Teaching Strategy

       It’s no secret that the face of education has changed dramatically over the past ten years or so. Teachers across the country are working hard to equip children with the skills needed for success in the 21st century world. In addition to instilling in students the flexibility to readily adapt to changing technologies, teachers must foster learning environments that encourage critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, global awareness, and social responsibility. Listed below are some strategies early childhood teachers are currently using in classrooms to prepare kids for the boundless future ahead.

• Active Learning - Active Learning is anything that students do in a classroom other than merely passively listening to an instructor's lecture. Research shows that active learning improves students' understanding and retention of information and can be very effective in developing higher order cognitive skills such as problem solving and critical thinking. 
• Clicker Use in Class - Clickers enable instructors to rapidly collect and summarize student responses to multiple-choice questions they ask of students in class.
• Collaborative/Cooperative Learning - Cooperative and collaborative learning are instructional approaches in which students work together in small groups to accomplish a common learning goal.They need to be carefully planned and executed, but they don't require permanently formed groups.
• Critical Thinking - Critical thinking is a collection of mental activities that include the ability to intuit, clarify, reflect, connect, infer, and judge. It brings these activities together and enables the student to question what knowledge exists. 
• Discussion Strategies - Engaging students in discussion deepens their learning and motivation by propelling them to develop their own views and hear their own voices.  A good environment for interaction is the first step in encouraging students to talk. 
• Experiential Learning - Experiential learning is an approach to education that focuses on "learning by doing," on the participant's subjective experience. The role of the educator is to design "direct experiences" that include preparatory and reflective exercises.
• Games/Experiments/Simulations - Games, experiments and simulations can be rich learning environments for students.  Students today have grown up playing games and using interactive tools such as the Internet, phones, and other appliances.  Games and simulations enable students to solve real-world problems in a safe environment and enjoy themselves while doing so. 
• Humor in the Classroom - Using humor in the classroom can enhance student learning by improving understanding and retention. 
• Mobile Learning - Mobile Learning is any type of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed location.
• Service Learning - Service learning is a type of teaching that combines academic content with civic responsibility in some community project.  The learning is structured and supervised and enables the student to reflect on what has taken place. 
• Teaching with Cases - Case studies present students with real-life problems and enable them to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real life situations.  Cases also encourage students to develop logical problem solving skills and, if used in teams, group interaction skills.  Students define problems, analyze possible alternative actions and provide solutions with a rationale for their choices. 
• Team-Based Learning - Team-based learning (TBL) is a fairly new approach to teaching in which students rely on each other for their own learning and are held accountable for coming to class prepared.  Research has found that students are more responsible and more engaged when team-based learning is implemented.  The major difference in TBL and normal group activities is that the groups are permanent and most of the class time is devoted to the group meeting. 
• Writing Assignments - Writing assignments for class can provide an opportunity for them to apply critical thinking skills as well as help them to learn course content.

Curriculum Of Preschool

       Preschool curriculum is the entire span of lessons and teachings that your child will be taught during the course of a preschool year. They can include (but not be limited to):

• letters
• numbers
• shapes
• colors
• cutting
• coloring
• writing letters and numbers
• drawing
• gluing
• sharing
• cooperation
• taking turns
• physical activity (running, jumping, skipping, hopping on one foot, etc.)

    
       Preschool curriculum covers a wide variety of academic, social, physical, and emotional lessons and usually vary from school to school and teaching method to teaching method (both formal teaching methods and philosophies and with individual teachers and schools).

       There are basics that most preschoolers will learn, but since there are no set standards in place nationwide, what your child learns will depend on which school you send him or her to, and which philosophy the school you choose follows.

    
       Simply but, curriculum as it relates to preschool is the content of a child's day. It sets the tone for the entire school year and is basically a road map to what your child will be learning for the entire academic year. But anyone who has taught or has had a child attend preschool, knows that curriculum is an imperative, complex concept that includes a host of activities and learning experiences. Preschool curriculum encompasses everything that a child learns in the preschool classroom, including but not limited to:

• daily activities -- circle time, song time, calendar time, active play time, story time, craft time, etc.
• the transitional period that exists between activities (learning how to walk in a line with peers, learning how to clean up toys and supplies, etc.)

