Riverfield Country Day School Exhibit Project Reflection Questions

Riverfield Country Day School
Exhibit Project
Reflection Questions 2012-2013
1. How did “The Wonder of Learning – The Hundred Languages of Children” exhibit and the
NAREA Professional Development Series provoke dialogues around quality in early
childhood education in your community?
Through out this year we have continued dialogues around the rights of children, quality early
childhood experiences, the educational principles of the Reggio Approach and our story from
being in dialogue with Reggio Emilia. The dialogues that were most complex during the last
year included:
Dialogues within the Riverfield Community
As a school, the exhibit compelled us to ask ourselves many challenging questions. One such
question was: “In what ways could the educational experiences in Reggio Emilia and the
messages portrayed on the panels be pervasively interpreted throughout Riverfield’s learning
community from eight weeks through eighteen years?” A great focus of our dialogues in the
past year have focused on continuity of the educational principles of the Reggio Approach
through out the entirety of our school, infants through 12th grade. The magnitude of this
dialogue should not be underestimated, as it represents our strong commitment to quality
educational experiences inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach for all students.
In March, 2012, Riverfield sent a delegation of 45 Riverfield educators from our Pre-School,
Primary, Middle and Upper School, along with 2 university professors and 3 colleagues from
other Reggio-inspired contexts for a week of intensive study at the Malaguzzi International
Center in Reggio Emilia. It was a unique and rich experience for all of us, where we were struck
by the power of a shared vision and momentum for change.
In preparation for this week of study in Reggio Emilia, we engaged in a monthly PLC
(Professional Learning Community) where we read Indications and discussed the educational
principles and reflected on their influence on our work.
In the winter of 2012, Jennifer Kesselring, Kacey Davenport, and Katie Musick wrote an article
titled “Creating a Cohesive Experience and Consistent Vision for Eduction Within Riverfield
Country Day School’s Pre-School and Primary School” for the Spring 2012 edition of
“Innovations.” This article shared the story of our inspiration from the Exhibit and the intense
reflection, dialogue and action towards re-thinking the Primary School in relation to the
educational principles from Reggio Emilia. Writing the article was an educational project in
and of itself as we revisited and re-reflected with the Pre-School and Primary School educators
on our on-going journey. These dialogues were rewarding as we examined the evolution of
our work and gave renewed context and energy to our ongoing efforts.
As noted in previous reports, we continue to use installations from the Exhibit and other
documentation and resources from Reggio Emilia as a tools for shared understanding and on-
going evolution of our thinking as a part of our new teacher-mentor program and other ongoing professional development.
Dialogues with Institutions of Higher Education
Our continued collaborations with Institutions of Higher Education included:
• Oklahoma University (OU)
• Oklahoma State University (OSU)
• Northeastern State University (NSU)
• Tulsa Community College (TCC)
• Oral Roberts University (ORU
• University of Central Oklahoma (UCO)
Dialogues with these institutions took many forms:
• Riverfield educators providing guest lectures for undergraduate and graduate classes;
• Riverfield hosting undergraduate and graduate level courses on site;
• On-going reciprocal exchanges with professors, particularly around our work with the
Primary School;
• Placement of student teachers, interns, and practicum students;
• A parent evening where professors shared research around the constructivist approach
to education for infants through 3rd grade;
Dialogues with Other Schools
We continue to learn from and with educators in other contexts. These exchanges included
study tours, teacher exchanges, and presentations.
• Child Development Center and Lab School at Oklahoma City Community College
(Oklahoma City, OK)
• Webster Groves Public School District (St. Louis, MO)
• Union Public Schools (Tulsa, OK)
• Tulsa Educare (Tulsa, OK)
• Pembroke Hill (Kansas City, MO)
Alison Maher, Andrea Sisbarro, Sheri Hunt, and Jennifer Azzariti continue to be valued
colleagues and a strong network for on-going relationships of collaboration and reciprocal
exchange.
Dialogues with Advocacy Groups
As a direct result of the Exhibit’s tenure in Tulsa, many contexts in the area were introduced to
or further inspired by the Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education. This ground swell of
interest culminated in the organization of the Oklahoma Reggio Inspired Network (ORIN) in the
summer of 2012. Riverfield worked in collaboration with Dr. Denise Daros-Voselles, professor in
the School of Education at Northeastern State University (NSU), and Dr. Patty Eaton, educator
in a Tulsa Public Elementary School, to organize this group
(http://www.okreggioinspired.com/). ORIN aims to meet 4-6 times per year for shared reading
of The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, study
tours of Reggio-inspired contexts in Oklahoma, materials explorations, and shared dialogue
around quality early-childhood education. The group’s membership includes representation
from Northeastern State University, Oklahoma University, Oklahoma State University, and at
least eight early childhood programs in Oklahoma, with membership growing monthly.
