"Once a week we would transport the school, (the children and our tools,) to town .... The children were happy. The people saw; they were surprised and they asked questions." (Gandini, 2012, p. 31)
i love how intently people are looking at the children painting. There is respect and appreciation on their face. What a wonderful idea to make their learning visible.
his documentation served not only asinformation and communication to parents or as advocacy for the developmentand opening ofnew schools for young children by thecity administration, but also as away of creating great interest among educators from other Italian cities and European countries.Inevitably and rapidly this interest spreadto educators at schools and universities in the United States and gradually to other countries allover the world.
and it is still spreading!!!
In that same year the city government of Reggio Emilia, after long deliberations, created a new "rulebook" of principles and organization for the education of children 0 to 6 years of age. The main points established included the following
This is only possible due to the advocacy by people who are passionate and truly invested in early childhood education.
The same Hundred Languages catalogue contained an extraordinary compression of so much of Malaguzzi's thought into the following seven essential points:
Each point is very deeply thought out. Its not only about providing the hundred languages to the children but the factors to keep in mind (such as culture, past experiences, partnerships between languages and support) while documenting and observing these languages.
Observation, documentation and interpretation are woven together into what I would define as a "spiral movement," in which none of these actions can be separated out from the others.
You can take hundreds of pictures and videos of the children. All of them would be useless if they are not revisited and interpreted.
Documentation can be seen as visible listening: it ensures listening and being listened to by others.
The true meaning of documentation is to be able to make learning visible to the children (as they feel heard), the teachers (as they try to plan the next step in the learning), the parents (as they recognize the potential of the child). It is not to decorate the classrooms and hallways. Listening is the key factor in producing documentation that truly. makes learning visible
The task of those who ducate is not only to allow the differen es to be expressed, but to make it possible for them to be negotiated and nurtured through exchanging and comparing ideas.
It is our job to provide an environment that welcome healthy social interactions.
Listening takes place within a "listening context,•where one learns to listen and narrate, and each individual feels legitimized to represent and offerinterpretations of her or his theories throughaction, emotion, expression and representation, using symbols and images (the "hundredlanguages"). Understanding and awareness are generated through sharing and dialogue.
Listening helps the person listening understand the person giving the message better and that person feel acknowledged when they are heard with an open mind.
Listening is not easy. It requires a deep awareness and a suspension of our judgementsand prejudices.
I agree! It is very difficult to always be neutral while listening.
Listening is emotion. It is generated by emotions; it is influenced by the emotions of others; and it stimulates emotions.
This is so true. How we feel about someone will change the way we listen to them. Even how we feel at the moment will decide how we listen.
Listening a time. When you realty listen, you getinto the time of dialogue and interior reflection, an interior time that is made up of the present butalso past and future time and is, therefore, outsidechronological time.
Time is always been an integral part of learning, Being able to give children the quality of time- to listen, explore, investigate, understand. It is also a very difficult thing to be able to give in this time. It breaks my heart when I see that the teachers are not being able to be present with the child- for various reasons.
Listening should recognize the many languages, symbols and codes that people use in order toexpress themselves and communicate
when we recognize the diversity, only then we will be able to acknowledge and respect it.
Listening should be open and sensitive to theneed to listen and be listened to, and the need to listen with oil our senses, not just with our ears.
Whole body listening. So true!
children as active, compe-tent and strong, exploring and finding meaning -not as predetermined, fragile, needy and incapable.
This makes me think of the difficult conversations that the parents and teachers try to avoid having with the children- death, war, sickness, crime. It does more harm to them if these issues are not discussed, the children are not able to express their feelings.
Children know this; they have the desire and the ability to search for the meaning of life and their own sense of self as soon as they are born.
This is how the children make connections to the different references in their life- home, school and the outside world.
