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EMERGENT/NEGOTIATED

"The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences.  We must  widen the range of topics and goals, the types of situations we offer and their degree of structure, the kinds and combinations of resources and materials, and the possible interactions with things, peers, and adults. (Loris Malaguzzi, 1998, p. 79)".

ACCESS embraces the emergent curriculum model, in part, because it is the most efficient and effective method to engage children in deep and meaningful curriculum.  When we are motivated to learn, we learn more quickly and thoroughly and also commit this knowledge to long term memory  which serves as the foundation to which new information is attached.  In many classrooms, children spend much of the day filling time with isolated activities that do not reflect their interests.  By using an emergent curriculum model, ACCESS teachers capitalize on the wonder and passion that young children have about the world around them. 

SOURCES OF EMERGENT CURRICULUM

-Children's interests

-Teachers interests

-Developmental tasks

-Things in the physical environment

-People in the social environment

-Curriculum resource materials

-Serendipity-unexpected events

-Living together: conflict resolution, caregiving, and routines

-Values held in the school and community, family, and culture

Emergent curriculum is an effective and efficient model of organizing curriculum around topics of great interest.  Decisions about the topics to study are made by both teacher and children who negotiate until a topic of study emerges that is highly interesting to children and also has the capability of addressing early learning and developmental standards.  Families contribute to an emergent curriculum through their expertise and their culture.  It is possible for children of all ages to participate in an emergent curriculum; however, it will look different at each age level. 
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Developmentally appropriate curriculum is both socially relevant and personally meaningful for children in the classroom. Creating a curriculum that represents an understanding of the children, their family culture, and their region provides learning experiences that are meaningful and relevant.
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Through ongoing interactions and observations, teachers become aware of the topics that interest children the most. This awareness helps them identify topics that are worthy of study.
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Technology is used to add investigations or to add to expertise of a subject matter or to simply record the results of an experiment. Children are not encouraged to use the internet or technology to simply find the answer, but rather to enhance and gather more information to continue their investigation work.
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The family is an important source of information and inspiration for possible topics of study.

THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

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For many early childhood traditionalists, technology is seen as a vehicle for inappropriate practice through the use of computer based interactive workbooks.  At the Bombeck Center we view technology as an important tool for research, documentation and parent communication.  While the use of pre-packaged computer software for young children is deemphasized, ACCESS teachers in infant, toddler and preschool classrooms rely heavily on the internet to search for information using their tablets, iPads, smartphones and computers.  They are careful not to allow too much information to derail an investigation.  For example, if a group of children are investigating how earthworms can live in a garden without eating the fruits or vegetables, the teacher will encourage children to come up with hypotheses, conduct experiments to tests these hypotheses, and then report the results.  They will not use the internet to come up with the answer to their overall research question.  They may however, use technology to find out enough about earthworms to plan an experience or add to their investigation.  Questions like “where do you get earthworms?”, to what do they need to stay alive?” and “do they have a tail?” might be searched in the process of setting up an experiment.

Children will also use technology to record the result of the experiment.  They may take a digital picture each day to see if the earthworms have eaten the apple that was placed in the  habitat.  They might take pictures of tadpoles as they progress through their life cycle.  Capturing a picture of a block structure or a video of a play that the class acted out allows children to document projects and products that are important to them.  


ENVIRONMENTS

ACCESS views the classroom environment as vital in creating an inspiring child-centered curriculum.  An organized and well-staged environment will support learning in all domains of development; will inspire wonder, creativity and innovation; and will help children organize their neuro-network to make sense of their world.  With ACCESS, the physical environment must be intentionally designed to support the strengths, needs and interests of the children in the room both individually and collectively.  The environment is not static and evolves as the children grow and develop and as their interests change.


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PHONE: 937-221-9552 | EMAIL: inquiry@accesscurriculum.com
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  • Home
  • ACCESS IN ACTION
    • INVESTIGATIONS >
      • YOUNG METEOROLOGIST
      • DENDROLOGY
      • ROBOTS
    • MINI-INVESTIGATIONS
    • DAILY ROUTINES
  • RESOURCES
  • TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
  • CONTACT US
  • FOR ACCESS MEMBERS