ESSENTIALS

Inspiring Practices – Part 1

Daily Updates on Early Childhood EducationSign up for FREE and join 90,000 of your peers

www.ChildCareExchange.com/eed

KEEP INFORMED

Click on the title of any article below to go directly to that page in this document.

! Your Image of the Child: Where Teaching Begins by Loris Malaguzzi

! What Can We Learn from Reggio Emilia: An Italian-American Collaboration An Interview with Amelia Gambetti and Mary Beth Radke by Lella Gandini

! Unpacking My !uestions and Images: Personal Reflections on Reggio Emilia by Bonnie Neugebauer

! Doing Reggio? by Margie Carter

! Not Just Anywhere: Making Child Care Centers into “Particular” Places by Lella Gandini

! Project-Based Learning and Early Learning Standards: Making the Connection by Robin Jones

! The Project Approach in the Early Years by Lilian G. Katz

! Building Literacy Curriculum Using the Project Approach by Jeanette Allison

! Boulder Journey School, Boulder, Colorado by Ellen Hall, Alison Maher, and Andrea Sisbarro

! Are We Doing Things Just Because We’ve Always Done Them This Way? by Kim Turner

! Reflections on Science: The Development of the Hawkins Room for Messing About with Materials and Ideas by Mary Lynch, Lauren Foster Shaffer, and Ellen Hall

! Giving Value to the Rights of Children: !uestions for Consideration by a School Community by Ellen Hall

Exchange 3/94

These comments are translated and adapted from a seminarpresented by Professor Loris Malaguzzi in Reggio Emilia,Italy, June 1993.

There are hundreds of different images of the child.Each one of you has inside yourself an image of thechild that directs you as you begin to relate to a child.This theory within you pushes you to behave incertain ways; it orients you as you talk to the child,listen to the child, observe the child. It is verydifficult for you to act contrary to this internal image.For example, if your image is that boys and girls arevery different from one another, you will behavedifferently in your interactions with each of them.

The environment you construct around you and thechildren also reflects this image you have about thechild. There’s a difference between the environmentthat you are able to build based on a preconceivedimage of the child and the environment that you canbuild that is based on the child you see in front of you— the relationship you build with the child, thegames you play. An environment that grows out ofyour relationship with the child is unique and fluid.The quality and quantity of relationships among youas adults and educators also reflects your image ofthe child. Children are very sensitive and can see andsense very quickly the spirit of what is going onamong the adults in their world. They understandwhether the adults are working together in a trulycollaborative way or if they are separated in someway from each other, living their experience as if itwere private with little interaction.

Posing Important Questions

When you begin working with children in themorning, you must, as adults, pose questions about

the children, such as: “When are these children reallygoing to begin socializing?” And at the same timethe children will pose questions to the adults: “Whenare the adults really going to begin socializing?” Thisis a dialogue that needs to be continual between theadults and the children. The adults ask questionsfrom the world of adults to the children. Thechildren will ask questions to the adults. The expec-tations that the children have of the adults and theadults have of the children are important. We mustspend some time talking about these expectations.

The family — mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grand-parents — is also involved in this questioning. Daily

Chi ld Care Informat ion ExchangeChi ld Care Informat ion ExchangePO Box 3249, Redmond, WA 98073 - (800)221-2864 www.ChildCareExchange.com

Multiple use copy agreement available for educators by request

Your Image of the Child:Where Teaching Begins

by Loris Malaguzzi

they need to ask: “What is this child doing in theschool?”

It’s very probable that once a day, maybe twice orthree times or many times a day, the children areasking themselves: “What is my mother doing?”“What is my father doing?” “What is my brother ormy sister doing?” “Are they having more fun than Iam?” “Are they bored?”

The school we are talking about is not the school youare familiar with in the past, but it is something thatyou can hope for.

Considering Each Child’s Reality

We can never think of the child in the abstract. Whenwe think about a child, when we pull out a child tolook at, that child is already tightly connected andlinked to a certain reality of the world — she hasrelationships and experiences. We cannot separatethis child from a particular reality. She brings theseexperiences, feelings, and relationships into schoolwith her.

3

Exchange 3/94

And it is the same for you as adults. When youenter the school in the morning, you carry with youpieces of your life — your happiness, your sadness,your hopes, your pleasures, the stresses from yourlife. You never come in an isolated way; you alwayscome with pieces of the world attached to you. Sothe meetings that we have are always contaminatedwith the experiences that we bring with us.

Growing Comfortable with the Unknown

School is not at all like billiards. When you playbilliards you push the ball with a certain force and ithits the table and bounces off; there’s a definite waythe ball will go, depending on force and direction.Children are not at all like this, predictable. Butsometimes schools function as if they were; these areschools with no joy.

Of course, many things that happen in school can beseen ahead and planned beforehand. But manythings that happen cannot be known ahead of time.Something will start to grow inside the child andsuddenly what is happening in the school will movein that direction. Sometimes what happens startsinside the adults. School can never be alwayspredictable. We need to be open to what takes placeand able to change our plans and go with whatmight grow at that very moment both inside thechild and inside ourselves.

Each one of us needs to be able to play with thethings that are coming out of the world of children.Each one of us needs to have curiosity, and we needto be able to try something new based on the ideasthat we collect from the children as they go along.Life has to be somewhat agitated and upset, a bitrestless, somewhat unknown. As life flows with thethoughts of the children, we need to be open, weneed to change our ideas; we need to be comfortablewith the restless nature of life.

All of this changes the role of the teacher, a role thatbecomes much more difficult and complex. It alsomakes the world of the teacher more beautiful,something to become involved in.

Enjoying Relationships

The ability to enjoy relationships and work togetheris very important. Children need to enjoy being inschool, they need to love their school and the interac-

tions that take place there. Their expectations ofthese interactions is critical.

It is also important for the teachers to enjoy beingwith the other teachers, to enjoy seeing the childrenstretch their capacities and use their intelligences, toenjoy interactions with the children. Both parts areessential.

Both children and adults need to feel active andimportant — to be rewarded by their own efforts,their own intelligences, their own activity andenergy. When a child feels these things are valued,they become a fountain of strength for him. He feelsthe joy of working with adults who value his workand this is one of the bases for learning.

Overactivity on the part of the adult is a risk factor.The adult does too much because he cares about thechild; but this creates a passive role for the child inher own learning.

Finding Our Way in the Forest

All of this is a great forest. Inside the forest is thechild. The forest is beautiful, fascinating, green, andfull of hopes; there are no paths. Although it isn’teasy, we have to make our own paths, as teachersand children and families, in the forest. Sometimeswe find ourselves together within the forest, some-times we may get lost from each other, sometimeswe’ll greet each other from far away across the forest;but it’s living together in this forest that is important.And this living together is not easy.

We have to find each other in the forest and begin todiscuss what the education of the child actuallymeans. The important aspect is not just to promotethe education of the child but the health and happi-ness of the child as well.

We need to think of the school as a living organism.Children have to feel that the world is inside theschool and moves and thinks and works and reflectson everything that goes on. Of course not all childrenare the same — each child brings a part of somethingthat’s different into the school.

Learning to Wait

All of this pushes us to produce a higher level ofobservation. We must move beyond just looking atthe child to become better observers, able to penetrate

4

5

Exchange 3/94

into the child to understand each child’s resourcesand potential and present state of mind. We need tocompare these with our own in order to work welltogether.

Our task is to construct educational situations that wepropose to the children in the morning. It’s okay toimprovise sometimes but we need to plan the project.It may be a project that is projected over a period ofdays, or weeks, or even months. We need to producesituations in which children learn by themselves, inwhich children can take advantage of their ownknowledge and resources autonomously, and inwhich we guarantee the intervention of the adult aslittle as possible. We don’t want to teach childrensomething that they can learn by themselves. Wedon’t want to give them thoughts that they can comeup with by themselves. What we want to do isactivate within children the desire and will and greatpleasure that comes from being the authors of theirown learning.

We need to know how to recognize a new presence,how to wait for the child. This is something that islearned, it’s not automatic. We often have to do itagainst our own rush to work in our own way. We’lldiscover that our presence, which has to be visibleand warm, makes it possible for us to try to get insidethe child and what that child is doing. And this mayseem to be passive, but it is really a very strongactivity on our part.

Becoming Totally Involved

It’s a constant value for the children to know that theadult is there, attentive and helpful, a guide for thechild. Perhaps this way of working with the childwill build a different understanding of our role thanwe have had before. Clarifying the meaning of ourpresence and our being with children is somethingthat is vital for the child. When the child sees that theadult is there, totally involved with the child, thechild doesn’t forget. This is something that’s right forus and it’s right for the children.

