Reggio Emilia vs Forest School

100 Languages of Learning and Play

 ~There are infinite ways that children express themselves, explore the environment, connect their thoughts and feels. 

Background

Reggio Emilia School was started as School for People after World War II in Italy by Loris Malaguzi. The philosophy was based on principles of respect, responsibility and community. 

After writing a very long post on Forest School, I realised there are many similarities between Reggio Emilia Approach and Forest School Approach. 

Viewed of Child
Both approach viewed children as competent and believe in children innate curiosity to understand the world around them. The children are rich in potential and are able to choose, initiate and drive their own learning process. All voices are equally value. 

Role of Teacher/Adult

With the view of children being so powerful, the teachers/adults in both approach play a role as an observer and learn alongside the children. Teachers provide an environment opportunity to children to inspire them to learn and grow in knowledge and skills. They just act as a compass to accompany the children in their discovery journey. 

However, Teachers in Reggio Emilia are required to document her observation about the strength and interest of the children in the form of photography, video, conversation transcript or visual medium like paint, drawing and clay. The documentation is a way of assessment and advocacy. Besides recording the children's activities and displaying their work in a portfolio, teachers in Reggio also revisits previous project. 

Curriculum

As both approach also children-centered, there is no fix curriculum. It all spontaneous and depends on the children interest and the discovery of the day. Both approach also believe that children has Multiple Intelligence (MI) and should not measure their performance solely based on one or a few intelligence. Project is done to cater all 8 MI.

Reggio and Forest are both project based learning. Children make decision to conduct the research of their own interest. However, Reggio make learning visible by documenting the project. 

Environment

Reggio schools are function as "living organism"with enough provocation to support child's learning and invite children to undertake extended exploration. There are certain corners/areas such as construction area, house play area,  reading area, table of games, buletin board and an art area called Atelier. The Atelier is the unique feature of Reggio approach for the children to master techniques in multiple symbolic format (drawing, painting, clay etc).

Whereas Forest (or other nature setting) is the ready made nature environment for Forest school. Environment is the 3rd teacher for both approach as children explore and learn through the environment and its surroundings. 

Conclusion: 

• There is no specific outcome for children learning in both schools
• Mistakes are allowed as part of the learning process. Children are no afraid of bad eveluation and willing to take risk and challenges.
• The curriculum is personalised
• Materials used are open ended
• Assessment process is multi directional

Since there are so many similarities in both approach, I definitely agreed that Reggio Emilia as well as Forest Approach is useful and relevant for children in 21st Century. 

Forest School - A school without ceiling and walls

Background

This idea was started by Ella Flatau in Denmark in 1950 where a daily hike in the woods and climbing the mountain were part of the curriculum. Nowadays, this approach has growing in popularity not only in Scandinavian countries but also in United Kingdom and many parts of the world in different setting that reflects the children learning needs.

In forest school, the children either go to the wood (park/garden/beach and other nature setting) daily or on a regular basis to observe changes of the environment. The changes can be man/animal made (tracks, chewed fruits or seeds, nest etc) or seasonal (colours of leaves, temperature etc). The children will perform investigation and research on the topic of the hands-on learning experiences and constructing their understanding and knowledge of the experiences. 

Playing sands at the beach

A walk in the wood with Forest Guide

My outdoor learning story

Wandering wild and experience the wonder of nature formed a major part of my childhood memory. Maybe because of this reason, I prefer the Forest School Approach above others  (Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia).

Playmates 1980's

Unfortunately, I do not have a single photo of us playing. When I was little, me and my cousins used to roam freely in the bushes near my Ah Gong (paternal-grandfather) and Ah Po (paternal-grandmother)'s house. The adults are too busy with house chores while we children created our play land in the bushes. We climbed the guava tree and enjoyed the fruits while sitting on the branches; we trapped the spiders in the matches box for fighting game; we plucked wild flowers and leaves for our little kitchen; we used the stems of the casava plant to make jewelleries... the list goes on. 

