year-old watches. After a few attempts, Akira says, "You might want to turn this piece to fit here, okay? Now you try it!" Finally, Masaharu succeeds, and his mentor applauds his efforts.
supporting a younger child through scaffolding (Vygotsky 1978). Using scaffolding, a more mature or more competent peer or an adult might offer hints-without actually providing the solution-to help a child progress in a task. You can better understand the concept of scaffolding by referring to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development"the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky 1978,86). Teachers and parents can provide quality learning experiences when they effectively scaffold children's learning (Leong & Bodrova 2012). For example, when teachers ask open-ended questions, such as "Can you tell me why you think the toy car flies off the ramp?" and then "What can you do to make the car go slower?," they guide children in taking a new perspective and help promote their thinking, one step at a time.
Allowing children to meander in and out of classrooms may seem inappropriate to early childhood teachers in the United States. But in many Japanese preschools, which serve 3- to 5-year-olds, one way teachers and administrators encourage children's self-regulation, or management of their own behavior, is by letting them interact with children in other classrooms (Izumi-Taylor 2009). Akira's teacher knew his whereabouts and did not require him to stay in his own classroom, because the teachers at this school watch over all the children, even those who are...