Making learning visible communicating the value of kindergarten

Kindergarten Advisory Support Service Making Learning Visible Communicating the value of kindergarten

Foreword It is my pleasure to present Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten.

This guide aims to provide you with information on how to communicate the value of a play-based kindergarten program and how it supports children’s learning, including the value of play-based learning as well as parents’ expectations for their children and the influences of these. In addition, it seeks to demonstrate how to make learning visible to families, including what it might look like, what children might gain and how it helps build confident and competent learners.

Play is vital for children’s healthy development and learning that in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child it states: ‘Children have the right to relax, play and to join in a wide range of leisure activities’.

Researchers and academics have long held that play is a fundamental vehicle for young children’s learning. We know it to be true simply through our everyday observations and understanding of children in our work.

Researchers also believe that play and learning are not separate, discrete items. Rather, they are interconnected as children create, do and learn during many kinds of play. It means that as teachers, we must learn to see what children are learning, not what we think they should be learning as there is significant difference between the two concepts.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten is based on the successful Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) workshop of a similar name and provided to all long day care services in Queensland free of charge.

KASS is a service operated by Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland (ACA Qld) and is proudly funded and supported by the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments under the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education.

Gwynn Bridge Chief Executive Officer Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland

If we are to make play-based learning visible for parents and the community, we need to understand and see it in action ourselves, so we can explain it to others effectively.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 1

About the Authors Pam Maclean Pam Maclean, the Principal of Child’s Play Consultancy Services, is renowned for her integrity and professional approach with over 30 years working in the early childhood education and care sector.

Pam has expertise in service and playground design, professional development and mentoring of staff and auditing services to ensure optimum outcomes. She has a particular interest in arranging service space layouts to increase their appeal and positively affect children’s behaviour.

Pam was the principal presenter in the three most recent Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) state-wide workshop series and has been engaged by Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland (ACA Qld) to provide professional development and mentoring to services in 2015.

Pam holds a Master of Education (Educational Leadership).

Further information is available at www.childsplayconsultancy.com.au

Linda McConville Linda McConville is the Operational Project Manager of Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) which is operated by Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland (ACA Qld).

Linda is a registered teacher with a wealth of knowledge and experience from her 30 plus years in early childhood teaching which includes teaching in primary, pre-school and kindergarten, the long day care sector as Director of both rural, remote and metropolitan services and for many years as a validator with the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC).

As the project manager for KASS, Linda supports all long day care services and teachers across Queensland with the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) and implementation of quality kindergarten programs.

2 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

Contents Foreword 1 About the authors

2

What is play-based learning?

4

Who are we making learning visible for and why?

14

Learning relationships

17

How to make learning visible

17

Reference list

23

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 3

What is play-based learning?

The EYLF definition of play-based learning is: ‘A context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds as they engage actively with people, objects and representations.’

What do we know and understand about the value of play-based learning?

Under the National Quality Framework (NQF), we do not drive the learning bus. Instead, we go on a learning journey in partnership with children and families. We don’t always say what children should learn on any given day. Instead, we work with their interests to create challenging, dynamic and open-ended, play-based learning opportunities, both indoors and outdoors. We must make it a priority to set the right tone and pace for the learning space. We also know that involving families and the community in genuine and meaningful ongoing relationships supports children’s learning. We should work towards developing reciprocal relationships which are evidenced by sharing of decisions, respect and trust with children and families. This has been discussed in more detail in another booklet in this series titled, ‘Creating order from chaos in a play based environment’.

Research has clearly shown that a workoriented, rigid approach to learning is not likely to help children develop a love of learning or provide the skills and positive dispositions they need to be lifelong, competent learners.

We know ourselves that we are less likely to enjoy something if it is regularly forced upon us as a chore to be completed, rather than being presented in a less formal way where we can make choices relating to the task. The same applies for children. If the learning is connected to something in which we have a genuine interest or a desire to know more about, we are far more likely to approach it with a positive disposition. Current research across the globe reflects this.

4 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

‘Play provides a supportive environment where children can ask questions, solve problems and engage in critical thinking. Play can expand children’s thinking and enhance their desire to know and to learn. In these ways play can promote positive dispositions toward learning’ (EYLF Practice – Learning through play, p. 15).

As teachers, we should consider each child as an individual. It is important that we know them well and recognise which learning approach works by understanding each child’s prior learning achievements and working with the child to build on these.

