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| For
Parents
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| Collaboration February 2002 Dr. Sharon Carver |
| My recent experiences
with NAEYC's accreditation process and CMU's annual review process
have prompted reflection about the unique strengths of the Children's
School. Collaboration is a theme that emerged across many aspects
of our program.
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| During the
preschool and kindergarten years, it is especially important that
children develop the foundational skills for collaboration. Many
of these are included in our "Interaction & Cooperation"
domain (promoting children's social skills for diverse adult and
peer relations, including listening, turn-taking, following directions,
rules and routines, group participation, care for shared materials,
and conflict resolution). Opportunities for collaborative activities
abound in the block area, at the computer center, in the dramatic
play area, et cetera. The teachers also design specific activities
to promote collaboration. In recent weeks, the 3's have been making
a life-sized polar bear with a collage of white materials, the 4's
wrote a class book about their winter break activities, and the
kindergartners made a map of the world. In some cases, like a wrapping
paper tube sculpture that the kindergartners are making, each individual
makes a component and the components are linked in some way to form
the whole. In other cases, like the house that the 3's made in the
fall, the individual parts are not distinguishable in the whole.
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| At the Children's
School, children also have opportunities to witness adult collaboration
every day. They see parents and teachers exchanging ideas, information,
and materials to help each child have positive school experiences.
The teaching teams and administrative team model collaboration in
the ways that they share materials, flexibly shift roles as needed,
find creative ways to handle unexpected situations, et cetera. Children
also see teachers working with therapists, researchers, and undergraduate
students on a range of tasks.
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| This year,
both the adults and children at the Children's School are experiencing
collaboration in a new way. In preparation for our Community units
in the fall, we began working with educators at the Cyert Center
to consider ways that our classes could jointly explore the CMU
community and then jointly prepare a public exhibition about our
work. The project has evolved to the point that the children from
each center have exchanged pictures and letters, are visiting each
other's classrooms, and are gradually getting to know each other
in preparation for creating joint projects. For example, the afternoon
3's had lunch at the Cyert Center, and then the morning 3's hosted
the Cyert Center friends for a visit that involved sharing snack,
painting a collaborative mural, hearing a story, and touring the
school. The morning extended day friends made a worm ranch to share
with the Cyert Center 4 year olds. The kindergarten friends are
planning a game time together, and our kindergartners are making
a crystal alphabet as a gift for the Cyert Center kindergarten class.
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| During the
process of this cross-campus collaboration, we have discovered many
ways that our programs can support each other. The Cyert Center
is already accredited, so they have been a valuable resource when
we have questions about the particulars of the process. At the same
time, their playground has been demolished as part of the new dorm
construction, so they are utilizing our playground for their older
children. We look forward to the ways that this reciprocity will
develop into broader collaboration in the future.
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| As educators in the challenging field of early childhood education, we find that successful impact depends on effective collaboration. This collaboration extends beyond the walls of our school to the many professional associations from which our educators benefit and to which they contribute their expertise. In addition to our continuing work with the National Association of Laboratory Schools (NALS) and the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC), we are now a partner in the Alcoa Collaborative for Early Childhood Professional Development. The partners are seeking ways to support each other and create synergies between their training initiatives that will enhance the quality of reflective training opportunities for early childhood educators. By working together, we hope to develop higher quality training across a broader range of topics at a wider variety of educational levels than any of us could accomplish alone. |
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As parents, you have many opportunities to model collaboration and help your children strengthen their attitudes about and skills for collaboration. Involving young children in age appropriate household tasks, such as laundry, cooking, yard work, decorating, et cetera), and emphasizing the benefits of teamwork provides a concrete context for experiencing collaboration. Highlighting examples of collaboration among neighbors, community helpers, and other professionals that your family encounters can also emphasize the principles and values associated with working together to accomplish a goal. As always, we welcome you to collaborate with us in directly observable ways by joining us in the classroom to read a story, play a game, or share a talent. Feel free to contact your child's teacher to arrange a time and plan an activity. |
|
The
Children's School, MMC 17, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 |