There are many things that are part of a child’s lifejust as they are part of an adult’s life. The desire todo something for someone, for instance. Every adulthas a need to feel that we are seen/observed byothers. (Observing others is also important.) This isjust as true for children as for adults. Therefore, it’spossible to observe, to receive a lot of pleasure andsatisfaction from observing in many different ways.

When the child is observed, the child is happy — it’salmost an honor that he is observed by an adult. Onthe other hand, a good teacher who knows how toobserve feels good about himself because that personknows that he is able to take something from thesituation, transform it, and understand it in a newway.

What the child doesn’t want is an observation fromthe adult who isn’t really there, who is distracted.The child wants to know that she is observed, care-fully, with full attention. The child wants to beobserved in action. She wants the teacher to see theprocess of her work, rather than the product. Theteacher asks the child to take a bucket of water fromone place to the other. It’s not important to the childthat the teacher only sees him arrive with the bucketof water at the end. What is important to the child isthat the teacher sees the child while the child isworking, while the child is putting out the effort toaccomplish the task — the processes are important,how much the child is putting into the effort, howheroic the child is doing this work. What childrenwant is to be observed while engaged, they do notwant the focus of the observation to be on the finalproduct. When we as adults are able to see thechildren in the process, it’s as if we are opening awindow and getting a fresh view of things.

“If only you had seen all I had to do.” The childwants this observation. We all want this. This meansthat when you learn to observe the child, when youhave assimilated all that it means to observe thechild, you learn many things that are not in books —educational or psychological. And when you havedone this you will learn to have more diffidence andmore distrust of rapid assessments, tests, judgments.The child wants to be observed, but she doesn’t wantto be judged. Even when we do judge, things escapeus, we do not see things, so we are not able to evalu-ate in a wide way. This system of observing childrencarries you into many different feelings and thoughts,into a kind of teaching full of uncertainty and doubt,and it takes wisdom and a great deal of knowledgeon the part of the teachers to be able to work withinthis situation of uncertainty.

Discovering a New Way of Observing

Observing in this way offers tremendous benefits. Itrequires a shift in the role of the teacher from anemphasis of teaching to an emphasis on learning,teachers learning about themselves as teachers aswell as teachers learning about children. This is a

6

Exchange 3/94

self-learning that takes place for the teacher and itenables the teacher to see things that are taking placein children that teachers were not able to see before.

We have to let children be with children. Childrenlearn a lot from other children, and adults learnfrom children being with children. Children love tolearn among themselves, and they learn things thatit would never be possible to learn from interactionswith an adult. The interaction between children is avery fertile and a very rich relationship. If it is left toferment without adult interference and without thatexcessive assistance that we sometimes give, thenit’s more advantageous to the child. We don’t wantto protect something that doesn’t need to be pro-tected.

It’s important for the teacher who works with youngchildren to understand that she knows little aboutchildren. Teachers need to learn to see the children,to listen to them, to know when they are feeling somedistance from us as adults and from children, whenthey are distracted, when they are surrounded by ashadow of happiness and pleasure, and when theyare surrounded by a shadow of sadness and suffer-ing. We have to understand that they are movingand working with many ideas, but their most impor-tant task is to build relationships with friends. Theyare trying to understand what friendship is. Childrengrow in many directions together, but a child isalways in search of relationships. Children get toknow each other through all their senses. Touchingthe hair of another child is very important. Smell isimportant. This is a way children are able to under-stand the identity of themselves and the identity ofothers.

Redefining Roles

We need to define the role of the adult, not as atransmitter but as a creator of relationships —relationships not only between people but alsobetween things, between thoughts, with the environ-ment. It’s like we need to create a typical New YorkCity traffic jam in the school.

We teachers must see ourselves as researchers, able tothink, and to produce a true curriculum, a curriculumproduced from all of the children.

What we so often do is impose adult time onchildren’s time and this negates children being able towork with their own resources.

When we in Reggio say children have 100 languages,we mean more than the 100 languages of children, wealso mean the 100 languages of adults, of teachers.The teacher must have the capacity for many differ-ent roles. The teacher has to be the author of a play,someone who thinks ahead of time. Teachers alsoneed to be the main actors in the play, the protago-nists. The teacher must forget all the lines he knewbefore and invent the ones he doesn’t remember.Teachers also have to take the role of the prompter,the one who gives the cues to the actors. Teachersneed to be set designers who create the environmentin which activities take place. At the same time, theteacher needs to be the audience who applauds.

The teacher has many different roles and she needs tobe in many places and do many different things anduse many languages. Sometimes the teacher will findhimself without words, without anything to say; andat times this is fortunate for the child, because thenthe teacher will have to invent new words.

Forging Alliances with Families

We must forge strong alliances with the families ofour children. Imagine the school as an enormoushot air balloon. The hot air balloon is on the groundwhen the parents bring their children in themorning. Some parents think the balloon is going torise up and fly around during the day. Otherswould really prefer that the balloon remain on theground because that way they are sure their childrenare safe and protected. But the children want to goup and fly and travel everywhere in a hot airballoon, to see in this different way, to look at thingsfrom above. Our problem is that to make the hot airballoon fly we have to make sure that parentsunderstand the importance of what the teachers andchildren are doing in the hot air balloon. Flyingthrough the air, seeing the world in a different way,adds to the wealth of all of us, particularly thechildren.

We need to make a big impression on parents, amazethem, convince them that what we are doing is some-thing extremely important for their children and forthem, that we are producing and working with chil-dren to understand their intelligence and their intelli-gences. This means that we have to become skilled inflying and managing this hot air balloon. Perhaps itwas our previous lack of skill that made us fall. Weall need to learn to be better hot air balloon pilots.

7

Exchange 3/94

Building Strong Images

What we have to do now is draw out the image of thechild, draw the child out of the desperate situationsthat many children find themselves in. If we redeemthe child from these difficult situations, we redeemourselves.

Children have a right to a good school — a goodbuilding, good teachers, right time, good activities.This is the right of ALL children.

It is necessary to give an immediate response to achild. Children need to know that we are theirfriends, that they can depend on us for the things theydesire, that we can support them in the things thatthey have, but also in the things that they dreamabout, that they desire.

Children have the right to imagine. We need to givethem full rights of citizenship in life and in society.

It’s necessary that we believe that the child is veryintelligent, that the child is strong and beautiful andhas very ambitious desires and requests. This is theimage of the child that we need to hold.

Those who have the image of the child as fragile,incomplete, weak, made of glass gain something fromthis belief only for themselves. We don’t need that asan image of children.

Instead of always giving children protection, we needto give them the recognition of their rights and of theirstrengths.

Translated by Baji Rankin, Leslie Morrow, and LellaGandini.

Loris MalaguzziFebruary 23, 1920 — January 30, 1994

Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio EmiliaApproach, began teaching in schools started byparents just after the end of WWII. Through the

years, he transformed that courageous initiative intothe internationally acclaimed program for young

children that we know today.

Those who worked with Malaguzzi or heard himspeak have vivid memories of an intense learning

experience — his philosophical reflections, surprisingobservations, challenges of conventional thoughts ineducation, unexpected turns of thought, complexityof ideas, and delightful metaphors. One way to paytribute to Loris Malaguzzi is to listen to his words:

“Our goal is to build an amiable school, wherechildren, teachers and families feel at home. Such aschool requires careful thinking and planning con-cerning procedures, motivations and interests. Itmust embody ways of getting along together, of

intensifying relationships.”Edwards, Gandini, and Forman (editors),

The Hundred Languages of Children (Norwood, NJ:Ablex, 1993).

8

Exchange 3/94

What Can We Learn fromReggio Emilia:

An Italian-American Collaborationan interview with Amelia Gambetti and Mary Beth Radke by Lella Gandini

Two educators — Amelia Gambetti fromReggio Emila, Mary Beth Radke from theUnited States — came together to work inthe early childhood program at theUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst, forthe 1992-93 school year. The story of theircollaboration is rich with reflection abouttheir work and insights for educatorsintrigued by trying new ideas andperspectives:

Recently, educators in this country aresearching for ways of improving earlychildhood education. In offering theencounter with these two teachers, weinvite readers to look closely at theprocess of change and to examine theirown setting in a new way.

Lella: Amelia and Mary Beth, youhad such a unique opportunity to seewhat happens when two educationalphilosophies, two different culturalperspectives, two different teachingstyles and personalities try to worktogether to do something good forchildren. How did your collaborationbegin?

Amelia: Think about last year! It tookus quite awhile to make real contactwith each other. Mary Beth wasobserving me and I was observingMary Beth. We had a good feelingimmediately at a personal level, agood chemistry.