Riverfield continues to be a point of reference for many child advocacy organizations, and
the work we have done inspired by the Exhibit is an avenue for conversation and discussion
within these groups, specifically the Oklahoma Child Care Resource Center and the
Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Our relationship and dialogue with Reggio Children through Amelia Gambetti continues to
encourage and support our on-going growth and understanding.
Jennifer Kesselring continues her work on the NAREA Board, supported by the school, both fully
committed to sharing the messages and mission of NAREA. This included:
• Facilitation of an atelier experience at the NAREA Summer Conference in Portland, OR
• Distribution of membership brochures to all student teachers, study groups, and at all
initiatives and presentations.
Additionally, Jennifer Kesselring was elected to serve on the Early Childhood Association of
Oklahoma board, and Jennifer and Kacey Davenport both serve on the Tulsa Community
College Child Development Advisory Board. Both of these boards are forums for advocacy for
quality early childhood education in our community.
2. How did the exhibit and the professional development series strengthen the
collaborative participation of educators, families, administrators, community members
and/or government leaders in the dialogue about early childhood education in our
community?
As stated elsewhere in this report:
• In preparation for our delegation to Reggio Emilia, Infant through Upper School
teachers met monthly in PLC’s, facilitated by our Head of School, Jerry Bates, to
discuss shared readings, create a shared vision, articulate values and project our
intentions for the trip.
• The leadership team and primary school teachers collaborated to write an
article for Innovations
• The daily practice of collaborative reflection, analysis, and projection has
become more engrained into our lives
• The Creation of ORIN- the Oklahoma Reggio Inspired Network- has encouraged
the ongoing collaboration of educators in our region
• Riverfield continues to mentor student teachers, interns, and practicum students
in order to open and sustain dialogue around quality and what is possible in
education.
• One of our teachers ran for and won a state public office and continues to
advocate for quality in education through her role
• We continue to collaborate with many child advocacy groups in our city and
state
• Riverfield educators regularly participate in local and regional professional
development initiatives as speakers and discussion facilitators.
•
•
We continue to welcome study groups from our region to the school for day and
week long in depth study
Riverfield Educators sit on a variety of community Boards whose focus is young
children or education including: Tulsa Community College Advisory Board, Tulsa
Early Childhood Association, Oklahoma Early Childhood Association,
International Infant Toddler Conference, Child Care Resource Center,
Leadership Tulsa, and Family and Children’s Services.
3. What opportunities for teachers, parents, administrators, community members and/or
government leaders to meet and discuss the values and goals of education and
childhood were generated as a result of the presence of the exhibit and the
professional development series initiatives in your community? How did these
opportunities contribute to a better understanding of the various perspectives that exist
within your community on this subject?
As a way to synthesize, make visible and sharable with the community the exciting and
compelling work that is happening as we bridge the educational principles of the Reggio
Emilia approach into our Primary School, Riverfield hosted a professional development
initiative with Amelia Gambetti, Lella Gandini and Jennifer Azzariti as keynote speakers.
Although Riverfield’s Pre-School has hosted numerous professional development intiatives and
school tours, this was the first time the public had been invited into Riverfield’s Reggio-inspired
Primary School classrooms. The collaboration and work to prepare for this initiative, as well as
the initiative itself and the above mentioned “Innovations” article, sparked numerous
opportunities for discussion, understanding and articulation of values, goals and shared vision
within our school community and the greater community. It gave a vision of the possible and
encouraged other educators to enter the dialogue.
In January 2013, Kacey Davenport was invited to be on a panel discussion for the
University of Oklahoma's CHED studio (Community Health & Environmental Design). CHED's
mission is to “provide people with information and assistance to make their homes,
neighborhoods and cities healthier through better design.” As part of CHED's outreach efforts,
they held workshops dealing with specific public health concerns and how environmental
design can address them, or in some way improve them. One such workshop was focused on
design of spaces for young children. She shared images and messages of quality
environments, rich with materials and opportunities for thinking, communicating and building
relationships.
4. How did the exhibit and professional development series impact the visibility of the
learning and relationships of children, teachers and parents within your early childhood
education community?
