Ms. Kirsten gives a music lesson. A student writes her friend's name.
"Child Originated --Teacher Framed."
Smart Start's Early Childhood teachers
implement a responsive, emergent and negotiated curriculum and assessment system
that focuses on the development of the whole child. We are inspired by the
Reggio Emilia approach and its use of collaboration among teachers, parents and
children on documentation analysis, interpretation, direction and play. Teachers
guide children on the development of theories through encounters with materials,
the real world, conversations, group discussions and symbolic representations in
multiple forms: art, music, movement, dance, drama, constructions, foreign
language and writing.
A typical
daily routine
includes small and large group times; learning centers; gross motor activities;
snacks and lunch; rest time; sharing time; a class journal time; and integrated
specialty areas such as Music, Spanish, and Art. Throughout the day,
teachers and children continually monitor and celebrate the achievements of all
children by displaying work, documenting observations and giving verbal praise.
Ms. Kirsten gives a music lesson. A student writes her friend's name.
Teachers will carry out the Smart Start
philosophy using
Emergent Curriculum. It uses the mutual interests of both the student and teacher to select
content studied and to develop corresponding projects. The teacher engages the
children in planning activities that are purposeful and meaningful to them. With
teacher guidance, projects chosen are those that generate a sufficient amount of
interest and uncertainty to provoke children's creative thinking and problem
solving, and are open to different avenues of exploration. The length of each
unit of study is dependent upon the interest of the children. That is why, for
example, you will not have predetermined weekly themes published on our
newsletters. Using curriculum objectives, knowledge of children's developmental
sequences, and an understanding the personalities and learning styles of their
students, the teacher formulates hypotheses of what could
happen and plans accordingly. The teacher formulates materials, questions, and
opportunities that enable children to engage in studying the topic. In addition
to building knowledge and skills, children develop their emotional intelligence
and aesthetic sensibilities because they are immersed in topics dear to their
hearts.
Teachers "web" with the children to gain insight into their interests and pre-knowledge of the concept studied.
An
emergent lesson plan format is followed for
projects and activities that students need or want to plan. Spontaneous play, by
its very nature, cannot be planned. Teachers should facilitate this type of
learning, and should not interrupt it by lesson planning. Instead, teachers may
use spontaneous play times to observe and write anecdotal records. Teachers are
not expected to post lesson plans outside the classroom ahead of time because
emergent lessons cannot be fully preconceived. The teacher, however, is required
to post a general daily schedule or routine that he/she follows. Notice that
times are not documented unless necessary (i.e., lunch, outdoor times). The
teacher should schedule an approximate amount of time needed to work on certain
activities of the day. The teacher’s observational skills of children being on
task or off task is essential to this daily and ongoing decision making. For
planning purposes, teachers may want to keep an organized daily teacher journal
with their anecdotal records and notations such as personal webs, ideas, and
lists of materials needed.
Emergent curriculum is carried out in a
variety of ways: whole group, small group and individual instruction. In order
to accommodate each child’s needs under this curriculum it is important for
the teachers to create efficient and rich
Learning Centers.
These
organized and labeled areas should not only build students' skills but should
also create an environment to stimulate imagination, creativity, socialization,
exploration and discovery. Each student should be aware of expectations in each
center and the system you are using to manage centers. Design areas such that
children can direct their own play. An uncluttered room tends to be more
inviting and elicits more constructive play. Allow children to make choices and
to structure their own time as they move from center to center. Our centers are
Math, Writing, Art, Library, Discovery, Sensory Table, Dramatic Play, Blocks and
Computer. Signs have been created for each area and should be place
Curriculum Objectives
are statements that help the teachers facilitate each child’s growth. The
curriculum is broken down into 6 areas: Personal, Social, and Character
Development; Physical Development; Math Development; Science Development;
Expressive, Receptive and Representational Development; and Higher Level
Thinking. Most areas have objectives that are stated as progressive stages that
children typically follow. Stages are not age dependent because children
develop differently and usually in spurts. The purpose of the curriculum is
not to have the child reach the last stage but to nurture and challenge the
child in his/her current stage with
quality. The
content of the curriculum is lead by the students. However, the development of
each child’s intellectual, emotional and physical abilities are nurtured by
the teacher. It is extremely important that each teacher knows how children
develop in order to plan activities that stimulate the growth of each child. The
document called Smart Start Curriculum is a guide that shows typical
development.
Students integrate literacy within the content of the curriculum. As seen here, our
three year old student alphabetizes their class composed riddles.
Authentic
Assessment
is a comprehensive approach to evaluating children's current skills, knowledge,
behavior and accomplishments. We use the Work
Sampling System developed by Dr. Samuel Meisels (Harvard University; Ed.D.
in education and President of the Erikson Institute) Each child has a portfolio which includes written
observations and original works that represents the child’s thought processes
which reflect specific areas such as language and literacy, play development,
and math. Using the curriculum objectives, the data in the portfolio, and
understanding the individual child’s learning style and interests, the teacher
develops instruction that will enable the child to grow and develop at his/her
challenge level.
Teachers use a variety of techniques to
document children’s development. Teachers may use photographs, tape recorders,
and anecdotal records of the children. The teacher creates a display item (such
as a book or poster) that shows the steps, thoughts and procedure that went into
the creating the children’s project. Other documentation or the same
documentation can be placed into the children’s portfolios. The purpose of a
portfolio is to show a child's progress, improve instruction, give children the
opportunity to see their own progress, and develop a plan for improving
themselves. The following will be placed in each child’s portfolio:
An
early childhood narrative report which includes a
description of each child's development and goals for the child--written by the teacher and
the family. These will be written at least twice a year.
Anecdotal
notes, photographs, and any other evidence showing significant aspects of
the child’s development.
Documents
that support the health and care of each child (i.e. Child Development &
Interest Survey).
Evaluation
and evidence of each child's development in Writing, Language, Math, Play
Level, and Self Concept will be collected at least once a year. As the child progresses through the school, his/her
portfolio stays with his/her teacher in order to provide educational
consistency and direction, and show the child’s progress.
Portfolios
will be maintained in the
classroom and will not be available for checkout. Parents are invited to
continually monitor their child's portfolios. During parent conferences, the
parent and teacher will review the portfolio. Portfolios will be passed on to
parents or sent to each child's Kindergarten teacher upon exiting the school.
Portfolios may be shared with other professionals to increase the standards of
early childhood education. Parent permission will be obtained before a child's
personal data is published or used.
Example from the Self-Concept Section of a Portfolio
Developmental Checklist 1st sample 2nd sample 3rd sample 4th sample
Assesses each sample's level
and shows progression.
Parent Conferences are scheduled throughout the year. This will give parents an opportunity to discuss children's accomplishments and needs by looking through the child's portfolio and talking individually with the teacher. The teacher or a parent can request a conference at any other time throughout the year.
Parents are encouraged to visit and volunteer
at the school throughout the school year. Parents and teachers alike benefit
from classroom visits. Parents are invited to take an active role in the
child’s education, including viewing their child's portfolio on a consistent
basis.
(See our newsletter for up to date information. See what Texas Women's University says about us. Visit Harvard University's website on the Reggio Emilia curriculum: http://pzweb.harvard.edu/mlv/keyideasandqs.htm)
Copyright 2007 by Smart Start Early Childhood Education Center