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The Reggio Emilia Approach To Education Study Group – Greta Hazlett & Charaine Poutasi

The Loris Malaguzzi International Center, Reggio Emilia Italy

Infant-toddler centres and preschools as privileged contexts to encounter and to know, along with the families, children with special rights.

  • Visits to municipal schools and infant-toddler centres and opportunities to meet with the Reggio educators in order to focus on their approach to support the development of children who learn differently.

Our essential questions include:

  • What values, beliefs and assumptions drive our work in becoming more inclusive?
  • What specific skills do we need to further develop as we become more inclusive of children with special rights?
  • What concepts to we need to understand or perhaps rethink in order to embrace the learning of all children?

The program involves an interweaving of theoretical talks and presentations of documentation of the experiences carried out in the Municipal Infant-toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio Emilia, along with days set aside for visits to the municipal educational institutions.

During the evenings the NFI facilitators will lead reflection sessions focusing on what we are learning from Reggio children and how these learning’s may complement and/or challenge pre-existing beliefs and assumptions.

2 IICS teachers attended this Study Group Tour and conversation. It was an intensive 4 days of collaboration, observation and insight into one of the world leading education centres based on The 100 Languages of Children and the Reggio Philosophy. Along with Reggio educators, NFI (Next Frontier Inclusion) facilitators were part of the study tour headed by Kevin Bartlett (-a curriculum designer, initiator and early leader of the IB Primary Years Programme.) Teachers were involved in a daily forum led by Reggio educators focusing on the inclusion of children with special rights.

What are the principles and rights in internal context?

Focus: Concepts: Transfer and Reflection were the big ideas reflected on

How do these concepts affect education looking at inclusive, social and political rights for children?

How are these transferrable to any age from early education to high school?

How does the state education system become involved?

How are early child services made available to promote children with special rights?

Reggio Emilia: History and Background

Picture1

Recognition of Rights/Pedagogy

Marvel and discovery of rights as one with science, emotion and reasoning.

Discoverthe world and relations to the world

The child: Rights of the child and ways of children and the ways to learn: The 100 Languages of children

History of Reggio: 1860 unification of Italy

Education conderns the entire community.

Visibility of Children

Concepts related to this:

Rights

Parents

Network/Community

Intelligence

Responsibility of community

Differences: Starts from differences/VALUE

Value and subjectivity of each child

Relationships: more than 1 teacher-co-present with a group (Community concept) Adults can multiply opportunities for children

Daily: Multipilicity of Learning

Active: Ateleierista Multiple possibilities to entrance points to children

Different shapes of knowledge

Interdisciplinary: Greater possibility of construction of learning.

ENVIRONMENT

  • Curiosity
  • Inviting
  • Marvel
  • Wonder
  • Nature
  • Materials
  • Collaboration
  • Tools
  • Choice
  • Autonomy

What are the unexpected encounters?

How does movement become an exploration?

What are the strong relations between inside and outside?

What is the choice of relation and time?

What different points of view are created?

How does potential and choice impede capacity?

WORKING GROUPS: FOCUS ON TIME AND PROFESSIONAL DESIGN

  • Dialogue with parents
  • Documentation
  • Reflection
  • Parents of all children: Building community concept
  • Projects
  • Well-being of the child
  • Knowledge processes-intuition of research/thinking
  • 120 centres around the world
  • Council
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Reggio-Inspired Learning – Duane Smith

Professional development in Prague – ISP

What does one do when in Prague?  You present of course!  Such an amazing city but that aside, IICS had the opportunity to share with the international Early Years community, our approach to learning in the Early Years.

The conference was hosted by the International School of Prague, with the topic being ‘Reggio Inspired Learning’.  This event also provided our CEESA Istanbul Job-Alike colleagues to reconnect and continue their pursuit in learning more about Early Years.

The presenters:

Christine Chaille presented ‘Children and Teachers as Co-Researchers and Theory-Builders’

In this talk, we considered the importance of seeing ourselves as engaged in inquiry with the children we teach.  As theory-builders, we put forth our intentions and make careful plans for provocations and facilitation of the children’s work.  And, as co-researchers, we observe, listen, and document what unfold and respond with flexibility, always respecting the child’s questions.  Narratives and images of teachers who are engaged in this process will be woven throughout in order to illustrate the struggles – and joys – of collaborating with children.

Christine also shared her research into ‘The Power of Questioning:  Supporting and provoking children’s questions’

What kinds of questions do teachers ask children?  And why?  In this discussion we considered the issue of “whose question is it?” that the child is trying to answer.

Mary Marjerrison presented ‘Documentation Boards’:  Making our documentation boards interactive and ongoing, using them with children, colleagues, and/or with parents.

Deb Wilenski and Laura Magnavacchi presented their year-long focus on children’s own story-making and developing our practice of listening. They shared some of the planning and documentation consideration used at Reflections Nursery & Forest School in the United Kingdom.

Each day ended with a walk into the local forest. A great opportunity to reflect on the new learnings and take-aways from this conference.

The IICS Early Years team, represented by Duane Smith, presented their approach to learning in the Early Years. Our Play Based Learning environment has inspired both teachers and students to build a culture of engaging and inquisitive learners. Specific video evidence, parent anecdotes and teacher planning was used to acknowledge how a play and inquiry based program in the Early Years has the capacity to do more than just personalise learning. It has the potential to draw upon all the Primary Years Programme (PYP) Approaches to Learning, allowing students to drive their own curiosities and become self directed in pursuing these.

Participants walked away with with an understanding of how to plan for a Play Based Learning environment that provokes and sparks curiosity for learners. They also explored how documentation of a child allows the community to notice curiosity and plan for the next steps in sustaining it.

Link to google drive IICS presentation:

https://drive.google.com/a/iics.k12.tr/file/d/0Bw-T_kH5s4yVNmNXa081THBmYWs/view?usp=sharing

Link to google drive documents from other presenters:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw-T_kH5s4yVcmRVVW9qWThlUUk?usp=sharing
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