Through opening the school in the form of open houses, initiatives, university-level course work,
professor meetings and personal tours for leaders locally, regionally, and nationally, our halls
and walls speak to the encounters and quality learning experiences that are possible in this
way of thinking and being. Through the Exhibit, Riverfield has had and continues to have
increased opportunity and responsibility to present our work and the work of the children,
highlighting thinking, learning, and collaboration. As noted earlier in this report we regularly
host study groups, university classes and at least one professional development initiative each
year where the visibility of learning and relationships are highlighted as important elements.
Still motivated by the Exhibit’s use of video to make learning visible, we continue to integrate
technology, especially in the form of video, to strengthen and give clarity to the visibility of
learning. Anywhere the learning is made visible there is a conscious effort to highlight the
importance of collaboration between children, families and educators as a valued element of
our work.
5. How have the early childhood educators in your community learned to extend the
visibility of classroom experiences of learning and relationships to include connections
with the values and goals of parents and administrators, as a result of the professional
development opportunities created by the exhibit and professional development
series? In which way did the educators connect children’s experiences to
government/district mandated curriculum standards and outcomes?
As discussed in previous reports, these are dialogues and research that are on-going in our
context. The article written for “Innovations,” referenced earlier in this report, directly
addressed our commitment to building understanding around the connecting school
experiences to government mandated curriculum standards and outcomes in ways that are
authentic, meaningful and respectful of children and childhood.
During the study group to Reggio Emilia in March of 2012, Riverfield educators heard and saw
many examples of ways that Reggio educators approach this important conversation. The
presentations and the experiences inside the Primary School in the Loris Malaguzzi International
Center were inspiring and invaluable in furthering our understanding and articulation of the
beauty and power of learning that is fully integrated and embraced by students. Of particular
note was the meeting that Riverfield’s administrative team had with Paola Cagliari, director of
the Infant-Toddler Centers and Preschools, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. This
conversation continues to inform most converstations we have as an administrative team as it
solidified our vision for a school that is steeped in research and experiential learning. Our week
in Reggio Emilia unified the educators within the school under a strong vision for something
new, incited provocations for thinking, invitations for growth and a profound thinking that
continues to this day.
With every pre-enrollment tour, with every study group, with every college class, with every
parent conference, and with every presentation, educators at Riverfield engage these
conversations, highlighting the value of school as a place of research, thinking, collaboration,
invention, and full engagement.
In February of 2012, a team of four Riverfield administrators (Jerry Bates, Head of School;
Jennifer Kesselring and Kacey Davenport, Pre-School Division Heads; and Katie Musick, Primary
School Division Head) presented at the International Winter Institute – “The Reggio Emilia
Approach to Education 0-99 Continuity in a Qualified System of Relationship.” We shared three
stories from our Primary and Middle School, giving visibility and value to the engaged learning
that connects standards through relationships and experiences. The preparation of this
presentation involved educators throughout the school, encouraging a greater understanding
and clearer articulation.
We continue to use on-going documentation in the classrooms as a strategy to inform our
work, helping us to walk alongside children in the learning process, and to make learning
visible to families, children and other educators. We remain committed to understanding the
Common Core Curriculum Standards, not to be driven by them but to be better able to
communicate with families and other educators that they can be interpreted and embedded
in ways that stay true to children, students, families, educators and learning.
The 20th Annual Reggio Emilia Inspired Institute at Lesley University in April 2012 provided
another forum for sharing stories of classroom experiences in relationship with curriculum
standards. Jennifer Kesselring and Kacey Davenport offered two presentations, one
highlighting stories of long-term investigations and another addressing literacy development
embedded in daily classroom experiences and through the atelier and symbolic
representation.
We maintain our commitment to the processes of learning. Thus, alongside the study of
content standards, we engage in on-going research into what is known about best practice,
brain research, intelligence, skills and mindsets necessary for success in the 21st Century, the
role of creativity in learning, intrinsic motivation, and current trends and change movements in
education. As a learning community, committed to on-going professional development, we
read and discuss in cross-age and cross-discipline groups current educational research in
relation to the educational principles of Reggio Emilia.
We will continue to make our understandings visible in as many ways possible throughout our
school and in professional forums in hopes that others will be inspired to interpret standards
and understand quality in new ways.
6. How did the exhibit and the professional development series encourage educators to
document the role of the environment in their classrooms? What did educators and
parents learn about the role of the environment within the school community through
the documentation of the learning and relationships that typically develop within that
context?
