The Reggio... Experience

Finally, after a very busy summer and in the midst of a move, I'm finally posting my Reggio Presentation from last year. Click on the title for the link to the slides. Hope you find it helpful in explaining some of the mystery behind Reggio as well as a bit of its history.

The Reggio Emilia Experience...

Exploring The Wonder of Learning Reggio Exhibit

What I noticed:

- The arts were embraced and always incorporated into inquiries.

- Educators mostly observed students and said very little.

- Authentic learning experiences occur in conjunction with the community; students' drawings of "sound machines" actually became real with the help of a local carpenter 

- Writing was incorporated in all inquiries in artistic ways; i.e.  Students were encouraged to illustrate the sounds and dances. 

- They used whole rooms to begin explorations and drew inquiries based on the students' dialogue and interaction in the spaces.

--There was room of columns where they explored movement and created a dance.

--The stairwell was a place to investigate sound

-- Light is explored through an entire room and overhead projectors were used with many different materials. 

What I wondered:

- how did educators guide inquiries; how did they move them along and build their vocabulary and understanding? 

- - what books they may have read for certain inquiries?

-- what questions did they ask?

-- how could I integrate more French into inquiries with their limited vocabulary? 

Possible Next steps:

- Invite parents into the classroom to share experiences, bring more authentic learning and build community 

- Create our own overhead projector and  workspace to explore light with mirror and various loose parts

- Group art projects:

--large floor canvases of materials to explore prior to using in art

-- provide different materials of same colour and create own art square and then put them all together

-Make more space to allow students to bring in natural objects and create art

 --investigate colour and texture by grinding up old leaves in different consistencies to create paint

-- pebble art project - create art outside by building with pebbles then reflect together on what they see in it.

A Snapshot of the Reggio Approach

Having finished my Kindergarten course a year ago, it is long overdue to share a few insights I gained.  I didn't end up reading the Hundred Languages of Children in depth; however, I did discover a lot of the history behind the Reggio Approach, some key components, and some excellent resources. I must say, having taught Kindergarten for a couple years, it was really fascinating to see the connections between the new Kindergarten practices promoted in the Ontario Full-Day Kindergarten Program (2010) and the Reggio Approach, which began so many years ago shortly after World War II. Unfortunately during my trip to Italy last summer I was so busy I wasn't able to fit a extra day trip to Reggio but lucky for me the Reggio exhibit is touring in Toronto this summer and I'll be making a stop there next week!  Also, I'm excited to read more about Reggio practices in Authentic Childhood, an excellence resource I only glanced over last summer. When I return home next week I will attach my slides from my Reggio presentation from last summer.  

  

My Kindergarten Specialist

I am thrilled to be doing my Kindergarten Specialist this summer and very excited the course is running in person at the University of Ottawa again. I took Kindergarten Part II last summer and due to the number of registrants the course was combined with students in Parts 1, 2, and 3. This was an ideal way to learn as we had all come from different backgrounds and knowledge and it gave me the opportunity to find out what assignments were involved in the specialist course. We also have less in-class time and more independent study which is such a wonderful way to learn during the summer !

I knew the Specialist course involved a short presentation on an early childhood researcher as well as a workshop to lead so I already began to brainstorm ideas last summer. I am interested in learning more about the Reggio Emilia Approach and am excited to explore The Hundred Languages of Children and find out what it is all about. At the end of this summer I happen to be traveling through Italy and am hoping to have the opportunity to visit a Reggio Emilia school, to connect with some educators and to experience Reggio first-hand. Besides the Reggio Emilia Approach, I hope to gain practical strategies, new resources, and teaching tips through collaboration and networking with classmates this summer.

Through this course and over the next year I would like to gain more knowledge and strategies on the following topics :

§  The Reggio Emilia Approach

§  Self-regulation and Conscious Discipline strategies

§  The new curriculum expectations and the Four Frames.

§  Organization of assessment, documentation, and evaluation by the Kindergarten Team (English Teacher, French Teacher, ECEs)

I am really looking forward to gaining new insights into these topics and applying new techniques in the classroom next year. I will continue to share my learning journey on this blog and hope to inspire many educators around the globe!