Background

In the summer of 1992, Amelia Gambetti, educator for 25years in the schools for young children in Reggio Emilia,Italy, was invited by Dr. George Forman, professor at theUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst, to spend a year as“Visiting Faculty,” in the University of MassachusettsSkinner Laboratory School.

Mary Beth Radke, involved in early childhood education invarious roles for 15 years, hearing of Gambetti’s visit,inquired about workshops and conferences. Shortly beforethe opening of school, Forman asked her to apply to beAmelia’s teaching assistant. And the story of their worktogether began!

Lella Gandini, official liaison in the United States for theAdministration of Early Childhood Education of the Munici-pality of Reggio Emilia and adjunct professor in the Schoolof Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst,interviewed Gambetti and Radke about their experiencesworking together in Amherst.

Background: The University of Massachusetts Lab School isa campus based nursery school, providing early schoolopportunities for young children as well as serving as atraining site for faculty and college students. The childrenenrolled, from faculty and student families, as well as thesurrounding community, are from diverse cultural back-grounds; one-third of them are learning English as a secondlanguage. The two classrooms run three mornings a weekon a university calendar. As many as nine student teachersmay be assigned to each classroom for a semester.

9

Exchange 3/94

Mary Beth: There were elements to our initialchemistry that happen in other good teaching situa-tions. There was a quality of being open to eachother. I did not push my past experience or myAmerican problems on Amelia, and she did not inany way push Reggio Emilia on me. We were open;we observed; we both waited. We were sayingtogether, “Let’s see how things develop.”

Lella: You were watching each other, not saying“Bene,” “Fine,” to everything right away, whichwould not have been true.

Amelia: Immediately and separately, we both hadthe impression that we wanted to make changes inthe environment. From two differing points of viewwe saw the same things.

Lella: You did not want to move toward an environ-ment that was going to be separate from the life ofthe school. You were trying to build an environmentmeaningful for the people who lived in it. So youwaited to see what each of you would do.

Amelia: I needed Mary Beth because she belonged tothis culture that I had made the decision to respect.Without her help, I couldn’t intervene. I asked her alot of questions: “Tell me about other schools here.Tell me about the habits of the teachers, how they setup the environment, how they clean up the environ-ment. Are the materials divided or not? Do they uselabels? What kind of containers are used for materi-als? Why?” I asked a lot of questions to see if mythoughts coincided with her American thoughts.

Lella: I think this period of study of the situation isvery interesting. It was necessary. You needed timeto study the situation — space and the environment,children and parents, and each other. There was notonly chemistry, but a professional approach; youbuilt up confidence and trust through this stage ofwaiting, studying, and observing.

Amelia: And we decided to put children in thecenter. The changes we began to make were for thechildren. We clarified this to ourselves: Childrenhave the right to an environment where they can feela sense of belonging, where they can find theirdifferent identities, where they can find their differ-ent space.

Lella: This is important. Clarifying the reasonsfor creating change informs the rest of yourwork.

Amelia: We entered this project about the environ-ment. We involved the student teachers, and thechildren, and we showed parents that we wereinvolved in this process. When we asked parents tobring things from their homes that belonged to theirpersonal reality, it was a way to give them space inour environment. It was a way of telling them: “Weare starting an experience together. We need yourhelp.” Children, educators, and parents were nowinvolved.

Mary Beth: At the beginning this was somethingtotally new to parents, to receive a request for some-thing meaningful about the home and family, not justthe child.

Lella: To work to understand more about the familybehind the child is a strong guiding principle forteachers.

Mary Beth: So many things that we did together lastyear in regard to parents were different than any-thing I had done before. My attitude had alwaysbeen much more focused on the children, and thechild as an individual. Previously, in parent meet-ings, I would feel: “I am the teacher. You are theparent.”

The whole concept of including parents is part of theidea of learning through others, learning in a socialcontext. Parents were part of that context. Theylearned together by getting to know each other better,and we learned from them more about the children.

Amelia offered me a different perspective aboutjoining parents, and inviting parents to join us. Inour case it was important to do it slowly because wewere both new, and parents didn’t know each otherwell; some of them were also new to Americanculture. Inviting them to bring something to displayfrom their home was a small beginning step.

Lella: One of the ways to communicate in the Reggioschools is through documentation that is displayedon a poster or panel. Documentation can consist ofphotos, transcriptions of children’s comments, workby children in different media, and explanations byteachers. Explain how your first panel came about,what it contained, how it was used, and how theparents appreciated that. This was your first docu-mentation and it would be very useful to knowabout.

10

Exchange 3/94

Amelia: We explained to parents that we needed tokeep at school a trace of the children’s presence.Parents were used to having everything the childrenworked on come home each day. This would be new.We explained that the children’s work would be keptin a folder with the child’s symbol on it. Childrenwould be able to recognize their folder and look attheir work again. They would be able to use thefolder to explain their work to their parents. Thefolder would be a channel to give shape to thecommunication between children and parents andbetween teachers and parents and between childrenand teachers. We had to treat this issue delicately.

Mary Beth: Our first panel had many goals. Rightaway it was to serve as an example of what we weregoing to do with all the children’s work that we werekeeping. It had to be done quickly so parents couldhave an example in front of them. We asked parentsto provide a photo of each child.

Amelia: We collected the pictures, and then weorganized the panel with children. They were awareof the process. Around each photograph we de-signed a frame with space for the child to do a smallpiece of work — a drawing, a collage — and thechild’s symbol which he or she had selected (all ofthese different ways of introducing the child). It wassomething we did together.

Parents showed their interest by bringing beautifulpictures of the children. We tried to show immedi-ately that we were valuing their effort. Right awaywe put everything on the panel. We tried to writeeverything the children talked about. Also, thecalendar that we used to summarize what happenedin the morning was helpful in communicating ourproject.

We explained every step to children in small groups.“We need your help to do this panel — to ask yourparents for a picture, to choose a symbol.” It was away to help them have a sense of the group.

Lella: You were communicating so many thingsthrough this panel.

Mary Beth: The panel was a means of helping us seethe meaning of what we were doing; we could realizethat there was a lot going on.

Amelia: The panel was a way of documenting whatwas happening in our classroom, but at the same

time it was an effort to solve a problem. How can weinvolve parents more in our project? How can wegive children a greater sense of belonging? How canwe shape for them a group in this environment?How can we make them more visible for parents? Sowe used our questions to focus on a problem. Fromthat problem the panel came about.

Mary Beth: The important point is that I learnedthrough seeing the documentation develop and whatI learned was something about deep meaning. Ilearned about how to answer questions and solveproblems like these deep issues of belonging.

Lella: This panel helped to create a sense of belong-ing for children, a sense of joining in for parents, arealization for children that their work had value andwas appreciated. The work that remained in theschool was revisited, brought back again. How didthis panel become such an interactive panel?

Mary Beth: With each child’s name and photographand symbol, it became a way for us to help thedeveloping concept of group. These children didn’tknow each other, they spoke different languages. Alittle game we played was to have cards next to thispanel with the child’s name printed out and thesymbol. Do you know whose symbol this is? Theycould match with the panel, and they would see thepicture of the child, and they would learn eachother’s names. But they learned more thanthat, they learned about identify with thegroup.

Amelia: With another panel with pictures of fami-lies, the children were proud to point out to theirfriends the pictures of their families. In some wayswe developed the first panel with the panels thatfollowed. Symbols and pictures and work ofchildren, stuff from different cultures and homes.When we realized that the children were so pleasedto talk about their families and bring stuff fromhome, we realized that we could improve this kind ofcommunication. It was a success because parentsimmediately realized what would happen. Thepanels in some way followed the situation. The ideasfor the projects came from our reality, our context.

Lella: Helping parents to become involved is aguiding principle. The second panel, impressions ofchildren about their families, with photos of familiesand interviews with parents and families and draw-ings by children of family groups was important in

Exchange 3/94

We showed the process through projects, panels, throughobjects, through words. The more we improved thedocumentation, the more the parents responded. Theyposed more questions to us. They wanted to bring inrelatives to show them. They wanted to spend more timein the classroom at the end of the day and the beginningof the day. They spent more time reading the calendarand the folder full of the conversations of children. Theywere more attentive to the opinions of children. And themore parents became aware, the more they asked usabout the ideas of children; and the tone of the conversa-tions became more respectful of the children.

Parents communicated more with us. They wanted toinclude us in their conversation. A sort of communica-tion really started among them. The best proof of thiscame through a plan they made. They even arranged tomeet three times a week during the summer in a park tocontinue their relationships, and those of their children.The last day, parents brought home all the stuff, big bagsof stuff from their children. It was like bringing home thewhole experience, the completeness, in a tangible way.The experience was unforgettable.

