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Uniting Our Voices Today to Ensure Their Tomorrows
Dr. Sue Starks
Concordia University
March 2014
A Professional Development Continuum
• I KNOW THIS• I KNOW & DO THIS• I KNOW & DO THIS IN A CONSISTENT MANNER• WHAT I KNOW & DO ARE INTENTIONALLY
EMBEDDED IN MY PRACTICE—I OWN IT!
*The importance of your personal, professional lens!
Pause & Reflect #1
• Jot down a comment/question or two you have heard in the past several months that has challenged/questioned the value of play or DAP (developmentally appropriate practices).
A Thought to Think On
“If I can learn in a way that satisfies me, I will learn anything you want me to. But if I cannot learn in a way that is comfortable for me, then I will not learn anything, even if I want to learn it, let alone if you want me to learn it. The ‘how’ of my learning governs the ‘what.’ The pedagogy is more important than the curriculum.”
Sir Christopher Ball, 2001
Our Unsettled Educational System• “One of the biggest problems we have in education today
is that we are trying to force learning into children, and when you force something, you break it.” (p. 2)
(Houston, 2010)
• “There is a puzzling contrast—really an awesome disconnect—between the breathtaking diversity of schoolchildren and the uniformity, homogenization, and regimentation of classroom practices, from pre-kindergarten onward.”(Genishi & Dyson, 2009)
Not a Box!
Settling Our Unsettled Educational System• Education “is life and work—
right here, right now—it is something you evoke and draw from” learners. (p. 2)
• “Education is really about people’s hearts as much as it is about their minds. It is about their possibilities as much as it is about their performance.” (p. 5)
• “The magic of learning is in wanting to learn.” (p. 23)
• Hmm…Not a Box! (Houston, 2010)
The Importance of the Early Childhood Years
• A period of rapid growth• A prime time for development• A time having a decisive and long-lasting impact on how children (people) develop, learn, and begin to regulate their own emotions
• A time when dispositions and attitudes toward school, education, & themselves as learners are developed
The Brain Power of the Early Years
Key Social-Emotional Skills
• Confidence• Capacity to develop good relationships with
peers and adults• Concentration and persistence on challenging
tasks• Ability to effectively communicate emotions• Ability to listen to instructions and be attentive• Ability to solve social problems
(Eager to Learn; Neurons to Neighborhoods; The Kaufman Report)
What Do You Notice?In the Future Children
Will Need To:• Possess a solid education • Be able to apply what they
know and can do in relevant situations
• Work well with others• Act as problem solvers• Utilize skills broadly and
engage in flexible thinking• Function as information seekers• Envision themselves as lifelong
learners(Source: Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum: Best Practices in ECE by Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren)
Children Who Engage in
Play Have:• Greater language skills
than non-players• Better social skills• More empathy• More imagination• More of the subtle capacity
to know what others mean• More self-control and less
aggressive behavior• Higher levels of thinking(Alliance for Childhood, 2011)
A Question to Consider:
•Why has PLAY seemingly become a bad 4 letter word?
Societal Change
• “Parents, anxious for their children to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy, regard play as a luxury that the contemporary child cannot afford.”
• “Over the past two decades, children have lost twelve hours of free time a week, including eight hours of unstructured play and outdoor activities.”
(Elkind, 2007)
Screen Time
• Children lose out on opportunities to:• use their creativity• use their imagination• figure out how things work• socialize• be active
Note: exercising these mental tools is important for success in higher-level thinking such as math and science.
Too Much!
• Children have become a viable market.
• This market encourages conformity.
• This market encourages a “too much syndrome”.
• Only when a child spends ample time with a particular toy/activity is it possible for him/her to create a personal connection and personal story.
The Emphasis on Testing
• The academic pressures of the rising demands of accountability and NCLB have “all but eliminated creative and playful teaching practices.”
(Elkind, 2007)
• Until recently, kindergarten was a time for children to prepare for school. Today, it is school.
(Stipek, 2006)
• In real ways, play is being “silenced.” (Elkind, 2007)
The Complexity of Play Within Curriculum
• It is difficult to define just when learning is occurring.
• Teachers must devise and use diverse teaching strategies and play multiple roles.
• Assessment includes measuring children’s knowledge, however must also include assessment of their engagement.
• Assessment is ongoing and tied to planning.