Our growing knowledge and understanding of each child and family will inform our programs and provide ideas and inspiration for future program cycles. It is our responsibility to be ‘that teacher’ in children’s lives. Teachers who have the most positive impact are those who know how to inspire learning and understand children and families and are able to connect with them.

That is what the NQF expects of us and what we should expect from ourselves as professional educators.

Aarne Elis Kalliala stated that, ‘Children don’t play in order to learn, although they are learning while they are playing.’ We thoughtfully, purposefully and intentionally teach because we know that when children play, are relaxed and at their most receptive, they will learn. Intentional, quality play-based learning enables children to investigate, ask questions, solve problems and engage in critical thinking. The quality of the relationships we build with children and families will have an enormous impact on our success as intentional teachers. Respectful, engaging, positive, meaningful relationships and intentional teaching go hand-in-hand. As

we get to know children (and their families), we understand more about how children learn best. ‘Educators who are attuned to children’s thoughts and feelings support the development of a strong sense of wellbeing. They positively interact with the young child in their learning’ (EYLF Principles – Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships, p. 12).

The EYLF definition of play-based learning is: ‘A context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations’ (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 46). As educators, we know that play-based learning in the early years paves the way for future learning, health and wellbeing. We need to be able to make visible how important this is in enhancing a child’s development. It is crucial that we are strong advocates for the value of play in early childhood. Likewise, we must read and understand relevant research regarding the value of a play-based learning environment. The more confident we are as teachers in our understanding of this, the easier it will be to explain the value of our program to families and others.

What do we know about play-based learning programs?

Play-based learning programs recognise that children have an innate curiosity and creativity, and that play is at the core of innovative thinking and new experiences.

As teachers/educators, we also know that we need to ensure certain elements are present to nourish children’s development. We require elements such as: • an environment with a positive social tone and adequate resources which children can access and self-select • a balance of indoor, outdoor play and adequate physical space • enough time for children to become engaged with their play, to create meaning, take risks and explore without disruption

• integration of music, movement and creative expression • adult-child interactions that include opportunities for adults to be active participants with sustained conversations and not merely as observers of action • strong, secure, warm and respectful relationships between adults and children and between children leading to increased social competence and personal growth • challenges and provocation from adults to extend children’s thinking and ideas. All these ideas are reflected in QAs 1,2,3,5,6.

What are the benefits to children of play-based learning?

Play-based learning programs allow children to: • test and develop new skills alone or with peers • develop social competence, cooperation and group values • increase feelings of success, confidence, optimism and agency • find stress release and increased levels of health and wellbeing • develop positive dispositions for learning – curiosity, resilience, concentration, creativity, persistence • develop positive relationships and to understand their role as part of the group • experience literacy and numeracy in concrete, personally meaningful ways • learn about empathy and understand other points of view.

These are just some of the benefits of playbased learning that can be easily explained to families. Each of the items offers long-term benefits and promotes health, wellbeing and positive learning outcomes. Research has established clear links between playbased learning and the wellbeing of children.

Wellbeing affects children across all major domains: social, emotional, physical, cognitive/ intellectual and spiritual.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 5

• Social wellbeing includes parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, peer relationships, positive social behaviour and empathy.

• Emotional wellbeing is closely linked with social aspects and includes emotional development and control, coping, autonomy, positive self-development, trust and attachment.

• Physical wellbeing includes nutrition, physical activity, physical safety and healthcare.

• Cognitive/intellectual wellbeing includes information processing, memory, curiosity, motivation, persistence, thinking and intelligence.

• Spiritual wellbeing includes beliefs, values, ethics, a sense of meaning and purpose, and a sense of connectedness to something larger than oneself.

Play-based learning and children’s health and wellbeing are connected. Children are learning, growing and developing simultaneously across so many areas that we need to be always cognisant of. It can be a challenge for us to manage all of this. Being attuned to the children will make this more manageable.

Lev Vygotsky identified play as, ‘the leading source of social, emotional, physical, language or cognitive development’. Theorists such as Vygotsky have indicated support for play-based learning for a number of years. Vygotsky coined the ‘scaffolding of children’s learning’ approach.

More recent research has been able to clearly show that neural pathways in children’s brains are enhanced through exploration, thinking skills, problem solving and social interactions that occur naturally during play.

We know what play-based learning is; however, it can be a challenge for us to communicate to parents and the community why play-based learning is a desirable approach to learning in the early years.

