This was forwarded to me by a friend. I hope it's useful to you guys.
1. Montessori
based on the child's developmental needs for freedom within limits
a carefully prepared environment which guarantees exposure to materials and experiences
through this, the child develops intelligence as well as physical and psychological abilities
designed to take full advantage of the child's desire to learn and their unique ability to develop their own capabilities
the child needs adults to expose him to the possibilities of his life, but the child must determine his response to those possibilities
there are many Montessori schools in Singapore catering for the nursery and kindergarten levels
Website:
http://www.montessoriconnections.com 2. High/Scope
based on the concept of "Active learning"
it is the belief that children learn best through active experiences with people, materials, events and ideas, rather than through direct teaching or sequenced exercises
58 key experiences in child development for the preschool years and a wide range of practical strategies for promoting these key experiences
the key experiences are grouped into 10 categories: creative representation, language and literacy, initiative and social relations, movement, music, classification, seriation, number, space, and time
Website:
http://www.highscope.org/ 3. Creative Curriculum
takes a unique look at multiple levels of a child's development
focuses on interest areas. This is done for two specific reasons. First, young children work best in small groups. It is easier for them to relate positively to only one or two other children than to a large group.
secondly, it offers children clear choices. Sometimes children want to work quietly alone or with one other child. An area set aside for books, art activities, or table toys allows several choices for quiet activities. Areas set aside for dramatic play, block building, woodworking, or large muscle activities offers children more active choices.
Website:
http://www.teachingstrategies.com/ 4. Project Approach
a set of teaching strategies which enable teachers to guide children through in-depth studies of real world topics
students are required to do an in-depth investigation of a real world topic worthy of their attention and effort
the project may be carried out by a class or by small groups of children. Projects can be undertaken with children of any age. They do not usually constitute the whole educational program.
5. Reggio Emilia
teachers in Reggio Emilia assert the importance of being confused as a contributor to learning; thus a major teaching strategy is to purposely allow for mistakes to happen, or to begin a project with no clear sense of where it might end
emphasis on the child's ability to negotiate in the peer group, which renders teacher intervention in children's conflicts minimal
teachers trust themselves to respond appropriately to children's ideas and interests, they trust children to be interested in things worth knowing about and they trust parents to be informed and productive members of a cooperative educational team
6. HIPPY
HIPPY is an acronym for Home Instructional Programme for Pre-school Youngsters
a community program that teach parents to be active participants in their children's lives and schools
it is a reading and training program for the parents of children ages 3-5
parents are empowered as primary educators of their children in the home and foster parent involvement in school and community life to maximize the chances of successful early school experiences
7. Multi-Age Classrooms
students are placed in non-graded, mixed-age or multi-age classrooms let students develop at their own pace
the flexible grouping of children of a two, three or four year age span allows children at differing ability levels to push and pull each other along
instruction in the multi-age classroom must be developmentally as well as individually appropriate. The curriculum is most often structured around themes and involves students in making work plans and in tutoring opportunities with the younger children.
the children are allowed to freely explore the room and to choose their activities individually or in groups
the children and teacher remain together throughout the age group. So a child has the same teacher for two to three years and some of the same classmates.
8. Developmentally Appropriate Practices
refers to providing an environment and offering content, materials, activities, and methodologies that are coordinated with a child's level of development and for which the individual child is ready
3 dimensions of appropriateness must be considered: age appropriateness, individual appropriateness, and appropriateness for the cultural and social context of the child
9. Constructive Perspective
principle of constructivism is that children create a coherent system of knowledge based on their interactions with the world
they structure this knowledge within a logico-mathematical framework that includes ideas about objects and their relations with one another
young children have many ideas they could not have been taught directly. Thus, children are viewed as constructing their own system of knowledge, intelligence, morality, and personality.
the emphasis is on learning through action. While "action" refers to mental action, young children are most active mentally when they are physically engaged in figuring out how to do something.
10. Thematic
in developing a theme, teachers select topics they believe to be relevant and of interest to children, then build an array of lessons around that central idea
activities usually cut across the curriculum and take place either simultaneously or within a relatively condensed period of time
11. Waldorf Education
education should focus on creating free, creative, independent, and happy human beings
a basic principle of the approach is the belief that every child should have access to an education regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, economic class, and developmental levels
Waldorf education balances artistic, academic and practical work educating the whole child, hand and heart as well as mind
In Singapore, there are only two persons who are trained in this method
Website:
http://www.steinercollege.org/waldorf.html 12. Direct Instruction
a set of instructional materials published in the areas of reading, remedial reading, spelling, math, writing and language
the goal of DI is to accelerate learning by maximising efficiency in the design and delivery of instruction
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Questions Parents Should Ask When Choosing a Preschool
(What Young Parents Need to Know)
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1. What is the student/teacher ratio?
2. What are the backgrounds of the teachers?
3. What is teacher turnover rate?
4. Do the teachers take part in continuing education programs?
5. What is the daily schedule? Remember, this age group learns best by play.
6. How does the program handle a child who is having a tough time separating from mom or dad?
7. What is the discipline policy? The goal of discipline is self control - not punishment, avoid a program that uses corporal punishment.
8. Are parents encouraged to get involved?
9. May I talk with other parents at the school about their experience?
10. Are parents welcome to observe a class in session?
11. How is information about the child's day shared with parents?