(Gronlund & James, 2008)
Pause & Reflect #2
On a scale of 1-10—What value do you place on play?
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Who are your THEYs?
*
*
*
Pros to Early Learning Standards• Provide richness to conversations about children’s growth
and learning.• We can match standards to what we do.• We can link EC standards to primary standards.• Standards help identify the next steps and transitions.• Standards professionalize the field.• Standards help us communicate across the grades, to
one another, to the public.• Standards raise the bar of expectations.• Standards result in authentic assessment tied to identified
benchmarks.• Standards provide the all important link to accountability!
Challenges Connected to Early Learning Standards
• They can lead to cookie cutter curriculum.• They bring a risk for a pushed down curriculum.• Many often believe direct instruction and drill and kill are
the only teaching avenues.• They can add to a we verses they mentality (preschool
and elementary teachers).• They can lead to inappropriate assessment.• They can lead to teaching to the test.• It takes time, interaction, practice, and reflection to utilize
them effectively.• The funds to support and mentor teachers as they learn to
use them is slim to non-existent.
Accountability Challenges for Teachers:
• Balancing DAP and the push for academic, testable achievement.
• Meeting the needs of individual children alongside the whole classroom.
• Dealing with the possible mismatch between personal philosophy and expectations from administrators, families, coworkers.
• Helping children see that learning itself is valuable amidst the academic emphasis.
Meeting the Challenges
•We Go Back to the ESSENCE of DAP!
The Importance of DAP
• The significance of the early years is being recognized as well as the beneficial outcomes of early intervention.
• The desire to remain competitive with other nations and to help our children “get ahead” led to the “earlier is better” belief, which in turn led to the “pushed down” curriculum.
• David Elkind phrased it as the “miseducation” of the youngest members of society—the erosion of childhood—DAP works to counteract this occurrence—erosion—if we have the faith to step outside the box.
The Cornerstones of DAP• Age appropriate• Individually appropriate• Socially and culturally appropriate (a family connection)• Young children learn differently.• Programs for children birth to age 8 must focus on
building solid foundations (elaboration)– NOT –introducing upper elementary methods sooner (acceleration).
The Impact of DAP• Opens up the curriculum.• Moves away from the narrow emphasis on only isolated academic skills and drill and practice.
• Encourages us to examine our practices and beliefs in regard to young children and their growth, development, and learning.
• Encourages us to examine our programs in regard to young children and their growth, development, and learning.
Principles of DAP• Teaching the whole child
• Cognitive, social, emotional, physical, & spiritual• Literacy, math, science, art, music, movement, social
studies
• Individualizing• Children’s choice & initiation• PLAY!• Learning by doing
• Manipulative & tangible materials• Open-endedness• First hand experiences• Primary source materials
A Thought to Think On…
WE REMEMBER:• 10% of what we read• 20% of what we hear• 30% of what we see• 50% of what we hear and see
• 70% of what we say• 90% of what we say and do
Brain Development
• The issue is not whether the child is “smart enough” or “motivated” to learn, but whether the necessary brain circuitry is sufficiently “wired” to support the specific domains required for that learning.
(Center on the Developing Child, 2007, p.7)
• Too much too soon creates a risk of overwhelming the brain’s neural circuits, reducing its sensitivity to the experiences it needs for healthy development.
Source: Gullo, D. (2006). Kindergarten Today
We Add in the Context of Play!
In the context of PLAY the CHILD can:• The child can choose the skill level.• The child can complicate the activity.• The child learns to persist in play.• The child experiences opportunities for success.• The child experiences challenges.• The child experiences minimum risk.• The child connects play to their knowledge and
experience base.• The child can make what is unfamiliar, familiar.• The child can create his/her own concepts and name
them• The child is in control!
OUR Role in Play
• We help children engage!• We give the gift of TIME!• We create, with the children, the space to make play/choice come alive.
• We provide the props…the “stuff” needed for play/choice.
• We offer planned experiences to extend and expand play.
• We observe, interact, scaffold, play!• We VALUE and RESPECT play as a way to TEACH!!!
Pause & Reflect #3
On a scale of 1-10—How comfortable are you with the roles you play in children’s play?
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Is there a goal you would like to set for yourself?
We Add to the DAP Mix Intentionality!