What do parents want for their children and what do they know about play-based learning?

Unless parents are involved in education themselves, they are most likely recalling their own experiences of kindergarten and school as their reference. Depending on the age of the parent, it is likely they will be thinking of a more formal or semi-formal setting with clear learning goals and set times for events. This does not reflect the nature of early childhood education today. Play-based learning may well appear to be chaotic, without any sense of teacher ‘control’ or ‘real’ learning happening. In order to address this, we need to be able to put ourselves in parents’ shoes for a time.

Most parents want similar things for their children. Primarily, parents want their children to: • feel safe and be safe • be happy • have friends to play with • be learning ‘useful things’ • have teachers and educators who know and care about them.

We can see how they might not be convinced that an open–ended, play-based learning program will deliver what they believe their child needs – unless we explain it to them properly and invite their involvement at a range of levels. We also need to suspend judgment on a number of issues to do with family practices or participation levels.

Our explanations need to be responsive to parents’ needs for their child, and be appreciative of their perspectives and understanding about what constitutes a valuable, high quality kindergarten program.

How do we bridge the gap between what we know and what parents know or assume about our programs?

Parent’s perception of play-based learning might be influenced by:

6 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

• What they see (or don’t see) When children’s work is not presented well or no information is offered about what the experience was or what may have been gained, parents may not see the value of the learning.

Poor presentation doesn’t respect the children’s work and fails to inform families about the work.

Likewise, it does not reflect the thinking process you and the children have gone through before, during and after the event. A poorly presented display is not very helpful in communicating the value of kindergarten to parents and families.

• What they hear The sounds we hear as we move around a service tell us a lot about what is happening in the learning spaces. It tells parents and visitors something as well. If they hear happy, productive sounds, they will have a positive impression. If the noises they hear are confrontational, loud, or in angry or frustrated tones (from adults or children), this also tells parents many things about the service. Children who speak confidently and purposefully, with consideration for their peers while respectfully listening to others, send a more positive message about the quality of your kindergarten program.

• How their child learns and changes What parents see in their child over time is a huge indicator for them about the quality of the kindergarten program. If their child is open, eager to attend, keen to interact with peers and adults and looks forward to the next learning adventure, parents are going to feel positive about the program. Alternatively, if their child is withdrawn, unhappy, disinterested and unenthusiastic about kindergarten, parents are going to be receiving a very different message.

If this is the case, parents will be asking questions.

professionals and be advocates for what we do. This will have a positive impact on how we provide explanations to families and others.

• How involved they are with their child’s learning To meet the requirements of QA6, we are expected to invite the meaningful involvement of families in programs. How effectively do we do this? Are our invitations genuine, extended or communicated in a variety of ways? Do they reflect the many levels of involvement families may feel comfortable with? Do we offer a range of avenues of involvement to accommodate various family commitments on time, work hours, interests and skill sets available to us?

Do we make negative comments and judgments about families who cannot be actively involved on a regular basis? We need to be honest with ourselves and reflect on this area of our relationship with families. How can we ensure that accurate, positive and appropriate information about our play-based learning kindergarten program is shared? These are just some examples of reflective questions to ask yourself when considering the involvement of families in the program. ‘Engaged teachers purposefully create opportunities for partners to contribute to children’s learning in a variety of ways, such as……involving parents in the program’ (QKLG, p. 22).

The following pages give some examples of how you might choose to share information (Figure 1); how to link with QKLG, EYLF and NQS (Figure 2); and provide an opportunity to add your own ideas.

• What is explained to them The quality and accuracy of information provided to parents is incredibly important. It sets the tone and standards of the relationship to come.

We need to feel confident in our abilities as Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 7

Figure 1. Ways to share information with families and community Technology & other media Newsletters PowerPoint presentations

laptop slide shows

Social networking such as Facebook, blogs

Documentation

Face to face communication Day book Daily verbal conversations Portfolios/learning Parent Journals information evenings Daily reflections – Parent/teacher programming with interviews children Communication Orientation book process

Emails

Information at sign-in areas/ desks

Website

Questionnaires/ surveys/feedback forms Project books

Local newspaper and magazine articles Advertising/signage Telephone and text Kindy portal/program software TV screen/digital photo frame

Information boards/wall displays Letter or note home in bag or lunchbox Wristbands for children about significant events/learning that has occurred during the day Showing table – display of what has been made, what current interests are, etc.

