A great book I recommend for early education professionals to read is “Literacy Beginnings” by Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas. Fountas and Pinnell are well respected educators who have published various books about literacy learning. This book is focused on literacy experiences in the preschool classroom; and as such, can be used as a professional development guide for teachers who want to
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Providing a print rich environment gives children an opportunity to explore and interact with various types of print in a variety of ways. As defined by Amanda Rock on About.com: In a print-rich preschool environment, preschoolers are exposed to a host of different materials geared at reading and writing. Not only are the materials readily available for little ones to access as they wish, but their
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What is Discovery Learning? Discovery learning has its origins from theorist Jerome Bruner in the 1960’s, and is based on the student being an active participant in the learning process. The learning theory is based on inquiry and discovery; both in the content to be learned and the process of acquiring the knowledge. In a discovery learning classroom, students are encouraged to figure
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What is Experiential Learning? “In its simplest form, experiential learning means learning from experience or learning by doing. Experiential education first immerses learners in an experience and then encourages reflection about the experience to develop new skills, new attitudes, or new ways of thinking.” Lewis and Williams (1994, p.5). Experiential learning theory is based on the premise that knowledge is effectively acquired through learning
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A couple of Fridays ago, I was invited to attend a training for Educational Consultants on the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards (CT ELDS). As our state continues to encourage programs to use these standards, it is my job as a consultant to support programs when and where needed. During our 6 hour training, great conversations around early education, teacher responsibility, and child
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In an early learning environment, a print-rich environment is one that provides opportunities, tools and materials for children to see and use written language for a variety of purposes. We start by teaching our young children the alphabet, helping them to learn to recognize each letter in preparation for reading and writing as they grow. In the digital world we live in, children will see
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There is no doubt that a child learns best when learning takes place in an area of interest. As educators, we must keep this in mind when lesson planning. This task can be daunting, especially when given a large group of students with various interests. However, when given the opportunity to learn and grow through a deep routed interest, wonderful things can happen. This
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I am delving into murky waters, but there seems to be an ‘elephant’ in the educational theorist’s classroom. There is a tremendous amount of literature about what makes a great teacher. However, there is a surprising dearth of research on the affect good students have on teacher performance. Come to think of it, that is understandable. The influence that a good student has on
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“Opportunity looks a lot like hard work” – Ashton Kutcher, American actor At all levels of education, the interaction between the student and teacher is perhaps the most influential actor in a student’s academic success. Research shows that exposure to effective teachers, over several years, makes a tangible difference in achievement. Alone, this may be enough to significantly narrow the achievement gap. Those gifted
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“Summertime and the living is easy…” – from the folk opera Porky & Bess, George & Ira Gershwin, 1937 Summertime was anything but easy for those students who habitually spent part of their vacation back in school. Now that school has been dismissed for summer vacation, I recall spending many summers, in the stifling heat, making-up for what I hadn’t done during the year. School started
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