ENGAGE
In curriculum implementation and lesson planning, a strong emphasis is placed on teacher-child interaction. Teachers must be able to encourage inquiry, support play, and extend language and concept development. This includes the daily routines, in-betweens, investigations, and mini-investigations. Keep in mind that investigations and mini-investigations are only part of the day, or even part of the week. In contrast to theme-based teaching, an investigation is intended to dig deeper into ideas, as opposed to painting broad strokes across all areas of the classroom all the time.
One of the most important elements of lesson planning in early childhood education is linking experiences to children’s interests. How can this be done while still focusing on positive teacher-child interactions? Documenting children’s learning by writing anecdotes or making tally marks for repeated words and actions can help with this process. Sometimes children’s interests are not always obvious, and requires an adult observer to dig deeper. We will explore this more in the EXAMINE electron.
A key component of creating quality curriculum is placing emphasis on observing and documenting children’s plays. In their book, The ACCESS Curriculum Framework, the authors describe how “before the planning process begins, teachers need to be engaged with children and adept child watchers.” Additional emphasis needs to be placed on the set-up of the environment to provide an inspiring place in which children can explore and learn. They state that teachers “ stage engaging environments, bring in authentic materials, provide plenty of time for children to spend outdoors--and then they watch...taking anecdotal records, photographs, and videos. They engage in supportive play and ask questions that inspire inquiry. They listen carefully for patterns in the questions that children ask and then they take note of the children’s awe and wonderings. When a potential topic emerges, teachers add related authentic materials to the classroom and playground and point out plants, animals, or phenomena in the indoor and/or outdoor environment until they uncover the children’s true level and focus of interest” (Adams, Baldwin, Comingore, Kelly, 2013, p. 114). Later in this PROTON you will have an opportunity to utilize some new tools for supporting this process.
Another step in critically observing play, beyond simply documenting what children are saying and doing in general, is to observe in multiple areas of the classroom. For many teachers, this is not necessarily possible to do on his/her own. Communicating observations with team members is necessary to truly identify children’s interest, prior knowledge, and for generating ideas for future learning experiences. No one teacher can do everything on his/her own, so having a support team (whether inside or between classrooms) is vital.
One of the most important elements of lesson planning in early childhood education is linking experiences to children’s interests. How can this be done while still focusing on positive teacher-child interactions? Documenting children’s learning by writing anecdotes or making tally marks for repeated words and actions can help with this process. Sometimes children’s interests are not always obvious, and requires an adult observer to dig deeper. We will explore this more in the EXAMINE electron.
A key component of creating quality curriculum is placing emphasis on observing and documenting children’s plays. In their book, The ACCESS Curriculum Framework, the authors describe how “before the planning process begins, teachers need to be engaged with children and adept child watchers.” Additional emphasis needs to be placed on the set-up of the environment to provide an inspiring place in which children can explore and learn. They state that teachers “ stage engaging environments, bring in authentic materials, provide plenty of time for children to spend outdoors--and then they watch...taking anecdotal records, photographs, and videos. They engage in supportive play and ask questions that inspire inquiry. They listen carefully for patterns in the questions that children ask and then they take note of the children’s awe and wonderings. When a potential topic emerges, teachers add related authentic materials to the classroom and playground and point out plants, animals, or phenomena in the indoor and/or outdoor environment until they uncover the children’s true level and focus of interest” (Adams, Baldwin, Comingore, Kelly, 2013, p. 114). Later in this PROTON you will have an opportunity to utilize some new tools for supporting this process.
Another step in critically observing play, beyond simply documenting what children are saying and doing in general, is to observe in multiple areas of the classroom. For many teachers, this is not necessarily possible to do on his/her own. Communicating observations with team members is necessary to truly identify children’s interest, prior knowledge, and for generating ideas for future learning experiences. No one teacher can do everything on his/her own, so having a support team (whether inside or between classrooms) is vital.