The relationship between the development of language and the development of thinking and reasoning embraces issues of communication, generalisation and socialization. ‘One of man’s most distinctive characteristics is his ability to use language.  It permits him to behave more intelligently by tying together the past, present, and future. It captures concepts which are useful in solving problems.’ (Bernard1965:161) Contents Introduction

• Engaging in Active Communication page 4
• Closed Questions page
• Open Questions

Choice and Adult Participation Positive Listening and Communication Skills The work of Piaget (1959) and Vygotsky (1986). Egocentric Speech. Socialised Speech

• The Development of Autistic Thinking, Egocentric Thought & Communicative Speech
• Cognitive Goals of Thinking

Active Learning

• Positive Adult-Child Interactions

A Child-Friendly Learning Environment A Team-Based Daily Child Assessment A Consistent Daily Routine

• Planning Time – (Planning)
• Work Time – (Doing) Recall Time – (Reviewing)
• Small Group Time
• Large Group Time
• Outside Time
• Transition Times
• Supporting Children in Resolving Conflict,
• Plan -Do-Review

The Role of the Adult Within High/Scope Bibliography High/scope Education

Introduction

High/Scopeevolved as a practice based on the following three areas of study: practical interpretation of Piaget, observations of children, and traditional nursery school practices. The adult’s role is predominantly informal with an emphasis on listening to the speech of the child, respectfully participating in the child’s pretend and role playing activities, and creatively supporting language development, which includes a special emphasis on verbal reflection of the child’s activities and disposition. (DVD,1986) The following quote describes the three basic criteria which initiated the High/Scope preschool education programme. 1 ‘A coherent theory about teaching and learning must guide the curriculum development process. 2 Curriculum theory and practice must support each child’s capacity to develop individual talents and abilities through ongoing opportunities for active learning. 3  The teachers, researchers and administrators must work as partners in all aspects of curriculum development to ensure that theory and practice receive equal consideration.’(Hohmann, 2002:4) The High/Scope approach presents that:-

• ‘learning comes from within’
• ‘personal initiative ‘directs the child’s active learning
• Control needs to be shared between the adults and children

‘The adult’s role is to support and guide young children through their active learning adventures and experiences.’   (Hohmann, 2002:3)

• The adults do not dominate, direct or overpower the child’s choices of activity and emergent style of learning.

In agreement with this approach R. Pinney presents that ‘the power to learn resides in the child’ (Pinney,1992:3-5) and that:- ‘In Learner-Directed-Learning the learner decides what, when, how much and in what manner he wants to learn.......‘  He is learning at his own pace at his own selection and in his own way.....’ (Pinney,1992:12&13) Piaget describes the young child’s language as egocentric an outward expression of the child’s inner perspective. (Piaget,1956:244&273)Egocentric:  only seeing how everything affects oneself and from one’s own point of view. The conscious concern with one’s own good. (Longman Modern English Dictionary.(2^nd Ed.) Ed. Watson,1976) If the child’s egocentric perspective does direct the child’s learning and use of language, then the High/Scope role of the adult can understandably be established as supporter rather than director, andfacilitator rather than initiator.The wellbeing of the child is considered from a holistic perspective that acknowledges ‘the child as his own best expert’. (Pinney 1990)The adult is required to integrate their activity harmoniously with the quality of each child/ren’s situation, cronological age, ability, personal choices and insentives. Below describes aspectsrelated to the child/ren’s wellbeing that an adult may need to accommodate and assimilate before engaging in active communicationand subsequent interaction. Engaging in Active Communication

• Maturation and experience
  • ‘Learning oral language depends on good models, having something to communicate, and emphasis on the positive.’(Bernard1965:161)
• Motivation
  • ‘Language not only provides a vehicle for communication, but it aids in the acquisition and preservation of new ideas.’ (Bernard,1965:148)
• Language skills
• ‘..... how complex are the functions of language, and how futile the attempt to reduce them all to one – that of communicating thought.’  (Piaget,1956:2)
• Social cooperation and social communication
  • ‘Social organization is formed through communication, and its’ stability depends on facility in communication. ‘(Bernard1965:148)
  • ‘Each function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people, and then inside the child.’ (Cited in Nelson,1996:19)
• Interpretation - analyses and synthesis
• ‘All of reasoning depends on information as well as on brain power necessary to utilise that information.’ (Bernard,1965:65)
• Sensory perception, habits and skills

‘Language plays a major role in the individual’s adjustment to his environment. ....conflicts between abilities, desires, and social demands are normal, and inconsistency of behaviour is normal. The fact remains, however, that the tendency toward integration is a fundamental aspect of growth.’ (Bernard1965:147,187) High/Scope is a child-directed and child-centred education that incorporates a ‘Plan - Do –Review’ adult-pupil structurealongsidea specific approach designed to help the children resolve conflict. The strong emphasis on socialised play and language is presented as a positive influence on the children’s language development.(Hohmann, 2002) The role of the adult within High/Scope is generally:- Focused Attention on the child’s activity and communications Reflective participation For example: Enriching language content: vocabulary and descriptive language that is beyond what the child may have been able to present on their own within the play experience and/or reflective feedback which supports additional levels of consciousness within the child’s play activity. Occasional activity related questions This approach recognises the importance of the egocentric perspective within child initiated play and the potential for an adult to support a child extending into what Vygotsky describes as the child’s Zone of Proximal Development. (Vygotsky, 1986)The High/Scope approach emphasises the importance of open ended questions rather than closed questions:-

Choice and Adult Participation

The High/Scope methods also appear to emphasize the important influences that cultural experiences have upon the young child’s development of language and relationship to thought.  This is illustrated in the daily High/Scope timetable which supports the children’s own responsibility for choosing what they want to do yet, at the same time, presents different social dynamics with specified adult participation: e.g. environmental enrichment guided by adult observations of the children, and activities that offer specified variations in group size and style of socialization.Young children are encouraged to share their play with the adults and clearly direct how they wish the adult to participate within their games.The adult may illustrate their companionship and attention as follows:- Positive Listening and Communication Skills

• Passive Listening including appropriate eye contact and reassuring physical gestures/contact/holding
• Active participation through parallel or co-operative modes of interactive play.

Observation; extending,enriching and supporting the children’s play with the provision and organisation of environmental materials and subsequent follow-up activities.

• Active Listening.

This level of listening requires that the adult’s verbal responses, tone of voice, facial expression,  gestures and body language directly relate to the child’s activity and harmoniously flow alongside the child’s activity and chosen modes of personal expression.Giving total attention to the child, consciously ‘switching off’ one’s own views, thoughts, desires and opinions, allows the adult’s full attention to be singularly focused on listening to the child.

• Reflection (Reflective Feedback)

Verbal representative feedback, describing with a simple and gentle commentary what the child is doing.Visual representative feedback, an imitative form of sharing that witnesses the child as director and the respondent as a keen and genuine apprentice. The adult engages in optimum levels of social interaction: reflection,positivity, sharing, imitation, compassion,enthusiasm andmost importantly anon-judgmental attitude. ‘..the practice of the Reflective Educative Facilitator would appear to offer unlimited potential for fostering and sustaining the imaginative life world of children.’(Trotman,2004:24) Rachel Pinney suggests that ‘to be heard and appreciated is essential to a child’s growth.’She describes the adult skills related to ‘special times for listening to children’ as listening and recapping/reflection. ‘To receive absolute attention from the adult develops the power of concentration in the child’ and takes a level of attendance that may take some effort for the adult to attain.(Pinney,1992:3) Auditory reflection initiated by the adult’s verbal feedback may encourage the child to engage in an ongoing process of spontaneous recall and review. Vygotsky proposes that ‘specifically human forms of psychological communication are possible because man’s reflection of reality is carried out in generalized concepts’ Vygotsky also describes how, when faced with a task that challenges them, children will often engage in a verbal conversation with themselves. (Cited in Hartland,1991:27; Vygotsky,1986:8&30) This talking to himself, may illustrate what Piaget describes as an ego-centric monologue. (Piaget, 1956:8-9; Vygotsky,1986:18-19-227) ‘Listening is a principal source of learning throughout life......  The need for developing listening skills may in part be illustrated by personal reflection..... (Bernard1965:157) Reflective responses from the adult appear to present a valid and informative description of a child’s actions that support and encourage:-

• Awareness and focused attention
• Enhanced association of knowledge
• Ability to evaluate sensory information
• Development of thinking and hypothesis
• Assessment of determining factors and appropriate redirection
• Long and Short-term memory
• Non pressurised self-directed learning

‘The need for developing listening skills may in part be illustrated by personal reflection.....’ (Bernard1965:157)

• Extending Observing the child’s play and supporting with the provision and organisation of environmental materials and subsequent enriching follow-up activities.
• Affirmation of success

Acknowledgement of what has been done well, even when it is only a few moments or a very small part of the overall activity. Expression of authentic appreciation. Identification of correct activity with positive responses. The work of Piaget (1959) and Vygotsky (1986). Fundamental aspects of the High/Scope system relate to children’s language development and the work of Piaget (1959) and Vygotsky (1986). Piaget (1959) suggests that up to the age of seven ‘intellectual intercourse between children is still factual or descriptive’predominantly describing ‘actions and intentions’ or questions of reality, dealing with facts relating to naming and defining‘objects, events, time and place’ He also presents that through ‘knowledge of the physical world’ and ‘knowledge of others’ the child ‘finds himself in a physical and social universewhich he has never explored, he cannot therefore escape from making his own particular view of things created by the circumstances in which he is placed.’(Piaget,1956:31-32,164,270) Piaget used the eight categories listed below to analyse the spontaneous speech presented by two six year old boys during their mornings at nursery.  Piaget’sassessment did not include any spoken interaction initiated by an adult, which he suggests would have raised the children’s socialised language to a higher level. The first three categories are grouped as speech without any specified communication purpose and headed :-    Egocentric Speech.

1. Repetition (echolalia) – when verbal stimulus of syllables/words is imitated for the pleasure of talking and is ‘obviously devoid of any social character’.
2. Monologue- ‘the child talks to himself as though he were thinking aloud.’
3. Duel or collective monologue- where an outsider is somehow associated with the child’s spoken words, and yet the outsider’s presence serves only as a stimulus because he is not expected either to attend or understand what has been spoken.(Piaget,1956:9)

Piaget’sobservations noted that in the kindergarten children played amongst themselves and their language was predominantly spontaneous, and the above egocentric style was still pronounced between the age of six and seven, even though additional aspects of socialised speech haddeveloped.(Piaget,1956:105) Piaget goes on to describe the following additional five categories as children’s communication that incorporates some form of intellectual process.  He calls these additional categories:- Socialised Speech

1. Adapted information - a real exchange of thoughts, collaboration or simple dialogue, whereby the child speaking presents information that adopts the point of view of his hearer and thereby gains interest or influence.
2. Criticism- ‘all remarks made about the work or behaviour of others’ these remarks often ‘asserted a superiority’ and ‘depreciated others’.
3. Commands, Requests and Threats- where there is a definite interaction between one child and another.
4. Questions- that called for an answer.
5. Answers -when presented as a response to a genuine question.(Piaget,1956:10,11,21)

Piaget noted that the ‘collective monologue’ category of remarks was twice that of the category for ‘adapted information’. (Piaget,1956:21)This implies that for the two six year old children in his study the collective monologue was still an important part of their expressive language.  He also noted a remarkable absence of discussion related to causal explanations,(Piaget,1956:22)and that children of this age do not support their statements with ‘because’ or ‘since’.(Piaget,1956:23)Aspects of intellectual logic are thereby limited to what he calls ‘primitive argument’.   Piaget defines primitive argument as ‘collaboration in action’ which is aided by material objects relating to the children’s play/work, and thereby it is ‘bound up with action and devoid of explicit reasoning‘. Piaget calls this ‘acted’ conversation through which he suggests children understand each other well.  Piaget suggests thissupports learning within environments that give children, up to the age of seven, freedom to play and learn together within a suitably equipped classroom of games and activities. Piaget presents that intellectual interchange is minimal– ‘reduced to the strictly necessary’ because for the young child language is used predominantly to ‘assist action’.(Piaget,1956:21-23,27&77-78) ‘The child does not in the first instance communicate with his fellow beings in order to share thoughts and reflections; he does so in order to play.’(Piaget,1956:27)According to Piaget the earliest form of thought is autistic. ‘Logic and socialized speech, from his point of view, appear rather late, and egocentric thought is the genetic link between autism and logic’. Vygotsky, however, presents that the child’s earliest spoken language is socialized. (Vygotsky,1986:Xxxv) Vygotsky presents that the development of autistic thinking, egocentric thought and communicative speech are interrelated but develop independently and remain an ongoing part of our language and thinking.