Information pockets

Shared training opportunities with families (e.g. first aid, healthy eating) Community fun days/events

Enrolment packs/Parent handbook

Open days

Display of work samples

Quotes from Centre events children Transition Committee statements meetings Bus/room communication book Room mascot going home with child for families to write about or include pictures of adventures Centre QIP

8| Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

Other

Parent/educator wall for writing messages

ACTIVITY List some ways you share information with families and the community.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 9

Figure 2. How communicating information with families and community links to the EYLF, QKLG and NQS as shared by KASS Workshop Series 4 participants.

EYLF Principles 2 – Partnerships Learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when early childhood educators work in partnership with families. They create a welcoming environment where all children and families are respected and actively encouraged to collaborate with educators about curriculum decisions in order to ensure that learning experiences are meaningful (Belonging, Being and Becoming, page 12).

3 – High expectations and equity By working in partnership with families, educators continually strive to find equitable and effective ways to ensure that all children have opportunities to achieve learning outcomes (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 13).

4 – Respect for diversity Within the curriculum, respecting diversity means valuing and reflecting the practices, values and beliefs of families (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 13).

Practices Holistic approaches Educators recognise the connections between children, families and communities and the importance of reciprocal relationships and partnerships for learning (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 14).

Learning environments Educators can encourage children and families to contribute ideas, interests and questions to the learning environment (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 16).

Continuity of learning and transitions In partnership with families, early childhood educators ensure that children have an active role in preparing for transitions (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 16) Assessment for learning Assessment, when undertaken in collaboration with families, can assist families to support children’s learning and empower them to act on behalf of their children beyond the early childhood setting (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 17).

10| Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

QKLG Promoting continuity of learning and development – Sharing information Sharing information about children’s learning helps parents and other partners to promote continuity and support children as they transition into new settings. The process of sharing information is important for building strong, trusting relationships between partners (QKLG, p. 37).

Perspectives and principles The engaged parent Each child’s sense of belonging is enhanced through the relationships parents build with early year’s educators, other parents and children (QKLG, p. 5).

The engaged teacher Teachers enhance learning and teaching when they build respectful and trusting relationships with all partners. This involves adopting inclusive practices that enable parents and families to engage in their child’s learning in diverse and meaningful ways (QKLG, p. 5) Principle – Shared decision making Effective decision making involves active engagement with partners including parents, families and communities in sharing understandings, expectations and priorities (QKLG, p. 6) Exploring decision making practice Effective and inclusive decision making recognises and embraces the perspectives and priorities of educators, families, children and other professionals (QKLG, p. 7).

Reflecting on learning and practice – Reflecting with partners Engaging with parents, family and community members in reflection helps teachers to change their practice in ways that are responsive and empowering to children’s learning communities (QKLG, p. 17) Building Inclusive partnerships Teachers establish regular communication and share information about children’s learning to build a holistic picture of each child and engage parents and families in supporting children’s learning (QKLG, p. 23).

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 11

National Quality Standards (NQS) QA1 - Educational Program and Practice 1.1.4 The documentation about each child’s program and progress is available to families.

How information is made available to families.

How arrangements are made to exchange information about the child with families at mutually convenient times.

1.2.1 Information about planned experiences that is recorded in a way that children and families can appreciate and understand, and that is displayed for them to view.

Opportunities for families and children to comment on or provide feedback about the program.

QA6 - Collaborative partnerships with families and communities All standards and elements of QA 6 are relevant here especially: 6.1 Respectful and supportive relationships with families are developed and maintained 6.2.1 The expertise of families is recognised and they share in decision making about their child’s learning and wellbeing 6.3.2 Continuity of learning and transitions for each child are supported by sharing relevant information and clarifying responsibilities

12 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

ACTIVITY Explore the EYLF, QKLG and NQS to see what connections you can find.

EYLF

QKLG

NQS

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 13

Who are we making learning visible for and why?

Learning needs to be visible for children, families, visiting community members, educators and assessors.

This is why...

It is important for children to revisit experiences as a developmental tool for recall and memory – all of which are important skills for school.

Making learning visible affords children the opportunity to think about ideas and knowledge for a second time if they need to.

Families will better understand your program and the learning that occurs in the space.

Moreover, children and parents will benefit from shared knowledge about the day and the extended conversations they are able to enjoy.

This supports your implementation of QA6.

explaining the value of play-based learning by posting information that parents can access to read at their convenience. When you add something of interest to the site, you can direct families to the website via newsletter or emails.

