The Little School

The Reggio Approach

A brief history:

• The Reggio Approach derives its name from its place of origin, Reggio Emilia, a city located in Northern Italy.
• Reggio Emilia schools began in 1945 after WWII
• One of the first areas of reform after the devastation of the war was the creation of schools for the town’s children. The parents, teachers, and community physically built and ran the schools. The schools created jobs and allowed the men and women to go back to work.
• This led to the creation of the program based on principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum. They felt that it is in the early years of development that children form who they are as individuals.
• The Reggio Approach was founded, by Loris Malaguzzi, on the fundamental aspects of the work of Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky, founds of early childhood development.

About the Reggio Approach:

• Reggio is not a recipe- it is an educational experience.
• Reggio embraces the search for answers to life beginning at birth and sees the full potential in each child.
• As educators we are here to help develop the cognitive map within each child.
• The child as an active participant in learning.
  • The Reggio approach sees a child as a very competent protagonist and initiator, who interacts with their environment.
  • Students are allowed to follow their own interests.
• The significance of environment.
  • The environment of the school is seen as the third educator

• The teacher, parent, and child as collaborators in the process of learning.

• • We view the parent as an essential resource for their child’s learning.
  • To foster community we host a variety of events throughout each school year, including conferences and special lectures for parents.
• Making learning visible through documentation.
  • Teachers use a variety of documentation methods, such as cameras, tape recorders, and written observations, to track children’s thoughts and ideas as they play together or work with materials.
  • Documentation can show learning that occurs in an individual moment, throughout the course of an individual project, or the throughout the history of the school.
  • Children’s individual growth and learning is compiled into personal portfolios.  These portfolios may include photographs, quotes from the child, teacher observations, artwork, and writing samples.

Principles:

• The Image of the Child
  • Children are viewed as competent, curious, full of knowledge, potential, and interested in connecting to the world around them.

• Teachers as Partners  
  • Teachers are viewed as facilitators of children’s learning experiences. As partners, they listen, document, challenge, and organize children’s learning in a collaborative relationship with other colleagues.
• An Emergent Learning Process
  • Ideas are shared, work is exchanged and opportunities are created to extend and build upon theories that are uncovered. In this way of working, projects may occur which last days or months.
• The Role of Parents
  • Parents are an essential component of the school. They are an active part of their children’s learning experiences and help to ensure the welfare of all the children in the school.
• The Role of the Environment  
  • Through the conscious use of space, color, light, displays of children’s work, and attention to nature and detail, the environment serves as another teacher.
• Many Languages
  • Children act on a variety of materials: clay, wire, drawing media, paper, and so on. They learn the ABC’s of each material which they use to express their ideas, theories and feelings about the world in which they live.
• The Three Subjects of Education
  • Children, parents and teachers have rights; the right to safety, care and welfare, the right to be involved and the right to grow professionally.
• Collaboration and Interaction  
  • Children, parent and teacher collaboration and interaction at all levels makes everything possible.
• Documentation  
  • The learning process between children and teachers is captured, made visible and then shared in order to support wondering, researching and learning among teachers and children.
• Time
  • Time is influenced by the interests and activities that the children bring to life within the school. This in turn impacts schedules, groupings and routines

Hillsborough Campus | Duke Campus | Employment| Staff Portal

Content Copyright © The Little School Development Group, LLC. All rights reserved.