Lella: Educators in the United States are very interestedin what is happening for young children in northernItaly. What suggestions do you have for people who arestruggling to use the ideas they are learning from ReggioEmilia?

Mary Beth: Start with respect for children. Questionwhat it means to you and how your actions reflect yourimage of the child. How can you improve consistencyabout respect for the child through what you doeveryday? Look at collaboration among all adults in theschool in a new and different way — try to learn toquestion things together and to exchange ideas and trusteach other.

your situation to build confidence. But it is notan idea to be copied; in another situation adifferent idea might come up to promote familyinvolvement.

Amelia: It would be enough for educators inanother case to think how much they couldconnect fami-lies with what they do. The generalidea that families should be connected is animportant guiding principle that we can allshare. But then how to proceed has to be ana-lyzed, each teacher must examine his/her owncontext and find some connections.

Mary Beth: This was a point of real learning forme — that the motivation for everything thatyou do is so critical. Not only do you need to goback to guiding principles, but you need to goback and ask yourself: “What is the problemhere? What is my goal? What motivation isthere for doing what we are trying to do?” Theasking of questions is so important. It keeps yousomehow focused on the essential things thatyou are trying to accomplish with children. Ireally learned and grew and changed as ateacher and as a person. We were not trying totranslate or reproduce Reggio. Amelia wastrying to do something for the people in thisschool.

Amelia: The complexity of what we were tryingto do would probably require a new word. Youcould say: “Apply” or “adapt” or “translate” or“reproduce,” but no term is satisfactory.

Mary Beth: We were learning to look at theimportant things about children that lentsomething to our understanding and our abilityto help them learn. What were their interests?Who did they play with? Things like that arereally important information for teachers.

Amelia: We followed the acts of children. Welearned more how and why children did whatthey did. Where did they start from? What kindof behavior did they have? We started toanalyze process and the change. The process isimportant, more important than the final result.The less you think about the final result, themore result you have. Because at the end wehad beautiful results, especially from parents.We weren’t expecting what happened. Then werealized that we did it!

Amelia: It starts with trust and confidence. How muchyou can accept the idea that you don’t know preciselywhere you are going to go. You have to accept the ideathat it’s something you have to discover day after day byobserving the process. The more you look at yourself in adifferent way, the more you can have doubts, and themore you have problems and complexity — this is a goodsituation. You have to accept this, it’s difficult.

In Reggio Emilia we have our experience behind us; butwe continue to have doubts, we continue to ask questionsand to be in process. It’s not easy.

11

12

Exchange 3/94

Mary Beth: It’s not so scary to focus on process andnot know where you’re going if you have truecollaboration, if you are together and are sharingresponsibility in a true sense. It’s a great joy andpleasure.

Lella: Put down your defenses, your fears of appear-ing foolish or making mistakes. We’re going to find outtogether. If it doesn’t work, we’ll make a change or tryanother way. Can you help me?

Mary Beth: It’s great to be able to say, “I’m stuck.I’m having a problem. I just can’t.” And to havesomeone there to back you up, not to judge you.

Amelia: People here want quick results. “Helpus, give answers.” We should help people tounderstand that they have to look for and findanswers in themselves. They have to think moreabout their jobs, their behaviors in working, theirsituations.

You have to stay updated with reading and writing,and you have to study, you have to observe, youhave to collect your observations. It’s a new processto apply to your life, not just to your job. You have todevelop your thoughts, analyze your problem, andtry to use what you have learned or understood tosolve your problem by working in groups. Each of usmust try to develop through our own realities andcontext to find our own answers.

Learning about Reggio Emilia is really an invitationto think more about what you are doing and to lookwithin your own reality to find the keys to largerproblems.

13

Exchange 3/94

I thought I was taking a trip, but I was beginning ajourney. I knew I would be impressed, but I wasfilled with delight and wonder. I returned home, butmy mind keeps traveling. When I visited the schoolsfor young children in Reggio Emilia, Italy, I expectedto learn about an exemplary educational system, but Iam beginning to glimpse a different way of living.These reflections guide my journey.

I thought I left home with an open mind, a supply offilm, and plenty of pencils. But I wasn’t prepared. Ihave visited wonderful programs for young childrenacross the United States, and I didn’t want to forgetthat. As we began listening and visiting, peoplewould ask, “Isn’t this wonderful?” “Can you believeit?” “Do you get it?” I would respond with a verbal“Yes” and a mental “but. . . . ”

I had carefully secured the doorstop in my mind, asecure (or so I thought) place from which to hold onto my reservations. I did not want to be blown out ofmy comfort zone. But as conversations and dayspassed, the flood of impressions and ideas not onlymoved the doorstop; they tore the door from itshinges.

The schools in Reggio Emilia are wonderful placesfor children and adults to spend their days, workingand learning together. They have grown out of aculture that values children, out of the intensecommitment of a group of parents, out of the leader-ship of a visionary man. They have a long history;they have evolved over time. These schools arerooted in the culture that created them.

Unpacking My Questionsand Images: Personal Reflections

on Reggio Emilia by Bonnie Neugebauer

It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, for us to tryto replicate the Reggio schools in the United States.But it would be foolish to miss or reject the opportu-nity to learn from them. Whether we study whatthey have done intensely or whether we visit Italybriefly or attend their seminars here, or whether weread about what they are doing, each of these experi-ences is an opportunity to change, to look at what weare doing, and to work and live more thoughtfully.

With Children as the Focus

There is much discussion centered around the imageof the child in Reggio Emilia. This image is thereference point from which all teaching and learningbegin and to which they always return. There isgreat respect for the child as learner, sensitivity forthe individual nature of learning, and support forlearning in community.

This is a place where children come first. They don’tcome first after budget constraints or staffing issuesor anything else. They simply, and significantly,come first. Everything centers around them andevolves through them. They are the focus of all thathappens. You not only see and hear this message asyou enter the schools, you feel it, even taste it. This istheir place, a place that bears the stamp of theirindividual personalities, their learning experiences,and their own particular community at work. Thepresence and work of children permeates the space.

This is a place where children are powerful. Thisspace belongs to them, they can create and recreate.

Single copy reprint permission from Chi ld Care Informat ion ExchangeChi ld Care Informat ion ExchangeChi ld Care Informat ion ExchangeChi ld Care Informat ion ExchangeChi ld Care Informat ion ExchangePO Box 3249, Redmond, WA 98073 - (800)221-2864 www.ChildCareExchange.com

Multiple use copy agreement available for educators by request

14

Exchange 3/94

learning about the children. This is their vocation,perhaps their avocation.

Adults sit at tables, hover over light tables, move asthe needs of the children dictate. They are watchingand listening, recording; they are engaged in learningabout the learning of the children. And the childrensee all this. The fact that they are being observed asthey work, that adults are so interested in what theyare doing, that what they are doing is of such greatsignificance that it is being recorded, all send apowerful message to these children.

And the teachers are talking with the children:“Bellisimo.” “Bene, bene!” They ask questions,seeking to understand what is happening for thechild during this learning experience. They areinvolved with the children. They are on the child’slevel, involved in the child’s task, working to under-stand the child’s thinking. And with photos andtapes and pens, they are preserving a record of thisprocess for later discussion to further their ownlearning.

Teachers are fully engaged with the child in theprocess of learning. They are with the child as an ideadevelops, a project takes shape, a discovery unfolds.Their delight in the ah-hah of the moment of discov-ery is as new as that of the child. They are not in frontof the child, leading the way, thinking ahead totomorrow’s lessons. They are not following the child,frantically transcribing a history. They are not by ornear or beside or next to or close to; the relationship isnot parallel. The engagement is with.

The learning is not directed at solutions, formulas,answers, but at more questions, more possibilities toexplore. Children are learning to think; they aresupported in observing the power of their own ideas.

A Community of Learners

The children and teachers and parents develop a veryreal sense of community during their work together.All are invested in the process of learning.

Many of the projects and much of the artwork createdat the schools in Reggio Emilia are group efforts. Alarge piece of work, displayed for all to enjoy, is oftencomposed of the smaller, individual works of eachchild. Children contribute to the formation of theproject, work individually and in groups, and sharein the accomplishment of the result. Within this

It is organized for their inspiration and control. Notonly do the children understand how to movethrough their environment, but they see everywherea history, a record of what has already happened.What they do impacts the environment. Displaysand descriptions of their work help children to figureout where they are going with their learning andwhere they have been; they emphasize the impor-tance of what children are doing.

There is great attention to detail — in the environ-ment, in display, in recording. As adults talk aboutthe children’s learning, they never say “a boy,” or“one child.” It is always, “When Antonio . . .” or“Gina was talking. . . .” Great attention is given toobserving, describing, and recording with accuracyand thoroughness.

