The Learning Environment Part 2: The Meeting Area

The Meeting Area is where the teacher calls on the students to sit and listen to morning messages, sing class songs and listen to a book being read (usually called Circle or Big Group Time).

The children sit as a group in front of a blackboard or an easel. The blackboard or easel serve as the Message Board.

It is usually a big space where all the children can meet, greet and share experiences in a larger grouping. It is an area of discussions on interests or concepts, posing and answering questions, sharing outputs and experiences, and enjoying music and movement activities as a way of easing through transitions and routines (UP Family Life and Child Development ECE Seminar Handout, 2003).

Some schools use a whiteboard instead of a blackboard. Personally, I like blackboards more

In our school, this is how we set up the Meeting Area.

• Aside from the blackboard, we have a meeting mat. In the past, we would use a large piece of plastic cover — enough space for all the kids to sit on comfortably on the floor. However, since our school became GREEN, we now use recycled tarpaulin banners for our mats. We tape on shapes, animals, or the children’s names on the mat so the children know where to sit during meeting time. How crucial is this mat? Very! Meeting Time usually comes after Free Play. The children need to “own” their space in this area after playing around the room during Free Play. The unrolling of the mat serves as their transition or cue that the next block of time is about to start. Seeing their shape, animal or name on the mat signals them to go to the area and take a seat. For older kids, lines of masking tape will suffice to demarcate where the children will sit. The goal is to have a visual sign to prompt the children where to sit.

• For music to sing with the morning songs, we place speakers attached to the wall and placed at a high level so the children won’t be able to touch it. It is attached to a simple mp3 player to rid the teacher of cumbersome cassettes or CDs.

• There is also a customized calendar. For younger kids, the numbers are printed on paper and the children take turns daily in putting each date. The older kids have a blank calendar wherein they write the date (the calendar alone strengthens fine motor and number identification).

• A sample of the morning message written on the board is as follows

Today is ____________ (day of the week)

August ____, 2008 (date)

It is a ____________ day (weather)

We are ________________ today (activity for the day)

The words on the blank spaces are written by the children with the help of the teacher. There’s usually a song the precedes each line like for example, the class sings Days of the Week before putting the day on the blank space.

The Meeting Area is a great place for the children to settle down and interact with each other and with the teacher. It is a place where they can be spontaneous while telling a story of what happened to them at home and it can also be informative as the teacher reads a story and presents a concept.

Progressive Education in the 1940’s

I found this video about Progressive Education in the 1940’s! Enjoy!

The Progressive Preschool Classroom

In the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (Rev Ed) by Harms, Clifford and Cryer, schools are rated according to several concepts. Under Room arrangement for play, the preschool will fail in rating if it has no learning centers defined. A Learning/Interest Area was defined as an area where materials, organized by type, are stores so that they are accessible to children, and appropriately furnished play space is provided for children to participate in a particular kind of play. Examples of areas are art, blocks, dramatic play, reading, nature / science, and manipulatives / fine motor.

Aside from having more than 3 learning areas, the preschool will score highly if:

• Quiet and Active centers placed to not interfere with one another (Ex. reading or listening area separated from blocks or housekeeping
• Space is arranged so most activities are not interrupted (Ex. shelves placed so children walk around, not through, activities; placement of furniture discourages rough play or running)
• Areas are organized for independent use by children (Ex. labeled open shelves; labeled containers for toys; open shelves are not overcrowded; play space near toy storage).
• Sufficient space for several activities to go on once (Ex. floor space for blocks, tables space for manipulatives, easel for art)

Watch out for articles explaining each learning area…

The Progressive Elementary Classroom

When I checked the statistics of this blog, a lot of searches that end up viewing the site is looking for the learning environment in a progressive elementary or grade school classroom.

Here in the Philippines, most classrooms have a traditional set up. Unfortunately, even some of the progressive schools have adopted a traditional set up wherein all the chairs are facing the teacher and have no opportunity to have learning centers or to be decentralized. Why? It costs less and the administration assumes that the class can be managed better. There is a way to make a classroom progressive in an efficient way.

