How to Plan for an Emergent Curriculum
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To plan for an emergent curriculum, it takes the careful process of observing, documenting, discussing, and decision making on part of the teacher. The first thing teachers do is listen carefully to the children and observe them in their play, for the purpose of developing the emergent curriculum (Aslan, 2018). As Sampson and McLean (2021) state, the teachers need to be actively seeking out and chasing the interests of their children. For this kind of teaching approach, it requires a high degree of trust within the teacher’s creative abilities and visualizes the child as someone who is actively seeking knowledge, rather than passively taking in the knowledge prescribed by the teacher (Biermeier, 2015). In turn, learning becomes individualized.
When following this approach, it is not about the “right” answers; rather it is fixated on supporting our students’ feelings of control over their learning and a sense of community, which includes their ability to research, plan, collaborate together, and problem solve (Sampson and McLean, 2021).
When actively seeking out the interests of our students, it is important to use pedagogical documentation as a means to communicate and illustrate the learning and thinking of the children in the classroom as well as a way to push their discoveries further (Sampson and McLean, 2021). In early childhood, there are numerous reasons on how and why we document our observations; the most common is to evaluate our students’ knowledge. However, pedagogical documentation is more multifaceted, as it becomes a form of research into our students’ relationships with their world (Sampson and McLean, 2021). Within the emergent curriculum approach, one must be confident that learning IS happening. As the teacher, it is our responsibility to identify, guide, support, and make learning noticeable as well as understand the meaning of our students’ play through the use of pedagogical documentation (Sampson and McLean, 2021).
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Other ways to identify student interests:
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Give simple surveys throughout the year to gauge how and what your students are interested in.
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Tap into students’ cultural and home experiences.
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Implement a Wonder Wall in your classroom where you add/document all of the students’ wonders they encounter.
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Become a participant in their play to identify areas of:
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Interests
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Wonders
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Observe, observe, observe!
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Document, document, document!
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The purpose of documenting is to identify the ideas, interest, concepts, and learning development of our students and to develop ideas for the next learning period (Aslan, 2018).
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When observing your students in play, record the interests you notice of the child and their developmental needs. Whether you are using a webbing, a graphic organizer, a table or a more formal document for your observations, just remember to use these forms when planning. It is important to examine each child’s form and identify their needs and interests and then form the activities that are suitable to reach their needs within the context of their interests.
References
Aslan, O.M. (2018). From an academician’s preschool diary: Emergent curriculum and its practices in a qualified example of laboratory preschool. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 7(1), 97-110. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v7n1p97
Biermeier, M.A. (2015). Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent curriculum in relationship-driven learning environments. YC Young Children, 70(5), 72-79.
Sampson, M. & McLean, C. (2021). Shifting from a rules-based culture to a negotiated one in emergent curriculum. Journal of Childhood Studies, 46(1), 34-50. https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs00202119744