PRIJ – Teaching and Curriculum in P/JClasses 1 and 2

Objectives for today• Firstly, to read through and understand the course outline, it is

jam-packed!• Once we can turn to today’s focus, we want to better

understand the role of classroom environment and inclusive culture (the focus of our readings in Creating a Dynamic Classroom as well as the excerpt from our course kit)

• To allow time for reflection/discussion, you need time to make sense of the learning

Course Outline

• Topics and Expectations• Required Texts• Policies• Course Assignments• Outline and upcoming events• Recommended Reading

Assignments

• Standards of Practice, in-class participation, practicum binder, children’s literature assignment• Observation Response• Lesson Plan• Instructional Sharing and Facilitated Group

Discussion• Unit Plan

Any unanswered questions…• Let’s take a few minutes to get to know each other better, find

someone you haven’t chatted with yet and find out a little bit more about each other

Classroom Design and Organization• It has a profound effect on the social, emotional,

physical and intellectual development of the children you teach• It is much more than the location of the tables

and chairs in your room, it communicates your understanding of teaching and your beliefs about how youngsters learn• It is not to be confused with the decorating of

classrooms that preoccupies many teachers, this is not connected to borders, posters or fadeless paper

CBS The Third Teacher • The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat identifies key issues

and instructional strategies and create monographs to support understanding and implementation within schools

• Topics include parent engagement, using writing to learn, student inquiry, mathematical understanding in the primary years, etc

• Last year, The Third Teacher was published. This monograph examines the role of classroom environment within a teaching and learning framework

We have thought about…• How this works in the classroom but what about in schools in

general?• Architect Trung Le from OWPP//Cannon Design in Chicago

talks about North Shore Country Day School, a 21st century high school outside of Chicago

• Let’s make some connections to what Trung Le says and our own observations about the way in which schools and classrooms are generally designed, what do you notice

The reality…• Creating the Dynamic Classroom outlines how to do go about

setting up a new classroom with clear and succinct instructions

• However, there are realities to set up that can prove to be challenging….

• A friend/colleague blogged about this the other day…

Motivating Students

• What are the big ideas of the excerpt?• What resonated with you whilst reading the piece?• What values and beliefs are embedded within this

approach?• What changes in practice did the educators adopt and

what were the outcomes?• How does the project approach meet the diverse needs

of the learners in the class?• How did this affect parent engagement?