In our school, we decided that the elementary students move from one classroom to another depending on their subject. Why?

1. Every classroom becomes one learning area and the students have an opportunity to visit each area. For example, the subjects Filipino and English are in one classroom called Communication Arts room.

2. Since each classroom is set-up as a learning area focused on that particular subject, the teacher of that subject can design his/her classroom to have elements to encourage learning for that subject. For example, here’s our Communication Arts room..

Yes, the teacher is in front and all the chairs are facing her however, check the varied the positions of the chairs and tables. The tables are long and can sit 4 students to encourage group work. They are movable in the event that the teacher needs to change the lay out of the classroom when the curriculum calls for it. She can move all the tables to the side and have one big group in the middle or separate the students into smaller groups.

Every classroom, regardless of subject, has a reading area. Even the Math and Science room has one. Why? A progressive classroom houses a progressive curriculum. A progressive curriculum is integrated, meaning all subjects are connected with one another (this is intended for another article in this blog). Since this is the Communication Arts room, it SHOULD have a reading area! This particular area have the all traits of a progressive reading area: covers out, varied titles, culture- and curriculum-based and the students can TOUCH the books!

Every classroom displays various projects of the students. Why the net? Here’s a tip: the net makes it easier to change displays because the projects are not taped to the wall. Those awful tape marks also add cost because you have to repaint your walls more often. Save in tape, save in paint

The learning environment is crucial to be parallel to the progressive curriculum. Let’s harness our teaching creativity to design a unique and progressive classroom even for the elementary-aged student!

The Learning Environment Part 1: The Reading Area

The learning environment is a key element of a school’s curriculum design. The planning of a school’s physical space should coordinate with its goals and philosophy. The traditional classroom has all the student’s chairs facing the blackboard and the teacher. The classroom set up of a progressive school though are demarcated instead by different learning areas or decentralized, allowing the children and teacher to move around each area.

The learning areas are usually the following:

1. Reading Area

It houses the books of the classroom usually on low shelves with book covers out. A mat is usually found in front of the shelves in order for the students to assume any comfortable position while reading.

One of my frustrations when I was observing schools is the scarcity of books available in this area. I understand that books are a big investment and school directors often choose to keep the “good” books out of children’s reach for fear of them being torn or destroyed. However, the love of reading can only be developed if books are made available to the children. In our school, we set up a Library Program Fee that the parents pay in the beginning of the year. This allows the child to borrow a book from the Reading Area and the School Library. If their child did not lose or damage a book, the parents have an option of getting the fee back or donating it to the school to improve the Library facilities.

Book choices in this area stem from the class theme and students’ interests. There should also be a conscious effort to include culture based books. For example, a progressive Filipino classroom should have Filipino story books in its shelves. Adarna House and Tahanan Books have great Filipino writers under their roofs! The process of reading for a child begins in being read-aloud to. Jim Trelease has a great book called The Read Aloud Handbook that informs parents and teachers the value of reading out loud to children and lists down book suggestions by kind, level and age

The Reading Area may be a corner, a bookshelf or a box of books.

Your Reading Area is progressive if:

1. It has enough books for every child to choose 2-3 books to read (the number of students you have multiplied by 2)

2. It contains developmentally-appropriate books.

3. There are books related to the class’ theme and the children’s interests.

4. There are culture-based books.

5. The children can borrow the books.

6. A teacher is present to read the books to the children.

7. The children are allowed to TOUCH the books!

Curriculum Design: The Learning Environment

Browne (2000) define the school’s environment as the combination of the physical and human qualities, creating an area in which children and adults work and play together. In the study of Rios (2002) regarding predictors of effective preschool, wherein 94 private preschools from the National Capital Region were studied, the learning environment came out as the best predictor of effective preschool performance. It further explains that an effective learning area is a reflection of a good preschool administrator who is responsible in the over-all planning of the facility.

