The Ten Commandements of Play-Based Learning « Abundant Life Children My day-to-day work with young children paired with the here-and-there trainings and consultations I do with other early childhood professionals continue to teach me this: one of the most difficult lines to toe in the complex world of play-based learning is the one that separates “too involved” from “disengaged”. Scores of us champion the young child’s right to play, but the intricacies of such work are more difficult to articulate. In an effort to articulate how I discern the line, I have created a Ten Commandments-esque list, having just listened to one of my all time favorite episodes of This American Life. This list captures my guiding principles when it comes to accompanying children through play-based learning. The Ten Commandments of Play-Based Learning 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Did I miss something important? Like this: Like Loading...
How Do We Teach Critical Thinking in a Connected World? As a child, I grew up in a world that was dominated by left-brained thinking. Both my parents were in professions that required in-depth analytical thinking. The “rule” in my house was: “If you break something, try to fix it. Only THEN come ask Dad for help.” Dad was an avionics engineer and had an incredible mechanical ability. He could fix anything, and he instilled within his children a desire to understand how things work and a hunger to ask questions that clarify thinking. Looking back now, I realize something I never understood then — what he had instilled was an ability to think critically. Several months ago, as I was visiting one of our diocese schools, I was fascinated that a first grade teacher was actually teaching critical thinking to her students within a math lesson. The addition sentences were easy for the six and seven-year olds. Shortly after my classroom visit, I came across a website dedicated to teaching critical thinking. ‘How do you know what you know?’
Harvard Education Letter New Haven teacher Elise Goodhue tries to fit play into the rigors of kindergarten Volume 26, Number 5September/October 2010 New data support a return to “balance” in kindergarten By Laura Pappano Kids Haven’t Changed; Kindergarten Has, continued In the ongoing battle over kindergarten—has exploratory play been shunted aside for first-grade-style pencil-and-paper work? The Gesell Institute for Human Development, named for pioneering founder of the Yale Child Study Center, Arnold Gesell, and known worldwide for its popular parenting series Your One-Year-Old through Your Ten- to Fourteen-Year-Old, will sharing the results of an 18-month study at a conference in New Haven, Conn. on October 15.
How Does Music Stimulate Left and Right Brain Function and Why is this Important in Music Teaching? | The Music Teachers Blog « Confused About Interactive Whiteboards? | Home | Music Teaching Quotes » Music research indicates that music education not only has the benefits of self-expression and enjoyment, but is linked to improved cognitive function (Schellenberg), increased language development from an early age (Legg), and positive social interaction (Netherwood). Music listening and performance impacts the brain as a whole, stimulating both halves – the analytical brain and the subjective-artistic brain, affecting a child’s overall cognitive development and possibly increasing a child’s overall intellectual capacity more than any other activity affecting the brain’s bilaterism (Yoon). How does music stimulate the right and left hemispheres? The right hemisphere engages in synthesizing several different parts to create a cohesive whole when processing new information (Williams). The right brain, often considered the more subjective and creative hemisphere, focuses on the melody in music. Music Listening vs.
let the children play PBL and Standardized Tests? It Can Work! It's never too late to address this subject. Yes, many of us are gearing down from (or gearing up for) the epic standardized testing season, enjoying the freedom, released from the many pressures that come with the tests. However, these tests will keep happening. Whether a yearly course assessment, a six-week benchmark exam or a state-level competency test, teachers and students are inundated with testing. PARCC and Smarter Balanced Although some states have opted out of the PARCC or Smarter Balanced Assessments, many of our students will be taking them -- or something similar to them. Don't Wait Until After Testing Season "I'll wait til after the testing season," is one I hear often. Power Standards and Learning Targets Whether individually or through facilitated professional development, teachers spend a lot of time unpacking the standardized tests and the targeted standards and learning on which they're based. Embed Test Stems and Questions in the PBL Project PBL Projects Where They Fit
Environmentalising early childhood education curriculum through pedagogies of play (Free full text available) Susan Edwards Amy Cutter-Mackenzie Monash University IN RECENT YEARS THE CONCEPT of child-centred play as an informant to the early childhood curriculum has been critiqued as an insufficient pedagogical approach for supporting children’s knowledge development. Running in parallel with these criticisms has been the emerging importance of environmental education in early childhood curriculum. A key aspect of early childhood environmental education involves children experiencing and acquiring various environmental concepts. This paper reports the findings from a project aimed at examining play-based learning and the way different types of play can be used as a pedagogical basis for supporting children’s learning in early childhood environmental education. The arguments about play-based learning and the role of environmental education in early childhood curriculum are framed in relation to the newly released Australian Early Years Learning Framework. Early childhood environmental education
How to Teach Internet Safety in K-6 The Internet is a wonderful resource for kids for researching school reports, communicating with teachers, staying in touch with friends, and entertaining themselves. They can literally hit a few keystrokes and Click poster to purchase find out about culture in China, the history of Europe, or take a tour of the American White House. But with that access comes risks, even if you’re careful. For example, in our class project on life cycles, we never allow the students to search “chicks”, rather they must type “baby chickens” to avoid the problems the former carries. The digital natives we are educating don’t want to hide from these sorts of problems, though. Kindergarten I mix internet safety lessons in with other teaching during my 45-minutes-per-week lesson. Have sufficient adult assistance that student activities can be corrected immediately so learning is seamless and students aren’t confused First Grade I mix these lessons in with other teaching throughout the year. Second Grade Follow me.
Play-based learning and intentional teaching in early childhood contexts Play-based learning and intentional teaching in early childhood contexts Play-based learning and intentional teaching in early childhood contexts Louise Thomas Elizabeth Warren Eva deVries Australian Catholic University THIS PAPER REPORTS ON an analysis of teachers’ talk of play-based learning and intentional teaching of mathematics. The participants in the study were two early childhood teachers in a pre-Prep program (the year before school). A poststructural analysis of the teachers’ talk suggests that socially and culturally constructed ways of being an early childhood teacher are both enabled and constrained by discourses of play and intentional teaching. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood – Volume 36 No 4 December 2011 Don't forget, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood is tax deductible for early childhood professionals You can purchase this issue of the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood now.