Active learning

Active learning is at the center of the High/Scope elementary educational approach. A child’s actively pursuing his/her own interests and intentions is the drive to learn and develop. Teachers allow this happen by creating a learning environment in which children can set goals, choose and decide ways to achieve them, and follow through on their plans, working both independently and cooperatively.

At the High/Scope’s Wheel of Learning, active learning forms the hub and is supported by other key elements:

1. The Daily Schedule

The High/Scope daily schedule incorporates:

• A consistent routine
• Plan-do-review sequence, in which initiate plans for projects or activities, work in learning centers to carry out their plans, and then review what they have done by presenting orally or in written or in other forms of representations
• Small group instructional workshops in content areas, such as mathematics, science, language and literacy, social studies, and special subjects (religion, art, music, and physical education)
• Balance of teacher-planned and child-panned activities

2. Teacher-student interaction

As it is defined in the active learning approach, children construct knowledge by actively interacting with people, events, ideas, teachers using the High/Scope method are aware that teaching and learning are social processes.

Thus, teachers’ role is to:

• Support and extend children’s learning by engaging in instructional dialogue
• Share control with children
• Work to create a positive social environment
• Support children’s intrinsic motivation to learn

3. Assessment

The philosophy that guide teachers in assessing children is that children come to learn, not to be tested. High/Scope teachers support, observe, record, and report children’s academic and social-emotional progress. They keep anecdotal notes about children’s significant behaviors to help them better understand children’s interests, developmental progress, and ways of thinking and learning. Teachers also collect, select, and assess student’s work samples in portfolios. All the processes are guided by the High/Scope key experiences.

Besides assessing children, teachers also evaluate what happened on the day before planning for the next day – adjusting their classrooms and activities to meet children’s needs.

4. Content

What is covered in content is:

• Scope and sequence defined by key experiences in math, language and literacy, science, music, movement, etc
• Teacher-planned daily workshop times focusing on key content areas
• Child-planned activities related to key experiences

5. Learning Environment

The High/Scope learning environment provides wide-range of interesting materials that invite children to engage in educational experiences. The materials are developmentally appropriate and provide children with experiences in content areas, such as mathematics, language and literacy, science, social studies, art, music and movement. Children’s individual learning styles and intelligences are also taken into consideration when providing materials.

Children are also given opportunity to use computers and developmentally appropriate software. Working with computers is also viewed as part of learn-to-learn skills that allows children to conduct research, write report, etc.

The High/Scope learning environment is well-organized. Each classroom contains five or more distinct activity areas, such math center, reading center, writing center, art center, science center, social studies center, and computer center. In each center materials are stored in consistent places that are accessible for children.

The arrangement of the environment accommodates individual, small-group, and whole-group activities.

Wheel of Learning

Initiative:
Children are taught to take initiative in choosing, deciding and settling their goals. The ability to solve problems also becomes a part of children’s character development.

Key experiences:
Highscope's teaching module is based on 10 key experiences. We encourage these 10 experiences to make class activities more enjoyable; creative representation, language and literacy, initiative and social relation, movement, music, classification, serial, number, space, and also time.

Daily routine:
We include daily routine program to encourage children’s creativity and initiative so that they could be more active in learning and socialising with their peers.

Assessments:
We observe the children's progress everyday through daily anecdotal notes which will be compiled in COR (Child Observation Record). Once every 4 months, parents and teachers will have a meeting to discuss COR and the children’s progress.

Adult – child interaction:
Parents, teachers, nannies, and the children themselves are working partners who support each other in order to maintain the process of self-development thoroughly.

Environment learning:
The school provides high quality interactive games and learning tools for the students which are fitted with comfort and safety for their learning process.