Number Talks - Plans for Next Year

Kindergarten Number Talks PLC

Today we introduced some colleagues to the concept of Number Talks through videos and discussed plans for implementing them next year.

Key ideas we learned from this year:

• We must be more consistent with the gestures for Number Talks.
• Ask Question “How many dots?” - Thumbs up to chest when ready.
• Ask “Who wants to share?” - Raise your arm with thumbs up.
• We must be conscious of the language that we are using:
• How are we asking the questions?
• “What do you see?” - Their answers reflected pictures versus Math.
• When we asked “How many dots?” their answers reflected number sense.
• Emphasize the idea that it’s ok to change your mind.

Questions, Concerns, and Possible Solutions:

• Is it possible to do Number Talks every day?
• Can be time-consuming. Teachers got bored because the process seemed slow and we were using really low number sets and many cards for the same number.
• Can we use dot plates instead?
• Do we have to show every string for a number? There are 6 strings for number 5.
• Maybe we need to show a few strings instead of all of them and then move onto the next number.
• Why don’t we stop repeating the number in French and instead split up the strings so English day does the first two strings of a number and French day does the next two.
• Can we incorporate dot cards into table top activities?
• Can we use Number Talks for other Math concepts that need to be covered?
• Can we use the gestures for other topics besides math?
• Would be beneficial to help them understand the importance of allowing everyone time to think.
• If it’s used in Kindergarten what will happen in Grade 1? Can we share it with the Grade 1’s?

Next Steps:

• Begin to teach Number Talks in the fall as whole group to introduce gestures as shown above.
• As the year goes on, differentiate into small groups during table tops.

Order of concepts:

1. Dot cards with sets of 1-5 (whole group)
1. Number Talks Twice a week focus on one number a week
1. Once on English Day & once on French Day
2. Limit Talk to 5 minutes. Do 2-3 strings of one numbers.
3. Invite only 3 students share per card.
2. Assess where SK students are at and group them as shown below.
3. Differentiate into small groups:
1. Group 1 - focus up to 10 (Goal for SKs)
2. Group 2 - focus up to 5 (Goal for JKs)

Collaborative Math Inquiry: Algebra & Geometry Task

During our last Collaborative Math Inquiry workshop, we began to discuss patterns to algebraic reasoning and uncover some struggles and misconceptions.

Why do students struggle with patterning/algebraic reasoning?

• Junior students struggle with the concept of the equals sign and see it as one-dimensional versus seeing the whole picture.
• Kindergarten students struggle with repeating a pattern because they are only focused on some parts of it but again, don’t see it as a whole set.
• Primary students had trouble with growing and shrinking patterns.
• Difficulty with the language/vocabulary to describe the pattern.
• Intermediate students are struggling at solving word problems involving algebra. They had trouble getting started. They were able to see patterns and solve algebraic equations.

Developing Possible Rich Tasks to assess students’ algebraic abilities

Our focus for these tasks are to uncover where the students' misconceptions are and how we will respond to them. We were given a list suggested tasks from Kindergarten to grade 8 from the resource Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction by Marian Small. With our team, we chose the following Algebra and Geometry tasks:

Kindergarten Task

• Provide a pan balance and linking (snap cubes.Ask students to use the balance to model the equation 10 = 6 + 4. Then ask them to move cubes to demonstrate a different way to show 10.

Grade 1/2 Task

• Provide a selection of equations with missing values, such as the ones below. Ask students to explain how they know the missing value is less than 5 each time.

7 + ___ = 10

8 = 4 + ___

9 - 6 = ___

10 - __ = 8

Today we decided we use our PLC time to pull our target students to do our task in the hallway. One educator will guide the students through the task and the others will use video and notes to document.

Questions we asked while planning for the tasks:

• What are the best materials to provide to do this task?
• What questions we will use to guide their learning?  And in what order?

Kindergarten Task: 

The educator will provide a balance scale and three containers with 10 loose snap cubes in each (red, green, and orange) and ask: Show me how you can make 10 = 6 + 4? Can you show another way of making 10?  If necessary, educator will prompt by providing the written equation a worksheet with the visual  ◽+◽=◽.