Remember, people take information on board in different ways and at a variety of times, so we need to be flexible in how we deliver information. Technology can be our friend but we should never forget the value of face-to-face communication and displays.

Accurate information about the value of playbased learning should be included at enrolment in the form of: • philosophy, parent handbook and service information

Community members will learn more about early childhood settings and be advocates for your service. As a result, they may feel more confident about joining in with the program when invited to do so.

• expectations and invitations for parent involvement should also be included and clearly explained

Educators will benefit from seeing where they have been, tracking the learning that has occurred and be able to use this visual information to inform future learning directions.

Educators from other rooms will benefit from seeing what is happening and reading the information. This, in turn, assists with teamwork, sharing of ideas, consistency and a whole of centre approach to learning.

If important program issues are introduced and addressed right from the start, everyone is clear about each other’s expectations of the program and relationships as they develop. By setting the tone and providing opportunities for sharing of information, families will feel they have had a chance to be heard regarding any particular needs they have. It is important that parents feel comfortable sharing how their family culture works and explaining what is important to them.

If they have had an opportunity to be heard, parents will be more receptive to hearing and discussing what a play-based program is and what it means for children. Likewise, they will be more receptive to the idea of how active parent participation supports children’s learning in the program. We need to be active listeners during these interviews and conversations.

Assessors will be able to easily observe learning that has occurred if clear and accurate information is visible.

Methods by which learning can be made visible: With so many people’s needs to accommodate, where do we begin to make learning visible? If you have a website, use it to communicate to families about learning. Websites are great for 14 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

• ideas and options for parent support of the program and ongoing active involvement.

Active listening is something we can all be better at. Begin your relationship with families with respectful information sharing and active listening to ensure full understanding of each other’s needs and expectations. Service teachers and educators will need to consider how they might build on that solid foundation to the relationship and make learning visible for parents, children and other educators. Creating positive connections in the community is an important element in building support for playbased learning programs.

Remember “We have two ears and one mouth. We should listen twice as much as we talk.””

- Sergio Spaggari, Ministry of Education, Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia Study Tour 2000 Family and community connections Strong links are made when you: • ask the right questions on enrolment forms • consciously and consistently build strong, respectful, welcoming relationships with families • work in partnership with families when they share information or ideas for programs • offer clear communication about your program and family roles • invite family and community involvement in meaningful ongoing projects.

Community involvement can take many forms: we can either visit them or they can visit us.

Simple walks around the neighbourhood enable us to observe, discuss and share many elements of the everyday world with children.

Ideas for building relationships and program visibility with families and the community Below are some ideas from KASS workshop participants about strategies they have used to build relationships and program visibility: • Invite community visitors such as police, fire, and local community groups (quilting,

gardening, etc) • Planned events such as Mothers Day morning tea, Grandparents Day, Family Fun Days, art exhibitions, open days, market days with stalls from local businesses or food experiences where families come to the service to cook traditional foods • Involvement in events such as community days providing activities for the children, running the canteen at the local show, displays in shopping centres, stalls at community events • Greeting all families, children and visitors on arrival in a welcoming, friendly manner • Invite families to the service to share their skills and talents e.g. cooking, gardening, sewing, singing, playing an instrument (Make it a regular event i.e. weekly, monthly, quarterly) • Write articles for local newspapers, community organisations or magazines • Include families on excursions • Use emails, blogs or websites for invitations and information. Inform external organisations and businesses what the service could do to help them • Place an information board at the service where local businesses can display information regarding weekly specials, significant events coming up. Families may receive discount vouchers via flyers on the notice board.

• Send a calendar of events to local businesses and/or display on community notice boards – tear-off strips with contact details or your website address • Acknowledge and support wider community events such as cultural events or community festivals • Network with local communities, family businesses, workshops or local schools • Invite families to stay and play and to engage with the program.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 15

ACTIVITY List some ideas for buidling relationshiops and program visiblity with families and the community.

16| Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

Learning relationships ‘Relationships that further children’s learning and development. Both the adult and the child have intent to learn from each other’ (Belonging, Being and Becoming, p. 45).