The physical setting is the equipment and learning materials, the classroom’s arrangement and the playground facilities. The planning of the physical space reflects the program’s goals and encourages play and interaction between children. The physical design also encourages the child’s self-confidence (Feeney, Christensen & Moravcik, 2000).

The progressive classroom exudes beauty and hominess (Washburne, 1952). The progressive classroom encourages more freedom of activity and more chances for exploration. The UP Child Development Center (UP-CDC) which espouses a developmental-interactive approach to progressive education breaks up its classrooms into learning areas (Alcantara, 1994). There is a math area, housekeeping area, a manipulatives area, an art area and a reading area. Cenedella’s article “Organizing a decentralized classroom” (as part of the DFLCD Early Childhood Education Seminar Workshop handout, 2002) defines breaking up the learning environment into different areas as the “decentralized classroom”. Cenedella states that a decentralized classroom reflects the Progressive stream. This set-up allows the teacher to manage the class in smaller groups, gives the children the opportunity to decide on an activity and allows the flow of learning to be fluid and uninterrupted because the various materials are available in their own distinct area.
The materials should reflect the philosophy of the school and respect the developmental needs of the children (Sciarra & Dorsey, 1995). Since the children’s interests are in focus, specially designed teacher-made materials are usually seen in progressive preschools. Not only are they tailor-made to fit the children and the curriculum but are economical for the preschool as well.

The learning environment also concerns the temporal setting or timing for transitions, the routines and the activities (Gordon & Williams-Browne, 2000). The UP¬CDC has a balance of quiet and active, group and individual plus outdoor and indoor activities. It is harmonious with DECS Order 107 in regards with allotting time for self-exploration and a balance of different activities as seen in the prescribed sample of activities.
The interpersonal setting of the environment is composed of the number and nature of teachers, ages and numbers of children, types and the style of teacher-child interactions (Gordon & Williams-Browne, 2000). The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the largest organization of early childhood professionals that is dedicated to improve the quality of services for children and their families, states in its “Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs” (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) that the group size and ratio of teachers to children should be limited to allow individualized and age-appropriate programming. For example, a class of four-year-olds should have a maximum of 20 children with two teachers managing the class.

Thuermer (1999) says that a progressive classroom usually has an air of informality. The teacher’s voice is not the dominant one in the room but rather that of the children. The kids are often in small groups but even when they’re together, the whole-class discussion encourages the children to interact with one another.

Curriculum Design: The Content

Curriculum is the framework of experience and activities developed by teachers to help children increase their competence (Hendrick, 1994). Progressive education promotes a curriculum that develops the whole child. The activities and interactions designed to complete the curriculum revolve around the child’s interests and also develop the child’s self-esteem and positive feelings towards learning.

The components of the curriculum are the program’s content, the learning
environment and class grouping.

1. The Content

Feeney, Christensen & Moravcik (2000) describe three well-known approaches in organizing the curriculum. The most common way to break the curriculum into parts is according to subject matter (Hildebrand, 1991; Schickendanz, York, Stewart & White, 1990; Seefeldt & Barbour, 1994) or the subject-centered organization. Although this approach guarantees that all areas of content will be given attention, it does not teach children the relationships between subjects. Although the subject-centered approach exists in classrooms for older children, adolescents and adults, it is not appropriate for young children.

Feeney, et al. (2000) identifies the next approach as the learner-centered organization. This approach emerges from the developmental stage, needs and interests of the children. It promotes large blocks of time for play and exploration in a prepared environment. It is appropriate for infants, toddlers and young preschoolers. However, it may not give enough cognitive stimulation for older preschoolers or children in the primary grades.

The third approach that Feeney, et al. (2000) identifies is the integrated or thematic planning. This approach revolves around a theme or topic of study that serves as the framework for integrated subject areas. Since the theme is chosen based on the children’s interests, the learning experiences are more meaningful and worthwhile. It can be customized to fit the learning styles of a group of children and of individual children in a group.