The most profound ways Riverfield has documented and shared the role of the
environment is through:
• Deepening our understanding of documentation as a way of being that:
o highlights the roles that the environment, materials and provocations within it
play in encouraging thinking, expression and narration
o keeps teachers and children walking beside each other as they listen and
learn together
o informs next steps
o reflects children’s and teachers thinking
o creates a visible thread of continuity
o creates a culture of ongoing reflection, analysis, synthesis, and projection
• Creating presentations on the role of the environment and materials for study
groups that come to the school
• Creating presentations for professional development initiatives including the
Oklahoma Early Childhood Conference, Southern Early Childhood Association,
International Infant Toddler Conference, NAEYC, and initiatives hosted at the school.
• Riverfield teachers have mentored over fifty student teachers, interns and practicum
students from six colleges and universities within our state and on a regular basis use
documentation of the environment, materials, and encounters within it as a
springboard for discussion, teaching and learning.
• Riverfield created a small “community atelier” as a pilot for our vision of future
community ateliers for professional development initiatives, community events, and
local “hotspots” for families. We envision these ateliers as a point of discussion and
dialogue, supported by documentation from classroom environments, that open
conversation about quality educational environments and experiences. We will
expand this concept when we create five community ateliers at the Infant and
Toddler Conference in April when these spaces will be used as experiential learning
classrooms for over 400 educators. We are in discussion and planning phases with
parents who we hope will serve as documentors in these ateliers and can then work
collaboratively with teachers from the school to create some form of reflection on
this experience.
• Study groups continue to use Riverfield as a point of reference for high quality
environments and teachers use the visibility of the relationships and learning within
the environment to develop understanding around the important role of
environment and materials
• Child Care Resource Center and DHS/Licensing continue to use Riverfield as a
training site for their employees around high quality environments
The learning for educators and families regarding the role of the environment is ongoing and
unfolding. We continue to deepen our understanding of the role of materials, the role of the
atelier and atelierista, the role of the teacher, the role of the outdoors, the role of relationships
within these and the importance of documentation as a way of being.
7. Were the educators in your community able to organize an exhibit of documents of the
learning and relationships of children, teachers and parents to be shared with
community members in a public context during your hosting period? If so, where was
the exhibit and how did your community respond? If not, what plans do you have for
such an annual exhibit?
At the current time, plans are underway for interactive community atelier exhibits as a part of
the 3rd International Infant Toddler Conference, “Play! The International Language of Children”
to be held April 11-13, 2013 in Tulsa. This conference will feature Lella Gandini as a keynote
speaker and will bring together more than 400 early childhood educators. Inspired by the
interactive elements from “The Ray of Light” portion of the Exhibit and by the citizen ateliers we
encountered in the Malaguzzi International Center, we envision these community ateliers at
the conference to include hands-on, minds-on encounters with materials supported by
photographic images of young children’s experiences with these materials. Current plans
include ateliers with clay, incline and motion, natural materials, water, and light and shadow.
As noted in previous reports, visibility of our work is continuous through study groups, university
classes, presentations, and individual tours. Additionally, Riverfield’s tradition of creating
synthesized documentation of our long-term investigations in the form of year-end books
places visibility of learning and quality in the hands of all families, and thus ripples into the
community. Each book, in essence, is a mini-exhibit. Riverfield’s Primary School has now
adopted the tradition of these investigation books and/or videos, thus further extending the
reach the messages of learning and relationships.
8. How did the presence of the exhibit and professional development series contribute to
educators’, parents’ and community members’ abilities to advocate for the rights of
children in the community? In what ways did their abilities develop? Did educators and
parents develop a better understanding of current policies regarding early childhood
education and issues being addressed by school and government officials, the
disposition to communicate with school and government officials through e-mail and
phone and/or attendance at meetings and rallies?
In the spring of 2012, Riverfield Pre-School teacher, Katie Henke, embarked on a successful
campaign bid for the Oklahoma State House District 71 Representitive. Her experience as an
educator and her advocacy for the rights of children and quality education were
cornerstones of her political platform. Throughout the campaign there were numerous
opportunities for discussion and debate, bringing to the forefront issues of accessibility,
funding, and advocacy for quality experiences for all children. Many of her messages have
roots in the strong image of the child, and to her teaching experience at Riverfield, and her
campaign inspired other educators and families to become more vocal in their advocacy as
well. She was elected in November 2012, and took office in January 2013. State
Representative Henke serves as the ViceChair of the Appropriations and Budget Common
Education Committee.