WEBVTT 00:00:04.110 --> 00:00:07.730 Hello and welcome to Blooming Curious, a podcast 00:00:07.730 --> 00:00:10.410 that's all about nurturing that natural curiosity 00:00:10.410 --> 00:00:14.410 in our earliest kids and students. I'm Edwina, 00:00:14.669 --> 00:00:17.449 your host from the Ed's Lessons blog, a passionate 00:00:17.449 --> 00:00:20.289 advocate for play and inquiry, and on a mission 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:23.510 to keep children curious and questioning. The 00:00:23.510 --> 00:00:26.750 days of talk and chalk are over. We're diving 00:00:26.750 --> 00:00:30.269 into the world of integrated inquiry and nature 00:00:30.269 --> 00:00:32.979 -based learning. and exploring the strategies 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:35.840 that create lifelong learners. So if you're a 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.359 classroom or homeschool educator or even a curious 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:43.899 parent then this is the place for you. Hello 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:48.719 everyone and happy 2024! At the beginning of 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.140 every year or new adventure we consider what 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:53.920 we want to achieve and we set our goals and hopefully 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:57.450 we work towards them. For educators it's a time 00:00:57.450 --> 00:01:00.570 to reflect on our pedagogy and if you're a recent 00:01:00.570 --> 00:01:03.829 graduate or you're new to homeschooling or considering 00:01:03.829 --> 00:01:06.849 starting homeschooling then it's time to think 00:01:06.849 --> 00:01:09.709 about your why. So from now until the end of 00:01:09.709 --> 00:01:12.629 February this is your Getting Started series 00:01:12.629 --> 00:01:15.909 where every week we're going to explore the topics 00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:19.109 that you need for a successful teaching year. 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:22.920 Everything from how to know what to teach, for 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:26.060 example, working with a curriculum, to timetabling, 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:28.659 to setting up inspiring learning environment, 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:31.920 and how play fits into your learning, and of 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:35.400 course, much more. So today we start at the beginning. 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:38.180 So you've decided you want to teach children. 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:42.159 Great. You're in for the time of your life. But 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.540 now what? Before you can even start anywhere, 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.909 you need to know what you believe about education 00:01:49.909 --> 00:01:53.670 and how children learn best. So it starts with 00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:56.530 research. That's what we teachers have hopefully 00:01:56.530 --> 00:01:59.250 covered in our university studies. We studied 00:01:59.250 --> 00:02:01.469 the different approaches, or hopefully anyway, 00:02:02.049 --> 00:02:06.170 to education as defined by researchers and educationists 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:10.789 like Maria Montessori, Loris Malaguzzi, Rudolf 00:02:10.789 --> 00:02:13.710 Steiner, John Dewey and other theorists like 00:02:13.710 --> 00:02:17.729 Jerome Brunner and Lev Vygotsky. Because we are 00:02:17.729 --> 00:02:21.069 not researchers ourselves, we need to look at 00:02:21.069 --> 00:02:24.530 work of these giants that came before us, who 00:02:24.530 --> 00:02:27.430 made it their life's work to study the way children 00:02:27.430 --> 00:02:29.930 learn. Now I know that some of you are going 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:33.550 to say, but I'm a parent and I know instinctively 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:37.629 what my kids need, and that's true. But we also 00:02:37.629 --> 00:02:40.750 come into this world with no set of instructions. 00:02:41.169 --> 00:02:45.560 We learn on the job so to speak. So then to have 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:47.539 a look at the work that other people have done 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:51.020 before us I think that makes for a much better 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:54.020 teacher. I think I became a much better teacher 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:56.819 once I became a parent and I think I was a better 00:02:56.819 --> 00:03:00.219 parent because I actually was a teacher first. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.379 So when we first start out as teachers we more 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:06.479 than likely have very little experience working 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.639 with children and we've probably not spent much 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.569 time at all. observing them in their play and 00:03:12.569 --> 00:03:15.729 activities. But these researchers that I mentioned 00:03:15.729 --> 00:03:18.770 before and so many others, they have. So we need 00:03:18.770 --> 00:03:21.930 to know what they discovered. And if you're a 00:03:21.930 --> 00:03:24.289 home school educator, well then you also have 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:27.330 the advantage of having observed your children 00:03:27.330 --> 00:03:30.689 and you have a reasonable idea or a very good 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:34.969 idea of what they or how they approach learning 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:37.490 and what their strengths and challenges are. 00:03:38.110 --> 00:03:40.629 I clearly remember one of my university lecturers 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:42.789 saying for the first six weeks, don't worry about 00:03:42.789 --> 00:03:46.229 curriculum too much. Design activities that allow 00:03:46.229 --> 00:03:49.250 you to get to know your students and how they 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:52.770 learn and use this time to build relationships. 