The Development of Autistic Thinking, Egocentric Thought and Communicative Speech

Vygotsky relatesthe young child’s progressive development of language and thought to their:-

• personalised relationship with reality,
• conceptual meaning of words,
• spoken communication. (Vygotsky’s,1986)

The chart below describes some progressive aspects of language and thought associated with the work of Vygotsky’s (1986) and Piaget.(1959). Vygotsky (1986) presents that the development of autistic thinking, egocentric thought and communicative speech are interrelated but develop independently and remain an ongoing part of our language and thinking. ‘The cognitive function of egocentric speech, which is most probably connected with the development of inner speech, by no means is a reflection of the child’s egocentric thinking, but rather shows that under certain circumstances egocentric speech is becoming an agent of realistic thinking.’  (Vygotsky,1986:33) Vygotsky wrote that ‘child egocentrism, therefore involves a certain unconsciousness , which in its turn explained some features of the child’s logic ‘and thereby the child during play may integrate without definition both directed and autistic thought.  He illustrated that some ‘accidentally provoked egocentric utterance’ may directly influence how the child’s activity develops.(Vygotsky,1986:24,31) Vygotskysuggests that educational approaches to the child’s development of language and thought ‘must be built upon three concepts: higher mental functions, cultural development, and mastering one’s own behavioural processes’,motivation, maturation and experience.Vygotsky proposes that ‘specifically human forms of psychological communication are possible because man’s reflection of reality is carried out in generalized concepts’  (Vygotsky,1986:Xxix,8) Blooms describes the highest thinking skills as ‘Cognitive Goals of Thinking’:- KNOWLEDGE   COMPREHENSION   APPLICATION   ANALYSIS   SYNTHESIS   EVALUATION (Cited in Fisher, 1990:69) In the chart below the author has added some proposed earlier thinking skills and some descriptive notes:-

Cognitive Goals of Thinking

The High/Scope curriculum and practice aims to support each child’s capacity to develop individual talents and abilities through ongoing opportunities for active learningbased on positive adult-child interaction that supports the child’s ‘personal initiatives’.(Hohmann,2002:5-6) The five basic principlesthat form the ‘framework of the High/Scope approach.’ are presented by Hohmann(2002:7)as follows:- Active Learning

• ‘Direct action on objects,
• Reflection on actions,
• Intrinsic motivation, invention and generativity,
• Problem solving. ‘....direct and immediate experiences and deriving meaning from them through reflection-young children construct knowledge that helps them to make sense of their world.’

Positive Adult-Child Interactions

• When children are ‘supported by adults who are genuinely interested in what they say and do children are able to construct their own understanding of the world around them and gain a sense of control and personal satisfaction.....’This emphasis on Adult-Child socialization is focused on participation, listening and sharing. Young children share their play with the adults, the children clearly direct how they wish the adult to participate within their games(Hohmann,2002:10)

A Child-Friendly Learning Environment Children develop trust, initiative, curiosity, resourcefulness, independence, and responsibility.Adults observe, listen and record individual children’s ‘key experiences’ and notable incidents of joy, excitement, concentration, social and emotional interaction, discomfort or conflict. Adults look for natural opportunities for:- Conversation and use of ‘occasional questions to clarify understanding of the child’s thinking.’ In order to facilitate trust and an intimate exchange the adults position themselves ‘near the child at the child’s physical level’, so child and adult can ‘converse easily and comfortably’. (Hohmann,2002:10,287,213)  Parallel Play and Reflective Commentary with the children. ‘Listening is a principal source of learning throughout life.....  The need for developing listening skills may in part be illustrated by personal reflection’ (Bernard,1965:157) During parallel play the adult shares a play experience without directing or interfering with the child’s own play.  The adult may imitate the child’s ideas and activities within their own  authentic play agenda.  During parallel play or simply from the position of observer, the adult may verbally reflect (describe) what he/she perceives is happening within the child’s play experience, presenting a valid and informative description of actions and events. This encourages the child’s awareness and association of knowledge, memory, consequences and experiential experiences.  The reflective commentary illustrates the level of the adult’s attention and interest in the child’s activity and supports child-directed learning, self assessment and individual learning preferences. The reflective language presented by the adult may during this type of play reflect Piaget’s (1959) first 3 categories of Ego-centric speech. Thus the adult presents a familiar and possibly comforting feedback on the child’s own activities and simultaneously presents a reflective and enriching level of language accompaniment. The reflective language presented by the adult may during this type of play reflectPiaget’s (1959) first 3 categories of Ego-centric speech. Thus the adult presents a familiar and possibly comforting feedback on the child’s own activities and simultaneously presents a reflective and enriching level of language accompaniment. Play as a partner with children. Here the adult may present ‘conversational comments and observations that are supportive rather than burdensome and allow the child to retain control of the conversation’ and maintain control of the activity.The adult encourages the children to deal with problems and supports them with the High/Scope approach to conflict resolution where appropriate.(Hohmann,2002:196-197) A Team-Based Daily Child Assessment The High/Scope programme of observation and follow-up activities are based on a specified framework of ‘key experiences’.These ‘Key Experiences’ are seen to ‘promote the children’s mental, emotional, social, and physical growth’ through their invariably engagement in –‘creative, ongoing interactions with people, materials and ideas’(Hohmann,2002:5)   A Consistent Daily Routine The following elements are structured to form a rhythmic daily routine specific to each class.

• Planning Time– (Planning)

When the adults share control with the children when childrenformulate ananticipated course of action. The children participate in the planning process each day and thereby grow accustomed to indicating their intentions before acting on them.  ‘This helps children become conscious of their capacity to shape and control their own actions.’For the youngest children planning may be talking to themselves through which Piaget suggests ‘the individual experiences sufficient pleasure and excitement to divert him from the desire to communicate his thoughts to other people.’Even when the child’s response is facilitated by an adult communication, the child may present hisresponse as an action or a ‘collective monologue’.(Piaget,1956:18)

• Work Time–(Doing)

Through the spontaneous creativity of play the children engage in concentration, purpose, self-directed learning and playful pursuits. Supporting strategiesfor the adults during Work Time are described as :- Adults participation in children’s play. Joining the children’s play at their level. Looking for natural play openings. Interpreting gestures and actions.

• Recall Time–(Reviewing)

Here the adult takes a more leading role,however, the priority is still listening to the children.  The teacher is encouraged to ‘pick up on children’s opening comments’andencourage the children to reflect upon their Work Time activity. Occasionally the adult may present open ended questions (i.e. show me how..., tell me about what.....) about the children’s feelings, understandings and exhibits of what they have done/achieved.  Recall time involves what and why questions, remembering, reflecting and clarifying past acts and experiences and associated plans, actions and outcomes.Piaget suggests that questions of ‘why’ when relating to causality are uncommon in children’s conversation prior to the age of 7-8 (Piaget,1956:) and children under seven only usually address questions of causality when they are initiated by an adult or an older child.  However, ‘why’ questions play an important part in the questions young children,3 -7present to adultswho are supporting the children’s ‘spontaneous search for information’. Recall time encourages the children to expand their consciousness beyond the present to embrace the past-present - future continuum as they describe their discoveries and actions.Piaget suggests that even young childrenusing primitive thought may ‘look upon the names of persons and objects and upon the designation of events as pregnant with the qualities of these objects and events.’(Piaget,1956: 23,30,3)

• Small Group Time

Periods when the same group of children meet each day with the same adult and share an activity and materials. This focused quality of sharing within the small group often encourages children to interact and discuss what they are doing.

• Large Group Time

When all the children and adults in a High/Scope programme gather together for ‘companionship, sharing important information, and the enjoyment of doing things together as a community’.The group activity is planned around the children’s current interest and key experiences.  It may emphasise corporate play, a shared project or meaningful and enriching event.

• Outside Time

Children pursue active physical play engaging in unrestrained vigorous and noisy games outside, with the support of attentive, playful adults, and sharing experience of the natural world.

• Transition Times

When moving into and out of different stages of the daily routine children experience changes of activity, place and adult carers. (Hohmann,2002: 18,168,2,236,269,282) A notable foundation within the High/Scope approach to preschool education isthe Plan- Do- Review process.This process is predominantly facilitated through spoken communication and supporting aspects of the classroom environment. This process is associated with the individual child’s development of social interaction, socialised speech and reasoning. The teacher’s role includes the prerequisite of detailed daily observation and listening, recording and assessment of individual children throughout the daily curriculum. The teachers are trained to note what High/Scope describes as ‘Key experiences - creative, ongoing interactions with people, materials and ideas that promote children’s mental, emotional, social and physical growth.’(Hohmann,2002:5)The key experiences are considered ‘guideposts’ that illustrate important aspects of each child’s ongoing development through his own actions and provide adults with a framework of understanding that helps them ‘provide optimum support’ through which the child can expand and revise his key experiences.  The child's personal development of descriptive language, and communication of personalised initiatives and social relationships appears to have a particular emphasis within adult-child interaction within the High/Scope curriculum of activities. (Hohmann,2002:298,230) The High/Scope educational approach considers conflicts and disputes as a normal and important part of children’s learning.  Piagetsuggests that ‘owing to the fact that all children are egocentric they will fail to understand each other properly’(Piaget,1956:119)since each child is only considering his own point of view.High/Scope teachers are trained to facilitate conflict resolution using six problem solving steps that help the children learn social, language and cognitive skills.  Within each of the six steps the adult is presenting a role model of calmness and patience combined with a respectful, compassionateand non- judgmental disposition. The following is a summary of the six steps presented by the video ‘Supporting Children in Resolving Conflict’, High/Scope Press. In brackets the author has added the key aspects of communication. Supporting Children in Resolving Conflict,

1. Approach quickly and calmly onto the children’s level, interrupt any hurtful behaviour and use the physical body to block any aggressive actionsand prevent any further antisocial action. Receive and initiate eye contact in a natural and appropriatemanner with each individual child. (Minimal language communication within a mood of gentleness and a sense of quiet)
2. Acknowledge the children’s situation using simple statementsthat reflect the spontaneous speech of the child, give comments and present insightful questions. (Reflecting)
3. Gather information listening very carefully to what the children say give each child plenty of time to communicate successfully. (Listening and Reflecting)
4. Restate the problemusing as much of the children’s language as possible and rephrasing anything that could be hurtful or negatively judgmental. Help each individual child to clarify his own feelings and perspective on the problem. (Recapping and Reflection)
5. Ask for ideas for solutions and support the children in coming to an agreement on a chosen solution and specify the practical steps to implement this solution. (Occasional Open-Ended Questions, Listening and Reflecting.)
6. Be prepared to give follow-up support. Review what happened and if the problem has not been successfully resolved return to the point of the procedure that remains unresolved.(Listening, Reflecting, Recapping, and an occasional Question)