• any everyday activity and routine that the children participate in and know to expect
• special activities not necessarily taught by the primary preschool teacher, but a special teacher such as art, music, library and physical education
• preschool curriculum can also encompass homework given to the child to reinforce what was learned in the preschool classroom

       While it may look like a preschooler is simply playing in the preschool classroom all day, that is not the case (although those kids are most definitely having a lot of fun!). Play is so much more than a child having fun. Play, especially when it involves interacting with other children, teaching young children how to:

• form friendships
• take turns
• learn how to cooperate 
• try out different ways of problem solving
• use their imaginations
• think creatively 

    
       Different types of play, including both structured and unstructured, allow for children to practice different skills in different ways. Preschool curriculum, no matter what the philosophy should promote learning while helping children meet various language, social, physical and cognitive goals. In an ideal situation, a quality preschool's curriculum will be taught be certified teachers and be based on the most up-to-date childhood education research.
    
       Depending upon the school and the preschool philosophy employed by the preschool, the preschool curriculum can be developed by administrators, teachers, and parents. If you ever have a question about the curriculum at your child's preschool, reach out to the teacher or preschool administrator.
There are some examples of curriculum:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_VTVrxq5uSAWVpiaGN2TDhoRzQ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_VTVrxq5uSAX09TSXIyN25pMXc 

Learning Process In Preschool

        Ever since the first kindergarten opened in 1837, it has been a place for telling stories, building castles, painting pictures, making friends, and learning to share. But kindergarten is undergoing a dramatic change.

        In today's kindergartens, children are spending more and more time filling out worksheets and drilling on flash cards. In short, kindergarten is becoming more like the rest of school.

        Exactly the opposite needs to happen: We should make the rest of school (indeed, the rest of life) more like kindergarten.

        What's so special about kindergarten? As kindergartners playfully create stories, castles, and paintings with one another, they develop and refine their abilities to think creatively and work collaboratively, precisely the abilities most needed to achieve success and satisfaction in the 21st century.

        Underlying traditional kindergarten activities is a spiraling learning process in which children imagine what they want to do, create a project based on their ideas (using blocks, finger paint, or other materials), play with their creations, share their ideas and creations with others, and reflect on their experiences -- all of which leads them to imagine new ideas and new projects. This iterative learning process is ideal preparation for today's fast-changing society, in which people must continually come up with innovative solutions to unexpected situations in their lives.

         If this approach is so well aligned with current societal needs, why do we so rarely support it in classrooms? One reason is that our society and our educational system don't place enough value on creative thinking.

         Another reason is a lack of appropriate media and technologies: Wooden blocks and finger paint are great for learning kindergarten concepts (such as numbers, shapes, sizes, and colors). But as children get older, they want and need to work on more advanced projects and learn more advanced concepts. To do that, they need different types of tools, media, and materials.

         This is where I believe digital technologies can play their most important role. If properly designed and used, new technologies can extend the kindergarten approach, allowing "students" of all ages to continue learning in the kindergarten style and, in the process, to keep growing as creative thinkers.

Lesson Plan Of Preschool

        A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan.

        A lesson plan is a teacher's plan for teaching a lesson. A lesson plan is a detailed guide for teaching a lesson. It's a step-by-step guide that outlines the teacher's objectives for what the students will accomplish that day.

        Melissa Kelly define a lesson plan is a framework and a road map, which each teacher will create using an individual style. A good lesson plan is one that sees the “big picture” but includes detailed information for each activity. It's a good idea to organize your lesson plan as a unit plan. Each unit plan will cover a particular topic, and may be broken down into daily plans. An effective unit plan will include the following:

• Objective(s): While easy to ignore, identifying objectives from the beginning will vastly simplify instruction and assessment.

• Activities: The meat of your lesson plan will be the various activities you use to teach students what you want them to learn.

• Time estimates: Including a time estimate for each activity allows you to divide your unit plan into days and periods of time.

• Required materials: Spend some time writing down exactly what materials you need for each activity so that you will be better prepared for your lesson.

