Summary
The teaching philosophy of Agape Little Uni. is to prepare children for success in life in a loving and nurturing school environment where emphasis is placed on character development through instilling strong values. The school aims to evolve the children into an AGAPE Learner who exemplifies the five distinctive core values and the five principles of teaching and learning through play-based learning, character building, and values-infused learning. Because of their firm belief in character development, they implement the Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) Curriculum for pre-schoolers, where children’s learning is guided by their learning needs, concepts, and learning experiences that are relevant to the current trends in the world. The depth of content broadens as children become older. Children receive a well-rounded education as they are introduced to the S.T.R.E.A.M approach as part of the center’s pedagogy, where they can apply their knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Teachers are also the learning facilitators who enable children to identify their unique learning styles through quality interactions and holistic learning experiences. The center also establishes firm partnerships with parents through catering to the child’s needs providing for them in the best way possible, and reinforcing parental involvement.
My PCF practicum center adopts the play-based Sparkletots Curriculum, which focuses solely on the six learning domains from the Nurturing Early Learners (2013) framework, as well as the Thematic approach where different themes are assigned to them each term by the headquarters. However, I strongly favor the Agape Little Unis. Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) curriculum, as it not only covers the six learning domains but also places emphasis on shaping the child’s character. Through formulated questions, educators stimulate the children’s interest and projects are curated based on the selected ones. Children acquire resilience as they receive feedback and guidance from their teachers. Their learning gets intensified when they inquire and explore more. Lastly, as children mature, the content they learn gets more advanced. I also feel that Agape Little Uni. integrating the S.T.R.E.A.M approach to their curriculum, is vital as it will help children acquire the essential 21st-century skills and develop holistically in all disciplines. One instance would be the S.T.R.E.A.M Tinkerlab camp, held on 12th - 14th June 2019, where children were equipped with skills in both experimental and engineering as they explored their creativity in many fun activities, developed their innovation and outshined what they knew to prepare for the skills of the 21st century. According to the Nurturing Early Learners (2013) framework, teachers play a vital role as facilitators in stimulating children’s thinking and extending their learning by offering opportunities for purposeful play and authentic learning through quality interactions. At Agape Little Uni., teachers as facilitators allow children to discover their learning styles through quality interactions and integrated learning experiences. Teachers at my practicum center made a conscious effort to expand on children’s learning and provide opportunities for them to initiate self-directed learning during their free play. However, since the center gets its lesson plans from the headquarters, children’s learning is teacher-driven in that sense as the themes are already pre-fixed and may not be of the child’s interest. Both centers value the partnership of parents by keeping them aware of the center’s happenings and catering to children’s specialized needs. In my practicum center, educators kept parents in the loop via the Little Lives Portal and the communication book. At Agape Little Uni., parents are updated daily about their child’s day and are informed about all school activities. Both centers create a supportive environment whereby educators and parents work together to promote the child’s development.
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Analysis
By incorporating the S.T.R.E.A.M. approach to their curriculum, children are provided with opportunities to achieve indispensable 21st-century skills and holistically develop in all disciplines. According to Nurturing Early Learners (2013), providing children with the necessary 21st-century skills is vital to be prepared to meet future challenges and succeed in a rapidly changing world. The center also follows the Ministry of Education’s framework for 21st-century competencies and student outcomes (2018). The student outcomes are integrated with the center’s goal of children becoming AGAPE Learners which includes being self-directed learners taking ownership of their learning, active contributors exploring different ways of problem-solving and seeking new information, concerned citizens displaying empathy and respect towards others in the society, a confident person taking responsibility of their actions and the consequences that come with it and an effective communicator listening effectively and expressing their ideas. Through getting children to collaborate and communicate, the curriculum promotes the development of 21st-century skills and knowledge. (Owen et al., 2002). The center also incorporates the iTeach principles into its curriculum. Through stimulating and relevant learning experiences, they adopt an integrated approach to learning as skills and knowledge from the different domains are integrated into children’s work. Secondly, teachers as facilitators take into account the child’s innate abilities while children as constructors of knowledge are encouraged to take ownership of what and how they want to learn with the teacher’s guidance and feedback. Through this, children acquire critical thinking skills, and the ability to evaluate their work and learn from their mistakes as they build resilience. This aligns with Bruner’s Constructivist Theory (1990), where children are creating knowledge instead of it being directly fed to them. The preschool curriculum is also designed in such a way that it helps children learn best through purposeful play and imaginative exploration. Authentic learning through quality interactions is evident as teachers and children work together to discover, collate information, and share and present to parents and the community about their learning. Lastly, since different learning areas are integrated within the planned and supervised environments, children will be able to develop holistically through exploration. The center also places great emphasis on school-home partnerships. According to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory (1979), the mesosystem is where the child’s growth is supported by cross-relationships between the closest socializing contexts (home and school) of the child.
Application
I feel that preschool educators need to shift away from the conventional way of teaching, where information is dispensed to the children and they are required to memorize it. Inquiry-based approach is good and educators need to use it as the child is actively involved in the process and it helps them to acquire skills to process information and solve problems. I will integrate this into my teaching next time by tapping into children’s interests and letting them lead their learning through co-construction. I will also actively take on the role of a facilitator by scaffolding children’s learning based on their abilities and interests. I have understood the importance of equipping children with the necessary 21st-century skills to succeed in a rapidly changing world. I will implement it next time in my teaching by creating avenues for children to investigate, experiment, and ask questions to feed their sense of wonder. Also having understood the importance of home-school partnership, I will implement it in my classroom next time by establishing a good relationship with parents from the time their children join the school and strengthening it through regular conversations about the best interests of the child.
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