REFLECTIVE & LIFE-LONG LEARNING THE HIGHSCOPE DIFFERENCE Happy birthday Teacher Fowowe Sunday Simeon. May the lines fall unto you in pleasant places in Jesus name. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this year’s annual online marathon training. I knew teacher Fowowe in 2015 but met him face to face during the OMEP Nigeria national conference in Lagos state in 2016. Since then teacher Fowowe has remained a loyal friend of OMEP Nigeria, passionate member of Soams creative platform and dedicated advocate for quality early childhood education. I wish you many more years of fruitful practice. REFLECTIVE AND LIFE-LONG LEARNING. THE HIGHSCOPE DIFFERENCE! F A C I L I TATOR O YI N DA MOLA SO N OLA FIRST NIGERIAN ENDORSED HIGHSCOPE TRAINER & EDUCATION CONSULTANT Reflective Practices in times like this. Reflective practice simply means ability to be self-aware of our practice as educators, especially those who care for children from birth to 8years of age. Ability to think in greater depth and breadth about how we make decisions in our daily practice, parenting or governance. Educators in this context refers to parents, child care givers, practitioners, education administrators, policy makers, government etc. Reflective practice in a nutshell Reflective practice is a form of ongoing learning as educators examine what happens in their settings/families and reflect on what they might change or develop. Reflective practice in a nutshell The following should be put in place: 1) Regular communication with co-workers, children during group activities, with members of the family each day about aspects of practices that have changed, need to change, is working well etc. 2) Sometimes practitioners may need to seek out trusted coworkers or members of staff for reflective dialogue so you guard against isolation that teaching in early childhood can sometimes create. 3) Regular observation should be made or anecdotes taken during interaction with children. This could be a source of inspiration for reflection. Type of education required for this period The type of education practice urgently required for this period must : Focus on development of global skills, be research validated, experiential in approach and demand continuous learning. Be vision driven, Enable development of non cognitive/non educational needs of children, Be culturally relevant, incorporating sustainable practice. As educators we must ensure we offer activities, experiences and environments that introduce children to the environment around them and also support them to find ways of looking after their own environment whether at home or in care, The educators must be up to date in child development and competent in child care practice, Educators must be adaptable and willing to partner/collaborate with all stake holders involved in the care and education of the child. HIGHSCOPE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AS IT INSPIRES EDUCATORS TO INSPIRE CHILDREN . The HighScope difference!!! Three main things make the difference in how we approach early childhood education: 1. Research-the rock on which we build everything we do. HighScope leads education with over four decades of ground breaking early childhood research. 2. Application- HighScope’s curriculum and products have had tens of thousands of real-life classroom hours to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of our research findings and product design. 3. Validation-What works, stays. What doesn’t work, we cut out. We don’t just base our curriculum and products on research- we validate them with research as well. And when we discover there is something we can do better, we do it. What are HighScope’s vision and goals for young children? Our vision/goals for young children are: To learn through active involvement with people, materials, events, and ideas. To become happy, independent, responsible, and confident — ready for school and ready for life. To learn to plan many of their own activities, carry them out, and talk with others about what they have done and what they have learned. To gain knowledge and skills in non cognitive skills and important academic, social, and physical areas. Our Process never ends-It’s Reflective, Continuous & Consistent Active Learning, Plan-Do-Review , Shared Control No single process in the HighScope process stands on it’s own. Our rigorous, ongoing qualification of our materials ensures that HighScope offers the most effective early childhood classroom teaching strategies and products available today. ACTIVE LEARNING-Core of HighScope Approach: HighScope's educational approach emphasizes “active participatory learning.” Active learning means children have direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas. In HighScope practice educators (parents, teachers etc) are trained in developmentally appropriate ways to be involved with children. Educators are trained to thoughtfully provide materials, plan activities, and talk with children in ways that both support and challenge what children are experiencing and thinking. 