00:03:53.169 --> 00:03:57.189 And I think that is excellent advice. That means 00:03:57.189 --> 00:03:59.389 that starting out, the first thing we need to 00:03:59.389 --> 00:04:02.849 know is our why. Why are we doing this? And what 00:04:02.849 --> 00:04:05.629 do we believe about the way children learn best? 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:09.580 I personally have an eclectic approach, taking 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:12.199 bits from various approaches that align with 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:15.000 my philosophy of how kids learn best, gained 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.660 through my formal studies, my experience as an 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:22.540 educator and as a parent. One thing that resonates 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:26.360 for me about the Regio Emilia approach is that 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.120 its mission is to provide a nurturing environment 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:33.079 that promotes knowledge and a love of learning. 00:04:33.579 --> 00:04:35.819 And that's why it's my approach too, because 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:38.360 I believe that if kids don't love learning, they 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:41.860 aren't going to want to learn. This approach 00:04:41.860 --> 00:04:45.920 isn't linear. It sees children as the initiators 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:49.269 of their own learning. with parents, teachers 00:04:49.269 --> 00:04:52.850 and the community as collaborators alongside 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:55.129 children. So that's their grandparents, their 00:04:55.129 --> 00:04:57.750 aunties and their uncles. Parents are seen as 00:04:57.750 --> 00:05:00.970 their children's first educators and are critical 00:05:00.970 --> 00:05:04.449 to children's learning. Parents and the home 00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:07.069 provide the safety and the foundation from which 00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:11.250 children's learning and curiosity develops. Teachers 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:13.709 are seen as partners in the learning journey. 00:05:14.110 --> 00:05:17.639 They are the ones that guide and discover problem 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.199 -solving and critical thinking. Teachers guide 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.660 further discovery and learning from the children's 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:26.120 interests. The environment is seen as the third 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:30.120 teacher. Regio classrooms are seen as a living 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.980 organism. Spaces that only use natural materials 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:37.199 to provide authentic opportunities for exploration. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:41.339 Children are seen as capable communicators, each 00:05:41.339 --> 00:05:43.899 with their own preferred method. They should 00:05:43.899 --> 00:05:46.660 be allowed to demonstrate their learning and 00:05:46.660 --> 00:05:49.360 their understanding using a variety of materials 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:52.399 and methods like drama, art, poetry, sculpture, 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:57.480 writing, music, etc. The list is long. So for 00:05:57.480 --> 00:05:59.779 me, this combination of the parents being the 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:03.199 first educator, the beauty and creativity that 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:05.040 comes from the environment as being the third 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:08.360 teacher, and the teacher as facilitator of learning 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:12.240 aligns perfectly with my belief and passion for 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.040 inquiry -based learning. Now, when you throw 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.860 Dewey into the mix with his philosophy that students 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:21.079 should be engaged in active learning and inquiry 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:24.720 that gives them opportunities to discover information 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:28.079 and ideas by their own effort, and then applying 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:30.800 their knowledge gained to problem -solving and 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:34.279 testing ideas, as well as Vygotsky's work on 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.199 the zone of proximal development, which is that 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.759 space between what a learner can do independently 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.579 and what they can achieve when we scaffold them 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:46.180 to go further. Then we set high expectations 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:49.180 for them so they can meet their full potential. 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:53.439 And so all of this together is what really has 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:57.360 created my philosophy, my why, what I believe. 