Within the High/Scope approach there appears to be a strong emphasis on passive reflection of the child's egocentric perceptual and social disposition.  Having acknowledged the child's present level of engagement the supporting adult’s reflectivelanguage could facilitate further development of socialised language and thinking.  In this way the adult reflects the child's level of mental development at that particular time and encourages the child's intellectual progress within what Vygotsky calls the child’s ‘zone of proximal development’.This can encourage the child to enhance and integrate more of his intellectual potential. ‘Spontaneous concepts that confront a deficit of conscious and volitional (willed)control find this control in the zone of proximal development, in the cooperation of the child with adults.’(Vygotsky,1986:194) In this way Vygotsky presents that the development already established autonomously within the child extends into the potential for expanded intellectual thought when an adult provides an appropriate scaffolding of support and encouragement. (Cited in Nelson,1996:19) In relation to language development adult facilitation for the child to function within his zone of proximal development are seen when the adult illustrates levels of language that arebeyond the child’s presentability. Thus, when functioning within his ‘zone of proximal development’ the younger child may be ‘scaffolded by the adult’(Nelson,1996:19)to communicate at what Piaget (1959) has presented as a more advanced level of socialised language development. For example Piaget describes notable differences in the child’s language development that occur between the age of seven and eight as: -   Arranging a story or an explanation in a definitive order. -   Genuine argument as collaboration in abstract thought. -   Why, where and how questions related to logical justification and reasoning. (Piaget,1956:170) The following chart is the author’s summary of the use of language in the High/Scope curriculum as illustrated within the Plan -Do-Review approach and the specified adult support for Conflict Resolution.

Plan -Do-Review

The High/Scope methods also appears to emphasize the important influences that cultural experiences have upon the young child’s development of language and its relationship to thought.  This is illustrated in a timetable which supports the children’s own responsibility for choosing what they want to do, yet at the same time presents different social dynamics with specified adult participation: i.e. environmental enrichment guided by adult observations of the children and activities that offer specified variations in group size and style of socialization. The diagram below Hohmann(2002:7) illustrates the five basic principles that form the ‘framework of the High/Scope approach.’ The concluding chart summarises the High/Scope approach to supporting/scaffolding children’s development during their early years within a play and learn philosophy. Bibliography High/scope Education Athey, C. Extending Thought in Young Children. London: Paul Chapman, 2007. Bernard,H.W. Psychology of Learning and Teaching (2^nd Ed). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965. Hartland, J.   Language and Thought.  Leicester: British psychological society, 1991. Hohmann, M. and Weikart, D.P. Educating Young Children(2^nd Ed.) Ypsilanti: High/Scope Press, 2002. King, P.M. &Strohm Kitchener, K. Developing Reflective Judgement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994. Nelson, K. Language in Cognitive Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Overall, L. Supporting Children’sLearning. London: Sage Pub, 2007. Piaget, J. The Language and Thought of the Child (3^rd Ed).London: Routledge & Kegan Paul LTD, 1956. Pinney, R. Creative Listening(5^th Ed.) London: Children’s Hours Trust, 1992. Pinney, R. Children’s Hours (2^nd Ed) London: Children’s Hours Trust, 1990. Roopnarine,  J. L. and Johnson, J. E. Approaches to Early Childhood Education (4^th Ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Schon, D. A. The Reflective Practitioner.Ashgate: 1991. Taylor, L. Introducing Cognitive Development. Hove: Psychology Press, 2005. Vygotsky, L. Thought and Language. London: The MIT press, 1986. Weikart, D.P. &Hohmann, M. Educating Young Children (2^nd Ed.)Michigan : High/Scope Press, 2002. Wood, D.How Children Think and Learn. Massachusetts: Blackwell Pub, 1988.

Acknowledging Our Daily Experiences

Love, freedom and safety, The foundations for movement. Movement - The Foundations for Play, Play - Foundations for Learning. Learning - Foundations for Intelligence Intelligence - Foundations for Personal Empowerment Empowerment - Foundations for Heart-full Living Heart-full Living - Foundations for the Engagement of the soul. Engagement of the Soul – Revival of Higher Consciousness Higher Consciousness - Foundations for Communion with God Communion with God – The Supreme source of Love and Light Love and Light – Living the Dream of Heaven on Earth

12 Points for Encouraging Child-Directed Learning

1) Encourage exploration and personal discovery rather than showing the learner how to do something or giving the answers. 2) The Emotional environment is as important as the intellectual environment. Children are often more aware of our inner feelings than we are ourselves. A young child’s safety may depend upon how well he can assess the adult carer’s mood and emotional disposition. The child’s happiness is directly related to the happiness felt and expressed by his carer. An unhappy adult who is denying his/her unhappiness is unlikely to be able to sustain the happiness and wellbeing of the young child. Intimacy demands a level of authenticity beyond that needed for everyday living. Authenticity is essential to our ability to relate socially and safely with each other. 3) Trust the child will know the right time to begin learning formal skills. For example children who begin reading later than considered normal, have developed greater comprehension skills and faster reading speeds than other children who learned to read earlier. 4) Ask a leading question instead of giving the answer. Example: Child: How do you spell sat Adults: What is difference between sat and bat? Child: Bat starts with ‘b’. Adult: What sound does sat start with? Child: Sat starts with ‘s’ Adult: Could you now have a go at spelling sat? If the child and adult helper cannot find a successful way of establishing a discovery learning approach, it would normally suggest that the child is venturing beyond their present learning potential. When the adult does something for the child, without engaging in a shared learning process, then the child moves away from his/her learning potential and thereby becomes increasingly dependent upon the adult’s superior level of ability. When this happens a child/person can feel dissatisfied with his/her own notably lower level of ability, and loss confidence in his/her own learning potential and progress. 5) Show the desired skill/information in concrete form that can be seen and experienced through self-motivated imitation. We need to find ways to share by example instead of verbal description and directions and commands. 6) Avoid presenting verbal interruptions or comments on what the learner is doing. 7) Encourage the 3 Es Enthusiasm, exploration & experimentation. 8) Avoid distracting the learner/child away from concentrated focus. It is favourable for the learner to resist help, alternative activities and entertaining distractions when learning is in progress. Frustration is more likely to be expressed when learning is disturbed by outside influences than personal lack of skill. 9) Multisensory delivery of the material and the discovery of information will facilitate a higher potential for extended learning. 10) Child Directed Learning – the art of adapting the information acquired through previous learning experiences to aid discovery of further information, understanding and skills. Self- directed learning is natural and results are always more satisfying than those acquired through imitative copying and rote learning techniques. 11) Outdoor environments and free play in simple, aesthetically pleasing, friendly environments. When children are over-stimulated they can lose their natural ability to play happily and then adults can find themselves making unwise compromises and an ‘I don’t think I agree with .....’ response becomes a ‘yes, it’s alright,’ and the ‘you shouldn’t really’ becomes ‘it’s OK I’ll pretend I can’t see.’ Dominantly visually stimulating environments are commonly associated with man-made systems of child restraint, e.g. buggies, car seats, or sit in bouncy chairs and harnesses and other sit-in roll around devices and media entertainment: TV, computer and video games. In general ‘adult contrived entertainment’ supports an externally specified repertoire of repeated responses to a man-made environmental stimulus. Examples of over-stimulating environments that do not support natural forms of multisensory learning:- •Repetitively reactive man-made toys that are usually battery operated. •Junk food, sugary sweets, chocolate and coffee and peppermint. •Theme parks, indoor swimming pools and gymnasiums. •Prolonged or excessive periods in confined man made spaces with artificial lighting, e.g. sitting in front of a TV screen, supermarkets and shopping precincts, long car journeys. •Dominating speeds of activity and external work schedules. •Libertarianism, I can do anything I want, and you can do anything you want. Rigid routines and mechanical or theatrical styles of response that exclude individuality and authenticity. •Exclusive forms of play with pre-determined play materials e.g. Small Lego, Barbie dolls. •When verbal communication is too loud, too intense or too heavy it creates verbal domination and verbal overwhelm. •Adult initiated/motivated/enforced apprenticeship into clubs and classes, e.g. ballet or boxing. [Only when attendance is genuinely child motivated and appropriate to the child’s ability, personality, age and development will the child develop a genuine empathy, interest and personally valued talent.] •Adult entertainment-adults social events, cinema, theatre, dining out etc. •Television, films and computer games Fortunately the modern crystal screens do not present issues around the subconsciously received fast flickering effects from the conventional television. However, there is still some concern around the young child’s visual perceptual experiences when watching screens. This is because the young child is thought to absorb everything he sees as important to his learning about the world around him/her. S/he is thereby obliged to make some form of relationship between what is seen on the TV and his real experiences; his ability to do this can produce seriously distorted perspectives on life. The level of visual stimulus from screen viewing may be so overwhelmingly strong that a child’s natural multisensory learning may become dominated by visual information. Also, the natural balance of physical, mental and emotional integration seen in normal play is disrupted and this may subsequently limit the child’s learning potential. 12) A good healthy diet. This can help promote: physical fitness, mental focus and concentration, intellectual potential, and a calm and assertive attitude towards learning through play. The Importance of ‘Free Play’ Some Early Year’s education theorists and psychologists have presented the importance of free play activity as a prerequisite foundation for learning (Einarsdottir&Wagner,2006:208) The work of Macmillan (Bradburn,1976:57-58), Montessori(1967:173), Steiner(1981:51-54)and Goldschmied(Goldschmied&Jackson,2004:97-99) suggest young children are spontaneous observers of nature and can gain a wealth of perceptual skills and detailed awareness of discrimination and differentiation (Montessori,1967:70-71.) long before this information is consciously structured, categorised, calculated or manipulated as an academic understanding through formal thinking operations.  The freedom to play and explore the abundance of materials and possible activities given by a natural outdoor environment can encourage and support the unlimited aspects of human potential - ‘physical performance’ related to ‘physical intelligence’, the mastery of integrating thoughts with actions. ‘Essential changes take place in the development of a child’s motivation under the influence of play.’ (Einarsdottir&Wagner,2006:214citingEl’konin (1978/1999)) Play seems to embrace a purity of thought that perceives truth without educational interference and thereby initiates the powers of thought within a cycle of dream-thought- action and the development of talent. ‘...even a small child should not be distracted from what he’s doing in other words the operation of his thought should not be stopped......education ...begins with the correct presentation of questions whereby children are encouraged to think for themselves and make their own independent decisions. ’ (Megre Book7;49) Pioneering educators that advocate the young child’s affinity with the naturalecology, considered the natural environment a stimulating and nurturing resource for all aspects of the young child’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development.   ‘A child needs to live naturally and not simply have knowledge of nature.’(Montessori,1967:67,172)(Montessori,1988:200) In the Norwegian nurseries the ‘children experience wooded areas with rivers and streams every day’(Curruthers cited in Moyles,2007:176)Lasenby describes weather as ‘one of the most valuable resources’ which provides experiential experience that increases children’s ‘knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live.’ (Cited in Ouvry,2003:24)In Finland the outdoor Forest School approach presents the wild natural environment and the changing seasons as the curriculum and the teacher for children up to the age of six; Finland is regularly placed in top positions in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s ‘prestigious world rankings for educational performance and literacy’. (Honore, 2004:25) Forest schools present a belief in ‘the holistic benefit of natural experiences’ and consider the natural environment as ‘awe-inspiring’ for young children. (Moyles,2007:177)The Danish Early Years curriculum describes the Natural outdoor Forest School environments successfully meet the following six areas of learning required ‘to create a competent child’:-