My Ah Ma (my maternal-grandmother) lived in "forest". My siblings were grown up winding through the trees and playing in the woods for prolonged periods. As such, we appreciate the natural beauty of the environment and strongly believe outdoor learning is a real-life first hand experience that is essential in every childhood.

This view was taken in 2016 in front of my Ah Ma's house

7 Pedagogical Principles of Forest School

i) each child is unique and competent 

    - Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Theory

ii)  promote holistic development 

      - physical, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, creative

iii) children are active and interactive learners  

      - changing, adjusting, rearranging their understanding

iv) children need real-life first hand experiences 

      - through sensory development

v) child-led, adult supported approach 

    - fun and unhurried learner-centered process

    - to create a community for being, developmental and learning

vi) children need time to experiment and develop independent thinking 

      - long term/regular visit to the nature (forest, beach, park etc) 

      - open ended play time

      - repeat the cycle of planning-observation-adaptation-review: create own idea

vii) learning comes from social interactions

       - discover the joy of fellowship

       - establish a culture and social world with peers

Barriers of Outdoor Learning for 21st Century children

Time spent outside is at a premium due to the following factors: 

i) parental fear - diseases, hygiene, safety, strangers, crime

Source: parenting-basics.blogspot.com

ii) reduction of play time in school - packed curriculum, devoted to indoor activities

iii) limited accessibility to natural outdoor spaces - children alienation from nature

iv) natural or man made phenomena - severe weather; polluted environment

21st Century Children (OECD)

Children have better health care, better public safety and better support for their physical and mental well being due to: 

i)   parents playing an active role in their education

ii)  safer environment

iii) parents stay in constant touch with children

Children have potential physical, social and psychological challenges due to: 

i)  higher level of stress (push to do more)

ii) obesity problem

iii)new risk using technology (cyber bully)

Is Forest School approach useful for children in 21st Century?

21st century children are easily obsessed to the technology and end up sitting in the same spot for hours. Unlike traditional school who required a child to sit in the redefined classroom or chair for the entire learning process, Forest school sent children out to play in the mud, climbing trees and doing all sorts of activities which made them feel free and happy. The forest children are energetic and active. As such, obesity is unlikely to happen to them. Moreover, the happiness in learning remain in them and this positive feeling help children dealing with emotional problem caused by own distressed mood. 

These real-life first hand activities the children did in outdoor learning refine their gross and fine motor skills as well as other sensory development. Further, listening to the animal and movement sounds in the forest increase their concentration and made the children more observant.  Focus and observant are two very important attitude to be able to perform well in school and work. 

Besides, children deal with their own feeling everyday in the wood. They may fear of dark, small creatures, fires or height but all these fear will eventually disappeared because of regular visits to the nature and repetition (practise) done on the activities with similar nature. Children may feel sad when they discover a dead or injured creature but when they understand that is the nature of life, the will be more grateful to the living things around them. Children experienced the changed of negative feeling and fluctuation of mood. This kind of exposures will strengthen their ability to deal with stress later in life. 

On top of that, children are viewed as unique and competent in Forest School. Adults believe in their ability to do certain tasks (climbing a tree, setting up fire etc) and acknowledged that every child is different. By understanding their own potential and limitation, they can develop emotional intelligence and plan for future. 

In addition, under child-led and adult support practice, children were trained to think independently and and at the same time has the opportunity to take supported risk. They are authorized to choose, initiate and drive their own learning process. This approach  activate their own desire to learn and trained the children to make justifiable decision based on the risk-benefit factor surrounding them. In the fast changing global economy, making quick and sound decision is very important. Further, there is no more spoon feed education in future. Information sharing become so convenience with access to internet. Thus, it is very important to be able to learn in an active and interactive way to remain competent in the emergent society. 

Last but not least, environmental issues will deteriorate in future. Connections with the nature since young has build up a relationship between children and the nature. Thus, it is least likely for this future generation to compromise nature issues for development. They will certainly taking seriously the ecological impact to ensure sustainable site management of the surroundings before development took place. 

