Preschool Curriculum and Progr a m me Delivery
instructional activities. Child-initiated activities include children making choices about what they do; learning in a ‘hands-on’ process in small groups; and, receiving guidance from the teacher who moves between groups supporting individual children to reinforce and extend learning experiences. The curriculum approach as used in Grenada is informed also by the Caribbean Learning Outcomes14 that has been merged with the fifty eight Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs) of the HighScope approach grouped into eight areas: Approaches to Learning; Social and Emotional Development; Physical Development and Health; Language, Literacy, and Communication; Mathematics; Creative Arts; Science and Technology; and Social Studies. (See Annex A). The KDIs are the overarching framework for curriculum delivery providing the content for key ideas children should learn and experience, combined with indicators that capture the development of skills, knowledge and understanding considered important for learning in school and for life15. In practice, the KDIs are the driving conceptual framework, and teachers are expected to use their training to devise learning experiences for children drawing on rich and stimulating learning environments in the centres together with an informed understanding of the children’s context of family and community. To supplement the training of teachers in the use of the KDIs, the HighScope Foundation has produced a number of guides16 and resource books to assist teachers to plan the content of activities.
1
Explore the experience of other countries in reforming early childhood curricula and consider the utility of the experiences for the local context.
2
Select an approach that has been tried and tested in a similar country for potential adaptation to the local context.
Prior to adopting the HighScope approach, five of the Early Childhood Officers in Grenada together with one teacher from each of the schools participating in a proposed pilot of a new curriculum approach visited St. Kitts Nevis to observe their curriculum in action. St Kitts and Nevis had had over twenty years of experience in using a curriculum approach informed by HighScope principles. In addition, the Head of the Early Childhood Service in St Kitts and Nevis, Mrs. Vanta Walters, visited Grenada and made a presentation to stakeholders on the implementation of the curriculum in St. Kitts Nevis. Care has been taken in Grenada to merge the HighScope approach with the tried and tested strategies that were already in use in the local context. One of the strategies in use was the Lesson Study Approach to strengthening programme delivery, an approach in which a small group comprising an officer together with teachers and practitioners collaborate on lesson planning, lesson observation and reflection or discussion of their observations. Other existing strategies included the use of news and message boards in centres for communication between staff and parents, morning assemblies for focusing on moral learning and a strong tradition of observance of faith 14 see footnote 10 above 15 Epstein, A.S. (2007) Essentials of Active Learning in Preschool: Getting to Know the HighScope Curricyulum. Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press 16 For example, the following are in use by training officers in Grenada: Hohmann, M., Weikart, D.P., Epstein, A.S. (2008) Educating Young Children. Active Learning Practices for Preschool and Child Care Programs. Third Edition. Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press; Marshall, B., Lockhart, S., Fewson, M. (2007) HighScope Step by Step Lesson Plans for the First 30 Days. Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press
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