• Language,
• All round Personal development,
• Body and movement,
• Nature and natural phenomena,
• Cultural expression and values,
• Social development. (Austin,2007:64;)

The natural environment is also very favourably towards Montessori’s description of the  important Sensitive Periods of learning during young children’s development :- Language, Order,  Sensory-motor activity - refinement of the senses, Walking (postural reflexes), Small objects, Spiritual awareness. (Montessori,1988:201;Montessori,1967:172;Goddard 2004:94&Meadows,2006:336) ‘Research....suggests that children seem to have a special affinity, or connection to the natural world – that they experience a kind of ‘primal seeing’ which allow them to ‘ experience the natural world in a deep and direct manner, not as a background for events, but rather, as a factor and stimulation.’ (Sebba cited in MacMillan,2008:10) Nature’s curriculum is one of open ended activities with open ended choices and open ended results. This has been seen to give children a sense of independence, personal confidence and enthusiasm to engage in the child’s own perspectives of meaningful play. Throughout the first eight years of life Movement in space is directly related to balance, sensory integration, confidence and foundations for learning. Researchhas shown that‘...children who play in the forest tend to demonstrate better motor skills than children who play in a traditional playground.’(Moyles, Ed. 2007:183. Citing Fjortoft&Sagerie ,2000.) Natural environments usually offer: an infinite range of colours and shapes, temperature, textures, and patterns that relate to visual discernment of growth (construction)   and deterioration (destruction); rich diversity of sensory perception in simple formats that encourage appreciation of appearance, contrasts and attention to the intricate details of movement, differences and change offer a wide choice of activity to suit different levels of confidence, adventure and physical ability. Visual Perceptual Skills Visual perceptual skills are strongly motivated within the world of nature especially in relation to animals where detailed visual discriminationincludes the skills of visual tracking and visual closure. Freedom to Move Outdoor spaces offer more physical space which supports greater freedoms of physical activity and therefore accidents may be less frequent and less serious than those encountered in the more crowded and intense indoor environments...... The children learn to take responsibility for their own awareness of what they can do safely. The natural outdoor environment addresses the output and impute of sensory information from all the major sensory modalities and ‘leads to the recognition that the entire brain is involved in movement.’ (Callaway,2005:10) Issues related to children’s safety are integral to their ability to judge what level of activity can be accommodated safely on a moment by moment basis. The skills associated with safety are also interconnected with other areas of development such as those listed below:-

• Secure balance is inseparable from the development of postural control, which in turn is supported by information from: visual, proprioception, and motor systems.’
• Physical movement and the development of visual eye movements and associated visual perceptual competence are interdependent.
• The academic foundations of numeracy, reading and writing are initially dependent upon the ability to know one’s ‘position in space’ and associated directional awareness.

Physical Movement, Balance and Auditory perceptual skills A growing body of evidence indicates that direct exposure to nature is essential for physical and emotional health. Early creativity and experimentation during free play can provide important foundations for future ‘formal operations’ and skills of creative performance. The skills of balance, mobility and co-ordination associated with physical movement have been shown to improve children’s ability to negotiate challenges and explore related aspects of ability and safety.Natural environments can offer a wide choice of activity to suit different levels of confidence, adventure and physical ability.(Callaway,2005:10) ‘Education cannot be effective unless it helps the child to open himself to life.........it is essential that a child’s spontaneous movements should not be checked or that he be compelled to act according to the will of another.’ (Montessori,1967:50) Vestibular stimulation also influences specific physiological and biochemical changes in the body associated with emotional experiences. ‘Immature vestibular functioning is frequently found amongst children who have specific learning difficulties and adults who suffer from anxiety and Agoraphobia and panic disorders.’ (Goddard,2004:17) ‘Nature deficit disorder ...... diminished used of the senses, attentiondifficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illness.’ New studies suggest that the exposure to nature may reduce the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and that it can improve all children's cognitive abilities and resistance to negative stresses and depression.’ (Louv,2006:34) In contrast to the wealth of experiential sensory experiences presented in natural environments some aspects of indoor learning environments are thought to disrupt the child’s sensory development e.g. manmade structures, buildings and machinery are thought to disturb the young child’s developing auditory perception and integration of sounds. At birth the human ear has the potential to detect frequencies from16hz low sounds up to 25000hzhigh sounds.  Low frequencies sounds below 100hz are often felt as vibrations through the skin rather than heard.’ and most adults have lost the range of hearing they were born with only retaining accurate hearing within the range of their spoken language of approximately 125-8000hz. The work of Johansen, using frequency specific music for improving hearing discrimination and speed and integration of auditory processing, has successfully helped children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia. In order to locate the source of sound the brain interprets the small differences in time and intensity between how and when a sound is received in the two ears. ‘Nature finds expression through music- From the whispering of the wind in the leaves, to the thundering of a stormy sea on the shore. Just as all living things share the characteristic of motion, all of life is sound....’(Goddard, 2004:69,73,79,91) The work of Rauscher & Shaw (1996) showed a clear ‘link between music, and Spatial intelligence – the accurate perceptual ability and mental imagery in pre-school children. (Cited in Goddard,2004:79) Within any building sounds are distorted by reverberation and absorption as illustrated in these diagrams. Some buildings also have special insulation to keep out external sounds. Within the indoor classroom background noise and auditory language is likely to dominate the acoustic geography and may deter the children from retaining and developing focused  listening skills. These factors also add complex auditory deviations and variables of intensity to the young child’s task of developing accurate auditory perceptual skills and may contribute to why children prefer to play outside where the acoustics are more stable. Questions to consider :-

• At what point does auditory sound become ‘obnoxious sensory stimulation...perceived as noise’ ?  (Taylor p112 )
• What influence might this have on the young child’s auditory range of perception and development of discrimination?
• What auditory range might we suppose is perceived by children who have grown up in natural outdoor environments, living within nature’s sounds and silences?

(Ceppi,&Zini,1998:90&95) Also one could consider how strong smells presented in manmade materials may disrupt the young child’s natural range of ability to discern different subtleties of smell. Even when the natural sensory stimulus is very strong, nature appears to present a sense of balance and harmony that calms situations of potential frustration, fear or overwhelming stimulus with complementary contrast, a sense of predictability and natural elements of geographic control: gravity, density, force . A growing body of evidence indicates that direct exposure to nature is essential for physical and emotional health. ‘Nature deficit disorder ...... diminished used of the senses, of attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illness.’ New studies suggest that the exposure to nature may reduce the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and that it can improve all children's cognitive abilities and resistance to negative stresses and depression.’ (Louv,2006:34) ‘Presently the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfES 2006) is promoting and focusing on teachers’ awareness of engaging boys. More access and opportunity to go outside and connect with larger spaces that can accommodate boys’ interests’ and ‘provide a more boy-friendly environment.’(Moyles, Ed. 2007:182)  The natural world bountifully nurtures all aspects of movement and sensory experience within an essentially social and spiritual constitution that gives a depth and wealth of support to early development within the sensitive periods. (Montessori,1988:201; Montessori,1967:172; Meadows,2006:336) The pictures below illustrate an example of the different sensory experience and interaction presented to a child’s feet within the contrasting indoor and outdoor play experiences. (Myriad; Catalogue 12, 2009: 11, 68, 15&22 ) The natural elements of the outdoor environment can take wellbeing beyond that of thinking, feeling and doing to one of appreciation, gratitude, celebration and loving care. Thus, the seeds of intellectual and spiritual enquiry are sewn together with perceptual depths and physical ability; a holistic approach to learning. This builds cognitive intellectual development and initiates aesthetic and inventive application to creative activity – whereby, a state of wellbeing and joyful happiness can be maintained. ‘Research....suggests that children seem to have a special affinity, or connection to the natural world – that they experience a kind of ‘primal seeing’ which allow them to ‘ experience the natural world in a deep and direct manner, not as a background for events, but rather, as a factor and stimulation.’ (Sebba cited in MacMillan,2008:10) ‘For everything going on in nature is permeated by a hidden music, the earthly projection of the “music of the spheres.” Every plant, every animal actually incorporates the tones of the music of the spheres.’ (Steiner,1982:19) In Scandinavia Nature provides the Kindergartens with the educational environment and curriculum of activity, the adults have responsibility for maintaining that the children are well nourished with suitable provisions for rest/sleeping and are appropriately dressed in all weathers. Adults are also available to respond to children’s communications, interests and requests for companionship, supportive scaffolding, and play-partnerships. The adult also has a passively receptive role - quiet, attentive and observant, and generally refrains from actively presenting encouragement, suggestion, praise or directives.  If a child is busily engaged s/he is ‘left undisturbed for as long as possible’. During a child’s discovery process the adult does not present any ‘unnecessary talk’, interfere with the child’s concentration or disrupt ‘natural situations for peer scaffolding for learning concrete skills.’ (Einarsdottir&Wagner,2006:208)  Harrison, (2002:13)suggests that when children are free to explore they can ‘discover their passions - the activities, the skills that bring forth the totality of their Life Energy’. They can come to ‘understand the nature of a joyful life’ where, success and failure are intrinsic within the creativity of observation and doing; free from contrived external rewards or reprimands, manmade structures, preconceived styles of learning, restrictive boundaries, predetermined social rules and external expectations.   The natural world as curriculum and teacher bountifully nurtures all aspects of movement and sensory experience within an essentially social and spiritual constitution that gives a depth and wealth of support to early development within the sensitive periods. The natural elements of the outdoor environment can take wellbeing beyond that of thinking, feeling and doing to one of appreciation, gratitude, celebration and loving care. Thus, the seeds of spiritual enquiry are sewn together with perceptual depths. This builds cognitive intellectual development and initiates aesthetic and inventive application to creative activity. The natural environment provides a treasure basket of natural materials for heuristic play (Goldschmied, 2004),as well as a wealth of aesthetic experiences. Motivation for movement is related to interest, needs and abilities provided by interactive experiences with natural phenomena which encourage good foundations for physical development, health and fitness.Human biology illustrates that there is a direct relationship between exercise, physical growth, breathing rate, lung capacity, neurological brain development, emotional stability and intellectual development.(Vander et al. 2001)Doman’s research illustrated that functional activity determines structural development in the brain as well as in the body. (Doman,1960:189&262)Steiner presents that Sensory-motor activity (movement) ‘also equates with the consequential development of language and thinking.’ (Steiner, 1988:32) ‘... humanity, which is revealed in all its intellectual splendour during the sweet and tender age of childhood ....... is like a sun which appears at dawn or a flower just beginning to bloom.  Education cannot be effective unless it helps the child to open himself to life.’ (Montessori,1967:50) In the outdoor environment young children celebrate the life force that maintains our lives and that of the natural world around us. When we the educators have the privilege of observing how, children celebrate their love of life in natural outdoor environments and dance in a joyful mood or, on occasions in a festive way that lasts for two or three consecutive days; then we are honoured with a spiritual initiation that can bring us to share the children’s effulgent state of being and know a potential beyond that of happiness and enthusiasm – when the God we seek is found within our state of wellbeing and joyful inner harmony. When in a natural outdoor environment spiritual aspirations are initiated by natural phenomena. For example the author recalls a truly unforgettable experience of beauty and stillness, that invoked a quietening of the mind normally associated with contemplation and states of meditation: It happened while on a winter forest walk with a group of young children, along a sheltered track that followed a small valley and stopped at a favourite place by the stream. It was quiet and the children were relaxed and happy to just be there by the stream peacefully. Then a deeper sense of stillness came over the area, like an invisible blanket it created a silence beyond that of the stillness, it felt as if nature herself had stopped breathing. My feelings drifted from a divine kind of inner peace into occasional momentary feelings of protective concern. Before I could decide upon any leadership action the snow clouds could be seen creeping towards us bringing a snowflake waterfall that appeared advancing against the strong flow of the stream, silently it filled the valley with a rapidly growing depth of pure whiteness. In nature children can find extensive challenges at all levels of relationship and personal ability that gently encourage them to go a little further than before.....If we use the unlimited natural resources of our universe to support children’s development of awareness, and their speed and parameters of thought, then the potential of the future can extend beyond what humanity has attained to date. In Honour of the Trees Standing tall in your strength against time. In silent unseeing observation, Of generations growing from child into parenting. While the wind brings an ever moving creativity to your serenity, Your roots remain secure in the abundance of a future potency, You greet the ways of our days But we rarely appreciate the longevity of your life giving presence. Those unconditional fortunes given to a world of little gratitude and faint observations. What have you seen that we still don’t understand? What have we done to the natural lands? Yet still the sun, the moon and the stars Shine their blessings upon thee As your leaves float on down the stream Winter flows under your boughs once again. As my life weakens with old age Yours grows with everlasting maturity Our reunion builds a rainbow across my lifetime, As again I feel your companionship to my childhood. ‘Free Play’as a Foundation for Learning Some Early Year’s education theorists and psychologists have presented the importance of free play activity as a prerequisite foundation for learning (Einarsdottir&Wagner,2006:208) The work of Macmillan (Bradburn,1976:57-58), Montessori(1967:173), Steiner(1981:51-54)and Goldschmied(Goldschmied&Jackson,2004:97-99) suggest young children are spontaneous observers of nature and can gain a wealth of perceptual skills and detailed awareness of discrimination and differentiation (Montessori,1967:70-71.) long before this information is consciously structured, categorised, calculated or manipulated as an academic understanding through formal thinking operations.  The freedom to play and explore the abundance of materials and possible activities given by a natural outdoor environment can encourage and support the unlimited aspects of human potential - ‘physical performance’ related to ‘physical intelligence’, the mastery of integrating thoughts with actions. ‘Essential changes take place in the development of a child’s motivation under the influence of play.’ (Einarsdottir&Wagner,2006:214citingEl’konin (1978/1999)) Play seems to embrace a purity of thought that perceives truth without educational interference and thereby initiates the powers of thought within a cycle of dream-thought- action and the development of talent. ‘...even a small child should not be distracted from what he’s doing in other words the operation of his thought should not be stopped......education ...begins with the correct presentation of questions whereby children are encouraged to think for themselves and make their own independent decisions. ’ (Megre Book7;49) Pioneering educators that advocate the young child’s affinity with the naturalecology, considered the natural environment a stimulating and nurturing resource for all aspects of the young child’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development. Exploration and Discovery Learning ‘Children if left to explore can discover their passions - the activities, the skills that bring forth the totality of their Life Energy’. They can come to ‘understand the nature of a joyful life’ where, success and failure are intrinsic within the creativity of observation and doing; free from man-made rewards and punishment, structural boundaries and associated dangers, social rules and expectations. (Harrison,2002:13) In nature children are finding out about the world for themselves, and about themselves as a part of the living world. Research has suggested that adults are more willing to let children:-

