RMIT TCHE2684: Learning Story Assignment - Child Engagement Analysis

This assignment analyzes a video of a child making a salad to create a Learning Story, demonstrating pedagogical understanding of child engagement. The student focuses on the child's interest in the activity, involvement, persistence, and responsibility, referencing the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The assignment explores the child's learning process, including handling tools like scissors and knives, and the role of the teacher in providing support and guidance. The analysis highlights the child's self-evaluation and the strategies used to solve problems, emphasizing the importance of a safe and trusting environment. The student provides short-term review and suggests strategies, such as home repetition, to encourage continued learning and skill development, with references to relevant scholarly sources.

RMIT Classification: Trusted
Child’s Name: …………………….. Date: ………………………………
Observer: ………………………….
Focus A Learning Story
Taking an interest
Finding an interest here – a topic, an
activity a role. Recognising the familiar,
enjoying the unfamiliar, coping with
change
In the video of making salad, we can find
the children to take an interest in the
activity. The boy seemed pretty much
excited about the apparent familiar subject
of making a salad. However, he had to do
the activity that is unfamiliar to him, which
is collecting the parsley leaves with
scissors. That is a changed scenario for
them as he had to go to the garden. Then
the kid had to get into places where the
leaves are perfect for making the salad.
Furthermore, the kid learned about how to
notice the leaves, among other kinds of
trees. Also, in the video, we can see that he
had some minor difficulties on how to cut
the tomatoes for the salad, but the teacher
helped with that (Cloney et al., 2019). The
teacher was continuously helping the kid
and others by doing it in front of them
simultaneously.
Furthermore, the kid seemed to be indulged
Being involved
Paying attention for a sustained period,
feeling safe, trusting others. Being playful
with others and / or materials
Persisting with difficulty
Setting and choosing difficult tasks. Using
a range of strategies to solve problems
when ‘stuck’

RMIT Classification: Trusted
in the task. The high level of attention can
be seen in the boy’s face in the video as
they were collecting the parsley leaves.
Also, he was concentrated on the cutting of
tomatoes and making their salads. The kid
seemed to be feeling pretty much safe
while reaching to the places where the kids
were collecting the leaves. The instruction
and the environment seemed very friendly.
So the boy trusted these aspects (Youtube,
2014). Furthermore, in the video, the kid is
learning to use various materials properly,
like the scissors or the knife that he is using
to make the salad.
Primarily the task of making a salad
seemed pretty straightforward and exciting.
But the difficulty lies with the small details
in the mission. The difficulty level is high
because little kids do the task. At that age,
they are not familiar with using knives and
scissors. Usually parents and guardians
don’t let kids handle or meddle with such
things. But the instructors had taught them
properly how to use the materials. When
the boy was cutting the leaves, he was
Expressing an idea or a feeling
In a range of ways eg. Oral language,
gesture, music, art, writing etc.
Taking responsibility
Responding to others, to stories, and
imagined events, ensuring that things are
fair, self-evaluating, helping others,
contributing to program

RMIT Classification: Trusted
placing his hand under the leaf before
cutting it, so it does not fall and touch the
dirty ground also, when he was using
knives the teacher was doing it
simultaneously and showing the kid how to
do it properly. Even when the boy got stuck
because of the enclosed space, the teacher
helped them to reach the leaves.
The feeling of the video is very subtle, as it
seemed pretty ordinary for the kids. But as
the learners are kids and as they were using
materials like scissors and knives, there
was a substantial chance for things to go
south (Yates, 2017). Still, the instructor
was in total control of the workshop,
Helping the kids in every way, showing
them first how to do the tasks like
collecting and making the salad.
Furthermore, the instructor even doing the
tasks with the kids to let them watch and
learn how to do things. She even helped the
boy when she was stuck with various task.
Here the idea is to provide the students
with more than one option to learn. First,
she shows them how to do the tasks and

RMIT Classification: Trusted
explains about the tasks and the materials
they are going to use. Then she does the
task with the kids to help them learn even
while the kids specially the boy is doing
the task.
The video shows responsibility, helping
attitude towards others, self-evaluation, and
contribution to the bigger idea. There is no
negative point of the video, considering the
context of it as the teacher helped the boy
when they were stuck. Also, she did not
ask the kids to cut leaves for their salads.
Instead, she kept all the collected materials
in one place altogether. Furthermore, the
teacher is not seen doing the task herself
for the kids. She is letting the kids choose
their equipment, like the boy was holding
his scissors to cut leaves and then choose
the knive to cut tomato. Furthermore, we
can observe the boy is making the salad on
his own. The boy was making the salads
simultaneously with the teacher (Martland,
2018). Same as collecting the leaves and
other stuff needed for the task. This will
make the kid to self-evaluate and see the

RMIT Classification: Trusted
teacher when he is stuck with something
and learn it then and there to do it properly.
According to my observation, there is a lot
of learning going on in the video, making
the salad. It seemed like in the video, the
boy may not have used scissors and knives
before. So through this task, he is learning
to work with sharp objects. Furthermore, as
the kids are made to do the task from such
primary stages like collecting the leaves,
cutting the tomatoes, etc., the kids like the
boy, are learning about having the whole
idea for any task. The boy is learning to
overcome any issue that he is stuck with.
Surely primarily, the boy did not have any
idea how to start or complete the task until
the instructor talked to him about
procedures of the task, So through this, the
kid is learning all the new things with self-
evaluation, using strategies, helping others
and everything.
Short term Review
What learning do I think went on here?
What next?
Here we can observe the EYLF outcome of

RMIT Classification: Trusted
(Main learning in story) that children are confident and involved
learner. Furthermore, from the video it
seem like the boy is going to learn making
salad within the one session. A further
strategy for the task can be encouraging to
repeat what the kid has learned at their
home. The parents of the boy will be
notified about the workshop, so they can
support the kid to repeat what they have
learned in their workshop. This will help
strengthen the values that were acquired
during the workshop. Furthermore, the
strategy will increase the skill to handle
sharp material more (Carson & Kuzik,
2017) because the kid had done the activity
in their workshop once, which helped him
to learn how to do the exercise. Repeating
the task at home will grow the interest and
ability of the boy.

RMIT Classification: Trusted
References
Carson, V., & Kuzik, N. (2017). Demographic correlates of screen time and objectively
measured sedentary time and physical activity among toddlers: a cross-sectional
study. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 187.
Cloney, D., Jackson, J., & Mitchell, P. (2019). Assessment of children as confident and
involved learners in Early Childhood Education and Care: Literature review.
Making salad. (2014). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=EqlVjlZN4Fw
Martland, R. (2018). The thinker and learner. Child Care, 15(1), 4-5.
Yates, R. (2017). Digitally connected, confident and creative early learners. Educating Young
Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years, 23(2), 35.