11 Reflective Practice through Active Learning & Shared Control HighScope’s educational programs for educators working with infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and young people include so many specific strategies for carrying out the goal of shared control. Active Partnership with parents is key as reflected in the HighScope wheel. Reflecting with children, finding out each child’s learning goals are and documenting this through anecdotal narrative and images. Children are supported from a young age to connect their play/learning activities to their personal goals, interests and experiences Sharing control means that teachers and learners are partners, both playing an active role in shaping the educational experience. When both sides know what to expect and what their respective roles are, they feel in control of the sharing And adults are often amazed by what they learn from children and their capacity to think and solve problems when control is shared. Shared Control supports Non Cognitive skills Climate of shared control creates many positive effects: Children and educators develop empathy and caring for others. Children learn to solve social problems by “talking it out” and trying solutions. Children develop non cognitive skills such as self regulation, resilience, problem solving, critical and creative thinking skills through the interaction and intentional teaching strategies adopted by the trained HighScope practitioners. How HighScope approach differs from other early childhood programs? HighScope has unique features that differentiate it from other early childhood programs. One is the daily Plan-Do-Review sequence. A second unique feature is our curriculum content (KDIs), covering the social, intellectual, and physical building blocks that are essential to young children’s optimal growth. Within these preschool content areas are 58 key developmental indicators (KDIs). The KDIs are statements of observable behaviors that define the important learning areas for young children. HighScope educational approach is consistent with the best practices recommended by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developing Non Cognitive skills The HighScope approach-Beyond Academics Social development is another important learning area in HighScope programs. Studies continually demonstrate that children in High/Scope classrooms show high levels of initiative. Teachers further support social development by helping children learn how to resolve interpersonal conflicts even in the nursery classes. Who uses HighScope? The HighScope approach serves the full range of children and families from all social, cultural, financial, and ethnic backgrounds. The approach is used in public and private agencies, half- and full-day preschools, child care centers, home-based child care programs, programs for children with special needs and primary schools. Active Learning which is the core of HighScope approach and teaching strategy is adaptable at all levels of education from early years to adult education. What do teachers and other adults do in a HighScope program? In HighScope programs, adults are as active in the learning process as children. A mutual give-and-take relationship exists in which both groups participate as leaders and followers, speakers and listeners. Adults interact with children by sharing control with them, focusing on their strengths, forming genuine relationships with them, supporting their ideas, and helping them resolve conflicts. How can families use HighScope at home? Many of the activities HighScope settings offer in their programs can also be done by families at home. For example, parents can provide many different learning materials often using everyday objects, waste materials that cost little or nothing. even at this lockdown period a lot of resources are available online for parents of preschoolers, Toddlers and infants. Plan-Do-Review: Parents can encourage children to make plans, carry them out, and talk about what they have learned from their experiences. They can try to be more predictable in their routines so children know what to expect. And they can use the steps of conflict resolution to help children resolve disputes with siblings and friends Reflecting in and out of the moment in HighScope training programmes: Reflective activities are key practices in all HighScope training programmes as participants are exposed to small, large group, independent activities and supported think through and discuss their views, understanding etc 1) Reflection in action – thinking about what we’re doing while we’re doing it – and 2) Reflection on action – thinking about the event after it has occurred in order to improve your strategies and approach in the future. This model offers a continuous learning cycle which is important for educators because otherwise the experience “just comes and goes.” Reflecting in and out of the moment in COVID 19 In the midst of the global pandemic , it’s time for educators to start reflecting in real-time on how early childhood education will undergo large-scale transformative change. The current situation provides an opportunity to think outside the box about how our education systems can best deliver quality childcare, and learning opportunities for our children to survive and thrive in today’s rapidly changing and uncertain world. There will be need for urgent advocacy for children, parents, child carersconcerning their health, protection, safety, admission and training procedure for childcare practitioners etc. Need to train parents on how support their children’s learning at home Reflect on how to close the widening learning inequalities which is already hurting the vulnerable children in villages, IDP camps etc I hope the discussion continues at other times till we are able to ensure there is improvement in quality of early childhood care and service delivery. Thank you for your participation.
