The discovery about the light!

Light has fascinated children in our centre for little while.  I have enjoyed observing the expression of children’s faces when they discover the sun spot on the floor and the reflection of the mirror on the ceiling.  I wonder how can I support and extend children’s learning on light?

I researched on this area through books and internet, and became aware of the overhead projector may be a good tool to help children’s exploration on the light project.  The overhead projector is an old-style technology with the light bulb securely enclosed within the base unit so it is safe for the children to use independently.

I set up an overhead projector in our utility room in this morning.  When the door is opened, N a two years boy, is the first one to notice the light. He ran very fast into the room and looked the reflections on the wall curiously.  It took him a few seconds before he noticed the origin of the light—the overhead projector. He moved closer to the overhead projector, and started to explore it.  He walked around the overhead project, when the light of the overhead projector is in his eyes, he squinted.  He even tried to block the light from the overhead projector by his hands and looked right into the light. Then he had a fiddle with the projector and adjusted it.  When he shut the lid of the light, the whole room was turned dark.  To my  surprised, he wasn’t scared of the darkness, and repeatedly moved the lid open and shut.  When T who is nearly three years old girl came to experience and explore the overhead projector, she was more fascinated by the different objects next to the overhead projector.  At the first she put a cardboard on the overhead projector and noticed that was block most of the light, so she gave it up and chose a chain and some bites, she twisted the chain moved the bites on the overhead projector around and watched the reflection on the wall. Then she got a cut plastic bottle.  “Look, it’s a flower!” said T in excitement. She even put her hands on the overhead project, “my hand is like a shadow, Rain. Look at my fingers. It looks funny, very, very big.” T said.  She invited N and I to put us hands on the overhead projector as well to confirm his theory.

After having a big laugh, T kept on working according to her plan. Putting different shapes and coloured objects on the overhead projector.  Look the amazing picture she made for us through the overhead projector!

What a fantastic and adventurous journey! A journey full of laughter where children explored the light using technology.

I believe that exploratory stage is important in toddlers’ learning as they discover and explore the properties of the materials in their environment and “learn by doing rather than being told” (Ministry of Education, 1996,p. 23).  Through the exploratory stage children develop technological knowledge of how to manipulate of the materials and how to use these materials effectively (Napper, 1991). 

Technology is everywhere, by exposing new things to young children and allowing then to explore how things work and function, they could possibly transform it into something unique as they are our future technologists (Muberg, 1992).  The overhead projector activity based on the children’s interest—light. It not only extends children’s learning on light, also was encouraged them to experiment their own working theories. The children gradually piled up a selection of materials on the surface of the overhead projector, watching how the images projected onto the wall change.  They become more and more interested in the projected images and move over to the wall to interact with them.  The size and shapes of the images on the wall prompt a discussion about how the images might be created.

Moving backwards and forwards between the overhead projector and the wall enables the children to develop their reasoning skills and make connections in their understanding of light, shadow and magnification.  Creative thinking skills develop in a context of imaginative play, with the children seeing the connection between a solid object on the overhead projector and the image created on the wall.
Through this light project by using the overhead projector, children have access to technology to help developed their ideas of light and spatial understands by seeing things from different spatial viewpoints and “moved in space and ways in which spatial information can be represented” (Ministry of Education, 1996. p.90).

Reference List

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aoteraroa. Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

 

Mulberg, C. (1992). Beyond the looking glass: Technological myths in education. In C, Budgett-Meakin (Ed.), Making the future work (p. 145-153). London: Longman.

Napper, I (1991). The development of technological capability in young children. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 16(3), p.23-27.