Transcript Slide 1

Prekindergarten
March 15, 2012
Our Day
How do our experiences impact our learning? Site Visit
Why is data necessary?
How do we use data to make improvements?
How do I prepare for learning/intervention, when I have data
collected?
What are Essential Learning Experiences? How do I make this
document meaningful?
What resources do I need to support the Essential Learning
Experiences?
Site Visit
How do our experiences impact our learning?
1. What in the environment promotes social interactions, investigations and
discussions?
2. What materials and equipment did you see that stimulate children’s holistic
development and curiosity?
3. What did you see that would demonstrate families being welcomed in the
program?
4. What example did you see of children’s thoughts, words and work being
honoured and visible in the program?
5. What experiential centre did you find most interesting? Why?
6. How do the indoor and outdoor spaces encourage exploration and learning?
Seven principles of mastery
teaching
 Start where your students are.
 Know where your students are going.
 Expect to get your students to their goal.
 Support your students along the way.
 Use feedback to help you and your students get better.
 Focus on quality rather than quantity.
 Never work harder than your students.
How to plan rigorous instruction: Mastering the principles of great teaching, Robyn R. Jackson, 2011
Teachers blaze the path to knowledge
generation when pairs, small groups and
entire faculties intentionally and
purposefully use data as a source for
analyzing progress and proactively
planning for improvement.
- Wellman & Lipton, 2004
Data Givers
Data Users
Four Driving Forces of School Change
Shifting From
1. A teaching focus
2. Teaching as private
practice
3. School improvement
as an option
4. Accountability
Shifting To
1. A learning focus
2. Teaching as a
collaborative practice
3. School improvement
as a requirement
4. Responsibility
Collaborative Inquiry
 Learning occurs when we shift from professional
certainty to conscious curiosity, from isolated
individual to collaborative community member, and
from passive technician to active researcher. The
pursuit of meaningful questions arises from
thoughtful data analysis, careful problem framing, and
ongoing monitoring of gaps between goal achievement
and current condition.
Activating & Engaging
Take a look at your data.
What are your
Successes?
Challenges?
Questions?
Share
 First, share your successes at your table.
 Be ready to report on themes (not
anecdotes).
 Next, share your challenges.
 Be ready to report themes (not anecdotes).
 Finally, share your questions.
Next Steps:
Reflect on your data and think about
how you are going to use this data
to move your children forward.
Video Clip - Relationships: The Key to
Teaching and Learning in the Early
Consider the following while
Years
viewing the video clip:
What high quality
pedagogical practices to
support
language/literacy and
social emotional
development are
portrayed? How does
the educator move
children forward in
their development?
Introduction
Language & Emergent
Literacy
Social Emotional
Development
 The experiences children have early in life –
and the environments in which they have
them – shape their developing brain
architecture and strongly affect whether
they grow up to be healthy, productive
members of society.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010, p. 4, citing the Centre on the
Developing Child, Harvard University, 2010.
High Quality, Effective Early
Childhood Programming . . .
is determined by numerous, major international
reports and studies to be characterized by:
 Age appropriate curricula
 Curriculum aims that are specified
In Saskatchewan, however, a gap to achieving high
quality Prekindergarten programming has been:
 a lack of clarity around curricula/learning goals
leading to a varied implementation of Prekindergarten
programming
 a lack of early childhood knowledge and skills among
educators
Essential Learning Experiences . . .
have been developed in each of the four domains of learning
to:
 support and guide Prekindergarten program
development by means of a set of developmental
milestones and experiences considered essential for
learning in each domain
 provide clarity around what is developmentally
appropriate, best practice to support the learning of three
and four year old children in each of those domains
Moving Toward High Quality PreK
Programming
A set of experiences
considered essential
for optimal
development in
each domain
A continuum of the
developmental
milestones in each
domain
Improved clarity
around the
essentials of
learning and
development
Moving Toward Enhanced Educator
Knowledge and Practice
Provide guidance
around
developmentally
appropriate
experiences for 3
and 4 year olds
Engage educators in
pedagogical
practices to facilitate
and scaffold
learning
Provide clarity
around what is
developmentally
appropriate, best
practice
ELE document is also intended to
provide . . .
 a framework for monitoring and supporting
children’s developmental growth within
each domain of learning (social-emotional,
physical, intellectual and spiritual)
And to provide . . .
 a framework and focus for sharing
information regarding children’s
developmental growth with their families
 With the overall aim to develop high quality,
effective Prekindergarten programming
with a focus of learning program.