Redoble (2000) studied the development of the Integrated Core Curriculum (ICC) by the UP Child Development Center (UP-CDC), the laboratory school of the Department of Family Life and Child Development (DFLCD). ICC is indigenous to the DFLCD. This curriculum is based on all the aspects of a child’s development, interests of the child, different learning experiences and a central theme that is based on the child’s interests. Redoble (2000) states that there are three stages in planning the ICC. The first stage is the formulation of a theme that is grounded on the children’s interests. Next is the formulation of the Curriculum Framework. The Curriculum Framework or ICC Framework is composed of the theme or topic and organizing questions that the curriculum answers through concepts. The last stage is brainstorming for the activity web wherein different activities are chosen to accomplish the framework’s concepts. These activities are usually categorized by subject.

In planning the curriculum content, all the domains of the child should be taken into consideration. Hendrick (1994) discusses the concept of the whole child wherein not only should the mind be the focus in education but also the physical, the emotional, the social and the creative domains of the child.

The subject matter should center on the child’s own social activities and not on special studies that are external to the child’s own experiences (Dewey, 1897). Process is only learned if it is understood, and that understanding has to be rooted in experience (Washburne, 1952).

The Leader of a Progressive School

Manager, administrator and leader are terms used to describe authority figures in groups or organizations (Taylor, 1989). In school management, the administrator’s organizational success is how well the needs of the children and employees are met.

In DECS Order No. 107 “Standard for the Organization and Operation of Preschools” , an administrator is defined as “a person who plans, implements, supervises, monitors or evaluates a school program.” It further prescribes that the administrator should have a college degree in a discipline allied to education
with at least 18 units of preschool education, preferably with a master’s degree in education and with at least two years of very satisfactory work experience in a school set up.

Being the Directress of Nest School for Whole Child Development, I’m proud to say I am in the company of men and women who are passionate about their schools and what they represent. Two women who I interviewed for my thesis are Teacher Francie Castaneda-Lacanilao of The Learning Tree (TLT) Child Growth Center and Teacher Feny de los Angeles-Bautista of Community of Learners (COLF).

All my daughters went to The Learning Tree and I know first-hand how Teacher Francie mans the helm of the school. She created her own personal approach to the philosophy. She called it the experiential-integrative approach. She also formed structures for her approach namely, feeling-acting integration which upholds the
progressive philosophy of being experiential, love for God, country and self, team collaboration, excellence in productivity, and a creative-expansive dimension to learning or the goal for her students to be critical thinkers. She clearly explained all of her philosophical concepts to the parents of her students.

The developmental-interactive approach is how Teacher Fenny defined her approach. She continued by explaining that the school “looks at the individual needs of children”. Since the school was opened to serve all children – including children with special learning disabilities, she described her philosophy in the acronym TEACH or “to teach all children”. She also stressed that her school is learner-centered and she envisioned it as a community of young and old learners, representing the students and the school personnel.

Both women put up progressive primary education because of a similar clamor. The parents of their graduates became frustrated because there was no progressive primary school that can continue what their preschools espoused. Most “big schools” were practicing the traditional stream of education. Teacher Fenny aspired further by establishing a secondary level in her progressive school. She has seen this problem since she taught in the UP-CDC. She felt there was no continuation of the progressive philosophy in the upper grades. She envisioned establishing progressive elementary and high school levels in her school even before its foundation. They did not mention any form of eclecticism in their philosophy. They adhered to the statements of Graff, Street, Kimbrough and Dykes (1966) of following a unifying educational philosophy. They apparently are focused on their philosophy. They are able to fully explain and define their philosophy and their approaches.

Teacher Francie and Teacher Feny inspires me to reach for a new level in educating children. They paved the way for progressive schools not only to gain ground but also to bring it to primary and secondary education.

The Philosophy

There are different philosophies regarding early childhood education. The first step in establishing a school is formulating the philosophy that will reflect the values and beliefs of the administration and the families that will participate in the program (Sciarra & Dorsey, 1995). Without the specific goals and objectives, the programs will seem no more than baby-sitting (Taylor, 1989).

