Curriculum – Project Approach & Emergent Curriculum

  • Project Approach
    • A project, by definition, is an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of a student’s attention and effort. 
    • The study may be carried out with an entire class or with small groups of students—most often at the preschool, elementary, and middle school levels.
    •  Projects typically do not constitute the whole educational program; instead, teachers use them alongside systematic instruction and as a means of achieving curricular goals.
    • Projects, like good stories, have a beginning, middle, and end.
    • The Project Approach offers a step-by-step guide for planning and implementing projects—and for allowing the work to evolve with students’ interests and needs.
  • Emergent Curriculum ( Connected with Reggio Emilia )
    • Collaboration of  teachers
    • Observation of the children for insight into their interests, strengths, needs, and lived realities. focuses on being responsive to children’s interests to create meaningful learning experiences. 
    • Observations of children throughout their day as a tool for constructing curriculum content. 
    • It can be practiced at any grade level. 
    •  Curriculum is child-initiated, collaborative and responsive to the children’s needs. 
    • When ongoing opportunities for practice lead to skill mastery, educators respond by enriching the learning experience through the planning and implementation of increasingly difficult tasks. 
    • As children repeatedly confront and master these “achievable challenges,” they come to view themselves as competent learners.
    • Both adults and children have initiative and make decisions.
    •  Negotiated between what interests children and what adults know is necessary for children’s education and development. 
    •  Emergent curriculum is never built on children’s interests alone; teachers and parents also have interests worth bringing into the curriculum. 
    • The role of teacher;
      • Child development theory & observation of child led process  by enabling materials and analyze topic of  interests and needs
      • Continued planning and implementation of experiences challenging each child
      • Skill mastery – enriching through addition of new materials and challenges supporting new ideas
      • Scaffolding
      • Documentation of process and result ;
        • Documenting learning experiences helps teachers understand where they have been and inspires ideas for where the curriculum might go next.
        •  It also helps children remember and understand the process of their own learning and gives parents concrete representations of their children’s developmental growth.
        • The use of written observations (recorded in planning books), progress reports, photographs, portfolios and journals (with preschool-aged children).
    • The Program Plan
      • “WEB,” which early childhood educators post weekly as a visual account of the learning experiences that are offered across all curriculum areas.
      • Group interests for the week are indicated at the centre of the curriculum web. 
      • Experiences in each of the curriculum areas are then recorded as a reflection of these interests.
      •  Typically, curriculum categories vary according to the age group educators are planning for or reflect individual program priorities.
    • The benefits of Emergent Curriculum
      • Children’s interests serve as the basis for program development;
      • Expression of individual strengths is ensured;
      • Unique learning needs are supported;
      • Curriculum content is an extension of home/family life;
      • Increased parental involvement is encouraged and;
      • Diversity is celebrated in its fullest form.