Active learning

Children are involved in direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, ideas, and events. These active learning experiences will help children construct their knowledge, i.e. learn concepts, form ideas, and create their own symbols and abstractions. As facilitators, who will also observe and participate in children’s activities, teachers are guided by key experiences that all children need to have as part of their intellectual, physical, social and emotional development.

There are 10 key experiences categories:

1. Creative representation
2. Language and literacy
3. Social relations and initiative
4. Movement
5. Music
6. Classification
7. Seriation
8. Number
9. Space
10. Time

The above key experiences lead to:

• Current and long-term social outcomes
• Academic skills needed for school success

Adult-Child Interaction

Adults observe and interact with children at their level to discover how each child thinks and reasons. Adult interact with children in ways that allows children to take control of their own learning. They also support children’s intrinsic motivation in learning by:

• organizing routine and environments
• establishing a supportive social climate
• supporting constructive conflict resolution
• interpreting children’s actions in term of key experiences
• planning active learning experiences based on children’s interest and abilities

Learning Environment

The classroom is arranged in five or more interest areas. The areas are labeled with simple names that make sense to children, such as “Block Area”, “House Area”, and are clearly defined. The materials are varied, developmentally appropriate, plentiful, open-ended, and related to community/culture. The materials are organized in a way that allows children to find, use them, and return them when they are finished using them. This arrangement supports children in finding and using materials to explore, invent, and learn about their world.

Daily Routine

Each day follows a similar schedule of events, providing a consistent frame work for both children and adults. A daily plan-do-review sequence is at the core of the High/Scope daily routine that allows children to independently:

• pursue interest
• make plans
• follow through on them
• reflect on experiences

Beside the above plan-do-review sequence, the organization of the day also allows children to meet in small groups to engage in adult-initiated activities based on children’s interest, needs, and developmental levels and to engage in whole-group activities that stress social interactions, music, and physical movement.

Assessment

Assessment is a key to practitioners, it enables them to:

• understand developmental levels of children
• identify expressed interests
• observe the key experiences in which each child engages

Thus, High/scope teachers regularly record notes on children’s behaviors, experiences, and interests. They use these notes to assess each child’s development and to plan activities that will facilitate their growth and development.

This process requires:

• team planning
• daily recording of observations
• quarterly compilation of recorded notes

The notes are also used in parent conferences to help parents better understand their children’s development.