Yuba College CDC High Scope Curriculum & Reggio Amelia Approach

Yuba College CDC High Scope Curriculum & Reggio Amelia Approach With PITC

Yuba College CDC The Yuba College CDC uses the High Scope curriculum and the Reggio Emilia Approach to early learning. The High Scope curriculum for teaching and Reggio Emilia to teaching For our Toddler Program we use PITC. “It is all about relationships”. Our role is to accompany children on their journey, clearing the path of obstacles and offering encouragement and guidance.

High Scope Curriculum The High Scope program is a comprehensive educational approach that strives to help children develop in all areas. The fundamental premise of the curriculum is that children are active learners: learning best from direct, hands-on experiences w/people, objects, events, and ideas.

5 ingredients to active learning 1. Materials for each child 2. Manipulation of those materials 3. Choice by the child of what to do with the materials 4. Words chosen and used by the child 5. Support by adults or peers that helps the child think about his or her action

H/S cont. Children’s interests and choices are at the heart of High Scope programs. Children are encouraged to “construct” their own knowledge by pursing their personal interests and interacting with the choices and following through on their plans and decisions. Package

H/S Precepts 1. Teachers must understand how children mentally construct the world and how these mental constructs change the course of children’s development. 2. Teaching must build upon, not direct or control, the thoughts and actions of children. 3. Children must have daily opportunities to decide what they want to do. YouTube - Introduction to small-group time.url

H/S Cont. 4. The child’s daily plan must provide the starting point for teaching. 5. The environment is a materials-rich learning environment. The classroom materials are labeled to help children learn organizational skills. Teachers set up the classroom areas purposefully for children to explore and build social relationships, with will-defined areas for different activities. 6. Certain key experiences are essential to children’s early intellectual growth.

Key Experiences Key experiences provide a useful framework that guides teachers and assistants in conduction of the classroom program Key experiences help the teaching staff encourage and extend children self-chosen activities by providing developmentally appropriate learning experiences. The Key experiences are important to the development of rational thought of children.

Key Developmental Indicatorsupdated Approaches to learning Social and Emotional Development Physical Development and Health Language, Literacy and Communication Mathematics Creative Arts Science and Technology Social Studies

Daily Schedule A framework for the day’s events that supports children’s security and independence. Daily routine components: -Plan-Do-Review (Work Time) -Small Group Time -Large Group Time -Outside time Transition times

Characteristics of the Learning Environment The High/Scope characteristics are: * Is welcoming to children * Allows children to see and easily move though all the areas of the classroom or center * Is flexible so children can extend their play by bringing materials from one area to another * Materials are arranged in consistent places and the shelves are tagged with child-friendly labels so that children can get out and put away materials themselves.

Curriculum Overview Adults and Children-Partners in Learning Active learning Curriculum content The Classroom and daily routine Relationships: central to learning Using magnets with different materials.url

Reggio Emilia Approach “The curriculum is not child centered or teacher directed. The curriculum is child originated and teacher framed We have given great care in selecting the term ‘negotiated curriculum’ instead of emergent or child centered curriculum. We propose that ‘negotiated curriculum’ better captures the constructive, continual and reciprocal relation among teachers, children and parents and better captures the negotiations among subject matter: representational media and the children’s current knowledge.” Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Exchange, vol.3,no

Principles of Reggio Emilia Approach 1. The hundred Languages of Children. Each child has his/her Own way of learning and communicating. All the ways are recognized and celebrated. 2. Images of the child. Children are competent individuals who have within themselves the ability to find out what the need to know. They often learn through trial and error. “Mistakes” are steppingstones to knowledge. 3. Children’s relationships and interactions within a system. The environment is the “third teacher” with equal significance to the child and teacher. hundred languages of children.url

4. Collaboration as the foundation of the system. This is with staff, parents and community. 5. The role of time and the importance of continuity. Children have their own rhythm and sense of time. This is taken into consideration when planning activities. Process vs. Product

Cont. 6. The 3 subjects of education: * The role of the child. Children’s rights should be recognized, not only their needs. Children have a right to high-quality care and education that support the development of the potentials. * The role of the parents. Parents are an active part of their children’s learning. Parent participation is expected and supported and takes many forms: day-to-day interaction, working in the school, discussions of educational and psychological issues, special events, field trips if any and celebrations.

Cont. * The role of teachers as partners. The teacher’s role is as a resource, a listener, a nurturer, a partner, and an instigator for further development. The role of the teacher is considered to be one of continual research and learning process, taking place with the children and embedded in team cooperation.

Cont. 7. Emergent curriculum. Themes arise from children’s theories and interests, supporting the desire for life-long learning. 8. Project based curriculum. Projects provide the backbone of the children’s and teacher’s learning experiences. 9. The Environment. Great attention is given to the look and feel of the classroom. Environment is considered “third teacher”.

PITC (Program for Infant/Toddler Care) A Relationship-Based Curriculum- The goal of PITC is to recognize the crucial importance of: 1. Giving tender, loving care 2. Assisting infants/toddlers intellectual development through an attentive reading of each child’s cues 3. Sensitive to infants/toddlers cues 4. Connect with their family and culture 5. Develop responsive relationship-based care 6. Reflect on and record information about the children’s interests and skills.

High Scope and Reggio Emilia Combined What is unique about High/Scope: Key experiences, plan-do-review and environment-labeling What is unique about Reggio Emilia: Documentation, using the environment as the third teacher, flowcharts, and infrastructure What is unique about PITC? Care is based on relationship planning, childdirected learning over adult-directed learning, emergent curriculum, continuity of care and small groups.