All the above has fostered a resilience, confidence, independent and creative learners and this is the Holistic Development promoted by Forest School Approach. So relevant, isn't it?

My connection with nature - Pulau Jerejak

Montessori Education

My perception on Montessori Preschool

This piece of advice from Dr Maria Montessori has always been my guide when working with children. Montessori encourage children to take ownership of their own learning. 

There are 5 big ideas in Montessori Method:

i) The absorbent mind - 

Children's mind is like a sponge, It absorbed information and sensations from the surroundings effortlessly, continuously and indiscriminately. 

ii) Sensitive period

From birth to age 7, a child is more responsive to certain stimuli and learn effectively through hands-on and physical sensation. 

iii) Prepared environment

Children develop vast in an environment that are calm, orderly and supported of their needs. Child-height shelves and furniture to maximize self regulated activity. 

iv) Control of Error

Children prefer to correct by themselves rather than being corrected by adult. The sensorial materials in the school are made for "self correcting" purpose. 

v) Practical life skills

This exercises help the child to gain control of his movements and adapt to his own society as a full functional member. 

In view of the above, I imagine a Montessori classroom is like room with the right tools at the right place where a group of little children moving freely, working on their own quietly with the self corrected sensorial materials. No unnecessary aid is given by the teacher. 

Montessori advocate outdoor learning too. "Garden was a natural extension of indoor environment". I am very interested in the concept of free flowing Montessori environment where we can take the indoor environment out and the outdoor environment in. 

What I have learnt from a local Montessori School

Prepared enviroment: 

We can see child-height shelves and furniture in the classroom so that minimal assistance is needed from teacher. Children appreciate an order in the surrounding. Thus, the sensorial and other materials are arranged in an orderly manner so that children can work independently in the classroom. Freedom also carries responsibility in which the children need to work on a mat that identifies their work space and return items to where it belongs after working with it.  

The school has a very spacious compound which can be use to maximize their outdoor activities. 

3 Period Lesson: 

Introduction (This is...)

Recognition (Show me...)

Recall (What is this...?)

The teacher will show how to WORK (not PLAY) with the sensorial materials in SILENCE. Children were trained to observe (self directed engagement) before practise the skills on their own. 

Materials:

All Montessori materials were carefully designed with purpose. For example, 

• Red Rods (length) 
• Brown Stairs (weight and height)
• The Pink Tower (size and dimension)
• Sound cylinder (soft and loud)

Challenges : Fidelity of Implementation 

It is difficult to find a high fidelity classic Montessori Program in Malaysia. The implementation of the approach have to compromise with the "market demand" and parents expectation. It is always due to the reason of "adaptation" to the national curriculum. 

Montessori Education is an appealing approach to train a child to be an independent learner who has the desire to learn. Isn't this an important trait for a student? Educators understand that but unable to convince the parent and the community to believe in it. 

We lost the attributes of mixed-age classroom and uninterrupted work time concept. The children were divided by age group and conventional school activities were added into the time table. Children are unable to work on a same material at the same place uninterrupted for 3 hour. 

Waldorf Education

My first understanding of Waldorf Early Childhood Education

When we ask the general public in our community about Waldorf, many will say:" Ah... I know, the children PLAY ONLY in the school, no study one..."  Is that so? Yes, it is. It is very Child-Centered in which children learn at their will.

PLAY is an important element in Waldorf philosophy. Play unleashing the creative potential of the children and thus encouraging their spiritual nature to blossom and finally developing the academic capacity of every child. Children need connection to the environment. Because the children play a lot, they form a healthy relationship with the environment. Thus, they will be compassionate to the nature and all living things in it. This is HUMAN!

The curriculum is non academic and arts is integrated in every subject. The fairy tale curriculum builds a strong foundation for imagination and creative thinking. The children learn through imitation, diverse sensory impressions and movement. Rhythm and repetition are important elements in effective learning. 

In 2019, Waldorf is celebrating 100 years of Waldorf Education. 