. From their own point of view, the teachers’ classroom work centers on “provoking occasions” of genuine intellectual growth by one or more children—in particular, listening to the words and communications of children and then offering them back to the group to restimulate and extend their discussion and joint activity. Such a method of teaching they consider important, complex, and delicate, constantly evolving and changing, and a matter of collective effort and concern. Their tendency to engage with colleagues in extended mutual criticism and self-examination of their teaching behavior seems to distinguish the educators of Reggio Emilia. Just as they see children as learning best through communication, conflict, and co-action, s
This shows that the role of the teachers is multi layered. Each layer is very important and interconnected to the other.
In Reggio Emilia, however, the infant-toddler or preschool teacher always works with a co-teacher. As a pair, these two relate to the other teachers, auxiliary staff, and the atelierista in their school and, moreover, receive support from pedagogisti, mentor teachers, cul-tural mediators, as well as staff assigned to the Documentation and Educational Research Center, REMIDA (the Recycling Center), and other laboratories and resource centers. They also interact and have a continuous dialogue with parents who support them and participate in the life of the schoo
These are a great number of resources, all working towards the same goal of the child's learning.
the idea of a dynamic process, a process that involves uncertainty and chance that always arises in relationships with others. Project work grows in many directions, with no predefined progression, no outcomes decided before the journey begins. (Rinaldi, 2006, p. 19)
This is so true. I usually bring in empty boxes to school after the holidays as a surprise element when the children come in after the break. Each year the box project has taken a different route. I think it depends on the different group of children, different questions, some different books we read. As a teacher it is such an exciting thing to see the children driving the project.
“knots.
The knots will help the children question, wonder, develop hypothesis, trial and error. I hadn't thought of this until now. I will sure keep this in mind during projects or activities in my class from now on.
At yet other times, especially at the end of a morning’s activity, the teacher’s intervention is needed to help the children search for an idea—especially one that emerges from an intellectual discussion or dispute between children—and shap-ing it into a hypothesis that should be tested, an empirical comparison that should be made, or a representation that should be attempted, as the basis for another day’s activity by the group. Examining the question, hypothesis, or argument of one child thus becomes part of an ongoing process of raising and answering ques-tions for all. With the help of the teacher, the question or observation of one child leads others to explore territory never encountered, perhaps never even suspected. This is genuine co-action of children.
I would love to observe this interaction myself. Like the video we watched at the beginning of the class where they had a discussion during morning meeting about their plan for the day. Currently, our morning meetings are pretty structured but i would really like it to be a more brainstorming like discussion.
The teacher seeks to extend the children’s intellec-tual stamina and attention span; increase their range of investigation strategies; enhance their concentration and effort; and still allow them to fully experience pleasure and joy in the gam
These skills are so important for children to learn and enhance- attention, curiosity, concentration and have fun.
Sometimes the adult works right inside a group of children and sometimes works just around the group, so he has many roles. The role of the adult is above all one of listen-ing, observing, and understanding the strategy that children use in a learning situa-tion. The teacher has, for us, a role as dispenser of occasions; and it is very important for us that the child should feel the teacher to be, not a judge, but a resource to whom he can go when he needs to borrow a gesture, a word. According to Vygotsky, if the child has gone from point a to point b and is getting very close to c, sometimes to reach c, he needs to borrow assistance from the adult at that very special moment. We feel that the teacher must be involved within the child’s exploring procedure, if the teacher wants to understand how to be the organizer and provoker of occasions, on the one hand, and co-actor in discoveries, on the other. And our expectations of the child must be very flexible and varied. We must be able to be amazed and to enjoy, like the children often do. We must be able to catch the ball that the children throw us, and toss it back to them in a way that makes the children want to continue the game with us, developing, perhaps, other games as we go along. (Filippini, 1990
Beautifully written with analogies!!
“Listening” means being fully attentive to the children and, at the same time, taking responsibility for recording and documenting what is observed and then using it as a basis for decision making shared with children and parents.
Listening is the key to both learning and developing the child's self esteem. It helps the child feel accepted, respected and acknowledged. Listening will also help the teacher's plan the next steps of learning. It breaks my heart when I see some teachers so busy in setting up the classrooms, filling paper work or talking to their co-teachers while a child waits for their attention.