• direct their own play activities,
• organise and change the physical aspects of the environment,
• integrate themselves socially into their own co-operative games,
• settle their own disputes and issues of conflict, and children are more able to:-
• request help from adults and peers,
• play cooperatively together in mixed age groups,
• play cooperatively with children from different backgrounds and/or learning disabilities.

Children can make choices of what, when and how to share with adults and vice versa. Adults can relax into a more compassionate and attentive role as listener and share in child initiated conversations and activities. Early creativity and experimentation can provide foundations for future ‘formal operations’ and skills of creative performance   Early creativity and experimentation can provide foundations for future ‘formal operations’ and skills of creative performance Children enjoy the challenges of working outside with the adults especially when it involves caring for animals, use of tools and physical challenges. Children enjoy time to do their own thing in their own way, un-witnessedfree from distractions and other’s influences. ‘Respectful close observation and passive participation can be effective ways of hearing young children’s powerful communications and taking account of their perspectives...’ (Peter Elfer (2005) Cited in Moyles, 2007:189.) From this perspective adults can successfully scaffold learning with careful adult organisation, specialist supervision and safety equipment. Adults can structure special activities to suit individual children’s interests and encourage working together and sharing social events as a community During their early years children may gain an affinity, detailed perceptual skills, and a respectful sense of curiosity and enquiry that can have a positive influence upon their growing intellectual abilities. Steinerdescribes the young child’s affinity to the nature world as ‘a deep, inner feeling that the plant world belongs to the Earth’ and an inner awareness of ‘the true relationship between the human and the animal world...’(Steiner,1997:68) In nature we see skills and abilities that are equal to and beyond normal human abilities. 12 Points for Good Listening.

Based on the work and teaching of the late Rachael Pinney who pioneered work on Creative Listening and Special Time. 1. If you want to listen to a child or you want a child to listen to you firstly make sure you are at the same eye level as the child so that natural eye contact can be established. This also avoids an intimidating standing over position may disturb the child's confidence and thereby create a non communicative disposition. 2. Be honest about your ability to listen properly. ‘I'm sorry I can't listen properly right now I will come and listen to you as soon as I can.’ 3. When offering a listening space try to be still, make gentle, avoid intrusive eye contact and embrace an authentic commitment of time, body and feelings. 4. When a child presents auditory communication Pause and take time to evaluate the degree of listening required for the response that is needed. Sometimes a momentary mmmmmm.or aha or the single word response is sufficient. 5. Sometimes a moment of eye contact for a brief moment of caring physical contact is more important than verbal responses and reassurance. 6. Reflect back to the child what you think they have said. This gives the child the opportunity to be confidently interpret what you have heard, qualify any misunderstandings. This reflective response to listening also gives the child time to consider what he had said from his own perspective of personal reasons, requests and responses. 7. Reflector and recap in a non judgmental way when one or more children have come to present their own views on a disagreement. 8. Never underestimate the depth of the child's feelings or the amount of courage and effort associated with their communications. When this dialogue of Reflective Listening is successfully presented inevitably the children solve the problems themselves. reflection gives children time to assess their situation and their feelings more clearly. 9. Listening is hard work they in question how you are feeling yourself and what uncomfortable issues the Childs communication is bringing are within yourself at that time. 10. Similarly adults can reflect on their own behaviour and apologise when their own emotional issues have dominated communication and listening skills. 11. In situations where the adult cannot allow the child to do what he wants to do, firm boundaries can be presented from a compassionate place of listening and communication. For example the adult can simply say I'm sorry I can't let you do that.’ This illustrates that the adult has thought about what the child wants to do and having acknowledged the child's wishes communicates the adult perspective as regrettable but necessary. Hasty and/or intense attempts to control the child's behaviour are seen by the child has a lack of understanding the consideration for the child's level of desire, and the child becomes frustrated because he believes he has not been heard. It is important the adults communicate at the child that his desires are not able to be accommodated in the present situation. 12. Negative and disruptive feelings' within the adult when they are more frightening for the child when they are not openly acknowledged, than when they are openly communicated. For example I feel very angry that you scribbled on your bedroom wall or I feel very angry that you did not listen when I told you not to do it. These honest comments can helps the child realise that your anger is to do with their own or another person's behaviour rather than rather than their personal existence, they themselves.

A topic and project approach to child-directed learning was pioneered by the Villagers of Reggio Emilia in 1946 for their pre-school children.

The Reggio Preschool Pedagogy wasdesigned to restore the young children’s rights to choose for themselves and  joyfully retain:- Their personal liberty,  A love of learning & enthusiasm to participate with passionate creativity.

Contents

Introduction to The Reggio Preschool Pedagogy A ‘creative and reflective pedagogy’ (Bancroft,2007:5) oflistening and relationships. (Abbot,Nutbrown,2001:128) Reggio theory in practice Examples of Working Practice:-

• A Child Initiated Emergent Curriculum
• ‘Giovanni’s 3-dimentional construction ‘The Mountains of Past and Future’

Using Various Media Resources Reggio Pedagogy Qualities Associated with Creative Learning The Reggio Pedagogy Integrates Previous Educational Theories A Yin and Yang perspective Adults share their personal knowledge and experience through their wider access to resources, Inappropriate adult input can be ignored:- Extending investigation into the community. Integrating II and III dimensional representation Engaging in an emergent curriculum of creative activity. Celebrating Change Motivation Thinking Processes Qualities associated with the Human Potential Conclusion Steiner, Montessori and Piaget Early year’s development The essence of Reggio approach summarised by the author

Conclusion

Introduction to The Reggio Preschool Pedagogy

In 1946, after Nazi occupation of their home land, the villagers of Villa Cella, Reggio, Italy, sought to create a culturally progressive experience for their new generation of young children.  The cooperative efforts of the working community; the farmer’s, the day labourers, the factory workers built and funded a specially designed nursery school for their children. (Opened January 13th, 1947 with 30 pupils, a teacher and a cook). ‘In every brick of “the people’s preschool” there was trust, awareness, willingness, and hope.’ (Barazzoni,2000:29) which  inspired:- Socialised Management, Democracy, Young children as Liberated Citizens. This ‘profound illustration of humanity’ founded ‘a culture and professionality’ (Barazzoni,2000:28) based on ‘the richness and concreteness’ (Reggio Children,2000:9) of children’s ‘ideas, theories, questions and opinions’. (Katz,Cesarone,1994:25)

Later many other nursery schools were established in the Reggio region following the same ethos of socialised management, democracy and vision of the young children as liberated citizens. These schools remained in the care of the village Cooperatives until 1967 when the Municipality of Reggio, the civil council took over the management and financial welfare of the nursery schools. The Reggio approach emphasises the development of the child through the content and organisation of projects that focus on the development of a child who:-

• employs all of his resources,
• is capable of making choices
• is responsible for his own actions,
• has a sense of solidarity,
• hasa desire to learn and participate in the learning process with extreme creativity.

Reggio philosophy is based on ‘a culture and professionalism which regenerate themselves as they keep up with social changes and with the children’s needs and values’.(Barazzoni,2000:28) The Reggio approach uses various media in order to create different representational sequences and combinations that record children’s creative activity and thereby present opportunities for reflection, assessment and progressive development. Different materials and media are considered important because they engage the children in a personally meaningful context that connects to other meaningful experiences. The creative value presented by Malaguzzias the ‘100 languages of children’(Bancroft,2007:14,citingMalaguzzi)appears to integrate the different intelligences described by Gardner as :- Linguistic intelligence. Musical intelligence. Logical - mathematical intelligence. Spatial intelligence. Body - kinaesthetic intelligence. Plus : Intra/inter personal intelligence  ‘knowledge of emotions’, control of emotions and sensitivity to one’s own and others emotional states.’ (Gardner,1993:69) Also Naturalist intelligence  ‘extensive knowledge of the living world’. (Gardner,1993:47-48) Spiritual intelligence ‘the abstract realm of the spiritual’. (Gardner,B????:53) Extensional intelligence  ‘aesthetic philosophical and Scientific works and systems’(Gardner,B????:61)‘ and‘possibly moral intelligences’.... ‘morality is then probably a statement about personality, individuality, will, and in the happiest of cases, about the highest realisation of human nature.’ (Gardner,B????:77) ‘....clearly we must strive to nurture both intelligences’ and morality and, insofar as possible, yoke them together as virtues’ (Gardner,B????:46)withina topic based curriculum that actively generates a richness of intellectual development within the context of informed conceptualised thought.(Gardner,1993:73) ‘The Reggio Emilia approach is highly regarded for the quality of its intellectual content, responsiveness to children, extraordinary aesthetic value of children’s production, and for the effectiveness of curriculum documentation.’ (Feeney, Galper, Seefeldt,2009:232-233) Spaggiari– Director of the Municipal Department of Education of Reggio Emilia, describes the pedagogy as one which supports and confirms the following :-

1. A child’s knowledge is aided, in its genesis and in its development, by interaction and social cooperation;
2. Education is conceived in constructivist’s terms in that it is the child himself who is the builder and main protagonist of his life and his learning processes;
3. Children are moved to an unlimited curiosity and by a greater and innate desire to know and to discover;
4. This extraordinary desire to investigate reality must be made visible and helped to grow and develop without being imprisoned in reconstituted models based on programmed information;
5. The most important ability for a teacher is knowing how to capture those vital and significant events as they appear, around which the teacher’s invention should be organized.