Our Findings:

• Kindergarten students needed to have a visual of the equation in order to get started.
• They eagerly used the manipulatives provided to work on the problem.
• They both demonstrated persistence in the given task and were engaged likely due to the manipulatives.
• Both students needed lots of direction to understand the task

What helped the students move forward in their thinking?

• The educator wrote out the equation or encouraged the student to write out the equation to help remember the numbers.
• When the kindergarten student A only put in numbers 10 and 4, the two end numbers of the equation, the educator pointed to the missing number.
• Stacking the cubes into towers for each side of the equation helped them compare the amounts.
• Educators rephrased the questions and broke them into smaller steps.
• For example: Can you may 10 using a different number of the orange cubes?

What do we need to rethink?

• Balance scale was distracting and not perfectly accurate. Perhaps, it should be introduced later on in a different way.
• Students need more exposure to the vocabulary of the equation and the name and function of the symbols : add/plus, equals.
• Educators must be more conscientious in using math terminology consistently when working with students.

Grade 2 Task: 

Students were given the equations 4 + ___ = 9 and 9= __ + 4 and asked to find the missing numbers.

Our Findings:

• Student read the question backwards when it was displayed as follows: 9=5+4
• The student said it was wrong.
• In the end the student made up a new way to show 9 as: 7+2=9 and then wrote 9=7+2 but physically wrote it from right to left.
• The students used their fingers to help count versus the cubes.

What helped the students move forward in their thinking?

• Rephrasing the questions: Can you write the equation in a different way?

What do we need to rethink?

• Students need more exposure to the equations shown starting with the sum.

Car Caravan: I see, I think, I wonder...

One of my teaching partners kindly allowed me to post the learning story she wrote for our Car Caravan math task. We had some very interesting results!

Car Caravan: I see, I think, I wonder...

A small group including our student was gathered at a tabletop to show the picture. It was first thing in the morning which could explain some reluctance in sharing or talking. The other child selected was also a timid child.

The intention was to present the problem as 'I see...I think....I wonder'

When asked what do you see? Responses included:

'wood'

'It's oval' 'there is a little oval'

'Colours' 'red, orange,yellow,green, blue'

'It looks like a swimming pool' ‘It’s a portal’

'Cars'

'I see a piece of the floor'' it's a table'

'I see pink cars'

'I see circles'

It was a challenge to get the children ( all 4 year olds) to comment more on what they see. A prompt was given to further the observation and to clarify what they were observing.

'How many circles do you see?'

This prompt was followed by the child counting by pointing to the colours in the design.

When asked, 'what are you wondering about when you look at this picture?'. There was no response. After a while, a child asked, 'who made it?'

The photo was presented to the class with the same procedure:

'I see that it is on the floor'

'It's a circle'

'I see colours cars, a little bit of yellow, orange...'

'A dirty colourfully carpet on the floor'

' a really big circle'

' a very big circle with cars on it'

' it is an oval'

One child commented:

'One row red, one row orange, one row yellow, one row green, one row blue, one row shiny, one row red...'

What are you wondering? 'How many cars in a row?'

The next day, the question of “how can we find out how many cars are in a row?” resulted in a blank look and “I don’t know”  from the child.

Manipulatives were set out on a table with the picture made visible to see what the children will do.  A child (just turned 6 years old) duplicated the shape with similar coloured blocks.  Our target child (just turned 5 year old) used pencil crayons and duplicated the colour pattern in a rainbow shape.  Another child (just turned 5 years old) started the colour pattern with popsicle sticks in a square shape (using sticks) but gave up and messed up the sticks, however, she named the colours seen in the picture and collected the coloured sticks and put them into a pile in front of herself.  She then started again to replicate the colours, but this time in a inverted ‘V’ pattern.

The children noticed the colours of the picture foremost.  As an educator, support and extension could have come by asking the question “which colour do you see the most of?” then “how can we figure that out?” Leaving the question open, left the children just observing and guessing what the picture of cars was representing (swimming pool, carpet, portal). These children needed more support in addressing the mathematical thinking this picture was trying to provoke.