Head Start Teaching Project Essay, Research Paper

By

John P. Newcomb

March 15,1999

Implementation

A. The communication skills used in this teaching project were geared toward ages 4 to 5 years old. In order to be effective I needed to keep the wording at a level that the children could understand. This was done by using word such as feeling sad in place of word like upset that could be misinterpreted by the child. By keeping the wording in a concrete manner that the children could relate to made my communication with them effective and I feel the communication between the children and my-self was very effective.

B. To control the situation the children first need to known that I was going to give a teaching project. This was done by Mrs. Lisa the class teacher, informing then about my project. By having them sit on the floor and follow my direction we would play a game were I asked questions and let one child answer at a time giving me the control. When one child talk out of turn I would tell them that it was not their turn and have them wait until their turn came around. Also having been with the children the week before they knew I was a person of authority this played a major part in the respect that the children gave to me during the activity. I felt that control was never an issue in my teaching project and the real reason for this may have been do only to my gender. I hope this was not the case.

C. Creativity and flexibility is always the case when trying to teach especially in this age group. The creativity I used was to use colorful and funny pictures along with hand puppets. Seeing that the children were loosing interest I let them use the puppets this work for a short time only. As I sensed the children growing tiered of this game I went to the second activity I planed in case the first did not work. This flexibility of choice seemed to work and this continued my project and maintained a fun learning experience for all involved. This alternate plan saved the theme of the project and kept the children engaged for the duration of allotted time.

D. The application of nursing knowledge came in by knowing the importance of the emotional health and the impact that it has on a child. Emotionally healthy child can learn easier and perform better in all school activities. This area of wellness is one area school nurses have tried to bring out in the open for many years and only now is the educational establishment studying it very closely. By increasing the child?s emotional well being both the children and community as a whole will benefit by potentially keeping the child from engaging in crime and off drugs.

Evaluation

A) The results of this teaching project were evident by the children?s ability to identify the feelings of sadness, madness, and happiness. The students were also able to identify these emotions of sadness, madness, and happiness in other children. The children were able to communicate the situations that made them feel sad, mad, or happy. For example, the number one event that made the children mad is when another child takes a toy that they were playing with at that time. The other key point in judging the effectiveness was the children?s ability to know when they have caused other children to feel one of the above emotions. The prime example given by the children was again related to toys and noted that they totally understand that by take a toy away from a child that was playing with it at that time will cause the feeling of first madness then sadness. This understanding how ever did not stop the child from taking the toy and would usually end by ether the child crying after the toy was taken away or a physical confrontation over the toy which needs adult intervention. With the children?s ability to identify these emotion increased I feel that the objectives for this teaching project have been met. The feedback that I received from the children was reflected in their responses to the activity while the group was actively engaged in it and given the children?s responses I would have to say it was positive.

Even with the positive result of this teaching project there would be some changes that I would make in the event that this project is given again. First I would sit up in a chair above the children this would give me grater control over the group and help maintain order. The second thing would be to improve the activity it?s self, this could be done by not putting the picture on the floor but rather have them hanging up beside me and point to the picture that reflects the proper emotion then ask the children what makes them feel that way. This will help ensure that all the children have a chance to respond. I feel these improvements will enhance the effectiveness of the activity.

B) Implications for nursing practice are related to increasing the emotion well being of children in this age group. By engaging in this type of activity a nurse can help identify children with emotion problems or children that may be at risk of development of an emotional problems. The school nurse is usually one of the first medical professionals to identify potential emotional disorders and needs to engage in activity for early detection. By early intervention the nurse can recommend further action out side of the school setting by following up with the parent and other medical professionals to improve the child?s mental health. This area of nursing practice is a critical part of a nurse?s professional life and the skills of observation are critical to the well being of the client entrusted to his or her care.

C) Over all I feel that this educational experience was very rewarding. I had the opportunity to practice communication skills and to sharpen my ability to organize an activity that has far reaching nursing implication. For my-self I find engaging in subjects that force me into facing emotional issues difficult. But I believe by actively seeking out this kind of interaction I will be a better nurse and able to help my future client in a more effective manner. Also this project has given me a better understanding of the importance of communication at this level of development and the far reaching implication mental health has on education needs of children.