Linking theory to RA's?????

[jc777]

Hi there,
I'm really hoping someone can help me here. At the minute I'm trying to get all of my reflective accounts out of the way but the problem is that I can't always link theory to the RA. We have been told to add some sort of theory to all of them!
Is it even possible???

Thanks

[twinthing]

gosh I don't know! I just wrote mine to cover specific questions and pc's and did them as I went through each unit......for example I used one on snack time to cover allot of things, the way I communicated, gave the children their own choice, how the children negotiated and talked to me and each other, how they helped me with the activity, what we talked about and how I evaluated my practice....the list goes on, I found the reflective accounts added a lot of evidence across the whole NVQ.....I wrote them on small group activities, cooking,bug hunting,large scale painting, outside games ect.....then thought about how I would use them and what they covered as I went....cross referencing them as I went through each unit.....hope that sort of helps...it seems that the way my course was delivered is very different to many others! :)

[Heidi]

Originally Posted by jc777

Hi there,
I'm really hoping someone can help me here. At the minute I'm trying to get all of my reflective accounts out of the way but the problem is that I can't always link theory to the RA. We have been told to add some sort of theory to all of them!
Is it even possible???

Thanks

Hi,
Why not write your reflective account up ( on your computer will allow you to add or change sections later) as you would normally do and then link theory to what you have written.

It's not as difficult as you think if you remember theory is just another term for 'belief' and there are plenty of them around (old and new). You could write somthing up and say you believed that the way a child responded to a particular experience/activity followed Maslow's heirarchy theory. As long as you say why you have linked it to a particular belief.

You may write about how today the EYFS curriculum is seeing outdoor play as important again linking it to childhood pioneer Margaret MacMillan and 'her outdoor classroom'. Quite good to link up if you took the children on an outing or even to a forest school; but any outdoor play really.

If you are writing up about a child/children playing at a sand area - you might link it to schema (Piaget) as you watched them enclose the sand in small boxes or transported the sand around the setting in a trolley.

If you are writing up a reflective account about snack time you can link this to a child's behaviour and link it to kohlberg, or you may want to focus on what you provide for the children's snack to current thinking of fresh food , milk for growth etc is best - very current at present with the government almost? deciding to take free milk away from under five year olds and also how we are trying to educate children into eating healthily to combat future obesity & diabetic problems.

You could write up a reflective account about the transition of a child - whether they are new to your setting/leaving for school or parents are divorcing - this could be linked to Bowlby's attachment theory.

It is not as daunting as you think and if you write up your work first, re-read it, you will then see that you can link everything a child/practitioner does or learns can be link in many different ways - physically, behaviour, emotionally etc.

If you are not sure or would like to know more about theories (Forgive me if you already know) and theorists, go onto Amazon put childhood or learning theorists up, get a few up, then you can google them up. The 'older' ones you can use time and again could be Piaget, Bowlby, Vygotsky, Bruner, Erikson. Kohlberg, newer ones Athey, Lindon, Bruce, Robinson, but this is just the tip of the iceberg and you will have your own preference.