#Anthroposophy

# Eurythmy

A visit to Taska Lin

When we first enter the school, we were "welcome" by a very spacious compound. It is definitely a great place for outdoor activities. There are small hills, trees and swings and also a brick house left after the story of Three Little Pigs. 

When we enter the school building, it fits the definition of Home-Like environment. The colours of the walls are warm and safe. The flow of the curtain do create harmonious feeling in the room.

We were introduced the daily routine of the children which looks like a breathing cycle. The have morning circle (breath-in) as well as 2 hours outdoor play (breath-out). 

Besides the toys made of natural materials (rocks, wooden blocks, seeds, clothes etc), the school also prepared "structured toys" like legos and plastic animals. It was meant to connect the child with their home. 

Site visit is an interesting part of experiential learning. I understand the practical way of Waldorf Education here compare to the Waldorf philosophy. There is no identical Waldorf school in the world because of different culture and legal requirement. However, the Waldorf educators do hold firmly in Anthroposophy and Eurythmy.  

Anthroposophy has a strong spiritual dimension. I did not understand this philosophy entirely. To me, it is an inner development that we gain control of our thinking, actions and feelings. Being conscious of the ugliness but know how to look at the beauty and goodness is a positive attitude about life. 

Eurythmy is something very abstract. It is a movement without sound but with meaning. Imagination plays an important role. For example, every alphabet is associated with a sound that expressed through dance movement. 

Is this Waldorf approach still valid after 100 years?

"Waldorf hold great potential for the future because human being is put in the center. It naturally embraces the spiritual side of a person." - from a Waldorf educator 

Waldorf engaging head, heart and hands in learning process. 

Hands - The children use their hands to do house chores and helping each other (imitation) to develop goodness body. 

Heart - Play, music and art (imagination) helps the children to express their feeling to develop beauty soul.  

Head - Problem solving (intellectual) to develop authority thinking.

We do, we feel, we think. This is the way we learn. Of course this approach still valid! 

"Within these children, lives a future that we want to allow to unfold, rather than forming them into who we are" - from a Waldorf educator

Global Perspectives of ECE - Introduction

WHY? TO INFLUENCE

Before I decided to further study in Early Childhood Eduction (ECE), I has involved in this field for 8 years. Even though, I viewed myself at the Stage 1 of the pyramid. For the past 8 years, I took advice from ECE practitioners, I attended workshops and seminars, I read articles and publications just to find out more about ECE and what it entails.I tried my best to prepare myself before embark my journey in Part Time study in USM.   

After following the course for 2 semesters, I have changed. The lecturers and the contents of the course changed my concepts and understanding about ECE. Slowly, I have moved up to stage 2 where I understand the essential principles of ECE. After the "training" I get from our mentor, Dr Kim, I am able to place myself in stage 3 in which I can share my knowledge in relative to ECE and provide appropriate feedback to others. 

Currently, I am trying to interprets the principles and practices of ECE to parents whenever I have a chance. I need to do more to extend this interpretations to the members of the community. Sometimes, I do fallback to stage 2 and 3 but I will integrate my knowledge and experiences in ECE to make myself stand firmer in stage 4 in near future. Hopefully 10 years later, I can move up to the top of the pyramid to contribute my works to the society especially children. 

HOW? EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

"They must TALK about what they are learning, WRITE about it, RELATE it to past experiences, APPLY it to their daily lives." - Chickering and Gamson (1987)

Based on the above principles, we are encouraged very much in doing experiential learning instead of content learning. This is 21st century. Knowledge around the world can be obtained easily and quickly. It depends on our will (our choice) to learn or not to learn. We can engaged with the more knowledgeable parties around the world to make our learning authentic. We are able to archived what we learnt in shared multimedia for critical revision and reflection. Reflections from every lesson make us THINK. Our Dr Kim really wanted to provoke our thoughts in order to re-conceptualize or even create new Early Childhood knowledge. This method of learning is totally NEW to my generation and yet essential to CONNECT to the future generations. 

WHAT? FOLLOW THIS BLOG AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT WE HAVE DONE