EARLY CHILDHOOD PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE I

Skills Development

Learning results The course is divided into 3 phases. Each phase has distinct learning goals and results. After the successful completion of Phase A, students will be able: To comprehend the class as a learning environment To acknowledge the preschooler as pupil To distinguish/locate factors that affect the quality of learning environment To familiarize themselves with tools of acquaintance and observation of the children To use them in order to collect data about the children of the class To interpret data according to the theory To approach the educational process as exploratory process To reflect critically on teaching and learning Professional Development Goals To cooperate with the classroom teacher and the responsible professors To pay attention and consult the relevant literature To follow the rules of the educational union and to respect its culture To keep archive and diary After the successful completion of Phase B, the students will be able: To communicate effectively with children To create a positive learning environment To select or even design appropriate educational material according to the needs of the children To design learning experiences taking into account: the different needs of the children, the classroom conditions, basic pedagogical principles and approaches and the curriculum of the kindergarten To implement learning experiences and be able to adapt them according to the needs of the classroom. To interpret and assess the educational process To reflect critically on teaching and learning Professional Development Goals To cooperate with the classroom teacher and the responsible professors To pay attention and consult the relevant literature To follow the rules of the educational unit and to respect its culture To be formal in their duties as kindergarten teachers To keep archive and diary After the successful completion of Phase C, students will be able to: To reflect critically on the teaching and learning making good use of the theory To self-evaluate and to describe their strong points and their points for improvements To discuss with their instructors and get feedback To complete the writing of the deliverables Professional Development Goals To cooparate with the responsible professors To pay attention and to consult the relevant literature To complete their portfolio from their participation in the internship To realize the importance of lifelong learning

Phase A Students get acquainted with the routine and the program of the kindergarten classroom that they attend during the whole semester. They get informed about the practices of the school unit in different subjects (for example children’s arrival -departure, emergency incidents, e.t.c.) and collect information about the social-cultural frame of the kindergarten. They investigate the learning environment materializing specific observations and isolate “crucial incidents” that are related to the aim of each observation. Students, daily, conduct at least one observation and write down detailed data in specific registration forms and then analyze/interpret their data according to theory. The observation axes concern different dimensions of the educational process such as classroom’s management, transfers, routines, children’s play e.t.c. Students develop relationships of trust with the children, try to get in known with them, investigating with different techniques children’s interests, experiences and abilities. In addition, they communicate with them exploiting different ways of communication. Simultaneously, they start to take part as assistants in all the classroom’s activities, under the guidance of the cooperative teacher. Gradually, they start to do personalized interventions (for instance discussions, interviews and plans with a child) and to support small groups of children in daily routines and in their play. In this way they start to manage little “learning incidents”, to “listen” children’s voice, to encourage and facilitate them to develop their thought. Phase B On this phase, students continue to investigate the learning environment with targeted remarks and also they start to participate at the educational process in a more active way, organizing, implementing and evaluating learning actions. They have the opportunity, at the beginning, to take over small groups and later, obtaining more trust and secure to themselves, the whole class, although without having yet the whole responsibility of the daily program. They have the opportunity to exploit the material of their registrations in order to organize learning activities having in mind children’s diversity. In this way they practice in formulating realistic learning goals and the right choice of the suitable strategies and materials in order to achieve them. They get acquainted to the basic learning frame of the kindergarten and also with evaluating processes when they plan, implement and evaluate learning activities for small and large groups. In addition, they gradually adopt professional practices like the use of specific tools for the design and the evaluation of the daily program, they keep diary of the activities and reflection, study of scientific books, information searching, cooperation with the classroom teacher and the parents. PHASE C Feedback- Reflection – Completion of deliverables In this phase students reflect on their personal theory about learning and teaching of the children at the kindergarten investigating the changes that happened from the beginning until the end of the internship. They elaborate and implement reflection processes, self- evaluation and intra evaluation in cooperation with “support team” and the responsible professor. They complete the e-portfolio and learn ways of exploiting the next stages of the internship program also about their profession in the future. Finally, they elaborate the whole material of the internship at the kindergartens, such as “observation’s guides”, “activities guide” “activities diary” “reflecting diary” “case study” and studying the theory, they complete the final deliverables.

early childhood pedagogy and practice

09-06-2022