Relationships we develop with children, families and the community should be positive, respectful and reciprocal. As a result of the bonds and deeper understanding developed, we achieve play-based learning outcomes and enhance children’s wellbeing. For example, EYLF Outcome 2 states, ‘When educators create environments in which children experience mutually enjoyable, caring and respectful relationships with people and the environment, children respond accordingly. When children participate collaboratively in everyday routines, events and experiences and have opportunities to contribute to decisions, they learn to live interdependently.’ Each partner in the relationship gains from the interactions.

Over time, children develop a wide network of respectful relationships, thereby gaining confidence and feelings of self-worth. It is our priority to nurture relationships between children and so enhance children’s ability to learn about responsibilities to others, to appreciate others, and to value collaboration and teamwork. These are all valuable life skills learned through play in the service.

Tip During team meetings, include a section reflecting on how we have built learning relationships to ensure it is a regular feature of team thinking and discussions.

How to make learning visible Entry of the service

Hallways

The entry of your service tells parents this is a place of learning. By displaying various items on walls and along hallways, you are setting the tone. We need to take a look at our service entry and see if there is too little or much information, if it is well organised and logical or not. These elements tell parents about our program, standards and service – it starts at the door.

Use hallways to introduce families to your room team. If you have space, issue an invitation with an enticing display. Remember that sometimes ‘less is more’.

We need to ask ourselves whether our service displays are appealing and encourage pausing to look or read further. Do they make the space feel welcoming and homey – somewhere a child might enjoy playing and learning? Do the displayed items invite interest and tell parents about learning that occurs?

Make use of approaches to our learning space to offer an enticing indication of the great things that happen (or will happen) in the room.

First impressions count and are hard work to overcome if they are not positive.

Invite interest with an appealing display that is relevant to children’s current interests. Be sure to include a brief and interesting, neatly typed explanation for each piece of work displayed.

The explanation includes what the experience was and what was learned. Children’s names and dates will also be displayed on their work.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 17

An effective display you can use is an explanation about some of the children’s common routines and why they are important for learning and growth. The display could address topics such as: • arrival and departure routines and why they are important – including tips for handling them well • pack away time and why it is important for children to participate • outdoor play and how and why it supports children’s learning • meal time routines i.e. what happens and what children learn • rest time and how it is also a learning experience for children.

Such displays can explain many routines of the day that parents may wonder about.

Interesting spaces or odd niches along hallways are also great ‘art gallery’ spaces. Each gallery space should tell the story of what the children in the room have been working on.

Each group could have a space for displays and explanations about the work displayed.

Such displays highlight that this is a place where children’s work and learning are valued, respected, recorded and proudly shared.

Rooms One of the ways that a teacher influences play-based learning and understanding is by providing information about programs for family and other visitors – making learning visible.

We need to consider our room and what they say about our play-based program. We should question whether or not our learning space achieves the outcomes does it: • provide information about discoveries the children have made or are involved with • invite closer inspection and participation across a number of learning areas

18 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

• promote the value of play in children’s learning • include concrete materials and loose parts for exploration and interest.

We need to ensure that our learning space is well designed, with interesting learning areas and spaces to accommodate a range of interests and experiences. As mentioned previously in other documents, play-based learning environments actively invite and include meaningful involvement of families and the community in children’s learning.

The play-based learning environment stresses the shared role of children, educators and families working together to enable and promote a positive learning journey. There are a number of ways that this objective can be achieved.

Books Making books can be a wonderful and affordable way to cover a wide range of issues and to make learning visible across all areas of our room or service activity. It is also a great way to share information in a user-friendly manner about the value of play-based learning with families and visitors.

Using children’s images encourages families to look through the book, particularly if their own child shows it to them. We could make a book with children’s help so they are will be eager to share it with their parents. You may be surprised at what the children say they learn in a variety of experiences and how they perceive learning through play. We can follow this up with a series of individual items that explain various learning areas around the room.

Posters Another example is a series of posters with a clear image and easy to read points about what is gained during the experience for different areas of the room.

Remember to leave a space to record links to legislation. This is a reassuring element for families that what happens has value and relates to measurable expectations.

See the example below:

As you can see the example above contains the following information: • a statement to invite the reader • a clear image of the event • a title that clearly states the focus • easy to read points about what is gained • a simple statement about how this experience supports children’s long-term learning • a reminder of the legislation to reassure families that the event is sanctioned and valuable.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 19

The example above demonstrates that any topic can be easily included in a series of posters.

Anything we do during the day can be explained using a simple layout like this. If we use the same layout, people become used to reading information in a particular way. Creating a set of these posters for our room is a very manageable objective if created one at a time as topics arise.

