Activity Transition in Learning Environment

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Activity transition in a learning environment refers to short-timed activities that help infants and toddlers as well as children between three and five years of age to move from one form of activity to the next (Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute, 2010).

The transition activity can take different forms, for example, announcing to the children the next activity sometime before the onset of the first activity. The following paper outlines the similarities and differences between activity transition among infants and toddlers and children aged between three and five years. It also discusses the transition strategies that can be applied to minimize disruption.

Activity transitions among the groups mentioned above concur in a number of ways. First, the transition between different activities must be smooth (Ostrosky, 2008). Second, some of the methods of transition adopted for the two age groups are similar. Methods, such as greetings and farewells, are effective across the two groups (Barresi, 2009).

Greeting children, when they arrive at school and bidding them farewell as they depart for home, are transition activities that can be applied to the two age groups. The third similarity is the use of songs and fingerplays (Ostrosky, 2008). Songs and fingerplays are techniques that can be used for children in the two groups effectively too. When carried out on a daily basis, they become interesting hence avoiding a boring abrupt change from one activity to the next.

Transition activities can also differ between the two groups of children. The first difference is the period taken in carrying out the transition (Vogler, 2008). A transition activity among infants and toddlers would take longer than that among children of between 3 to 5 years as they are comparatively more personalized.

For instance, a primary caregiver would need to greet each infant and take them in her or his arms, thereby taking a longer time, whereas, for the children between three and five years, the caregiver can assemble them and greet them as a group. Another difference is the form of transition activity adopted. Generally, it would be appropriate to use such methods as puppets to communicate change among children between 3 to 5 years.

It might not work very well with the infants and toddlers who may not be able to decode the message of the puppet or maybe scared by it. The third difference is the manner of carrying out the change activity (Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute, 2010). For infants and toddlers, it would require personal assistance in carrying out the activity while for children aged between three and five years issuing instructions followed by a little guidance is satisfactory. They may not require physical assistance.

Various transition strategies can be applied to ensure little disruption. The first strategy is planning the schedule in such a way that there are few transitions (Ostrosky, 2008). This reduces the time wasted on waiting for a transition. The second strategy is providing verbal and nonverbal cues some minutes before transition (Barresi, 2009).

Such techniques as ringing a bell, displaying drawings and pictures of the next activity or announcing It is 5 minutes to lunch, prepare children psychologically for the next activity, thereby facilitating a smooth transition.

The third strategy is ensuring that enough time is allocated for each activity so as to allow children to finish their projects so that they are not frustrated by the time elapsing too soon, thus denying other children to participate. The fourth strategy is planning other side activities for children who finish their initial activities before others (Ostrosky, 2008). This will help avoid keeping them waiting idly.

In conclusion, it is fundamental for teachers to adopt working transition strategies that will enable them to acquire calm and organized classrooms. When applied in an appropriate manner, transition activities can be converted into teachable moments, and children are also happy and cooperative.

References

Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute (2010). Learning environments: Learning environments for infants and toddlers. Web.

Barresi, J. (2009). Early Childhood/Family Education Programs. Oklahoma State Department of Education. Web.

Ostrosky, M. J. (2008). Helping children make transitions between activities: What works brief training. New York: Nashville: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning.

Vogler, P. C. (2008). Early childhood transition research: A review of concepts, theory, and practice. Hague: The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation.

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Activity Transition in Learning Environment

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