Thus, any definitions of the teacher’s role can never be accepted once and for all, but instead constantly undergoes revision—as circumstances, parents, and children change; the dynamics of their concerns and exchanges shift; and as more comes to be understood about the fundamental processes of teaching and learning. Questions about what teachers can and should do can never be finally answered but rather must keep returning to the starting problem: What kind of teachers are needed by our children—those real individuals in the classrooms of today?
This makes so much sense. The teacher is a link between the school, children, the families and the community. So if either things change, the role of a teachers needs to change to accommodate it. we can never have a fixed definition of a teacher's role.
exist in the moment and focus on what they find before them. Children encounter numerous marvels on the way to the car or to the store that merit ex-amination-the intriguing shapes and splashes of puddles, the intricate pathways of bugs and worms, the irresistible gleams of shining treasures lying on the street disguised as trash. Differing orientations to time can create challenges for adults and children alike. The adults'
I try to do this exercise everyday- where I try to find one thing to wonder about in the morning on my way to work and one during the day so I can take a moment to pause from the craziness. I am hoping this becomes a habit and I start doing it without effort.
skills as crawling or walking down hallways, climbing into car seats, putting on socks and shoes, or washing their hands. Similarly, it may take time for children to express their thoughts and desires, especially when using a language that is not yet well developed. It also takes time for adults to understand the languages that children may prefer, such as creative expression and play. Adults may have neglected and forgotten
This is so true at the same time so hard to follow. As a teacher we have all these schedules to follow in school. As a parent to its hard to give the children all the time they need (especially on the weekdays when we have time restrictions). I always feel like I am rushing with my kids on school days. It is sad but true :(
The play theorist Brian Sutton-Smith wrote that because "children up until about seven years of age communicate with each other more adequately by play than in speech, an argument can certainly be made that their childhood right to play is the same as our adult First Amendment right to free speech"
This is a powerful statement to advocate for the importance of play
In listening to children's behavior, adults must attend closely to their play. Developmental psychologists and early childhood educators increasingly under-stand that play is crucial to the well-being and development of children, and is the main activity through which children seek and find meaning
I agree! I get most of my data on my children by observing and listening to them during free play. They practice their social skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, motor skills and cognitive skills during that time.
Children have a right to paint their fingernails, boys and girls, with their moms
Children understand there are stereotypes (because unfortunately thats the world they live in), but don't really care about them. Its only in the mind of the adults.
Children have a right to run or walk, to choose which one, if it's safe
I enjoyed reading the compilation of what children believe should be their rights. They were all so thoughtful. I also noticed that they mentioned being safe at many places. This showed me that even 4 years understand the concept of being safe without an adult constantly reminding them.
They arranged an initial meeting of a small group of 4-year-olds and asked, "What is a right? If someone says, 'I have a right to do that,' or 'I have a right to think that way,' what does it mean?"
it is great to begin with a question like this to find out the child's understanding of the matter instead of telling them what we think. It even helps us clarify exactly the thought process of the child, or the extent to which the child knows.
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 is where documentation plays an important role. The parents can see and understand every step of the learning process through powerful documentation.
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
The definition of risk taking has changed so much over the period of time, that it is hindering with the child's innate curiosity and need to explore.
Beautifully portrayed!
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.
So true! There are so many skills that the children learn while playing with others: problem solving, communication, self regulation, independence, etc. Our preschool really emphasizes on play and we have a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon for free play.
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
Each child is so different and you will only be able to understand, work and plan for him/her by observing them closely. The books will only be able to give you general information that might not work for all the children.
The child wants to be observed, but she doesn’t wantto be judged.
This is so beautiful and true!
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.
As a teacher, this is a hard thing to do. I am working on it. Sometimes when the child asks a question my natural instinct is to give the answer, without even thinking that it might be a great learning experience if the child tried to figure it out on his/her own instead of just being told the answer. It is correctly said that it is some thing you learn and does not happen automatic.