All components of the school program should adhere to a philosophy. However, several preschools assert their eclecticism as an advertising pitch. They assert that a mixture of philosophies is better than just one. However, eclecticism poses a dilemma for the preschool administrator to the point of ineffectiveness. In the book Philosophic Theory and Practice in Educational Administration (1966), by Graff, Street, Kimbrough and Dykes it states that efficient school administration needs administrators who have an intellectualized, consistent and comprehensive set of philosophical concepts. “Eclecticism constitutes a very real barrier to the achievement of this consistency.” They point out that the school administrator does not have a basis for choices in decision-making. Also, the administration becomes shifty with its statements. Therefore, upon choosing the philosophy, the administrator should be committed in staying true to it.

In Kohlberg and Mayer’s “Development as the Aim of Education” (1971), they identified three streams of educational ideology that the various philosophies or approaches fall under – Romanticism, Cultural Transmission (or what is more commonly known as Traditional), and the Progressive Stream or Progressivism.

The Progressive Stream holds that education should cultivate the child’s natural interaction with a developing society or environment. The progressive stream highlights the child’s educational experience that encourages thought, creativity and learning. It bridges the gaps that Romantics and Traditionalists have between the child and his/her experiences whether it is in concord or conflict (Cremin, 1962; Kohlberg & Mayer, 1971; Gardner, 1991). Romanticism focuses mainly on the internal experience or the inner self. Traditionalists believe on the external and teacher-oriented experience. The advocates of the progressive stream – like Dewey, Piaget and Bruner –join both the inner and outer experiences through a qualitative interaction with the environment in best understanding the development of the child.

According to Dewey in his Pedagogic Creed (1897) in “Education in America: Colonial Roots to Progressivism”, education must start with a psychological foresight into the child’s capabilities, interests and habits. He continues by stating, “education is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” It is, therefore, more important for the school to value the child’s individuality rather than what he will be as a future economic unit. The child is a thinking, self-propelling and well-adjusted individual (Covar, 1987).
Kohlberg and Mayer also mentioned the issue of the aims of education being universal or individual. The Cultural Transmission approach characteristically centers on measures of individual differences based on existing societal norms. Any individual can be ranked in this way. The progressive and the romantic prefer to seek qualitative and significant learning experience in the child’s own development and not a population average or norm. In this light, progressive preschools do not have “examinations” –like what traditional preschools do –because this will concede to the societal norm of grading the developmental skills of the child and rank them against each other. They would rather have individual assessments wherein the focus is on the child’s own progress and individuality.

Ultimately, because the interaction and experience of each child is essential in a progressive preschool, the child congruently understands the concepts being introduced in a deeper level. Progressive schools are referred to as “child¬centered schools” – the activities grow out of the child’s interests and needs (Washburne, 1952).

Major studies of progressive education – particularly the Eight-Year Study of the 1930’s –documented that, on a wide-ranging set of measures, graduates of progressive schools performed as well as or better than those of matched ability and background who had attended traditional institutions (Cremin, 1961; Gardner, 1991). Also, because of this study, evaluation has changed from the value of measurement to a value of philosophical purpose and observation (Kimbrough & Nunnery, 1983).

In terms of the child’s attitude towards their preschool program, a study done by Granados in 1995 showed that the 30 preschoolers coming from the progressive program were the most satisfied and possessed the most positive attitude toward their preschool program as compared to the 60 children that studied in the Traditional and Romantic (Montessori) preschools. The study further states that the children from the progressive program listed considerably more reasons for liking than disliking their school and were more unified with their response compared to the other two schools.

If you are a parent looking for a progressive school for your child, ask the school owner what the school’s philosophy is. If they say eclectic, be wary. It means they are unsure of their philosophy. If you are a school owner and want know more about the Progressive Philosophy, there are 2 things you need to do:

1. Enroll in the University of the Philippines and take a course in Family Life and Child Development in the College of Home Economics. It is the pioneering institution in leading the way for teachers to learn the progressive philosophy.

2. Read this blog regularly