There is time to enjoy the process of learning.There is time to experiment, to make mistakes andreadjustments, to laugh, and to complete a task tosatisfaction. There is also time to return to a task toreexamine and experience growth.

Two boys are placing yellow and white checkered table-cloths on narrow tables for lunch. As they step back toexamine their efforts, they laugh together. They straightenthe cloth and look again. Still unsatisfied, they make moreadjustments. Their teacher stops to watch. She directstheir attention to the overhang, and suddenly they realizethat placing the length of the cloth across the width of thetable just doesn’t work — they all laugh. And the boysreturn to their task.

Nearby, other children are setting the tables with realcrockery, glasses, and complete sets of cutlery. They spendover an hour setting all the tables for lunch.

Teachers seem to be on the alert for creating mo-ments/occasions that will surprise or delight thechildren. There is a sense of excitement. This is aplace where surprises can happen and an unplanned,unbidden event can change the course of the day:Wouldn’t it be perfect if a zebra came frolicking throughthe field of poppies? Should a stork appear during thecelebration? Wouldn’t a potato masher make a wonderfulwolf puppet as counterpart to the potato grandmother?

Behold the Child at My Side

The child is learning about him or herself, aboutothers, about the world. The adults are engaged in

Exchange 3/94

and work, well-organized materials, careful displayof past projects, natural materials creating inspirationfor future endeavors.

It appears at moments to be a magic place, full ofwonder and beauty. But this environment is verycomplex. Great attention has been paid to detailsand to extending possibilities. Light is transformedby objects in its path — mobiles, transparent ortranslucent paintings, mirrors. It is turned intoreflections and shadows and rainbows and distortedimages.

And it transforms artwork, taking it to new dimen-sions. What does this collage look like unilluminated, withlight shining upon it, with light shining through it? Bymoving her artwork, the child is able to change theworld she sees both indoors and out.

Transparency is one of the words the educators inReggio like to use. Spaces do not have definiteboundaries; windows, short walls, dividers withopen spaces, mirrors, mobiles, all carry our eye fromone space to the next to the next. Just as learning isnot divided and cordoned into categories — childrengo back to previous projects and learning to thinkagain about these ideas. Things spiral and extend inReggio Emilia. There is a sense of continuity andconnectedness. This is an environment created bymillions of questions and thoughts and ideas, care-fully crafted out of an ongoing collaboration amongall of the people invested here — parents, teachers,administrators, and, or course, children.

What Will I Do with All This Baggage?

There is so much that we can learn from the educa-tors in Reggio Emilia. Some might challenge them-selves to learn it all. Being less confident, or perhapsfeeling less Italian, I just want to make sure that Iuse my images and ideas and all the upheaval theyhave created in my mind, starting with these resolu-tions:

• In every interaction with children to ask: “Whatam I saying about my image of this child?” (Andthen, of course, to reconcile this information with mypreconceived images of the child.)

• To be more thoughtful about everything. Ratherthan looking for answers (endplaces), to focus onlearning to ask good questions and doing the next

context the sense of community develops and thevery social nature of life and work is grounded in agroup identity.

Moments of discovery immediately become opportu-nities to share. Interactions are continual and the airhums with conversations punctuated by joyous ah-hahs!

Teachers work as a collaborative group. They sharewith each other during extensive planning. Eachcontributor is equal, each comes to the effort with areal sense of cooperation. Problems/risks/errors areall worked on together; no one struggles on alone.What evolves benefits from each person’s contribu-tion but bears the mark of the group.

And there is a love of conflict, of looking at thingsfrom different points of view and tangling withsnarly issues, of arguing, sharing, talking. Difficultiesare challenges.

Parents are invited into the learning situation in avariety of ways even before the child actually beginshis first day. The displays of children’s art — thegallery of written and visual information in the foyer,the panels on the walls that record the children’sprojects and learning — all draw parents into conver-sations with each other and into an awareness andgrowing interest in the life of the school. Involve-ment in specific activities with the children — makingfurniture and providing materials, serving on com-mittees, participating in celebrations of projects —are also ways that parents share in what is happen-ing.

So Much Beauty

A great deal of thinking and problem-solving hasgone into figuring out what comprises a wonderfullearning environment for children. This is not anenvironment where everything matches, whereeverything is shiny and new — this is an environ-ment filled with unlimited opportunities for discov-ery. It is an environment that is created by thelearning that goes on within its spaces and thelearners, both child and adult, themselves.

It is beautiful in the way that a home is beautiful. Itreflects the stories of the people who live within itand it evolves through a sensitivity to natural beauty— wood, sunlight, plants, colors, comfort. It feels likea studio, with plenty of light, comfortable places to sit

15

16

Exchange 3/94

thing. To take pleasure in challenges and growth. Toargue and risk more, and agree less.

• To work on improving observational skills. To tryto separate what I thought I would see from what Iam seeing.

• To know that we, too, can create places wherechildren are absolutely first, and to work to createand support them.

• And to keep my images fresh in my mind toinspire and motivate the best in me.

Where this new learning will take us is unknown. It’sa spiral, it’s ongoing — it’s tremendously exciting!And it’s wonderful for our children.

Bonnie Neugebauer, editor of Child Care InformationExchange, was part of the June 1993 delegation toReggio Emilia, Italy.

17 STAFF TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 EXCHANGE

doing Reggio?by Margie Carter

18 STAFF TRAINING EXCHANGE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009

Strategy:Form study groups

Studying versus adopting

Strategy:Be serious, yet playful

Strategy:Learn to cross walk withrequirements

19 STAFF TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 EXCHANGE

References

20

A Sense of Personal Space

Child Care Information Exchange

21

A Sense for the Life of aParticular Community

22

A Particular School with ItsOwn History

An Awareness ofSurrounding Space

23

Education for All the Children: TheMulti-Symbolic Approach to EarlyEducation in Reggio Emilia, Italy

Bambini

Beginnings

A Special Note

24

Exchange March/April 2007

Lilian Katz (2000) writes, “The keyfeature of a project is that it is aninvestigation — a piece of research thatinvolves children in seeking answers toquestions they have formulated bythemselves or in cooperation with theirteacher.” The children are intrinsicallymotivated because they are the guidingforce behind the project. They have thepower to make choices and developself-esteem as they transition from beingreceivers of knowledge to becomingcreators of knowledge. This motivation— coupled with the ability to applyknowledge not simply acquire it —creates a powerful teaching strategy thatallows teachers to help their studentsmeet the standards in a developmen-tally appropriate way.

Using a project-based approachto meet standards:

Steps in the process

How can you, as director, help yourstaff become more comfortable withseamlessly integrating standards andproject-based learning?

Give them time to review the standardsand become comfortable with them. Asteachers begin to become familiar withthe standards, they will soon realize

Project-Based Learning andEarly Learning Standards:Making the Connectionby Robin Jones

Early childhood educators cannot denyit. As Universal Pre-K efforts sweep thenation, so does the development of statestandards that define the skills and theknowledge that young children shouldbe developing. The goal of these stan-dards is to ensure the school readiness

of all students.While the goalsmentioned in thisarticle are takenfrom the NewJersey Departmentof Education’sStandards ofQuality, the conceptof integrating skillsinto developmen-tally appropriatepractices applies toany and all earlylearning standards.

With the growingfocus on early ageeducation comingto the forefront,there has been a risein the demand forhigh-quality pro-grams that meetstandards whileencouraging devel-opmentally appro-

priate practices. As Gaye Gronlund (2006)states in her book, Make Early LearningStandards Come Alive, early learningstandards present several dangers:

! They lead to teaching with a cookie-cutter style curriculum.

! Direct instruction is described as theonly way to guarantee that standardswill be addressed.

! They take time for early educators tolearn and work through.

! They can lead to testing and otherinappropriate assessment methods.

! There is little money to support theeducation and training of earlyeducators in the standards and how toappropriately implement them in theclassroom.

! The dangers described present a chal-lenge to directors of early childhoodeducation programs: How can we asleaders support our teachers in com-bining standards with developmen-tally appropriate practices andspecifically, project-based learning?

Project-based learning

What is meant by project-based learning?It is the in-depth investigation of a real-world topic that will motivate students toexplore and learn. In her book EngagingChildren’s Minds: The Project Approach,

Guidelines and training

Robin Jones is the Managerof Curriculum and Instruc-

tion, Northfor NobelLearningCommuni-ties, a

network of nonsectarianprivate schools thatincludes approximately 130preschools. In this positionshe has worked with a teamof educators to develop theLinks to Learning PreschoolCurriculum and providetraining to principals andteachers across the nation.Robin holds a Master’s ofEducation in Curriculum,Instruction, and Assessmentand a Bachelor of Sciencein Elementary and EarlyChildhood Education. Herteaching experience in-cludes two years teachingat The American School inTegucigalpa, Honduras.Robin can be reached at robin.jones@nlcinc.com.