Reggio philosophy encourages adults to respond to the children’s interests and initiatives; the children thereby gain a resource of worldly knowledge and experience that can be integrated within their own chosen theme/topic of study. ‘The studies engaged in by children and teachers are conducted over fairly long periods of time and may be quite elaborate.’ (Feeney,Galper,Seefeldt,2009:232) This organically provides an enrichment of choices, speculation and negotiation. As the interest grows the child/ren initiated activities; thoughts and ideas motivate sustained learning within a specifically identified area of cognitive development. Within the context of child initiated learning, Reggio suggests that the uniqueness of experience and activity presented, by both the child and the adult, creates a spontaneous potential for creativity and opportunity across a wide spectrum of child-directed learning. The adults are therefore called to structure the educational experience primarily as it evolves rather than beforehand. They may initiate co-operatively organised follow up choices of activity that support a natural extention of the children’s free-play  activities. (Cited in Reggio Children,2000:8) Loris Malaguzzi(1920-1994)was the first pedagogical director of the municipal early childhood services in Reggio. Malaguzzi’s‘invocative thinking’ created a ‘pedagogy of transgression’ imbued with ‘hope and expectation’ (Barazzoni,2000:2),based on a philosophy of community participation and the expression of ‘the 100 languages of children’ (Bancroft,2007:14) within a child initiated topic approach to learning. The topic-project approach creates a community of children and adults working together. Active and sincere in their participation, co-workers openly ask questions and happily acknowledge what they do not know, and where and what they would like to understand better. ‘Information flows from the older ones to the younger ones, or from those who possess knowledge to those who don’t.’ (The School DVD:5-6) The Reggio exhibition of the 100 languages of children expanded the psychology of intellectual development into a kaleidoscope of creativity illustrated through the children’s world of communication - ‘a shining testament to human possibilities’ (Gardener cited in Children in Europe,2004:3) ‘......the capacious and inspiring conception of children - as  active, engaged, exploring young spirits, capable of remaining with questions and themes for many weeks, able to work alongside peers and adults, welcoming the opportunity to express themselves in many languages, to create new ones, and to apprehend and enter into those modes of expression that are fashioned by their age-mates.’ (Gardener cited in Children in Europe,2004:17)

A ‘creative and reflective pedagogy’ (Bancroft,2007:5)

  of listening and relationships. (Abbot,Nutbrown,2001:128)

The roles of the Reggio teachers A pedagogy imbued with open-hearted authenticity ‘.......the activity of making projects conceived as functional interaction between needs, resources, conditions, knowledge and method.’ (Reggio Children  2001:56)

Reggio teachers feel it is important to focus on beauty, art and aesthetic value.

‘the attention to detail and beauty’ ‘foster the children’s aesthetic sense’ and illustrates ‘an “amiable”  environment where relationships can flourish.’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:89)

The Reggio approach

The Reggio approach appears to have an integrated focus on participation, democracy, social and environmental relationships, listening skills, child initiated learning,documentation, creativity and independence.These important issues are co-ordinated within the organisation of the physical environment and the social relationships established within the educational community –‘nurturing the pleasure of participation and valuing each person’s individuality.’(Rinaldi,2006:51)Reggio philosophy illustrates a ‘passion for a process that acknowledges our needs as individuals and as a society to engage in a cooperative learning adventure with others, both children and adults.’ (Katz,Cesarone Ed.,1994:36) ‘The layout of the buildings is designed to facilitate meetings and interaction between children, and great care is taken over areas of welcoming and departure.’ (Thornton,Brunton,2005:50) The Reggio pedagogy appears to be based upon an educational community that respects and values the ability and potential of the individual child and emphasizes that children are competent learners rather than ‘empty vessels that need to be filled with knowledge’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:78) Organisation of Community-based Environmental Foundations This philosophy is supported by the organisation of community based environmental foundations which are pictorially represented in the diagramme below. The Reggio philosophy embraces concerns that children may lose their natural ability to learn through creative activity when the adult organizes a predetermined curriculum and agenda of specified time and results. This was presented by Malaguzziwhen he said:- ‘All that we need to knowabout children, for children, is best learned from the children themselves.’ (Cited in Bancroft,2007:8) In Reggio adults actively engage in ‘collaboration, dialogue and observation’ (Bancroft,2007:14)which is considered fundamental because  ‘when  reciprocity is placed at the core of relationships’, ‘patterns of communication in the classroom’ become ‘more respectful, more equal and more interactive’ Respectful collaboration on all levels of interaction whereby leadership steps into the background and allows ‘strength, personalities and perspectives to come together, often challenging each other to create new perspectives and knowledge’, understanding and skills. (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed.2002:78&94)‘Children are biologically predisposed to interpreting data with incredible creativity- encoding and decoding, listening, communicating and establishing relationships.’(Rinaldi,2006:116) ‘...a process that acknowledges our need as individuals and as a society to engage in a co-operative learning adventure with others, both children and adults.’ (Katz,Cesarone Ed.,1994:36) Interactions between children and either an adult or a child who is more confident, act as scaffolding to nudge children to go beyond what they can achieve on their own.’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:66) Maybe, it is the adults’ freedom to choose how, where, and when they engages with the children that gives the children permission (by example) to follow their own initiatives, and thereby maintain their natural disposition to meet their true potential? ‘.....they say our teacher’s are beautiful.  It is true, there are a few places in the world where teachers in schools, early childhood or anywhere else, are as beautiful, as dignified, as womanly as they are here.’(Rinaldi,2006:167) Reggio presents children as competent learners, personally responsible for their own actions and their own educational development, in charge of developing their own abilities, embracing their own goals and their own thinking within a holistic integration of information and understanding. Reggio theory in practice – ‘Following a curriculum based on ideas and thinking rather than content led’. (100 Voices:DVD) Freedom Environmental influences of choice and a trusting disposition Listening Personal interpretation –generally ‘adults tend to overestimate the children’s academic ability and underestimate their ability to think and problem solve.’ (100 Voices DVD) Communication Relationship with an experience – ‘the child as a sophisticated thinker and communicator’. Truth                                                      (100 Voices DVD) A perspective based on inner feelings and external information. Courage Underlying personal confidence and enthusiasm. Passion- That spark of interest that fuels a path of inquiry and motivates creative expression. Curiosity - an extraordinary desire to investigate reality, to know, to discover.(Reggio Children, 2000:8) Children are endowed with ‘genius, talent and creativity.....So to awaken his genius, you need to open his heart, remove complexes, tension and fear.’ The more traditional issues related to the teacher’s professional performance have been transformed into informal co-operative How well the adult can listen to what and how the child/ren want to learn and achieve, feeling comfortable with unpredictable activity and creative styles of communication. Successful scaffolding within the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)  where the ‘emphasis is on relationship and reciprocity and the outcome emerges as it unfolds.’                    (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:86) How to embrace changes and integrate personal  experience with the unique specialness of child initiated learning. Facilitating an inherently open-ended learning environment An Emergent Curriculum - children working at their own   natural pace developing their own style and methods for learning . Sharing of ideas & possibilities without an attachment to a preconceived result. Consideration of what others think - the child, the adult and the other children. Examples of Working Practice:- Daily timetable incorporates natural periods of flexibility e.g.: Arrival 7.30-9am; departure 3.30-4pm or 4-6.20pm.(Thornton,Brunton,2005:62 )

• Sometimes the adults do not interrupt or disturb the children.‘.......two little girls spent 3 hours or so playing together with a collectionof red and pink glass objects displayed on a lighter box.‘No attempt was made to intervene and move them on to something else.’ (Abbot,Nutbrown,2001:69) A further example (cited in Lewin, Benham,2006:28) – four restless boys went into a store room area, closed the door and were busy doing their own thing unobserved/unsupported/unsupervised until one came and asked for some adult help with a tricky process of moving a complex piece of construction work on to a different table within their working area in the store room.

• The adults facilitate specially designed environmental support. When the children wanted to make their paper-mache mountain into a volcano the assisting adults helped the children investigatethings that would safely explode in the classroom such as popcorn and baking powder and lemon juice(Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:143&177)‘Conversely, it was accepted that children sometimes need to ‘flit’ and activities were established to enable them to do this.’ E.g. ‘..a weaving loom...... so that children could add just one row or perhaps more in passing ’ (Abbot,Nutbrown,2001:69)

• Very special worldly experience. For ExampleGoing to see alocal water tower and later the Space Needleas an extension to the children’s focus on aspects related to height:. ‘They took the elevator up and experienced real height and different perspectives.’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:204-207)

• ‘....dynamic interaction of adults and children with one another and with the environment.’ The environment ‘acts as the third teacher’. (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:87&99)

Parents can provide profound, timely and appropriate support. The perfect ending for the height project was provided when a parent invited the class to the building downtown where he worked. It was one of the tallest buildings in Seattle, looking down on both the water tower and the space needle. (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:208) Building a pyramid of related experiences.The emergent curriculum within The Height Project illustrates ‘....our need as individuals and as a society to engage in a co-operative learning adventure with others, both children and adults.’ (Katz,Cesarone,Ed.,1994:36) The Reggio approach encourages children to live in the moment rather than prepare themselves for a futuredefined by the adult educator’s personal views and experiences.Topics of interest organically grow (mindmap) into multifaceted areas of creativity and study, through which each child can find ‘not only an understanding of the specific topic, but also an understanding of their own learning style and a deeper understanding of themselves.’ (Katz,Cesarone,Ed.,1994:50)Rinaldisuggests that‘....every child is stunted if the endpoint of learning is formulated in advance.’ The Reggio approach incorporates:-

• The main aspect within the High/Scope pedagogy which focuses on play and learning whereby adults engage with the children’s play as shared Special Time.
• Montessori teaching methods after the age of seven present learning through child initiated topics and projects of work that encourage the children to work together.
• As presented by Steiner philosophy and practice,the children’s development and well being is nurtured through a rich sensory environment and experiential activities provided by natural materials and aesthetically pleasing surroundings.

A Child Initiated Emergent Curriculum

An ‘exploration of excellence in early childhood education.’

Adults and children working together as a team respectfully collaborating on all levels of interaction, addressing the day to day quality of the children’s lives.

                       (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:92)(Katz,Cesarone,1994:17)

The teaching adults are called to structure the educational experience primarily as it evolves and thereby capture those vital and significant events, as they appear,(Reggio Children,2000:8)and consolidated, unify and empower child-initiated learning through a commitment to ‘developmentally appropriate practices’ (Katz,Cesarone,1994:17) moulded into the very foundations of a community based child centred approach.

