In a blink of an eye another scholastic year has come to an end. Since the scholastic year is over, I had some time to think and evaluate all the changes that happened throughout this year and thought of sharing my opinion on the matter.
When the Emergent Curriculum and Project Based Learning were first introduced, a million and one questions and concerns crossed my mind. Change is quite scary when one is used to a system. However, the more I researched and read about this approach, the more excited I was to start implementing it.
So…
Was the Emergent Curriculum a needed change? Has it shown a difference in learning? Has it improved our way of teaching? My answer is very simple … YES!
A NEEDED change.
Previous years Kindergarten educators followed a traditional curriculum which could be described as a teacher directed approach. Educators used to decide on a theme that they thought the children would like and then create a plan based on it. Since planning used to be done beforehand, children were not involved in the development of the curriculum. Furthermore, as activities were pre-planned they focused on a goal for the class as a whole instead of focusing on children as different individuals.
In a traditional system, the educator is also the only source of information. Thus, children do not make the effort to learn new things themselves. Moreover, children are given instructions to follow during activities rather than investigating themselves. This resulted in children becoming dependent on their educators.
Learning had become boring and it was being viewed as a burden by many students. It was no longer fun for children to go to school and their eagerness to learn was fading out very quickly. This was resulting in many early drop outs.
On the other hand, the Emergent Curriculum revolves exclusively around the child. This approach is based on the idea that learning is more successful when the curriculum is based on children’s interests, strengths, needs and lived realities. Educators use daily observations, listening to children and interaction as a tool to construct their curriculum. Thus, the children are participant in the making of the curriculum as much as the educators.
A MAJOR difference.
Have you ever noticed how when something immediately catches a child’s interest they cannot seem to stop talking and asking questions about it? Now, imagine if you would take their interest and curiosities, and then act upon them by giving out meaningful learning opportunities to extend their learning. This way children are engaged in what they are doing and thus learning comes naturally and has no limit. This process is at the heart of the Emergent Curriculum as children lead you to what they want to learn. After all, it is our curiosity that makes us eager to want to learn more. The project approach gives children the opportunity to study in-depth on a topic over a period of weeks.
When I first started working with this approach, one of the main things which I noticed was the children’s attitude towards activities. Children were more engaged and motivated during learning opportunities. This was noticed by the increase in participation and their continuous excitement throughout the day.
Instead of giving out all the information which I deemed as being important, my role was assisting and aiding the children to investigate and answer their own questions. This helped children to become more independent as they worked alone or collaboratively with others during activities. The majority of the children could start and finish a task on their own without being hesitant to take initiatives and make decisions.
I also saw a difference in children’s thinking skills and overall cognitive development as they were often using problem solving skills while also making assumptions and hypothesis.
Children's speech and vocabulary has also improved. Back in November, we were investigating Dinosaurs, and I was in complete awe as they were learning difficult words such as ‘Stegosaurus’ and ‘Triceratops’ so early on in the scholastic year.
Children learn best through hands on and real life experiences. My little learners could somehow experience what they were investigating outside of the classroom. Nothing could describe the amazement and excitement in their eyes as they saw how ice cream is made in a real ice cream factory while we were studying Ice Cream. Or how happy they were to see a real life shark at the Aquarium when we were investigating Big Fish.
Children were no longer looking at learning and going to school as boring. Instead they were having fun as they learnt through play about the things in which they were interested in.
A BETTER teacher.
The Emergent Curriculum has not only changed the way children learn but also changed me as a teacher and made me a better one!
Every day I felt more motivated and happy to go in class as it was never boring and never knew what to expect. Planning was being changed continuously as I followed the rhythm of the children. I felt as though I was learning together with the children as we did research and investigations together. The children would curiously gather around as I read information or watch videos related to the topic. Questions were endless and investigations would go on and on.
Thinking outside the box always helped me to make learning experiences fun and memorable for my little learners. This helped me to become even more creative in my job.
Useless paperwork and endless hours of cutting are no longer in the picture. This meant that I was able to spend more time interacting and observing the children. Hence, I got to know my students better as different individuals with different interests and capabilities. I was also able to mark their progress, improvements, needs and strengths and plan activities accordingly.
To sum up, this approach successfully made; HAPPIER children who LOVE LEARNING and a HAPPIER teacher who LOVES TEACHING!
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