Project-Based Learning

25

them as skills they have alwaysaddressed in their classroom.

Provide plenty of support and profes-sional development. But where can youfind the time? Make a goal to use atleast three-quarters of your staffmeetings as a time for professionaldevelopment. Another option would beto meet with small groups of teachersduring the daily naptime.

The following steps will walk you andyour staff through the project process.You will also want to have plenty ofadditional resources available forteachers to check out and review at theirown pace. Remember, change is aprocess, and it will take time forteachers to develop a true comfort levelwith project-based learning.

How to choose a project

The first step in designing a project is tochoose a topic to investigate. A teacherconsidering a topic must consider fouressential questions:

! Will it hold the children’s interest? ! Is the topic broad enough to design

several investigations? ! Is it practical?! Will there be enough hands-on

experiences that allow students toinvestigate the topic?

This final question is crucial whenplanning for meaningful projects. Oftentimes a topic is chosen because adultsfeel that it will excite the children. Forexample, the topic of mermaids caninspire visions of undersea creatures,aquariums, and shades of blue decorat-ing the window and walls. However,imaginary topics like mermaids lendthemselves more to theme-basedinstruction than to project-basedinstruction.

Keeping in mind the four essentialquestions listed above, a teacher would

March/April 2007 Exchange

Project-Based Learning

begin to explore various topics. You candraw inspiration from several sources:

Children’s interests. There are severaldrawbacks to this approach. First, atopic may hold great interest for ahandful of students, but little interestfor others. In addition, it may be diffi-cult to identify something that warrantsan entire project. For example, afterseeing the movie Ice Age, students maybecome interested in the woolly mam-moth. The topic may hold the students’interest and a teacher may expand it toinclude other ice age animals andevents. However, is it possible to createenough authentic hands-on experiencesand investigation to sustain this project?Perhaps this topic is better discussed inmorning circle, where students cancreate an experience chart by recordingtheir reactions to a picture of a woollymammoth.

Teacher’s interests. The teacher mustcommit the time to developing andimplementing the project. This commit-ment is easier to make if the teacher hassubstantial background knowledge andinterest in the topic. Again, teachers arecautioned to review the four guidingquestions when planning a project.

The environment. When children havesome prior knowledge of a topic and areable to engage in related hands-onexperiences, interest for the project willbe high. For example, when childrenstop all activity when the garbage truckpulls up to empty the dumpster, theyare indicating their basic understandingthat the truck comes and takes thegarbage away. The fact that childrengather at the window once a week towatch the action shows that there is asustained interest in garbage removal.Besides the actual removal of thegarbage from the dumpster, are thereother areas to investigate?

! Where does the garbage come from? ! Where does it go? ! What happens when it gets there?

! Does the topic of garbage offerenough hands-on experiences?

! Can field trips be planned and guestspeakers invited in to share with theclass?

The topic of garbage is able to answerthe four essential questions.

Using webbing forproject planning

A topic has been chosen, now what? It istime to create a topic web. This part ofthe process will allow the teacher toclearly see if the topic will generateenough areas of investigation and oppor-tunities for hands-on experiences for thechildren.

! Draw a circle in the middle of a largepiece of paper.

! Write the chosen topic inside thiscircle.

! Brainstorm possible subtopics whichwill be recorded around the centraltopic. It is important to record allthoughts; ideas that do not lend them-selves to beneficial activities can beremoved later.

Let’s take a look at the topic ofGARBAGE (Illustration 1). Some sub-top-ics could include:

! Equipment (truck, dumpster,recycling bin, class garbage can)

! People (garbage collectors, janitors,people who make garbage, artist)

! Where (house, school, truck, wherenext)?

! What is in it? ! What makes it smell?! How much garbage do we produce?

It looks as though the topic of garbagehas a variety of opportunities that willappeal to the different learning stylesand personalities in a classroom ofyoung children.

26

Connecting project-basedlearning and

early learning standards

After identifying subtopics anddetermining the value of the topic as aproject, the teacher will begin to formideas and activities for the project. Thisis the step in the planning process thatbuilds the foundation for meeting earlylearning standards.

First, teachers will return to the topicweb and begin to categorize subtopicsinto curriculum areas. For example,several math skills can be explored anddeveloped in the subtopics of“Equipment,” “What is in it?,” and“How Much Garbage Do We Produce?”Opportunities for language develop-ment will occur in the subtopics“People,” “What is in it?,” and “Where?”Remember that social-emotional learningstandards will occur naturally as the stu-dents work together to investigate andexplore the topic.

Once the curriculum areas are estab-lished, it is time to begin the final step inthe pre-planning process. At this point

the teacher will begin to brainstorm activi-ties that meet curriculum standards in thevarious areas. This step is the initial stepof activity development; not all activitiesneed to be planned at this point nor willall activities recorded make it to the finalproject. When brainstorming activities it isimportant to remember that the goal of anauthentic activity is the application andextension of knowledge in a real-life setting.Keeping this goal in mind will help theteacher to avoid creating theme-basedlearning (instead of project-based learn-ing). For example, earlier it was estab-lished that both the “Equipment” and“How much garbage do we produce?”subtopics support several math standards. While the activity of counting small truckswill meet the standard of “Children willdemonstrate an understanding of numberand numerical operations,” it does notrequire an application of knowledge nor isit a real-life setting. However, keeping arunning tally of how many times a stu-dent throws an object in the trash canmeets the same standard, requires theapplication of knowledge of how to countphysical objects and counting using tallymarks, and is a real-life situation.

During this brainstorming session, theteacher will want to make notes aboutresources that may be needed, field tripsthat can be planned, ideas for dramaticplay, and construction centers. Theteacher will also want to identify oppor-tunities for children’s choice. Meetingthe standards is not a choice; but theproduct, when to work, and where towork can all be children’s choices. For example, it is necessary for allstudents to have an opportunity toexperience the standard Writes messagesas part of play and other activities (e.g.,drawing, scribbling, making letter-likeforms, using invented spelling and conven-tional letter forms); however children canchoose to make labels for sortedgarbage, write a thank-you note to thegarbage collector or janitor, or recordquestions that they want to ask a guestspeaker.

Conducting projects in theclassroom

Once the teacher has developed ageneral plan for the project, it is time tointroduce the project to the children. Theteacher will want to “hook” the studentsby arousing their curiosity and excite-ment. This can be done through books,field trips, visitors, or a class discussion.As the children’s interest grows, theywill begin to formulate questions oftheir own. These questions should beincluded in a class web.

The class web will look much like theweb the teacher created in the earlierplanning process (Illustration 2). It willreflect what the children want toinvestigate and possible resources forthe investigation. The teacher will useboth the class web and the teacher-cre-ated web to plan the next few weeks ofactivities.

The project-based experiences shouldinclude whole group, small group,center-based, and individual activities.In addition, these activities should allow

Exchange March/April 2007

Project-Based Learning

Illustration 1

27

students to have numerous opportuni-ties to explore the same standard.

As the project progresses it is essentialthat the teacher monitor each student’slearning and understanding. ! Which questions are being

answered?! Which questions need further

investigation?! Have any new questions arisen?

The teacher will also want to ensure thatall children remain interested in theproject. As with any endeavor in earlychildhood education, flexibility isessential. If any children have begun tolose interest in the project, the teachershould conference with them to developactivities that will re-ignite theirenthusiasm.

It is important to keep in mind that theentire day does not have to be devotedto the project. It may be something thatis talked about and explored duringopening and closing circle and duringcenter time on a daily basis, with one ortwo center activities devoted to the

project. The scheduling and intensity ofthe project will depend on both theteacher and the children.

Assessing the successof the project

The assessment of a project andchildren’s learning is not something thatshould be left until the end. Assessmentshould be conducted throughout theexperience. Teachers should assess notonly if the children enjoyed the project,but also ensure that the goals andstandards were met. For the assessmentto be authentic it must reflect theinvestigative and hands-on approach ofproject-based learning. Observations ofactions and conversations are one of thebest methods for assessing growth andunderstanding in an early ageclassroom. Portfolios of children’s prod-ucts will also reflect their individualdevelopment. Finally, rubrics that iden-tify and describe the various levels of development on any given skillor standard provide invaluable informa-tion.

Summary

Project-based learning can seem over-whelming at first glance. However, ifyou provide your teachers with the timeand the support to experiment, they willsoon become confident in identifyingand integrating the necessary skills in ameaningful way. Project-based learninghas the potential to become a powerful,developmentally appropriate teachingstrategy to help children build thefoundations for learning that arenecessary for future success.

