Uniting Our Voices Today to Ensure Their Tomorrows Dr. Sue Starks Concordia University

1. Uniting Our Voices Today to Ensure Their Tomorrows Dr. Sue Starks Concordia University March 2014

2. 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 yourpersonal, professional lens!

3. 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).

4. 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

5. 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)

6. Not a Box!

7. 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)

8. 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

9. The Brain Power of the Early Years

10. 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)

11. What Do You Notice? In the Future Children Will Need To: 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) • 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)

12. A Question to Consider: • Why has PLAY seemingly become a bad 4 letter word?

13. 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)

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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)

17. 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)

18. 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? * * *

19. 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!

20. 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.

21. Accountability Challenges for Teachers: • Balancing DAP and the push for academic, testableachievement. • 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.

22. Meeting the Challenges • WeGoBackto theESSENCEofDAP!

23. 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.

24. The Cornerstones of DAP • Ageappropriate • 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).

25. 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.

26. 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 Principles of DAP

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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! We Add in the Context of Play!

30. 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!!!

31. 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?

32. 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)

33. 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 What are these children learning at play?Be on autopilot with learning standards!

34. 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. Intentionality continued

35. 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)

36. 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).

37. The third ear in action!

38. A quiet little guy has something to share!

39. Allowing Children Opportunities to Continue to Persist

40. 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.

41. Freedom to Move From Center to Center

42. Allow Children to Be In the Moment

43. Other DAP Considerations

44. Balance Activities Active Quiet

45. Balance Activities Small Group Large Group

46. Balance Activities Teacher - directed Child - directed

47. Slide 8 Staff Development Activity 3 Balance Your Daily Schedule to Include Different Types of Activities

48. Group Time Considerations

49. 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!

50. 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!