Programme Planning - Part 2

Programme planning should usually begin from observations of children's interests, strengths, needs and behaviours. Last week, I talked about how New Zealand teachers referred to the national curriculum, Te Whaarik in planning for an interest in plants and planting during a change of season from spring to summer. The whole team, in particular the older teachers, felt excited about this planning, as we watched the learning unfolded. Unlike what the team usually did before, this time we simply implemented a couple of activities to prompt and "provoke" further investigation on the topic of interest, meaning the teachers were learning alongside with the children; together we found challenges, set questions and found solutions.

To a certain extent, it's like the emergent curriculum and the project approach, as we used the children's voices and responses to plan for additional learning experiences to throw further light on the topic of interest. We were guided by Te whaariki which specifies that the starting point of learning is the learner and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that the child brings. However, we did more than let children learn through own exploration and reflection.  The teaching strategies employed by us acknowledged some of Te whaariki's guiding principles and strands: Empowerment, Family and Community, Relationships, Belonging, Communication and Exploration. As such, we interwove children interests and teachers' aspirations in programme planning.

As a result, the interests in plants and planting evolved into a complex projects over a term. On the wall, we documented the learning experiences, children's voices and how they led to further investigations. The documentation was frequently updated and meant for parents and children, illustrated with lots of photos. We took advantage of the drop off and pick up times to have meaningful conversation with parents by referring to the wall display. We encouraged children to look at the photos and reflected on their learning, and we listened always and thought about what to do next. It's about empowering children and involving parents.

To acknowledge the critical role of reciprocal and responsive relationships for children with people, places and things in their learning, we brought a florist in to work with us, after we saw some children picked flowers from the garden and put them in yoghurt pots. We organised a working bee with parents coming in to build a vege patch, as a child commented that he grew his own strawberries.  A proud achievement was "publishing" a book with the children about how to plant the seed. We showed the children step by step photos of their planting activity, and then asked them to recall and talk about what had happened. We typed up their words and published them in a photo book via  www.snapfish.co.nz. It costed us $50, not cheap but parents were really impressed. It promoted verbal language and literacy.

Though Te Whariki has been criticised for setting out big visions and principles but not specifying teaching strategies to support the teacher, but I think it provides sufficient guidance for teachers to exercise their professional knowledge in programme planning. Also, New Zealand requires nearly 100% qualified and registered teachers in a centre, so teachers are knowledgeable and professionally confident to bridge the gap between the curriculum document and teaching practice. Note that the Australian curriculum document does indicates teaching strategies for the best practice, such as using intentional teaching and adopting a holistic approach. Probably, they have learnt from the criticism of the New Zealand's curriculum?