Exactly one year ago, I was presenting at the 3E Learning Conference in Ho Chi Minh City and it's crazy to think how much has changed since then. During my Inspire Talk at 3E, I spoke about change and the opportunities that come with it...in education of course! One year on though, I'm thinking there are some important lessons in there for me personally! So this year, whether you are headed back to the classroom or embarking on new adventures in life, let's be sure to view every moment as opportunity. Who knows what wonderful things might come as a result!
I am experiencing some major shifts in life. In March, my first child was born. In June, I moved back to Canada with my young family after 12 years away from "home". And for the first time in 8 years, I am not going back to the classroom this August/September. Right now it feels like my life is all about change, change, CHANGE!
Exactly one year ago, I was presenting at the 3E Learning Conference in Ho Chi Minh City and it's crazy to think how much has changed since then. During my Inspire Talk at 3E, I spoke about change and the opportunities that come with it...in education of course! One year on though, I'm thinking there are some important lessons in there for me personally! So this year, whether you are headed back to the classroom or embarking on new adventures in life, let's be sure to view every moment as opportunity. Who knows what wonderful things might come as a result!
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Books:
Videos:Articles:
Blogs: A Word of Caution
Many blogs (including this one!), include posts about Reggio-inspired learning. INSPIRED is the key word here and this information should not be considered as a primary source or perceived as a sort of Reggio 'methodology'. Instead I would encourage readers to think thoughtfully about the unique learning context of the blog owner and how the very particular history, experiences, and practices of educators, children, and families in Reggio Emilia Municipal Infant-Toddler Centres and Preschools may have been interpreted.
What are you 'go-to' resources for developing your understanding of the Reggio Emilia approach to education?
Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about feedback. Last week I participated in the IB PYP workshop 'Teaching and Learning' where feedback to students was emphasized as as strategy for supporting students in constructing knowledge and skills. I am also currently enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Education course 'Making Learning Visible: The Power of Group Learning and Documentation in Classrooms and Communities' where we have examined the power of teacher and peer feedback in the context of group learning. I am currently exploring and researching this in my Pre-Kindergarten classroom and wrote a post about it last week.
This feedback is important to me because:
Often when I think about the learning community, I think about students, families and teaching staff. But what about the rest of the community? Are they not also part of the learning (and feedback) process? The feedback our auntie gave made me consider who I look to and seek out for feedback. It made me wonder: Can this be extended? To who? How? As Dylan Wiliam says "Feedback should cause thinking". And indeed, the best feedback always makes me think. It clarifies and consolidates. It urges me to probe further, wonder more, and extend in new directions. And last week, for me, this feedback did just that. What forms and sources of feedback do you open yourself up to as a teacher in your learning community?
Emergent (or negotiated) curriculum is one of my favourite parts of being an Early Childhood teacher. It makes me excited about my job every day because I know that, just by listening to my students and following their lead, countless learning opportunities will organically emerge, perhaps without my even planning them. We know though, that emergent curriculum is not about not planning, but rather about listening, documenting, making creative connections, and planning possibilities. I have written before about my emergent curriculum approach in a post called "Planning" an Emergent Curriculum and a few weeks ago I led a workshop on the topic at a Singapore/Malaysia PYP Network event. If you are new to the concept of emergent curriculum, here are some excellent places to start. I gave this document as a take-away handout at my workshop and have received great feedback on how helpful the resources have been. So, I thought I would also share it here on my blog. Thanks to all those who have allowed me to share links to their exceptional work. Please leave a comment if you find these links and resources useful!
". . .the goal of teachers and children is the same, to find meaning in their work . . ." - Lella Gandini
For me, interpretation means reflection and collaboration. Time to document and process the events in my classroom, time to discuss with colleagues at my own and other schools, time to read articles, books and blogs that put my practice in context. Time to connect the dots. Always time. Lella Gandini also emphasizes the connection between collaboration and reflection: "a time and place must be set aside...in which the teachers' interpretations, hypotheses and doubts can be discussed and expanded with their other colleagues in the school...All this becomes meaningful and adds to our professional competence." (In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia, 2006, p.135-136) Loris Malaguzzi said that children "become even more curious, interested and confident as they contemplate the meaning of what they have achieved" (The Hundred Languages of Children, Second Edition, 1998, p. 70). Is the same not also true for teachers? While children will always be at the centre of what we do as educators, I wish we could think nearly on equal terms about the rights of and learning conditions for our teachers. How do you and your school find time to make meaning?
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I'm a PYP educator passionate about visible thinking, learning environments, Reggio Emilia, arts, technology, pedagogical documentation, visible thinking, nature & play. Always inquiring, always reflecting, always learning!
View the About Me page to learn more. Contact MeRecent PostsEmbracing Change
Top 11 Inquiries: A Reflective Roundup Open-Ended Math Centres in Kindergarten The Reggio Approach: Where Do I Start? The Power of Feedback Developing Metacognition Through Portfolio Reflections Archives
June 2017
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