Hello and welcome to Blooming Curious, a podcast
that's all about nurturing that natural curiosity
in our earliest kids and students. I'm Edwina,
your host from the Ed's Lessons blog, a passionate
advocate for play and inquiry, and on a mission
to keep children curious and questioning. The
days of talk and chalk are over. We're diving
into the world of integrated inquiry and nature
-based learning. and exploring the strategies
that create lifelong learners. So if you're a
classroom or homeschool educator or even a curious
parent then this is the place for you. Hello
everyone and happy 2024! At the beginning of
every year or new adventure we consider what
we want to achieve and we set our goals and hopefully
we work towards them. For educators it's a time
to reflect on our pedagogy and if you're a recent
graduate or you're new to homeschooling or considering
starting homeschooling then it's time to think
about your why. So from now until the end of
February this is your Getting Started series
where every week we're going to explore the topics
that you need for a successful teaching year.
Everything from how to know what to teach, for
example, working with a curriculum, to timetabling,
to setting up inspiring learning environment,
and how play fits into your learning, and of
course, much more. So today we start at the beginning.
So you've decided you want to teach children.
Great. You're in for the time of your life. But
now what? Before you can even start anywhere,
you need to know what you believe about education
and how children learn best. So it starts with
research. That's what we teachers have hopefully
covered in our university studies. We studied
the different approaches, or hopefully anyway,
to education as defined by researchers and educationists
like Maria Montessori, Loris Malaguzzi, Rudolf
Steiner, John Dewey and other theorists like
Jerome Brunner and Lev Vygotsky. Because we are
not researchers ourselves, we need to look at
work of these giants that came before us, who
made it their life's work to study the way children
learn. Now I know that some of you are going
to say, but I'm a parent and I know instinctively
what my kids need, and that's true. But we also
come into this world with no set of instructions.
We learn on the job so to speak. So then to have
a look at the work that other people have done
before us I think that makes for a much better
teacher. I think I became a much better teacher
once I became a parent and I think I was a better
parent because I actually was a teacher first.
So when we first start out as teachers we more
than likely have very little experience working
with children and we've probably not spent much
time at all. observing them in their play and
activities. But these researchers that I mentioned
before and so many others, they have. So we need
to know what they discovered. And if you're a
home school educator, well then you also have
the advantage of having observed your children
and you have a reasonable idea or a very good
idea of what they or how they approach learning
and what their strengths and challenges are.
I clearly remember one of my university lecturers
saying for the first six weeks, don't worry about
curriculum too much. Design activities that allow
you to get to know your students and how they
learn and use this time to build relationships.
And I think that is excellent advice. That means
that starting out, the first thing we need to
know is our why. Why are we doing this? And what
do we believe about the way children learn best?
I personally have an eclectic approach, taking
bits from various approaches that align with
my philosophy of how kids learn best, gained
through my formal studies, my experience as an
educator and as a parent. One thing that resonates
for me about the Regio Emilia approach is that
its mission is to provide a nurturing environment
that promotes knowledge and a love of learning.
And that's why it's my approach too, because
I believe that if kids don't love learning, they
aren't going to want to learn. This approach
isn't linear. It sees children as the initiators
of their own learning. with parents, teachers
and the community as collaborators alongside
children. So that's their grandparents, their
aunties and their uncles. Parents are seen as
their children's first educators and are critical
to children's learning. Parents and the home
provide the safety and the foundation from which
children's learning and curiosity develops. Teachers
are seen as partners in the learning journey.
They are the ones that guide and discover problem
-solving and critical thinking. Teachers guide
further discovery and learning from the children's
interests. The environment is seen as the third
teacher. Regio classrooms are seen as a living
organism. Spaces that only use natural materials
to provide authentic opportunities for exploration.
Children are seen as capable communicators, each
with their own preferred method. They should
be allowed to demonstrate their learning and
their understanding using a variety of materials
and methods like drama, art, poetry, sculpture,
writing, music, etc. The list is long. So for
me, this combination of the parents being the
first educator, the beauty and creativity that
comes from the environment as being the third
teacher, and the teacher as facilitator of learning
aligns perfectly with my belief and passion for
inquiry -based learning. Now, when you throw
Dewey into the mix with his philosophy that students
should be engaged in active learning and inquiry
that gives them opportunities to discover information
and ideas by their own effort, and then applying
their knowledge gained to problem -solving and
testing ideas, as well as Vygotsky's work on
the zone of proximal development, which is that
space between what a learner can do independently
and what they can achieve when we scaffold them
to go further. Then we set high expectations
for them so they can meet their full potential.
And so all of this together is what really has
created my philosophy, my why, what I believe.
And that is why inquiry -based learning is just
so important to me. And of course, I've seen
firsthand how amazing it is at getting kids to
love learning and engaging them. And speaking
about inquiry -based learning, by the way, I've
created an e -guide called Enquiry 101 and it's
especially for teachers and educators who are
new to inquiry based learning. I have set out
the whole process for you in easy to follow steps
so that you can successfully implement and integrate
inquiry into your teaching plan. I've also included
some graphic organizers, all to help you just
get started. So don't wait. If you want to see
it or buy it for a less than a cup of coffee
and a muffin, go to resources .edslessons .com
forward slash inquiry 101. Now we can also look
at Maria Montessori's philosophy which focuses
on hands -on independent learning which is centered
on children directing their own learning using
beautifully designed Montessori -designed resources.
The resources allow children to learn at their
own pace and to build on their skill set. This
approach encourages a love for learning and many
of the principles serve children with special
needs. This hands -on approach of Montessori
is so valuable because we know that children
learn by doing and this again combines so well
with inquiry where children are actively experimenting
and testing. Steiner -Waldorf education's approach
is found on the ideas of Rudolf Steiner on how
to allow children to be their true selves, be
good citizens. by contributing to a society and
to be a force of good in the world. The Steiner
education is very focused on the developmental
stages of children and have a very strong emphasis
on the arts and physical movement. So I've just
given you a taste of some education approaches
and it's really up to you now to decide and discover
which one resonates with you. So to wrap things
up, when you're starting out, it's not just about
regurgitating a curriculum. It's our delivery
of the curriculum and our pedagogy, which is
wrapped up in our philosophy that guides our
teaching. Personally, if you decide you're going
to teach the next generation, this is not something
to be taken lightly. Whether you homeschool or
you teach in a classroom, the job of teaching
is serious business. Kids need teachers who are
passionate and enthusiastic and curious and love
learning themselves because we are the models
that children will follow. So as you plan and
think about your teaching practice for next year,
start by thinking about your philosophy. Write
it out, much like a mission statement, which
will become the beacon that guides your teaching.
I will provide links to all these approaches
in the show notes for you to explore further,
as well as to my Inquiry 101 guide, which by
the way is beautifully prepared and available
now for less than the price of a cup of coffee
and a muffin by the way, which I've said before.
It's priced well below its worth. So get in now.
Believe me, your students will thank you and
you will be a total rock star in their eyes.
Hey, and if you like my content, please share
it so that more people can benefit. I'll be back
next week when we will continue with the Getting
Started series and we'll chat about how to plan
a curriculum. Until then, stay blooming curious.