• Alternatives: It is always wise to plan ahead for absent students, especially if a large part of your plan is a simulation that can be hard to make up for those who miss it.

• Assessments: Decide in the beginning how you are going to assess your students to help focus your instruction on what the students actually need to learn. 

       Unit plans are a good way of organizing your teaching. The beauty of putting together a unit plan is that you can go back and adjust activities as you get a better picture of the time needed for each day's lesson.
The example of Lesson Plan

Part Of Students

       A significant reward that comes with teaching is the joy you’ll experience as you get to know each little one in your group—what he or she is thinking, feeling, imagining, believing. Not only will you have an opportunity to influence young minds and hearts, but you’ll also be influenced by your children’s simple, emerging faith.

What follows here is a brief description of some of the characteristics you’ll see in the children you lead and learn from. It leaves much unsaid—and is certainly no substitute for getting to know your group firsthand. But we do hope it will give you some insight into what you may anticipate from preschoolers—intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

 

1. Intellectual Characteristics

Children at this age

• think very concretely and literally, not abstractly or figuratively as youth and adults do; to a preschool child, things are as they appear to be.
• are not capable of reasoning or organizing abstract faith concepts along logical lines.
• learn through their experiences at home, church, preschool, caregivers.
• learn with their whole bodies; love to taste, touch, move, explore, smell, watch, and wonder.
• are just beginning to develop some literacy skills; some can write their own name, recognize the letters of the alphabet, and count to twenty.
• love to use language to please adults; “right answers” do not necessarily indicate comprehension.
• enjoy being told stories and read to; repetition an important way to learn.
• are often easily distracted from staying “on task.”

Tips for Leaders

• Try for a reasonable balance between times of quiet listening and active, “hands on” participation
• Relate learning to the experiences children already have or to new experiences you can share with them.
• Give your little ones plenty of opportunity to move around.
• Keep games, stories, and other activities short, with transitional periods that enable movement from one part of the room to the other.
• Provide a variety of learning experiences: stories, art, music, words, numbers, group interaction, etc.
• Avoid using figures of speech, symbolism, analogies.
• Remember that each child develops at his or her own pace; nurture each child’s strengths.

 

2. Social Characteristics

Children at this age

• are blissfully egocentric; see the world through their own eyes.
• are developmentally incapable of understanding another’s perspective or emotions.
• are self-centered, yet are significantly influenced by others, especially mom, dad, teachers, other significant adults.
• are on the verge of experiencing a wider world of people; many young children still want to play alone and must make a real effort to have any meaningful play with others.

Tips for Leaders

• Accept the children’s developing concepts of themselves without judging their apparent egocentrism
• Emphasize the theme that we are special to God: we’ve been created by God, belong to God, and are dearly loved by God.
• Recognize that you are a role model for your little ones, someone who is a picture of God’s love and care.
• Encourage cooperative play with others, while remaining sensitive to individual needs for attention and recognition.
• Do your best to make the learning fun; make your room a “safe” and friendly place where kids will want to be every week.

 

3. Spiritual Characteristics

Children at this age

• have a growing sense that God is very special and real rather than pretend.
• tend to have a very literal concept of God.
• readily accept what you say about God.
• sense that God loves them and cares for them.
• enjoy some Holy Books stories.
• can develop attitudes of love and trust toward The Messengers and God.
• do not yet have a built-in control (conscience) that nudges them toward right behavior for its own sake; do the “right thing” out of fear of punishment or to win approval.
• sense that “place of worship” is a good place to be..
• recite simple prayers ; in some cases may add own ideas to “form” prayers.

Tips for Leaders

• Above all, let the children know that God loves them and cares for them; teach this in the context of common childhood experiences with which the children can identify.
• Let these little ones sense your own wonder and awe about who God is and what God has done.
• Focus on attitudes and actions that exhibit faith.
• When do you teach religious concepts, keep them simple and few.
• Nurture faith by giving your little ones a love for the stories of Scripture and by laying attitudinal foundations for later understanding of Scripture’s great truths

Several characteristics which mainly occur on preschool students are mentioned below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_VTVrxq5uSAeEo2Y3FZZHhrN2M

ABC Words