Intentionality Defined:Acting with knowledge and purpose to ensure that young children acquire the knowledge and skills (content) they need to succeed in school and life…basing what we do on wide-ranging knowledge about how children typically develop and learn (DAP).
(Epstein, 2007)
What are these children learning at play?Be on autopilot with learning standards!
• Communicate needs, feelings, and ideas
• Experience the joy of play• Share materials, cooperate,
and show respect for others• Develop body control• Play simple games by the
rules• Develop and refine make-
believe skills
Intentionality continued
IT TAKES YOU!INTENTIONAL teachers:• Understand it does not happen by chance.• Understand it takes purposeful and thoughtful
planning and implementation.• Have clearly defined goals.• Thoughtfully choose teaching strategies.• Continually assess children’s progress and adjust
strategies.• Are well prepared to tell others about WHAT they
are doing and WHY.
It Takes in the Moment Teachers
“Young children experience their world as an environment of relationships, and these relationships affect virtually all aspects of their development—intellectual, social, emotional, physical, behavioral, and moral.” (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2004)
It Takes in the Moment Teachers
“Every one of your interactions holds the potential to make a positive impact on how children feel about themselves and about learning, as well as on what and how they learn.” (Dombro, Jablon, & Stetson, 2011, p. 1).
The third ear in action!
A quiet little guy has something to share!
Allowing Children Opportunities to Continue to Persist
Consider the Environment
MESSAGES SENT by the ENVIRONMENT:
• This is a good place to be.• You belong here.• This is a place you can trust.• There are places where you
can be by yourself when you want to be.
• You can do things on your own here.
• This is a safe place to explore and try out your ideas.
Freedom to Move From Center to Center
Allow Children to Be In the Moment
Other
DAP
Considerations
Balance Activities
Active Quiet
Balance Activities
Small Group
Large Group
Balance Activities
Teacher - directed
Child - directed
Slide 8 Staff Development Activity 3
Balance Your Daily Schedule to Include Different Types of Activities
Group Time Considerations
How Long? Purpose? Variety
Support Social
Learning
Integration of Curriculum
• Supports learning in all domains and content areas
• Supports brain functions (patterns, building on experience)
• Weaves multiple learning threads together
• Children are motivated and charged as they play an active, key role!
Integration of Curriculum continued…
• Connects to higher-level thinking skills…analyzing, hypothesizing, predicting, problem solving
• Connects to standards…be flexible with content unless it follows a sequence
• Children learn best when learning is kept whole, meaningful, interesting, and functional.
• Children learn best by talking and doing!
Our Role as Advocates
• A critical role of an early childhood teacher (this includes Kindergarten!) is to be an advocate for play.
• Part of being an advocate requires one to reflect upon the level of importance you personally place on play.
• There is a significant amount of information (research!) to access and build upon related to play that will support you in this role.
• Each of us must be willing and able to articulate the reasons why play is a imperative component of the children’s day.
A Teacher Candidate Perspective• While student teaching, I realized that I did adopt some of
my cooperating teacher’s mannerisms and expectations. This scared me and I often think about the teacher I have become and if it aligns with my ideal teacher or with the system around me. To me, advocating for children means that I should always be reflective of my role as a teacher and to question best practices. (Liz Baxter)
How can you advocate on play’s behalf? Children’s behalf?
• Embrace your role as an advocate.• Share what you know.• Invite families, coworkers, your THEYs in to see play and learning in action.
• Offer play workshops.• Create play related newsletter blurbs.
How can you advocate on play’s behalf? Children’s behalf?
• Utilize area room signs.• Share play articles.• Take photos of & video tape children at play.
• Link play to learning and to learning standards.
• Directly connect photos and video to assessment.
Connecting with Families
Why is the family unit so critical?• A child spends 900 hours a
year in school.• A child spends 7800 hours a
year outside of school.
• “The seeds of reading and school success are sown in the home, long before the child arrives at school.”
(Jim Trelease)
So, What Can Families Do?
• Four of the most important things families can do with and for their children include:• Talking to and with children!• Reading to and with children!• Singing to and with children!• Playing with children!
Some Play Possibilities at HomeTalking: language is the cornerstone of literacy!Provide time and space to play.Provide open-ended materials to play.Remember, sometimes simple is best!Set play dates.Watch Me!...observe and interact within play.Extend and expand the play.Model play for the child.Encourage children to play in their own way.Turn off the TV and play.Share your play stories as a child.