References

Chard, S. C., & Katz, L. (2000). Engagingchildren’s minds: The Project Approach.Stamford, CT: Ablex PublishingCorporation.

Gronlund, G. (2006). Make early learningstandards come alive. St. Paul, MN:Redleaf Press.

New Jersey Department of Education.(2004, July). “Preschool teaching andlearning expectations: Standards ofquality.” [Online] Retrieved April 13,2006, from www.nj.gov/njded/cccs/.

For further information

Chard, S. (1998). Project Approach: Takinga closer look. (CD set). New York:Scholastic.

Gronlund, G. (2003). Focused on earlylearning: A planning framework forteaching young children. St. Paul, MN:Redleaf Press.

Helm, J. H., Berg, S., & Scranton, P.(2004). Teaching your child to love learning:A guide to doing projects at home. NewYork: Teachers College Press.

Helm, J. H., & Katz, L. (2001). Younginvestigators: The Project Approach in theearly years. New York: Teachers CollegePress.

March/April 2007 Exchange

Project-Based Learning

Illustration 2

28

Phases of Project Work

Child Care Information Exchange 9/01

The Project Approachin the Early Years

Lilian G. Katz, Ph.D., is professoremerita of early childhood education at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) where she is also co-director of the ERIC Clearinghouse onElementary and Early ChildhoodEducation. She is a past president ofthe National Association for the Educa-

tion of Young Children, and has served as the chair of theboard of directors of the National Society for the Study ofEducation (USA). She is author of more than 100 publica-tions, including Talks with Teachers of Young Children: A Collection (1995), and Engaging Children's Minds: The ProjectApproach (with S. C. Chard, Second Edition, 2000).

29

Child Care Information Exchange 9/01

The Story of a Project

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

30

Child Care Information Exchange 9/01

Phase 3:

Conclusion

Reference

Look for Project and Themes: Part Two in the March/April 2002 issue ofChild Care Information Exchange.

31

Child Care Information Exchange 9/01 — 51

!!

!"

"

"

"

"

"

32

Jeanette Allison, Ph.D., is an associateprofessor in early childhood educationin the College of Education at Arizona

State University West, Phoenix, Arizona.She has taught at both the preschooland elementary levels and worked for

Head Start. She specializes in the project approach, multiage grouping,

and urban education.

T

The Project Approach

!

!

!

!

!

!

The Phases of Projects

Beg

inni

ngs

Wo

rksh

op

BuildingLiteracyCurriculumUsing theProjectApproach

33

!

!

!

!

Beg

innings W

ork

shop

Project Topics

34

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Child JournalingWHAT:

WHO:

WHY:

WHEN:

HOW:Beg

inni

ngs

Wo

rksh

op

35

!

!

!

!

!

!

Conclusion

Beg

innings W

ork

shop

Literacy-Project Tips

The children . . .

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

The teacher . . .

!

!

!

!

!

!

36

Selected Children’s Books

References

Beg

inni

ngs

Wo

rksh

op

COVER STORY EXCHANGE JULY/AUGUST 2009

Boulder Journey SchoolBoulder, Coloradoby Ellen Hall, Alison Maher, and Andrea Sisbarro, directors

37

38 COVER STORY JULY/AUGUST 2009 EXCHANGE

39 COVER STORY EXCHANGE JULY/AUGUST 2009

Reference

40

BeginningsWorkshop

RULES AND ROUTINES JULY/AUGUST 2010 EXCHANGE

Are we doing things just becausewe’ve always done them this way?

by Kim Turner

41 RULES AND ROUTINES EXCHANGE JULY/AUGUST 2010

Begin

nings

Works

hop

42

BeginningsWorkshop

References

RULES AND ROUTINES JULY/AUGUST 2010 EXCHANGE

43

Mary Lynch is a teacher of three-year-old children at Boulder Journey School. She holds a BA in Anthropology from St. Lawrence University and an MA in Educational Psychol-ogy from the University of Colorado, Denver. In addition to teaching, Mary’s role at Boulder Journey School includes supporting and documenting teachers’ work in the Hawkins Room for Messing About with Materials and Ideas and collaborating on various projects that are being developed through Hawkins Centers of Learning.

Lauren Foster Shaffer is an infant/toddler teacher and teacher educator at Boulder Journey School and a member of Hawkins Centers of Learning. Lauren is currently collaborating with other members of Hawkins Centers of Learning (www.hawkinscentersoflearning.org) to create an exhibit dedi-cated to the contemporary revival of socio-constructivist education as advocated and advanced by David and Frances Hawkins.

Ellen Hall is the founder and executive director of Boulder Journey School in Boulder, Colorado, and director of the Teacher Education Program developed at the school in partnership with the Univer-sity of Colorado, Denver and the Colorado Department of Education. Ellen is a founder and partner in Videatives, Inc., an online professional development company. She is a founding board member of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance and of Hawkins Centers of Learning, inspired by the work and lives of David and Frances Hawkins.

BeginningsWorkshop

SCIENCE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 EXCHANGE

Introduction to Boulder Journey School

Boulder Journey School is a school for young children in Boulder, Colorado, that serves over 225 children, ages six weeks to six years and their families. We are also a school for teachers, housing a graduate level teacher education program in collaboration with the University of Colorado, Denver and the Colorado Department of Education. With a faculty of roughly 50, our school is an eclectic mix of Intern teachers who are currently in the teacher education program, Mentor teachers who have completed the program, and teachers who are not currently in the program but are at different points on their own educational paths. The glue that holds us all together is our collective commit-ment to ongoing professional development.

Since 1995, we have been studying the work of the Municipal Infant-Toddler Centers and Preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. This has had a great impact on the daily life of our school, keeping us motivated and in-spired adult learners. It is also through our study of the schools in Reggio Emilia that we came across the work of two educators, David and Frances Hawkins. David’s philosophical writings influenced Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the philosophy and pedagogy of the schools in Reggio Emilia (Malaguzzi 1998). Similarly, David Hawkins was a great admirer of Malaguzzi’s work, and the two cultivated a professional relationship late in their lives. Lella Gandini writes, “Both believed in the importance of seeing children’s processes of learning through action and also of renewing oneself with an open mind. Upon such a common base each was able to learn from the other” (Gandini, 2008).

Introduction to David and Frances Hawkins

As we began to study the schools for young children in Reggio Emilia, we also began to learn about David and

reflections on science: the developmentof the Hawkins Room for messing about with

materials and ideasby Mary Lynch, Lauren Foster Shaffer, and Ellen Hall

A reflection on science teaching and learning by author Mary Lynch

One of my fondest memories of the Master’s program through the University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder Journey School was the day that Frances and David Hawkins came to one of my seminars to speak. I had read their work and heard stories about them from our Professor, Ellen Hall, but I was not prepared for the profound impact that meeting them would have on my life as a teacher, and the way I have felt about teaching ever since. The visit with Frances and David was not a typical graduate school lecture. In fact, the two spent more time listening than they did speaking. They wanted to hear our stories: what we remembered about our own education and why we wanted to become teachers. By giving us the oppor-tunity to reflect on our experiences, we were able to learn a great deal.

I began to wonder why as a child I was uninterested in science in school, even though I was naturally drawn to the outdoors, loved nature, and was natu-rally inquisitive. It didn’t take me long to realize that I probably gleaned more of my knowledge about science through hikes with my father than through any of my elemen tary school classroom settings. As a result of this understanding, I have become a teacher who sees the value of time and space to experience science materials not only with children, but also with other teachers. I think that this is especially important to me because in school I felt that science was something that was overwhelming and difficult. The connections I feel to the Hawkins’ philosophy on science education inspire me to push myself beyond my comfort level when exploring science with children at Boulder Journey School.

44

It didn’t take me long to realize that I probably gleaned more of my knowledge about science through hikes with my father than through any of my elemen tary school classroom settings.

Begin

nings

Works

hop

SCIENCE EXCHANGE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Frances Hawkins. We were surprised to discover that they lived in Boulder just like us! They have inspired us as educators and have motivated us to recognize the vital importance of incorporating more science-based experiences throughout our school. They have also inspired our approach to professional development.

David and Frances Hawkins were both passionate educators, committed to the idea that in order to best serve children, teachers need to be dedicated learn-ers as well. David’s background was in philosophy; however his interests included economics, physics, mathematics, biology, and social and political science. Frances started her career as a teacher, never letting go of her commitment to documenting and studying children’s learning processes. One of their biggest areas of influence was on science education, believ-ing that science needs to be taught in a hands-on, exploration-based way; and to this end they worked with teachers and children throughout the world.