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
This is cultural too. In India, care takers want to do everything for the children, to the extent that they remain dependent on them even when they are grown ups. It reminds me of the part in the other article that mentions, "the image is a cultural convention, a cultural interpretation, and therefore a political and social issue, which enables you to recognize or not to recognize certain qualities and potential of children."
Children are not at all like this, predictable
This is one of my favorite things about my job. Each day is different- it makes it exciting :)
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
This is a good reminder even for day to day experiences. If the child acts in a different way- acts out, quiet, etc to pause and think what could the underlying problem be? Instead of jumping into conclusions or labeling the child. The child might have had less sleep or a busy weekend, change in routine- all these things could affect how the child behaves in the classroom.
Transcriptions of children's remarks and discussions,photographs of their activity, and representations of their thinking and learning aretraces that are carefully studied.
I think documentation is a very powerful tool for learning and planning. I try to document our ongoing investigation and prepare them during my break or the 1hr/week planning time that we get or when the children are sleeping. It is still very challenging as the time is not enough. I would love to know what everyone else does in their school?
Atelierista and atelier. A teacher who is usuallyprepared in the visual arts (but also in other expressive arts) works closely with theother teachers and the children in every preprimary school and visits theinfant-toddler centers.
We have a "Studio Lab" in our school with an art and science specialist. Our children visit her a couple times a week and she has some wonderful ideas. However right now she follows her own curriculum and so it is not connected to any ongoing investigations in our class. We are really trying to collaborate more with her for our projects but its hard to work with the logistics of a big school.
Considering the enormous interest that educators show in thework done in the Reggio schools, they suggest that teachers and parents in eachschool, any school, anywhere, could in their own context reflect on these ideas,keeping in focus always the relationships and learning that are in process locally toexamine needs and strengths, thus finding possible ways to construct change.
I agree! we cannot just pick up an approach from a different country or even another school and expect it to work in our setting. However, we can understand the ideas, values and research behind the approach and adapt them to our own setting.
They are based on the strong conviction that learning bydoing is of great importance and that to discuss in groups and to revisit ideas andexperiences is essential to gain better understanding and to learn.
I also learn by doing :) This can provide different avenues for children with different learning styles.
After observing children inaction, they compare, discuss, and interpret together with other teachers theirobservations, recorded in different ways, to leave traces of what has been observed.They use their interpretations and discussions to make choices that they share withthe children
Currently, I am struggling with this in my school as we only get to meet once a week as a team outside the classroom. My team would love to collaborate more but its hard with our schedule and set up.
theyobserve and listen to the children in order to know how to proceed with their work.
This is such an important skill for a teacher to have- to be able to just listen and observe without actually telling the children what to do. I sometime have to put in effort to not say anything when the children are discussing/brainstorming some ideas during play. Letting them actually create their own hypothesis and conduct their own experiment to find out.
Thelay-out of physical space fosters encounters, communication, and relationships.Children learn a great deal in exchanges and negotiations with their peers;
I have seen this in my class- moving the furniture around a little to open up spaces in certain areas helps with the smooth flow of the class.
Parents are an essential component of the program; acompetent and active part of their children's learning experience. They are notconsidered consumers but co-responsible partners
With their expertise in different areas, parents are a great resource for the school community.
system. Education has to focuson each child, not considered in isolation, but seen in relation with the family, withother children, with the teachers, with the environment of the school, with thecommunity, and with the wider society.
Social Emotional and self regulation are some of the most important skills for the children to learn since we live in a community and not in isolation. Providing them with opportunities to interact with peers, teachers and the community will help develop these skills and be good citizens.
Such participation by parents has all along remained an essentialpart of the way of working on education in that city
Parents have a right to be a part of their children's education and they would be a great asset for the schools, who would always advocate for them as they are truly invested in their child's development
Children should be considered asactive citizens with rights, as contributing members, with their families, of theirlocal community.
I really respect this thought, as I grew up in a culture where parents feel the need to provide children with an environment that is accepting of them. This sometimes translates into children being considered incapable of any decision making and therefore, adults making all the decisions for them. Children become dependent on their caregivers for the all their needs.