Balanced Approach of Pedagogical Practice
in Developmentally Appropriate Early Childhood Settings
Quality Practices
HighHigh
Quality
Practices
Unstructured
(Limited Learning)
Play without adult
support
Child Initiated Play
Focused Learning
(Optimal Learning)
Adult support for an
enabling environment,
and responsive
interaction
Adult-guided, playful
experiential activities
Highly structured
(Limited Learning)
Adult-directed, little or
no play
Young Learners Now
Dispositions for learning
Enthusiasm
Enjoyment
Curiosity
Perseverance
Social Skills
Conflict Resolution
Working with peers
Self confidence
Self Awareness
Strong foundations for formal
learning
Problem Solving
Creativity
Holistic Learning
The domains of
learning are:
Social
Emotional
Physical
•Social Emotional
•Physical
•Intellectual
Spiritual
Intellectual
•Spiritual
Social Emotional
Developing Self
Awareness
Developing Self Worth
Developing a Sense of
Others
Developing a Sense of
Belonging
Separating from family
without distress
Perspective Taking and
Empathy
Identifying and
Regulating Emotions
Interacting with Peers
Resolving Conflicts
Physical
Spiritual
Intellectual
Language and Emergent
Literacy
Listening with Interest
Incorporating Vocabulary
Responding to Others
Exploring New Words
Inquiring/Express Ideas
Clarity of Speech
Engaging with Books
Gaining Meaning from
Visual/Text Materials
Recounting stories
Engaging in Word Play
Exploring Visual Symbols
Representing Ideas
Exploring How Print Works
Developing Literacy Skills – Meaning Making Through Reading, Writing, Viewing and Representing
Essential Learning
Experience
Continuum of Development
(What does it look like?)
Educator Role to Assess and Support Learning and Development
A - Assess
S - Support
Engaging with
stories and books
From
Occasionally exploring books or real
life literacy artifacts
Listening intermittently to a short
story read by an adult
A – Listen
During story time, does the child chime in with repeated phrases, sound
effects, or make comments related to the story?
What vocabulary from a story/book is the child using in interactions with
adults and peers?
To
Spending self-selected time browsing
through books alone, with peers, or
with an adult.
Listening attentively to a short readaloud
A – Observe
Does the child appear to be listening to the story even though engaged
in another activity?
Does the child show emotional response to stories through appropriate
facial expressions? laughter? verbal expressions of surprise or concern
such as “oh-oh”?
Does the child have favourite books? What titles and topics are of
most interest to the child?
S – Respond
Share a child’s pleasure or interest in particular books; join individual or
small groups of children in the story area and read with them.
Reread children’s favourite books.
Select books that entice children to engage in deeper explorations with
topics of interest.
Ensure that the classroom literature collection includes a wide range of
genre - both fiction and non-fiction.
Intellectual Development: Language and Emergent Literacy p9
What do our children look and
sound like when...
They don’t .....
When they begin...
When they actualize...
When they develop beyond...
i.e. Engage with stories and books.
They don’t...
They begin...
They actualize...
They develop
beyond...
How do we become more familiar
with the ELE’s?
Why unpack experiences?
 To fully understand what is required of students to
develop in all of the domains…
 To determine what teachers need to know to help
students demonstrate their understanding of the
experience.
 To invite teachers to design personal, powerful
learning and assessment experiences that will engage
students and help students develop and learn.
To Clearly See the
Learning/Developmental
Destination!
Triangulation
Understand
Know
Do
Essential Questions and Enduring
Understandings
 Ask yourself: What are we hoping students will come
to understand by knowing, experience-based
information and by being able to do certain tasks?
 Ask yourself: What question(s) can we ask to invite
students to clarify their understanding?
Unpacking the Essential Learning Experience
Experience (circle the verb and underline the qualifiers)
KNOW
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
UNDERSTAND
BE ABLE TO DO
Budget
 If you had $6000 to spend on your PreK program,
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where would you spend your money?
Books?
Supplies?
Furniture?
Ipad Apps?
Special Events?
Nutrition?
Other?
Get the ball rolling for 2012-13
 Review your PREKINDERGARTEN HANDBOOK