Nursery World - Get set

Small-world animals prove the perfect resource for one child's schematic explorations, observed by the Pen Green Centre team in dialogue with Chris Athey Steffi has been demonstrating a cluster of associated schemas that help her to understand aspects of the world. They include:

Small-world animals prove the perfect resource for one child's schematic explorations, observed by the Pen Green Centre team in dialogue with Chris Athey

Steffi has been demonstrating a cluster of associated schemas that help her to understand aspects of the world. They include:

* Trajectories and transporting: She makes vertical, horizontal and oblique movements and carries objects from one point to another

* Enclosure and containment

* Core and radial: she co-ordinates graphic cores with radials, for example sun, spider

* One-to-one correspondence

* Classification: she creates sets and sub-sets (part-whole relationships)

* Seriation: she orders things according to size.

Case study Steffi (four years three months) is in her second year at nursery and is fascinated by animals. She uses the toy wild animals and dinosaurs a lot.

She starts by sorting the animals into sets of lions, leopards, giraffes and so on. She further sorts them into subsets of size called daddy, mummy and baby. She transports the animals to a different area of the nursery, where she directs her friends into roles saying, 'Pretend you are the mummy lion and it's raining. I'll be the baby lion and I am lost.'

Home context

Steffi lives with her mother, father and two older sisters. Dad and Steffi role-play a lot at home. Dad usually has to play the part of the horse. Her favourite film is 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and Aslan the lion is a favourite character in her role play.

Nursery context

An early entry in Steffi's 'record of achievement' (three years six months) shows her using the marble run to create dynamic vertical trajectories, simultaneously holding a dinosaur by its long neck.

At three years eight months, while 'writing' Steffi connects vertical lines with circles (core and radial). By three years ten months she is combining vertical and horizontal pieces of wood at the woodwork bench to form an intersection (a grid).

By four years her interest in animals is increasing. Her key worker records, 'Steffi is washing the toy lions and tigers at the water tray, submerging them in the water (envelopment) and then positioning them in a horizontal line on a wooden surface to dry.'

Steffi spends a lot of time at nursery with her friend Dana. After Dana has gone home at lunchtime, the teacher has to step in as 'Goldilocks' to Steffi's 'Aslan' or 'triceratops'.

Evidence

Recent photographs and drawings show various events and representations that reflect Steffi's strong interest in land animals and sea creatures.

When Steffi arrives at nursery she goes straight to the toy animals (photo 1). She sorts them into sets and sometimes subsets. She then either engages Dana in role-play involving the sub-set - mummy, daddy, baby - or chooses one animal (usually the 'daddy' lion or a long-neck dinosaur) which she transports to another area of the nursery, for example transporting a set of male lions (of different sizes) to the block area (photo 2).

She places the largest lion inside an enclosure. Dana's two lynx are positioned outside the enclosure. The other lions are placed on top of two vertical towers (one-to-one correspondence).

Graphic schemas are used by Steffi to represent a range of content.

Following a nursery trip to the Natural History Museum, Steffi drew a picture of a rhinoceros that she saw there (see drawing). The spatial orders and graphic schemas Steffi uses are:

* Enclosure: head, body, legs

* Circle: eye and toenails

* Core and radial: eyelashes

* Downward curve: tail

* Oblique lines: used to represent the slope of the head towards the horn.

Supporting Steffi's learning

Nursery staff, particularly her key worker, support Steffi's actions by providing a rich environment for her to explore. Many resources, including extra animals of different sizes, have been purchased so that Steffi has a wider choice to sort into sets and subsets. She is given time to carry out her explorations.

There is always an adult nearby who will subtly intervene with language to support her actions and speech. The adult will become involved in her role-play, if invited.

What Steffi is learning Steffi is exploring a number of mathematical concepts through her particular interest in animals:

* Size seriation

* Shapes, particularly circles, rec- tangles, triangles

* Spatial order

* Surface area

* Position and proximity

* Oblique angles.

Schemas can be explored at different cognitive levels:

* When Steffi selects her sub-sets of lions by size and names them mummy, daddy and baby, she is co-ordinating a class and a series.

* After a visit to the zoo, Steffi talked about aspects of the visit in the absence of concrete reminders, such as the roar of the lion. She has internalised the experiences into 'thought' which provides the substance of conversation.

By Katey Mairs, deputy head of Pen Green Centre for Under Fives and Families in Corby, Northamptonshire

About this series

'A schema is a pattern of repeated actions. Clusters of schemas develop into later concepts.' (Chris Athey, 2003) These articles have been written by the Pen Green Team as a result of monthly seminars with Chris Athey, during which individual children's learning is reflected on and discussed at length.

The articles are a brief introduction to schemas, which are just one lens through which children's development and learning can be viewed.

Recognising and extending 'schemas' or 'patterns' of behaviour in young children provides a framework which helps parents and staff plan an exciting and challenging learning environment to support children's development.

Schemas can be regarded as a window into children's learning.

Generally, when children are playing schematically they are intrinsically motivated to learn, resulting in long periods of concentration. Through their schemas, children are 'fitting' various experiences into their current thinking.

If we closely observe children's actions we will spot patterns of repeated actions (schemas). They can help practitioners to extend their provision to meet the individual learning needs of the children in their care.

Note: children's occasional actions and fleeting interests should not be identified as schemas.