Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/octopus-brains-and-other-fascinations-nurturing-thinkers-explorers-and-innovators/5024316/
The world holds a limitless amount of information for all generations to ponder, explore and discover. Our goal, in part, is to nurture children who will be those thinkers, explorers and innovators. It seems simple, yet fostering an environment that embraces an inquiry-based philosophy requires commitment, planning, implementation and reinforcement and often a change in paradigm. It may seem like a daunting task. For administrators, it may also be the work that defines your program, guides the daily experiences of children, and forges the path to quality.
A Change in Paradigm
Early education providers hail from an array of backgrounds, educational credits and life experiences. This adds to the rich flavor of a program. It also means that providers have varied ideas of what “teaching” is. Defining teaching, in your program, is the responsibility of the administration and can require clarification and reinforcement.
As a quality improvement specialist, I am privileged to be able to spend time in classrooms. While in these programs, I have noted that the day is often split between what is conceived as “play time” and “learning time.” The part of the day envisioned as learning time often involves a teacher standing in the front of a group of children ...