Child Initiated Curriculum

The Reggio pedagogy illustrates a child initiated curriculum based on topics of interest and describes a system of shared learning that can spontaneously integrate the theoriespresented by:-

• Howard Gardner as different fields of intelligence - linguistic, musical, logical (mathematical), spatial, body - kinaesthetic, & inter personal intelligence related to the 'computational power of the brain' and ‘Experiential Intelligence’ which David Perkins terms as 'changable, learnable and reflective Intelligence' (Gardner,1996:2);
• Edward De Bono as different types of thinking– theSix Thinking Hats: Red-hat Thinking: emotions, feelings, intuition; White hat -objective information; Black-Hat: caution, truth, reality; Yellow hat: optimism, feasibility benifits; Green-Hat :creative ideas, suggestions; Blue-Hat, summary, reflection.;(DeBono,2000:13-14 :1992,74-96.)
• Tony Buzan’s Mind map approach to the integration of thinking, learning and memory skills. Symbolic representation of the radiating branches of associated thoughts, integrating: knowledge and ideas, left brain thinking (lists, sequences, numbers, letters) and right brain thinking(rhythms, colours, pictures, imagination) with creative thinking and memory skills. (BuzanDVD)‘Creativity is not just the quality of thinking of each individual but is also an interactive, relational and social project.....an everyday right as a quality of life.... It requires a context that allows it to exist, be expressed, to become visible.........What we hope for is creative learning and creative teachers........ the competent and creative child exists if there is a competent and creative adult.’ (Rinaldi,2006:120)

Within Co-operative learning any topic of study or theme of activity can offer children their own free time and individual space to explore their own areas of interest and creativity.However,‘the children don’t just think about living for themselves or their own interests.’(The School DVD:3)Personal goals and individual projects and perspectives are present within collaborative group projects that are ‘working towards a common goal as opposed to working towards a personal goal.’(Katz,Cesarone Ed.,1994:83)

Hoyuelos combines the above description of Reggio pedagogy with ‘....the ideological concept of a transparent school and transparent education and the aesthetic ideaof offering a relational image of childhood through uniting process with content.’ (Cited in Children in Europe2004:7)

Giovanni’s  3-dimentional construction ‘The Mountains of Past and Future’

‘The 100 languages of children’ help children communicate creative thinking skills that are beyond their level of verbal communication.

Using Various Media Resources

The Reggio approach uses various media resources in order to create different representational sequences and combinations that document (record) the children’s creative activity and present opportunities for reflection, assessment and progressive development. The different materials and media technology engage the children in a personally meaningful context that connects to other meaningful experiences and integrates different intelligences (Gardner) within a creative focus. TheReggio approach implies that giving the children the freedom to choose where and with whom, to invest their curiosity, intelligence and their emotionsgenerates a richness of intellectual development within the context of informed and conceptualised thought, illustrated throughtwo and three dimensional construction. (Katz,Cesarone Ed.,1994:42-43) The Reggio approach appears to encourage the children to develop their personal skills of independence– using  multiple systems of communication and open ended areas of choice to support children’s independent skills and thinkingwithin a philosophy that ‘any good creative and expedient work requires considerable discipline and obedience.’ (The School DVD:15) Cameron suggests that ‘whether freedom is negligence, risk, or independence is a central concern of our times.‘(Cited in Early Childhood,2005:26) ‘Where and how far practitioners can promote children’s independence or freedom and where that becomes “risk”, depend to a large extent on the waythese concepts are understood, not just within early childhood pedagogy but also in wider cultural understandings.’(Early Childhood,2005:26) When considering risk factors within the context of children’s social-emotional and physical environment, adultsneed to evaluate potential risks within the of promotion of learning and social development.They might need to consider the levels of expectation and independence related to standards of self-help, personal careand management of the ‘social risks of incurring peer or adult displeasure.........the boundary between care and lack of care may be pushed where independence is defined as freedom’. The adults’conceptual understanding of cultural aspects within the local and wider societies,knowledge of each child,and the parents’ views and expectations, may also influence individual assessments of safety and acceptable levels of intimate contact as physical reassurance. Independent thinking andfreedom to make choices may be considered in relation to how ‘restricting options for children’may ‘inhibit creativity’. The children’s endeavours when doing things for themselves may also naturally include some of the positive aspects that risk taking and making mistakes contribute towards children’s learning and development. ‘......this formulation of independence may be culturally specific......Risk is socially and culturally defined.’(Early Childhood,2005:24-26) The Reggio approach seems to giveunsupervised freedomsto the children (Lewin Benham,2006:28)and supports this with a strong emphasis onan awareness and understanding of the individual child’s needs and abilities; equality‘a precious form of mutual respect’;integration and communication with individual parents; ‘public visibility’ - integration with the local community, cultural and community resources(Children in Europe,2004:2&7);reflective strategies; and an unstructured timetable tend to support children working safely within their own range of ability while engaging in self-motivated activity. 

Reggio Pedagogy

The Reggio pedagogy integrates many previously pioneered theories of education and related psychology that emphasize children’s ‘problem solving ability and creative endeavour’. (Bernard,1965:93).

Qualities that are associated with creative learning:-
Willingness to explore	Experimenting,
Curiosity	Enquiring
Play and flow	Playfulness
Concentration, involvement, immersion	Focus,
Confidence and self-esteem. Ownership	Initiating ideas.
Perseverance and resilience	Persistence
Collaboration and cooperation	Willingness to be involved
Imagination and Inventive ingenuity	Observations, making connections, prediction
Autonomy and choice
Hypothesis, powerful thinking
Independence and self motivation
Sustained shared thinking
Making connections, Reflective thinking
Risk taking
Joy and surprise
Aesthetic sensitivity
Wellbeing	(compiled from Bancroft,2007:19)

The Reggio approach encourages children to invest their ‘time and energy’ in socially meaningful creative activity. Research on cognitive development and psychology reviewed by Meadow’s suggests that this can generate children’s consciousness and the higher mental functions that constitute intelligence. (Meadows,2006: 236,257&311) Both Steiner and Reggio pedagogy relating to the early years 3-7 present a commitment to an emphasis on creative activity within a play and learn philosophy, which places particular importance on aesthetics and the natural world. In keeping with the theories of Bruner and Vygotsky,(Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:66)Steiner and Reggio, present social interaction as primary to all areas of children’s personal and educational development, and develop a strong sense of community and inherent cultural influences. They also embrace children’s education within the context of their families, building strong relationships with parents and other family members, based on mutual trust and respect.(Feeney,Galper,Seefeldt,2009: 137,69).Children within an age range of 3-4years, remain in the same class throughout their nursery school attendance offering a continuity of care(Lewin-Benham,2006:58); ‘for relationships to be meaningful, they need to endure over time.’ (Feeney,Galper,Seefeldt,2009:67, citing Hinde) ‘Children who are able to make and retain friendships in the kindergarten typically adjust more easily to school and make greater gains in achievement’ and ‘emotional competencies’. (Feeney,Galper,Seefeldt,2009:107, citing Ladd,1990)

The Reggio Pedagogy Integrates Other Previous Educational Theories

The Reggio pedagogy integrates many previously pioneered theories of education and related psychology that emphasize children’s ‘problem solving ability and creative endeavour’. (Bernard,1965: 93).

High/Scope – teachers are trained in specific skills and approaches that help children engage in and share their play/learning experiences and resolve their social disagreements and conflicts. *	The author noted that on a video recording of Reggio classroom activity where two children were arguing the teacher approached and organically, from his own natural disposition, engaged in an accurate example of the High/Scope approach to conflict resolution. *
Steiner- presented that imagination and creativity are the most essential aspects of play and learning during the children’s early years 3 to 7	Children have free access to the art studio and resident artist as well as a specified and well equipped art and craft area within their own classroom.  There is a strong emphasis on artistic creativity throughout the topics or themes that have captured both individually and collectively the children’s interest. A special a focus is placed on the production of displays illustrating the children’s activities and resulting work.
Montessori presented -  children should be free within the classroom environment to choose activities and organize their own social interactions and communications and have open access to a garden area.	The children are free to move around the whole of the school campus integrating with children and adults freely.  They have open access to a special communal area called the Piazza and an outdoor communal garden.
Vygotsky presents - the role of the teacher is to support the child’s learning within the ‘proximal zone of development’(PZD) supporting the child’s choice of activity and unique approach to the potential for learning within chosen activities.  ‘... the process of socialisation....was rooted in the use of physical tools and symbols...especially language’ (cited in Gardner,1996:199)	Reggio teachers are encouraged to observe and record the children’s activities and thereby respond supportively to emergent themes of interest or enquiry, and appropriately support the children’s spontaneous interactions.  The teacher tries to present enriched environmental choices that are initiated by the children’s own themes of interest and what they feel is appropriate to develop and in the way they want to develop it. Teacher lead activities and teacher initiated choices are considered an optional aspect of classroom activity.
Chomsky-presents that learning is dependent upon interactive communication, language development and social integration.	The design and plan of the schools that have been specially built illustrate an openness and connectedness within the different areas.  The walls are often constructed of window glass down to the floor; children can go into the kitchen and talk to or help the cook.  Media Technology is available to the children and facilitates revisiting, extended dialogue and discussion, reflection, memory etc.
Pinney-presented that young children ‘are their own best expert’ and given a supportive, caring environment they can successfully negotiate choices that will enhance their personal, social and educational development.  She pioneered Creative Listening, Special Time and Child Directed Learning.	The adults facilitate child initiated learning – ‘the complex and multiple strategies’ that are necessary for sustaining children's authentic ‘knowledge-building processes’ and creativity. B26p132 Every child is an ‘exquisitely individual and personal entity...’ b10p34
Bruner - the importance of languaged communication, social interaction and community and cultural experiences within children's learning experiences.	‘Rather than focusing on the developing child as an autonomous learner, Reggio...... educators see education as a communal activity and sharing of culture through collaboration among children and also between children and teachers, who opened topics’ ‘to speculation and negotiation.’ B16P71
The Early Years Foundation Stage - Elements of creativity set as principles within concepts of: a unique strong child; positive relationships; enabling environments; learning and development. (Bancroft,2007:9)	The creative value of many languages of expression is actively generated  by ‘The 100 languages of children’(Bancroft,2007:14) Cites Loris Malaguzzi ‘in functional terms: order and measurement; time, things and nature; body and movement; speaking and words; messages, forms and media; self and others.’ (Katz,Cesarone,Eds.1994:50)

A Yin and Yang Perspective

The differences within the Steiner and Reggio pedagogical approaches are considered by the author from a Yin and Yang perspective.

