Look-through approach

In Ireland there are an extensive variety of curricula in use, including Montessori, Frobel, play based and Reggio Emilia approach. Although all different approaches to childcare they are underpinned by Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework (NCCA, 2009) and Siolta, (CECDE, 2006) our national quality framework for early childhood education. The Montessori method is based on the teachings of Maria Montessori, she had many principles and areas of interest these included the cultural…

Introduction The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education has been called “arguably, the most successful, most extensive and most sustained example of radical or progressive education that has ever been” (Moss, 2016, p. 167). Drawing inspiration from theorists such as Montessori, Dewey, and Piaget, Loris Malaguzzi created a social constructivist approach, which envisioned learning as an active process. Under Reggio Emilia, children are seen as unique and capable individuals who…

old through to 5 years old it gives me a unique opportunity to see these children develop as they grow up over the years, to be able to see their negotiation skills increase and their sense of agency develop through our play based programs. My centre bases its philosophy on the Reggio Emilia approach. This approach ties in extremely well with the importance of play as it views children as competent leaders and initiators interacting with their environment (Garrett, 2017). Using this approach…

Reggio Emilia  The Reggio Emilia approach is a child-centred approach and it started in a small Italian town of the same name. The approach was inspired by Loris Malaguzzi.  It is very collaborative with parents and practitioners working together to meet children’s interests and needs.  They believe the environment is the third educator with parents and practitioners being the first and second.  Adults play an important role when working with children. It also stresses the importance of…

children should have the same equipment and resources as us but in child sized. We see this in settings every day for example child sized tables and chairs. Montessori’s approach is well respected, with lots of setting in the UK following this approach, however there are theories that disagree with her and have a different style of approach too. Montessori’s theory was/is similar to other international approaches too. One of the theorists that is similar is forest schools. Both these approaches…

words). The Direct Instruction Approach that was shown in this video emphasizes rote learning, repetition, and the entire class participating. As a teacher would tap on a board or table, the entire classroom of students would read out loud what the teacher was pointing at. Because of this repetition, children learn from their peers, especially when it comes to sounding out words and sentences. The teachers interviewed were specifically trained for this approach, and explained to the viewers…

based on the child’s personal interests, this will keep them engaged for a longer period of time, they will be more motivated to stay on task, this means that learning through play will become more effective for the child. The Reggio Emilia approach relates to this as ‘The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity…

Children often make environments amongst the classroom what they desire that area to be for. Even though our program and curriculum state that an area is desired for a particular activity, children will make use of what they can find. A Reggio Emilia approach advocates that teachers pay close attention to the myriad of ways that space can be made to “speak” and invite interaction (Cadwell, 2003; Fraser, 2006), such as positioning small mirrors around the classroom or placing easels close to…

provide opportunities for children to make their own decisions and to establish their own ideas- which represents Piaget’s (1896) theory as it allows children to be in control of their own learning (Hammersley-Fletcher et al, 2006). This is portrayed through free- flow play. Sylva (1997) and Bruce (1947) identified that free flow promotes heuristic play as children explore, manipulate, discover and practise- resulting in the progression of children’s cognitive development (Bruce, 2001). Sylva…

curriculum should reflect the way children think and process information. Piaget’s theory that cognitive development occurs in four stages; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational are also essential to the Reggio Emilia Approach, where the learning process happens over time, developing and growing with each stage of development. Malaguzzi drew from Vygotsky’s idea that there is a zone of proximal development that children best learn when being intentionally…