ENGAGE

A key first step in providing meaningful learning opportunities is answering the question: what should children be learning?  In early care and education, there is a counterintuitive approach to quality learning. For the purpose of this PROTON, the definition of themes and concepts are defined below. 

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Subject-specific content, focusing on narrow, specific things like animals, letters, or numbers.

The “big idea,” which can connect to multiple explorable topics.

A smaller element of the concept, the “smaller ideas” which directly relate to the “big idea;” focuses on independent but connected components of the concept.

In a theme-based curriculum, all knowledge, skills, and curriculum areas are connected to a central idea, like a letter of the week or animal of the month.  All the activities planned for the classroom revolve around the central theme with the teacher driving the curriculum.  In a concept-based curriculum (or, as we recommend, a science-based curriculum), parts of the day are linked to a big idea.  These concepts are more dynamic, wherein you can target the big ideas like all the physical characteristics we can observe, see, record, investigate, manipulate, and explore by using different skills.

Many programs take approaches that revolve around themes, focusing on a letter or animal of the week and looking at rote memorization and copy/paste art to promote learning around the stated theme.  Concept development, on the other hand, links previous experiences with new ones, extending into a deeper, more meaningful learning opportunities.  Connecting these concepts together and linking them to previous learning is the foundation for intentional planning.  As a result, identifying explorable concepts is an important first step in the planning cycle.  

Another key question to ask when identifying concepts as compared to themes: how will this concept or topic be experienced by students?  When we talk about quality curriculum and implementation, we are focusing on student-centered, effective, and functional learning for young children.  This involves the teacher serving as facilitator of the process.  As Schindler (2010) demonstrated in the classroom management style orientation matrix below, ensuring that the teacher serves as facilitator and not conductor, enabler, or dominator is vital.  So, then, how can we select concepts with which young children can be self-directed and intrinsically motivated?

REFLECT

• In which quadrant do I fall as a teacher—facilitator, conductor, enabler or dominator?
  
• ​Are there situations when one quadrant on the classroom management style orientation matrix is more appropriate than another?
• In what ways can I move from dysfunctional to functional? From teacher directed to student directed?

NEXT>>>EXAMINE

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