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:02.259 And that is why inquiry -based learning is just 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:04.800 so important to me. And of course, I've seen 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:08.540 firsthand how amazing it is at getting kids to 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:11.279 love learning and engaging them. And speaking 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:14.180 about inquiry -based learning, by the way, I've 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:19.230 created an e -guide called Enquiry 101 and it's 00:07:19.230 --> 00:07:22.029 especially for teachers and educators who are 00:07:22.029 --> 00:07:25.009 new to inquiry based learning. I have set out 00:07:25.009 --> 00:07:28.430 the whole process for you in easy to follow steps 00:07:28.430 --> 00:07:31.769 so that you can successfully implement and integrate 00:07:31.769 --> 00:07:35.350 inquiry into your teaching plan. I've also included 00:07:35.350 --> 00:07:38.490 some graphic organizers, all to help you just 00:07:38.490 --> 00:07:41.769 get started. So don't wait. If you want to see 00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:45.110 it or buy it for a less than a cup of coffee 00:07:45.110 --> 00:07:50.009 and a muffin, go to resources .edslessons .com 00:07:50.009 --> 00:07:54.540 forward slash inquiry 101. Now we can also look 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:58.319 at Maria Montessori's philosophy which focuses 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.759 on hands -on independent learning which is centered 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:05.019 on children directing their own learning using 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:07.639 beautifully designed Montessori -designed resources. 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:10.420 The resources allow children to learn at their 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:14.180 own pace and to build on their skill set. This 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:16.959 approach encourages a love for learning and many 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:19.519 of the principles serve children with special 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:23.120 needs. This hands -on approach of Montessori 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.819 is so valuable because we know that children 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:28.860 learn by doing and this again combines so well 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:32.460 with inquiry where children are actively experimenting 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:37.500 and testing. Steiner -Waldorf education's approach 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:41.840 is found on the ideas of Rudolf Steiner on how 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.659 to allow children to be their true selves, be 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:48.139 good citizens. by contributing to a society and 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:50.860 to be a force of good in the world. The Steiner 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:53.580 education is very focused on the developmental 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:56.659 stages of children and have a very strong emphasis 00:08:56.659 --> 00:09:00.000 on the arts and physical movement. So I've just 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.960 given you a taste of some education approaches 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.379 and it's really up to you now to decide and discover 00:09:06.379 --> 00:09:10.059 which one resonates with you. So to wrap things 00:09:10.059 --> 00:09:13.360 up, when you're starting out, it's not just about 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:17.080 regurgitating a curriculum. It's our delivery 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:20.500 of the curriculum and our pedagogy, which is 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:23.340 wrapped up in our philosophy that guides our 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:26.620 teaching. Personally, if you decide you're going 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:29.620 to teach the next generation, this is not something 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:32.700 to be taken lightly. Whether you homeschool or 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:35.480 you teach in a classroom, the job of teaching 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:39.860 is serious business. Kids need teachers who are 00:09:39.860 --> 00:09:43.419 passionate and enthusiastic and curious and love 00:09:43.419 --> 00:09:46.440 learning themselves because we are the models 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:49.480 that children will follow. So as you plan and 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:51.899 think about your teaching practice for next year, 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.659 start by thinking about your philosophy. Write 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:58.500 it out, much like a mission statement, which 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:01.100 will become the beacon that guides your teaching. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.600 I will provide links to all these approaches 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:06.879 in the show notes for you to explore further, 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:10.200 as well as to my Inquiry 101 guide, which by 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:12.500 the way is beautifully prepared and available 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.759 now for less than the price of a cup of coffee 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.580 and a muffin by the way, which I've said before. 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:22.320 It's priced well below its worth. So get in now. 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:25.139 Believe me, your students will thank you and 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:27.820 you will be a total rock star in their eyes. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:30.759 Hey, and if you like my content, please share 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:34.159 it so that more people can benefit. I'll be back 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:36.740 next week when we will continue with the Getting 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:40.220 Started series and we'll chat about how to plan 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:44.419 a curriculum. Until then, stay blooming curious.