I’m surprised at how much one class can change my place of work. Where I work we focused on 10,400 documentations and assessments each year, that is if we just keep it to two observations or pictures per objective (generally I have at least 3 – 9 per page – depending on the objective). And this semester we started a new curriculum – Teaching Strategies, which I have not been trained for (I’m just winging it) that has 65 learning objectives – 15 more than last year. We attempted to be more organized and put on the calendar what objectives we are going to be observing each week, what units we were going to teach for the semester, and what lessens we would do each month. I was extremely overwhelmed and frustrated. I felt like a robot. I really wasn’t enjoying my job and I couldn’t wait to go home. Even when I was at home I was still doing work related jobs. I think I was making myself physically sick just so that I would be forced to rest.
However, things have changed dramatically due to taking this class with my co-worker, Val. Through each reading every week, assignments, and blogging we have learned a different way of learning and our eyes have opened to new ideas. These ideas were brought to our director’s attention and she was and is willing to try out these new ideas we have been learning about. At first each idea that was brought up was something extra for us to do on top of everything we were already doing, such as: group learning, big questions, and look again at child-centered activities, lessons, units and projects (instead of teacher-centered).
Last week there was a break through, our director is willing for us to go back to children-centered activities and projects. We are also beginning to use “big” questions with each other and the children (I’m still learning this one), the weekly assessments went in the trash, group learning is beginning to be a part of our assessments, instead of over loading the children with multiple activities per day for “a higher level of learning” we have gone back to the basics first, and instead of the children learning one concept per day we are going to try one concept per week or however long it might take.
There are a lot of changes going on in our preschool and I believe it is the best for the children and teachers. I could see the frustration in the children when we had to pull them away from what they wanted to do so they could do what we wanted them to do. I was frustrated myself. This week will be the first week we are going to implement all of our learning with full cooperation with all the staff. I’m so excited to go to work today!
The next thing I would like to take on is the portfolios. The portfolios are one thing that our director has not approved of how we want to do it – not yet. If I was able to I would like to be able to make stories for the children’s portfolios instead of impersonal objectives. I asked my co-worker for help because I’ve been doing portfolios for 10 years a certain way where we weren’t able to put in our emotions and thoughts into it. It was just hard core facts based on objectives. I want to be able to tell stories, what I think of each child and add their personalities to it – but I don’t know how. I think one way I can help myself is by writing down observations and concentrate on the children.
This has been an extremely exciting new way of learning and teaching for me. How has this class inspired you in your ways of teaching? Have you been able to make changes where you work, how? Are your co-workers open to new ways of doing things? If not how or what can you do to get them to look at it from your point of view and also the children’s point of view? Out of everything we have read and learned about what are the ones that stand out to you the most, why?
Hey Susan,
ReplyDeleteGlad that you are getting some change in your school. Sometime change is good and we can also see it in the children. Its great that the focus is now more towards what the children want to do rather than the teacher. Not all change can be done at once, I say give it time and over the time your director will see that instead of objects in the portfolio we can start doing emotions and thoughts and a story. In my center my teacher likes to put pictures in her portfolio and then a blank white sticker at the bottom of the picture. She asks the parents to sit down with their child and fill in the child's words. The child is the one that gets to tell the story. Yet the teacher also sits down with the parent and goes over the developmental stage to make sure the child is right on track. When we do change our curriculum, things sometime don't go according to plan, how are you going to deal with it? Will you just go back to the same old way, or still try something different till it gets right. One thing that stood out for me with this reading is the fact that we are in two different country yet one major focus which is the children. However the way we do it is so different. We focus on individual where we want our kids to grow up to be an individual and do things on their own, and Reggio focus on group. How might having to take this class effect us. Do you think that all early childhood teachers should take this class and learn about another school.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the “big question” means to your teaching experiences? How does it work in your teaching practices? How can you find different answers to know about your “big questions”? What are the most hard things or issues when you find the “big questions”? How do you teach your students with many “big questions”? How do you get children’s “big questions” together? What are your ideas about rethink your questions and how do implement your plans in children’s learning?
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all it is so great that you guys have a director that is so open to your new ideas and is willing to allow you all to explore new ideas and concepts. I would only wish every director was like that. I can say I have come from a different experience at one school I worked at- the director wasn't willing to change anything that they had already set (whether it made sense or not). I can't tell you that that can really crush a person's motivation. As far as the portfolios go, I would try to make a rough copy of your literature of a child and give her your example plus that reasoning- it usually helps if one has a copy of the idea. Good luck.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI wonder what your experience might have been if you engaged in this course without your colleague. Has your experience been reflective of the power of group learning? Have the conversations between you and your colleague been the means to strive to create your classrooms as otherwise? I keep thinking about how the children documented their own thought processes in regard to their city. Can the documentation of your and your colleague's thought processes be the means to continue the evolution of your program? Can this blog be the start of your documentation? How might the memories collected here be a sources for further development?
Jeanne