ECERS R Scale Report
Conducive learning environment plays a key role in enhancing children’s educational performance. It is, therefore, expected that class environments meet certain requirements to facilitate children’s learning. The video “A Westhood Preschool Classroom 2”, for instance, presents several class activities that could be rated using an ECERS R Scale to assess whether such class sessions meet recommended learning standards. Drawing from the video, the paper uses the ECERS R scale to rate the class learning performance.
Staff-Child Interactions
The video presents several cases of staff-child interactions. The teacher uses non-class settings and engages children in direct conversations. For instance, she says, “Let’s go and see the bear, are you afraid?” (The Westhood School, 2012). The children actively respond: “No!” (The Westhood School, 2012). Such conversations occur throughout the learning session. The teacher-child interaction is, therefore, effectively maintained, deserving an ECER-R rating score of 6, denoting the teacher’s effective engagement in communication with the children throughout the class session. On the contrary, minimal cases of peer interaction among the children are evident. Instead, the teacher-child interaction dominates the communication process, which leads to a score of 2 denoting low level of child-child interaction.
Use of Language to Develop Reasoning Skills
The video presents frequent cases of the instructor’s use of language to develop the children’s reasoning skills. Throughout the learning session, the teacher asks questions challenging the children to use their critical thinking skills while giving responses. For instance, the teacher asks the children: “Do you see a bear?” In response, the children say: “No” (The Westhood School, 2012). The children observe their environment to confirm the presence of a bear before providing their response. These questions, therefore, require children’s critical thinking aimed at enhancing their reasoning abilities. The ECERS-R rating score is 6, depicting proper use of language by the teacher to foster children’s critical thinking skills.
The Use of Greetings
The video portrays several instances of the teacher’s engagement in greeting the children. For example, the initial scenes of the video depict the teacher shaking hands with arriving children while she says ‘hello’ to the students (The Westhood School, 2012). At the end of the learning session, the teacher is also seen saying goodbye to the children when they leave the class (The Westhood School, 2012). These instances suggest the teacher’s active engagement in providing personal support and care to the children and motivating them to remain receptive to class activities. The ECER R rating is 4, denoting average instructor’s participation in meeting children’s care needs.
Teacher’s Engagement in Children’s Play
The video showcases the teacher’s engagement in children’s play. The video depicts a class learning environment full of songs and dances. For instance, the teacher introduces songs and engages the children in song sessions: “Come on, guys” (The Westhood School, 2012). She is further seen holding her hands up along with the students at the song’s phrase “Thumbs up” (The Westhood School, 2012). These scenes depict the instructor’s constant engagement in children’s play. Therefore, the ECERS R rating is 5, denoting the instructor’s active participation in children’s play.
The Learning Space
The learning space portrayed in the video seems sufficient to accommodate the children’s learning session. The indoor space is spacious and accommodative of the children’s play and dances. While singing and dancing, the children leave the learning space and occupy an adjacent free space within their indoor learning environmnet. The classroom is also maintained in proper condition with soft carpets supporting children’s comfort during dances. Given the large space and comfortable learning environment, ECERS R score is 6, denoting favorable class environment supporting children’s learning.
Conclusion
Learning activities presented in the video “A Western Preschool Classroom 2” can be assessed using the ECERS R scale in determining whether such classroom sessions enhance children’s learning. Learning activities manifest a high level of staff-children interaction and the instructor’s effective use of greetings in providing children care. The learning space is also portrayed as spacious enough, while the teacher is actively engaged in children’s play. These activities suggest high ECERS R scores denoting a conducive learning environment.
References
The Westhood School. (2012). A Westhood preschool classroom 2. https://youtu.be/0Egr2Xxr95k