Steiner supporting a more Yin perspective (female)	Reggio presenting a more Yang perspective (male)
Considers child’s learning and creativity is boundless when supported by a growing knowledge and understanding of the natural world and creativity within organized rhythms of repetition and imitation.	Considers child’s learning through creativity is boundless when supported by a team of conscientiously supportive adults, who believe that learning takes place within an uninterrupted momentum of problem solving activity.
Embraces fantasy and imagination within the context of creative activity - music making, singing, story -telling and theatre.	Based on scientific, resourceful, exploratory approaches to creativity combined with critical/reflective evaluation
Encourages the child’s desires to be creative within a bounteous, natural homely environment with minimal science and technological input.	An environment rich in art, science and technology.
A strong emphasis on teaching by example and sharing through the arts - music, dance, non-competitive games and festive events.	A strong emphasis on the child as his own best expert. Using media systems to document and reflect creativity and provide informal feedback.
Considers the child as a seedling that adults and communities need to hold in a protective and nurturing environment.	Considers the child as a young citizens within a  community of people with whom the teachers, resident artist and staff engage freely as individuals and co-operatively as a team.
Emphasizes environmental opportunities and organized interactive activities for the learning of coordination, movement  and  balance through foundation art and craft skills, playing musical instruments, songs, Eurhythmy, skipping and clapping games, and non-competitive sports.	Emphasizes the importance of supporting children’s right to be :- motivated by curiosity active explorers creators and inventors (creatively representing their knowledge and understanding of the worldly environment.)
Encourages the child’s:- - individual personality, - abilities and interests - aesthetic appreciation and creative expression within a community based emphasis on artistic, social and cultural foundations.	Presents the school environment as a child centred microcosm of the community and world around. Giving a community based emphasis on artistic, social and cultural foundations. The whole community is deeply committed to an ethos of love, respect and care. (Katz ,Cesarone,Eds. 1994:18)
Teachers are encouraged to use repetition, revisiting, review and presentation as foundations within the play and learn curriculum.	Documentation is considered an important part of both the adults’ and the children’s in school and out of school activity.

Like other child centred approaches to education (e.g. Steiner, Montessori, High/scope, Foundation Phase) the Reggio approach has also been noted for the ability to successfully support a small percentage of children who have specified learning differences. ‘Preschools minimize many of the affects of disability and a slower rate of learning because the learning environment matches the developmental and social needs of the individual child.’ (Abbot,Nutbrown,2001:6) The topic approach can encourage a slower and more in depth exploration and in this way supports a wider variation of interest and ability.(Frazer,Gestwiki,Ed.,2002:264)‘Children’s fascinations initiate a deeper and deeper rather than wider and wider focus of enquiry’.(100 Voices DVD)

Adults share their personal knowledge and experience through their wider access to resources,

‘...a process that acknowledges our need as individuals and as a society to engage in a co-operative learning adventure with others, both children and adults.’ (Katz,Cesarone Ed.,1994:36) When the children were sharing an interest in being tall, being up high, the teachers created a display board of pictures of tall buildings from Seattle where the school is located. The children built a cityscape right underneath the pictures of the tall buildings presented as a wall landscape created by the adult. Later a mirrored platform was presented.The children built a sky scraper on this and enjoyed the reflective aspect that extended their structure into a new perspective.As the children built a physical structure on the mirror, the building almost doubled in height.(Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:205)

Inappropriate adult input can be ignored:-

Listening to the children’s conversations the teachers hypothesized that a possible next path might be birds, so they brought in branches, nests and little bird figures. ‘But continued careful attention to the playconvinced them (the adults) that this was not the direction to pursue.......the (childrens’) play was still about being tall, being up  high’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:205) Extending investigation into the community. Emergent, open ended, ‘child initiated, adult framed’. (100 Voices: DVD) Example: The teachers decided to extend this theme of investigation into the communityand they arranged to visit a water tower in a nearby city park. This visit initiated the project into III dimensional creative work. ‘The teachers offered clay, and the children began to build the water tower brick by brick. For over a month, a number of children worked making the bricks and then using the bricks to build the water tower.’  It was hard, painstaking work but the children were really motivated.‘ ...co-constructing as group members learning from one another’ Interactions between children and either an adult or a child who is more confident act as scaffolding to nudge children to go beyond what they can achieve on their own.’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002: 94, 206-207,66) Integrating II and III dimensional representation As they built, they compared their sketches and referred to the drawings like blueprints. (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:207) The Reggio approach incorporates the use of cameras as a natural way for children to express themselves and review their projects of activity. For the adults cameras are also considered useful for recording detailed observation and assessment. In contrast to this Steiner kindergartens present that media technology is considered inappropriate within the early years and lower-school classes. The use of cameras also presents questions around the moral issues related to the children’s right to a camera free play and learn environment.  Furthermore, teachers and children may use the camera in situations where a more intimate, multisensory approach to listening and observation could be of greater benefit to one or more individuals. Also, the adult operating the camera may miss a potential for spontaneous interaction that could initiate a more comprehensive understanding of the child/ren’s perspective. Finally, there is the issue of adult responsibility for discerning the appropriate environment, time, place and audience for viewing camera recorded documentation.  (Early Childhood,2005:28& 32)  Engaging in an emergent curriculum of creative activity. The High/Scope application of plan – do – review appears to have been reversed within the Reggio  approach as follows:- The Reggio approach presentschanging the environment to meet the child/children’s chosen areas of interest and enquiry. Learning differences, interests, abilities and disabilities, potential, physical development,personality and previous experience are all considered creative aspects within a child’s individual preferencesand learning style. The child himself is considered ‘the builder and main protagonist of his life and his learning processes.’(Reggio Children,2000:8) When facilitating children learning through creative activity, Reggio teachers also appear to successfully integrate the influences ofChange, Motivation, and Applied Thinking .

Celebrating Change

Reggio teachers appear to creatively relate to elements and influences that facilitate change -acknowledging that changes may also be implemented by problem solving processes and learning to support, to nourish, to help what is already growing within the child. ‘By surrendering our personal insistence to the larger current of meaningful change.’                                                                                                                              (Hellinger 2007:184) The Reggio environment appears to encourage everyone to feel comfortable with the unpredictable. This also supports personal investigation, discovery, shared learning experiences, and respects the children’s need to revisit their learning experience and create continuity within a broad spectrum of flexibility and movements of change. (Early Childhood,2005:19&14)

Motivation

During the early years motivation appears to be initiated by ‘curiosity, wonder and enthusiasm.’(Katz,Cesarone Ed.,1994:50) This initiates further development as illustrated in the author’s chart below, where each stage incorporates an integration of the previous stages. The chart also illustrates the inter-dependence between motivation and the development of complex thinking within children’s creative play. ‘....describing the hundred languages of expression, Malaguzzi recognized all the many different ways in which children interpret the world and represent their ideas and theories.’ (Thornton &Brunton 2005:9)

Thinking Processes

This chart presents inter-related aspects that contribute to the development of inner courage, confidence, enthusiasm and a joyful disposition also appear to influence children’sconnections between ideas and things - a “divergent thought” that strays from any kind of coding - belonging strictly to the method of procedure in the consciousness of all children.’ (Reggio Children2001:57) Creativity in the sense of the ability to produce ideas or new things but also to find new connections between ideas and things - a “divergent thought” that strays from a any kind of coding - belonging strictly to the method of procedure in the consciousness of all children.’ (creativity related to divergent thinking as opposed to the aesthetics of our present and practical reality.) Creativity in the sense of the ability to produce ideas or new things but also to find new The topic/project approach encourages each child to creatively design his/her own learning style and expression of creative activity.  Where by individual attributes are combined in an infinite variety of activity initiated by the individuals chosen social and environmental relationships and ‘The complexities of Human Potential’illustrated by the author as follows:

Qualities associated with the Human Potential

Conclusion

The adults in Reggio education work together with the children as a team and no one has a leadership status of superior authority and control. Warm respectfully collaboration on all levels of interaction encouragesan internal curriculum whereby strengths, personalities and perspectives can to come together, ‘often challenging each other to create a new perspective and knowledge’ alongside ‘ cognitive development through skills, knowledge, understanding and creativity while exploring an ‘excellence in early childhood education.’Authentic childhood p94-92’ [ The Reggio approach appears to have changed the premise of adults directing the children’s learning to one of scaffolding the children’s activities through environmental provisions and a collective theme of study combined with media documentation. ‘Interactions between children and either an adult or a child who is more confident act as scaffolding to nudge children to go beyond what they can achieve on their own.’ (Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:66) .

             Freedom within creative activity releases children from following

  conventional thinking and structures of behaviour.

‘Frederica (age three) knows horses have four legs; she turns the piece of paper over and draws the other two legs on the reverse side’ (Rinaldi,2006:115)  illustrating  a cognitive level of expression bridging II and III dimensional creativity. Encouraging open ended questions of enquiry. ‘In the shadow of the zebra can you see the white stripes or the black stripes better?’ (Reggio Children,2000:89) Reggio teachers foster ‘the children’s competence by explicitly teaching techniques.’ One child was unable to successfully use a wire cutting tool, silently the adult intervened to demonstrate. On this occasion the adult chose to provide a demonstration without any verbal commentary. (Lewin Benham,2006:16) Supporting child-directed learning through an emergent curriculum of child initiated topics Reggio educators seem to be comprehensively relating Creativity to ‘the art of teaching’(Steiner,1982)within the Zone of Proximal Development.(Vygotsky citedin Frazer, Gestwiki,Ed. 2002:66) However, the author suggests that it is still the quality of adult intention that can influence the child’s development within the context of an evaluation and interpretation of the child’s world of passion, doing and well being. The adult’s internal assessment and integration of external and internal changes may thereby be related to the children’s playful inferences, implications, and subtle accommodation of adult judgments and values. Areas of concern could be considered within the controlling qualities of directing the children’s learning into an imposition disguised as a problem solving quest and/or unnatural levels of stimulus entertainment, presented as enrichment through an environmental impact artificially imported by the adults. However, the Reggio environment appears to encourage personal investigation, discovery, and shared learning experiences, and respects the children’s need to revisit their learning experience and create continuity within a broad spectrum of flexibility and creative activity. (Early Childhood,2005:19&14) It would appear that the Reggio schools have brought some degree of harmony to the seemingly polarised distinctions between child-initiated and adult-initiated curriculum, through a community approach where adults and children share an open ended topic style of progressive curriculum based on natural creativity and personal enquiry. In the following chart the authorrelatesearly year’s development in three consecutive stages. Steiner, Montessori and Piaget present a strong differentiation between each stage, presented in the consecutive columns in the chart below. Whereas the Reggio approach appears to be successfully accommodating within the 3-6 years what is described above in the 6+ stage

Steiner, Montessori and Piaget - Early Year’s Development

The success of the Reggio approach could be questioned in the light of the Steiner and Montessori pedagogy that present the more formal and academic approaches to learning, particularly studies of natural phenomena and associated sciences, should only begin after the age of six years. Whereby, the early years are held as a time of deep reverence and sensitivity to feelings and creative experiences as opposed to academic skills, worldly knowledge,ability and independence. Areas of cautionary concern for both the adults and the children appear to be:-

• integrating freedom with a responsibility for safety;
• encouraging independence and self help without compromising standards of hygiene and healthcare;
• and inspiring personal confidence and authenticity,such that, unhealthy submission of an individual to a collective (ora collective to an individual) is minimised.

The adults’ authoritative role as carer does not appear to have any preconceived specification.The Reggio stafforganically relate to their own standards from their own personal knowledge of the children’s individual needs, and associated perspectives on safety and subsequent presentation of boundaries.Reggio specifically addresses freedom, liberation and democracy within education as one of relationships combined with a commitment to deep and openhearted participation, whilst embracingnecessity and freedom, creativity and reflection, relationships and communicationrather than a preconceived structure of rules,. ‘.....a real school is one where each person who operates in it, stimulates and invites each of the small young individuals to express their freedom: I believe that this is the great horizon of education.’ (Masullo cited in Edizoni,Ed.2006:35) In 1947 a small community of villagers successfully began their dream to change their young children’s education in the hope of creating a better world for everyone. The first Reggio school has seeded much thinking and change within the realms of children’s care and education. Many other Reggio schools have been established since the first in 1947, each one a unique example of a passion for living and learning together. Hopefully, this influence will continue to flourish all over the world and support new perspectives on the roles of parent, carer and educator, within the widest context of culture, prosperity and religion and thereby empower children of all ages and ability to create their future happiness.

Conclusion

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