An innovative teacher center: The Mountain View Center for Environmental Education

Of the Hawkinses’ many accomplishments, one that stands out is the creation of a unique professional de-velopment center for teachers. The Hawkinses noted that many teachers feel uncomfortable with scientific concepts. In order to better prepare to teach science to children, they need time and space to strengthen their own scientific understandings through hands-on experiences. They created The Mountain View Center for Environmental Education, located in Boulder, in the 1970s and ‘80s. The center held workshops for teach-ers; and in schools, weekly open houses; and pub-lished several periodicals and books about exploring science with young children.

Re-conceptualizing the teacher center at Boulder Journey School: The Hawkins Room for messing about with Materials and Ideas

As we studied the historical work of the Mountain View Center, we began to see many possibilities for creating a teacher center at Boulder Journey School as a place for teachers to engage in scientific thinking and learning. Thus, in 2007, “The Hawkins Room for Messing About with Materials and Ideas” was born. We envisioned a room that would challenge teachers to broaden their understandings of scientific concepts

and wondered how this might impact the learning taking place in our classrooms.

When pondering what teacher provocations to initially offer, we came across a small booklet used by the Hawkinses entitled, “Wheels: Activities for Lower Primary” developed by the African Primary Science Program. The booklet contains provocations and materials for introducing wheels and rolling to children (Wheels, 1973).

We have always observed a natural interest in rolling by children at our school. We speculate that this may be because of the inclines built into our hallways. Rolling and incline were concepts that many of our teachers observed everyday but were not comfort-able supporting as scientific concepts. We saw the children’s interest in rolling and incline as an oppor-tunity to push our own thinking around these con-cepts. We realized it would be easy to look up science activities involving rolling and incline in books or on the Internet; but exploring materials related to these concepts ourselves would not only be a source for new activities, it would also offer teachers the opportunity to get excited about the materials that were also being explored by children. Boulder Journey School teachers worked in small groups throughout the 2007/2008 school year, study-ing rolling and incline from a number of perspectives.

BELOW: Frances Hawkins exploring with teachers at The Mountain View Center for Environmental EducationPHOTO PROVIDED BY HAWKINS CENTERS OF LEARNING

45

By giving us the opportunity to reflect on our experiences, we were able to learn a great deal.

BeginningsWorkshop

More intentional experiences with rolling and incline were gradually incorporated back into classrooms. The totality of experiences contributed to the teachers’ un-derstanding of the many possibilities for learning inher-ent within the scientific concepts of rolling and incline. As the teachers became more familiar with rolling and incline, we witnessed excitement building among groups of children, infants through pre-kindergartners, throughout our school.

Rolling and incline with infants

One teacher who was inspired by working in the Hawkins Room was a teacher in the infant room. The teacher noticed that when the children began to crawl, they became endlessly interested in exploring balls. She speculated that this was because when the balls rolled away they could now crawl after them. The teacher wondered how she could re-arrange the physical environment and add materials to best support the children’s new quest.

This drew her into the Hawkins Room. She spent time with other teachers testing various materials and gathering ideas about what to offer the children. Materials explored included balls, spools, tubes, cylindrical blocks, and empty cans and bottles. The

teacher decided to add two small ramps and different collections of materials for rolling.

The incline added a new perspective on rolling, as the children had previously been rolling balls on the flat floor of the classroom. The materials offered new possibilities for what could be rolled. Both teachers and children found themselves more engaged in rolling than ever before. When teachers saw a new mate-rial that was round, they considered whether it would support the children’s interest in rolling. The teacher reflected later that without the time spent playing with other teachers, she didn’t think she would have become quite so engaged in this line of inquiry along-side the children.

Rolling and incline with toddlers

Another group of teachers inspired by the Hawkins Room worked with a group of young toddlers. The energy in our school for rolling had already provoked them to include ramps, tubes, balls, cars, and open-ended rolling materials for the study of scientific con-cepts, such as gravity, motion, incline, and cause and effect. However, the teachers noticed the children’s interest waning. They met with a small group in the Hawkins Room, seeking new questions to explore. Someone proposed making the ramps sticky, thus provoking a new chal-lenge: figuring out how to slow down or stop materials in motion with sticky surfaces, including contact paper and types of tape. The teachers had previously spent time thinking about variations in materials for rolling, but now had tons of new ideas for the variation of surfaces for rolling. The teachers were excited to offer this new provocation to the children. They predicted that the surprise of the familiar materials screeching to a halt halfway down the ramp would delight the

SCIENCE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 EXCHANGE

ABOVE: David Hawkins exploring with a teacher at The Mountain View Center for Environmental EducationPHOTO PROVIDED BY HAWKINS CENTERS OF LEARNING

RIGHT:Infants exploring rolling at Boulder Journey SchoolPHOTO PROVIDED BY

BOULDER JOURNEY

SCHOOL

46

children and cause them to ask new questions. They reflected that without their experience in the Hawkins Room, they would not have thought to introduce the sticky element and credit it for a renewed interest among the children.

Rolling and incline with pre-kindergartners A third group of teachers drawn into the Hawkins Room were pre-kindergarten teachers. These teachers, inspired by their experiences creating cars in the Hawkins Room, began to wonder about possibilities for introducing materials for rolling, using a long ramp on the school playground. Teachers gathered tires, spools, cylinders, pillars and logs, and observed that the children were most interested in the materials that rolled fast and far. The children defined this as ‘roll-ability’ and spent time categorizing materials by these characteristics. The teachers realized that the group of pre-kinder-garten ‘rollability experts’ could potentially offer new perspectives on the ongoing work taking place in the Hawkins Room. A small group of pre-kindergartners were invited to the Hawkins Room to test the ‘rollability’ of the vehicles created by the teachers. Interestingly, the children pointed out something that many teachers had overlooked: many of the homemade cars looked very pretty and creative, but did not actually roll well. This pushed teachers to think harder about ‘rollability’ as they worked. Inspired by the children’s insights, the pre-kindergarten teachers encouraged the children to use their observations to create their own vehicles, based on ‘rollability.’ In this way, the work of teachers in the Hawkins Room was reciprocal. Not only were teachers’ reflections incorporated into the daily life of classrooms, thus affecting the children’s work, but

the children’s comments also changed the teachers’ perspectives on their work.

References

Gandini, L. (2008). Meeting of the minds: Malaguzzi and Hawkins. In L. Gandini, S. Etheredge, & L. Hill (Eds.), Insights and inspirations from Reggio Emilia: Stories of teachers and children from North America (pp. 36-37). Worcester, MA: Davis Publications.

Gornall, F. A. (1973). Activities for lower primary: Wheels. Newton, MA: African Primary Science Program of Education Development Center.

Hawkins, F. (1997). Journey with children: The auto-biography of a teacher. Boulder, CO: University Press.

Resource

For more information on Frances and David Hawkins, Activities for lower primary: Wheels, The Hawkins Room for Messing About with Materials and Ideas, and additional Hawkins-related resources, please visit: www.hawkinscenters.org/resources.

Not only were teachers’ reflections in-corporated into the daily life of classrooms, thus affecting the children’s work, but the children’s comments also changed the teachers’ perspectives on their work.

Begin

nings

Works

hop

SCIENCE EXCHANGE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Concluding reflectionsby author Mary Lynch

My journey with the Hawkinses began with personal revelations in a graduate classroom, and continues with the time I share with colleagues in the Hawkins Room at Boulder Journey School. It is because of the time that I spent working with wheels that I have a better understanding about ways to introduce scientific concepts to young children, to ask good questions, and to provide materials and provoca-tions to support their learning about these concepts.

The words of Frances Hawkins speak to me about the value of exploring materials with other teachers, and I offer this quote as inspiration to others:

. . . good teaching depends on a teacher’s own love, understanding, and continued pursuit of subject matter, whatever that may be. When teachers’ lives have been deprived of any whole-hearted enjoyment of the things of the world that can engage young children, then a first priority in helping them, as we sought to do, must be to let them discover that enjoyment as adults. (Hawkins, 1997)

RIGHT:Pre-Kindergarteners exploring rolling and

incline atBoulder Journey

SchoolPHOTO PROVIDED BY BOULDER

JOURNEY SCHOOL

47

BeginningsWorkshop

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS MAY/JUNE 2009 EXCHANGE

giving value to the rights of children:questions for consideration by a school community

by Ellen Hall

48 CHILDREN’S RIGHTS EXCHANGE MAY/JUNE 2009

Boulder Journey School Charter on Children’s Rights

Begin

nings

Works

hop

49

BeginningsWorkshop

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS MAY/JUNE 2009 EXCHANGE

50

Begin

nings

Works

hop

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS EXCHANGE MAY/JUNE 2009

References