Sometimes ‘less is more’ and a simple message can be expressed visually. We could ask ourselves – does it state a purpose? Why is it here? How is it to be used by educators or families? Simple signs are useful to explain the value of play.

20| Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

More ideas...

We can create a ‘chronicle of learning’, a kind of parent scrapbook to record your steps during the year. It could include a page briefly describing what the book is about i.e. making learning visible for families so they know what has been discussed and explored over time apart from what is on the walls. It could be updated using photos and brief notes about significant events and what was valuable about them for children’s learning and growth. During the year, you will have developed a chronological record. This is great evidence for assessment, but also in a format that children, families and educators can revisit.

Sometimes a book or item piques great interest and we are able to build on this. For example, the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar has eyecatching visuals that may interest children. We can discuss and bring the story to life in the form of a display in our room. We may create the various elements of the story which can have quite an impact. It is a very effective way to make learning visible and, at the same time, involve the children in all stages of its creation. To make the display comprehensible to everyone, we can write the story to accompany the display.

This literacy experience can become a huge part of the program across many curriculum areas including maths, measurement, sequencing, creative arts, tactile areas, decision making, discussion, collaborative work and many more.

Don’t forget the importance of making learning visible outside. If you undetake recycling projects with children, be sure to offer explanations about how and why you did so and what the children gained from the experience.

These are all valuable activities and are beneficial for family involvement. Remember the expectations of QA6 and incorporate them into everyday events and ongoing projects.

have done, how they did it and what was learned.

There are many other creative ways to display how learning has occurred in your setting. You probably do many of these things now and will be able to think of many more.

We need to be conscious of every item we display, as well as how and what we write, verbalise or share about our programs. We must set the standard and be consistent in how we apply it to our communications, just as we do in our work. Consider the audience each item is intended for – what they may know or understand already, and what we would like them to know. We should also decide on a range of methods we will use because, as educators, we know that people absorb new information in different ways. You may start with very basic information at the beginning of the year and increase the content as families develop a greater understanding of the program and become more involved and engaged.

We want our partners to linger at our displays, talk about what has occurred, be inspired to contribute and understand the what, when, where, why and how of the learning.

When making learning visible, be sure you are able to advocate for what you do, believe in the value of play, be ready to answer those hard questions and strive to build amazing partnerships.

Making learning visible is only limited by our imaginations.

Share information about veranda or outdoor activities using charts or posters with pictures or examples of the work created next to them.

Let families see, in concrete terms what children Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 21

An interesting thought to consider…

Too often I encounter preschool teachers who deviate from research based practices with the justification - “We know that children learn through play, but the parents want more academics.” My question to the teachers - “Who is the professional in this field?”

Parents will also question doctors about antibiotics , vaccinations, and medications. Parents are seeking out the best for their children.

They want to make informed decisions, as they should. In this quest, parents need professionals who share the research, who share best practices, and who tell parents when they are mistaken and why. Just as a doctor would not prescribe an antibiotic for a virus based on parental pressure, a preschool teacher would not replace hands-on learning with developmentally inappropriate practices. Parents may question this, just as they question a doctor.

Teachers need to be armed with resources to answer these hard questions. Teachers need to make learning visible to the untrained eye. Working together, parents and teachers can make amazing partners.

The Inspired Child www.theinspiredchild.org

22| Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

References Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (2013), Guide to the National Quality Standard.

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (2009), Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Queensland Studies Authority (2010), Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline.

Brisbane: The State of Queensland.

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 23

Notes

24| Kindergarten Advisory Support Service

Notes

Disclaimer Users of this publication should understand that the material has been developed to support the operation of a kindergarten program in long day care services. All possible endeavours have been undertaken to ensure that the material is correct at the time of publication. Users should make independent efforts to validate any or all information obtained from this publication.

No individual, organisation or otherwise should reproduce the material without the express written consent of Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) and/or Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland (ACA Qld). As with all professional material, before relying on the content in this document, users should consult with other professionals and their management.

Date of publication: June 2015 Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) Unit 11/6 Vanessa Boulevard Springwood Qld 4127 PO Box 137 Springwood Qld 4127

e: info@kass.net.au t: 1300 4 KINDY f: (07) 3808 2466

www.kass.net.au

Making Learning Visible: Communicating the value of kindergarten | 25

Kindergarten Advisory Support Service www.kass.net.au

28 | Kindergarten Advisory Support Service