The last 2 weeks have been a full-fledged divergence down the rabbit-hole of emergent curriculum. I was inspired by Marc Battles Machines video in SECD (Battle in Jamieson et al n.d.). I began to think where I had observed similar ideas in the past and how my reactions to them have changed.
Over a decade
ago when my first child reached school age, we made the decision to homeschool
him for kindergarten. I began planning and researching. We enrolled him in a support
school so that we would have the ability to consult with a teacher and have him
assessed. It was very important to my husband that he not fall behind as a
result of learning at home. I quizzed other homeschool parents on their choice
of curriculum and was particularly interested in a Doctor’s family whose
daughters seemed really intelligent but chose the method of unschooling. ‘What
in the world is unschooling!?’ I thought. Someone inaccurately summed it up
as, ‘doing no school.’ I read up on unschooling and poured over her blog trying
to figure out what this mother was doing. But, more importantly, I wanted to
know what she was using. Much to my shock there was no curriculum.
Unschooling, to this family, consisted of having a close relationship and keenly
observing their children and facilitating whatever it was that they wanted to learn
about. There were no distractions or excuses not to be curious, TV was not a
part of their routine or available to them. Another key component to this process
was called strewing (Happiness is Here, n.d.). Strewing meant
strategically placing materials, books, or items that the parent thought would
peek their child’s interest and then watching what they would do with them
(Happiness is here, n.d.). The idea of strewing fascinated me. Even though I
didn’t last as a homeschooler longer than 6 months, which is a long story in
and of itself, I have always hung onto this idea of strewing and tried to find opportunities
to do it.
Elizabeth
Jones describes similar curiosities around emergent curriculum.
“I was
interested but also confused, as I had always been by the concept of
curriculum. In my experience, curriculum was what elementary school teachers
rather than preschool teachers were supposed to cover, using prescribed textbooks
and worksheets.” (Jones, 2012, p.66)
CLICK TO VIEW: How does learning
happen
As a parent of a
daughter with cerebral palsy, I have been inspired by my daughters drive to
learn and discover despite her challenges. Observation and extension have
become second nature to us in supporting Abby. She sets the tone for what she
is interested in and we have to find creative ways to facilitate it. Relying on
traditional or common methods of learning, is not always an option. Equipment,
including special needs equipment, often falls short of meeting these needs. I was
fascinated this week to discover that methods that we have been thrown into
with our daughter are the backbone of observation and extension within emergent
Curriculum. They also seemed to mirror the concept of strewing, which I mentioned
earlier. Trust is also a key component within this method (Jones, 2012). I
notice that other people tend to hover over Abby and worry that she will hurt
herself. I feel comfortable trusting in what she CAN do rather than focusing on
what she can’t do. In our house, everyone helps. Abby wants to get in on it and
often wants to help me make dinner. I placed a step stool on the floor, gave
her some lettuce and a blunt table knife, and let her chop. She was in her joy.
Today I caught her in a moment reorganizing the boot room. No one asked her to
do this but she wants IN on everything. Emergent curriculum is inclusive and finds
a way for everyone to join in.
Within Emergent Curriculum observation, narration, and collaboration are important. Children are viewed as strong, and capable collaborators in their learning (Stacey in Spreeuwenberg, 2016). The pedagogist observes closely and notices what the children do. The curriculum is not something done to them but rather something that is observed, watched, curated and, once a theme emerges, an experiment or opportunity is presented. This opportunity is called a provocation (Stacey in Spreeuwenberg, 2016). Much like strewing, a provocation is the presentation of an opportunity to see what happens next (Battle in Jameison et al, n.d.).
Collaboration is Key
Emergent
curriculum may seem on the surface to be devoid of a plan but, rather, emergent
curriculum allows the child to inspire the plan through observation and the
teacher to create the curriculum through provocations using the cycle of
inquiry. They must then record, discuss,
and adjust as the emergent curriculum moves forward. I noticed in Marc Battles
Machines video that the process went through several planned phases (Battle in Jameison
et al, n.d.) :
1.) Observation: The pedagogists
observed that the children were interested in new garbage cans with a mechanical
step lid (Battle in Jameison et al, n.d.).
2.) Provocation: This inspired a
provocation. Marc placed pullies in the classroom (Battle in Jameison et al, n.d.).
3.) Organization and citizenship: Marc
notices that the play with pullies needs some boundaries in order to be safe,
fun, and fair. The kids collaborate to organize how the pullies will be used
and how everyone will be kept safe. This concept of responsibility through citizenship
is also echoed in Maria Montessori’s theories on child development. By allowing
children the opportunity to create, sustain and contribute to their own
community, we elevate the child and express our confidence in their ability to
create, care, and lead (Battle in Jameison et al, n.d.).
4.) Extension: Initially Marc
extends the activity by allowing the children to make models of machines. Books
are brought in to inspire their creations (Battle in Jameison et al, n.d.).
5.) Re-evaluation: This section demonstrates
the importance of pedagogists having the opportunity to record, reflect,
converse and re-group if necessary. Through this part of the process, Marc and
his team were able to assess that their curriculum needed to refocus to the construction
of machines. The children were more interested in learning how machines worked
and wanted to actually build machines rather than recreate the appearance of
machines (Battle in Jameison et al, n.d.).
6.) Re-focus and move forward: From
this point the educators were able to provide different materials and
experience that met the children’s interest and desire to build (Battle in Jameison
et al, n.d.).
The process mirrors the cycle of
inquiry which is the cornerstone of emergent curriculum:
InnovativECE. (n.d.)
http://innovativece.com/the-cycle-of-inquiry/
Susan Stacey,
comments that time for documentation, discussion, and review between educators
is a huge challenge that must be mitigated in order for emergent curriculum to
be done well. She shares that centres have found new ways to make room for this
important practice, including dedicating the majority of staff meeting time to
reflective practice, analysis, and collaboration rather than having a business
meeting. I am left inspired to be a part of a collaborative ECE community and
engage in reflective practice. I am
interested in how this method can facilitate a more inclusive classroom. When
making room for new methods like Emergent Curriculum it’s important that all
components of the process are included. With emergent curriculum the challenge
lies in making room for keen observation, documentation, discussion and
collaboration. The attractive part is that education professionals engage
within community, not just with the children but also with each other. The
cycle of inquiry is the key and educators that embrace this method should
become keen students of it.
References:
Battle, M. - Emergent
Curriculum And Machines, In Jamieson, J., Betrand, J., Elfenbaum, M., &
Koshyk, J. (n.d.). Science of early child development (North American ed.)
(North American ed.). Winnipeg, MB: Red River College. http://www.bc.scienceofecd.com/
Happiness is Here. (n.d.). Why are you strewing that?
Happinessishereblog.Com.
https://happinessishereblog.com/why-are-you-strewing-that/
InnovativECE. (n.d.).
The cycle of inquiry process [Chart]. The Cycle of Inquiry Process.
http://innovativece.com/the-cycle-of-inquiry/
Jones, E. (2012). The
Emergence of Emergent Curriculum. Young Children, 67(2), 66–68. https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40102797
Spreeuwenberg,
B., & Stacey, S. (2016, September 20). Emergent Curriculum and Inquiry
Based Practice. Himama. https://blog.himama.com/emergent-curriculum-inquiry-based-practices/
Story Park
[Storypark]. (2017, July 31). How Does Learning Happen? | Cindy Green &
Diane Kashin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUrLWqXbL8
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