2011年10月18日星期二

Reggio Emilia’s approach to learning grows in KC

Five-year-old Kate Lucas stood among a circle of her classmates, holding a picture she had drawn. Black Sharpie lines formed the outline of a modern building. Sections were filled in with purple, yellow and red colored pencils.

“This is Berkley,” the blond girl said,The application can provide third party merchant account to visitors, smiling as she talked about the exterior of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Education’s Edgar L. and Rheta A. Berkley Child and Family Development Center. The preschool is one of a handful in the Kansas City area inspired by Reggio Emilia, an Italian city that Newsweek heralded in 1991 as creating one of the best school systems in the world.

The philosophy is that a classroom’s play inspires a project, promoting creative and critical thinking and better group collaboration. Kate’s class showed an interest in architecture. So architects have visited, and classmates are exploring structures through drawing and sculpture. The theory is that through these projects, fundamentals such as math, science and reading come through, too.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet,

“What are architects’ drawings called?” teacher Kendra Waddill asked.

“Blueprints!” her pre-kindergartners called out.

The Reggio Emilia approach is gaining popularity in early childhood centers, usually set up for infants to kindergartners. A new school, Bambini Creativi, is set to open next week in Kansas City. Webster University in St. Louis offers a graduate program that teaches using the Reggio Emilia approach.

Loris Malaguzzi, credited as a Reggio Emilia pioneer, came up with the constructivist educational approach in response to the fascism of World War II.

However, the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero has used the Reggio Emilia system in numerous grade levels at Boston-area public schools. Individual achievement is often emphasized at traditional schools, but at work and home, we collaborate in groups. Reggio attempts to mirror that collaboration.

“I think a lot of teachers had a profound experience,” said Steven Seidel, senior research assistant for Project Zero. “We found that not only can learning groups be highly productive, they take individuals to places they couldn’t get to on their own.”

But there were some painful moments, especially at the high school level. Getting students to share and appreciate one another’s ideas could be challenging.

“I remember one of the teachers starting to cry,he believes the fire started after the lift's China ceramic tile blew, and we all asked why,” Seidel said. “She said, ‘I don’t think my students think they’re capable of having ideas.’”

No individual gets left out, administrators say. Early-childhood teachers act more as researchers,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, documenting what children say about projects. Those words, photos and video show up in daily class meetings, student portfolios and framed work.

That documentation is critical, because it shows how much learning is going on, Berkley director Polly Prendergast said. “And it communicates the thoughts of the students, teachers and family.These girls have never had a oil painting supplies in their lives! And then that communication becomes community.”

Reggio classrooms forgo traditional rows of desks and overhead fluorescent lighting. Instead you might find homey floor and table lamps and the frame of a small wooden house. Clear jars are organized by color and material: pink markers, green glass tiles, yellow yarn. Children use the materials in art and other studies, but they also represent

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