What Else Can YOU Do?
• Authentically define high quality programming & education for families and other individuals (your THEYs) to include aspects beyond academics for young learners.
What Else Can YOU Do?
• Identify your Have to Dos so you can embrace your Want to & Need to Dos!
What Else Can YOU Do?
• Dream big & Reach for the Stars! You may need to adjust, but can move toward your dream step by step! Take the first step!
What Else Can YOU Do?
•Identify and utilize your Wiggle Room
What Else Can YOU Do?
•Stepping on Toes—whose toes would you rather step on?
What Else Can YOU Do?
• Identify your Non-Negotiables—these parallel to your personal Not a Box! Philosophy—and advocate for them!
Crisis in K: Report Recommendations
• Restore child-initiated play and experiential learning with the active support of teachers to their rightful place at the heart of K education.
• Reassess K standards to ensure that they promote developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), and eliminate those that do not.
• End the inappropriate use in K of standardized tests, which are prone to serious error especially when given to children under age 8.
• Expand the early childhood research agenda to examine the long-term impact of current preschool and K practices on the development of children from diverse backgrounds.
• A NON-NEGOTIABLE!: Give teachers of young children first-rate preparation that emphasizes the full development of the child and the importance of play, nurtures children’s innate love of learning, and supports teachers’ own capacities for creativity, autonomy, and integrity.
• (Alliance for Childhood, 2009)
The Power of Play—A Non-Negotiable
• Choice times and learning centers offer children opportunities to:• Develop independence• Take risks & persevere• Initiate & be creative• Reason & problem solve• Practice & hone “learning
to learn” skills!
Source: Gullo, D. (2006). Kindergarten Today
Not a Box!—A Non-Negotiable!• “There is a growing assumption that uniformity of
instruction yields equality of outcome, but quality of instruction means that all children have the opportunity to develop in the only way possible—by building on what they know.” (Genishi & Dyson, 2009)
• What children may bring to the learning equation in regard to learning may be “unanticipated” by the curriculum.
• “We have to worry less about the answers children provide and more about teaching the kinds of questions that they need to ask.” (Houston, 2010, p. 74)
Not a Box!—A Non-Negotiable!
• “Every time we teach something, we take away the opportunity for children to discover something on their own.”
• Encourage children to be critical thinkers, not simply direction followers.
What Else Can YOU Do?
• OWN DAP & YOUR instrumental role in advocating for it’s place in early childhood classrooms!
• We are in This Together clip
Pause & Reflect #4On a scale of 1-10—How do you rate your current role in advocating for play and DAP?
1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Where is your Wiggle Room?
*
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What are your Non-Negotiables?
*
*
What are your personal goals as you move forward, uniting our voices?
*
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Meeting the Challenges• Use a variety of strategies.• Be flexible to accommodate changing circumstances.• Trust your own professional judgment• Have confidence in your philosophy and methods.• Respect and learn from the views of others.• Be proactive in letting others know what you believe.• Set an example to show others how well your approaches
work.• Use all the resources you have at hand.• Develop good relationships with all who have a stake in
your classroom.
Meeting the Challenges• Find others who can give you support.• Keep your stress away from the children.• Lobby, advocate, speak out for what you believe.• Look for common ground when conflicts arise.• Keep a balance between your professional and personal
lives.• Give yourself a break.• Be prepared for conflicts.• Remember, change takes time.• Remember, change is a process.
Implications of Developmentally inappropriate practices on Children The needs of the “whole” child are not addressed (all
domains—cognitive, social, emotional, & physical). The effects of the “pushed-down” curriculum can
be detrimental. There is a disconnect between how children learn
and how they are being taught. There is an absence of learning to learn skills. The natural curiosity and motivation to learn within
young children can be squelched.
“The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four - of secondary importance is to prepare for being five.”
~Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 1985
Our United THEY—A Non-Negotiable!
THEY are the children in your classroom eager to begin a new day of active and interactive learning adventures with you, a Not a Box teacher & learner!
THANK YOU!
Dr. Sue Starks
Concordia University
Getting things right the first time is more efficient and ultimately more effective than trying to fix them later.Center on the Developing Child—Harvard University
