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Issue 10 APR-JuN 2013

to be continued...

A publication of the Child Development Network, Early Childhood Development Agency

Taking the CPD a Step Forward Nurturing Early Learners Child at Street 11 Nurturing a Sense of Wonder in Pre-School Children Book Review and Upcoming Event

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“How does mind mapping help children learn problem solving?”

“How to use Home-Link Activity to enhance children’s learning and development in partnership with parents?”

“Do picture books with colourful illustrations have an impact on the art work created by children?”

“Which literacy programme will make a difference to children’s literacy development and reading proficiency?”

These were the voices of our panel who embraced the challenge of researching issues that matter to them in their preschool classrooms and the children and families they work with.

Dr Kathleen Reed, Wheelock College, Boston (usA)

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Demystifying Action Research

An Afternoon of Action Research and

Networking

Reflections

Ms Irene Lim educator,

Creative O Preschoolers’ Bay

“From being stressed to feeling extremely excited, there were mixed feelings in the process of conducting the research. On reflection, the process opened my eyes and mind to so many things which shaped my practice and interactions with young children and families. To me, it was a reflective process that connected

book knowledge to what would work for my class. Having said that, there were moments of uncertainty and I found that talking to the mentor and fellow colleagues helped to clear my mind and put me back on track. I was really thankful to have the support of a wonderful mentor who was responsive and reassuring, and colleagues who were willing to share their thoughts and observations of the children and their artworks!”

Preschool Arts ProgrAmme

“What is missing from the knoWledge base for teaching... are the voices of the teachers themselves”.

cochran-smith & lytle (1992)

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since the launch of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework in 2012, there have

been meaningful discussions amongst operators, supervisors, principals and educators on how to make the best use of the document as a planning tool for their professional development.

As a first step, the early Childhood Development Agency (eCDA) has organised a series of workshops spanning from May to early July 2013 targeted at training over 1,500 child care centre supervisors and kindergarten principals.

Key Learning takeaways…

At the end of the training workshops, supervisors and principals would:

• Have a good understanding of the principles of the CPD framework and

quality, creating a stable workforce and in pursuing professional development for positive child outcomes. The experiences of other countries such as Australia and the usA were also the focus of discussions.

Some trainers had this to say…

“the cPD framework has provided a good overview of areas for staff development. staff can now identify areas for improvement for their professional development.” - Mrs Raghbir Singh Nee Saranjit Kaur- Adventlinks SAUC

“the tot workshop has given us a good understanding of how to use the cPD framework and how to help principals assess staff needs. the tools and resources are useful and will guide principals in seeking assistance when necessary. Principals may have a difficult time finding good mentors and may need to find time in their tight schedules to properly use this framework. It will be worthwhile motivating them towards improving their staff performance and upgrading their skills.” - Dr Arulampalam Santha Devi- Bentley

be able to translate the framework’s elements into practice;

• Be equipped with the necessary strategies and skills to put together professional development plans for their staff; and

• use the knowledge acquired to plan for effective appraisal sessions for their staff.

training of trainers

Key to enhancing the quality of the CPD training is equipping trainers in not only the contents of the framework, the delivery of the training but also to be familiar with the issues and challenges that early childhood personnel face as they embark on their professional development journey.

Dr Jane Ching-Kwan, early Childhood Consultant for the CPD framework, led 16 Master Trainers through a 2-day Training-of-Trainers (TOT) workshop in March 2013. According to Dr Jane, it is important to build the capabilities and competences of the Master Trainers to handle issues related to professional development and the practical application of the framework.

The sharing and exchange in the course of the training were rich and insightful as the trainers discussed the impact of the framework on teacher development and

Achieving Excellence through Continuing

Professional Development

Taking the cPD

a SteP

Forward

Dr Jane Ching-Kwan and our team of Master trainers, joining in the session are officers from eCDA

Ms Judy Ng Principle,

Kinderland Kindergarten (CCK)

“This action research has indeed enlightened me with respect to working with parents to support their children’s learning. It has convinced me that parents are very keen to work closely with pre-schools to enhance their children's learning. The suggestions and the responses from the parents are indicative of their enthusiasm and support for the programme. With their suggestions, I will be implementing measures to further improve the Home-

home-lInk ProgrAmme

"My action research validated my belief that small-group literacy programme can help weak literacy learners to build a strong literacy foundation during their preschool years. I felt empowered as I gathered data and introduced new teaching strategies to improve the literacy programme. The journey was not "a walk in the park" but it was meaningful and fulfilling. I grew professionally in the process and feel ready to contribute more."

“Action research can indeed be a powerful professional development tool. Through the process of conducting this research, I have learned not only about the research topic, but about myself as well as the children. I gained insight to their development and felt empowered to be able to make a difference and impact to everyone involved in the learning journey. Mind mapping has opened a new avenue of teaching in my classroom, and in the classrooms of other teachers who have embraced it. It was daunting initially, especially when the children could not seem to grasp the concept in the beginning. I'm thankful for the support given by my fellow colleagues and my principal, who encouraged perseverance and journeyed with me to the end.”

sharing their challenges and rewards in conducting action research to over 130 child care and kindergarten administrators, principals and supervisors, educators as well as curriculum specialists and trainers, the key message that resonated throughout the workshop was for educators to use action research as a tool to bring about change in our early childhood classrooms and for professional development.

mInD mAPPIng In A Preschool clAssroom

lIterAcy ProgrAmme

Mrs Poon Chew Ping Consultant,

NTuC enterprise (HQ of NTuC First Campus)

Ms Jamie Bong educator,

Pre-school By-The-Park (shelford)

Link programme in our centre. I hope that through this programme, it will encourage more parents to participate.”

Action Research demystified

Dr Kathleen Reed, a visiting faculty from Wheelock College, facilitated the workshop and dispelled some of the myths about action research. As she walked through the steps to conducting action research, Dr Reed punctuated her talk with case studies and practical examples. Here are some questions to think about when embarking on action research:

• What are you wondering about?• What would you like to test or

try out?• What would you like to change

or evaluate?• What are you passionate about?• What researchers have done on

your topic?• What will be your research

question(s)?• Who will be your participants? • What will you do to answer your

research questions? • How will you analyse and

make sense of the data or evidence collected?

• What are your findings and conclusions?

• What are the implications of your topic of interest?

Our panel sharing on their journeys in action research

Presentation by Dr reed - http:/ /app.cdn.gov.sg/ReseARCH/Pro fess iona lDeve lopment inAct ion Research/ActionResearchWorkshopwith DrKathleenReed.aspx

research mentoring scheme - https://app.cdn.gov.sg/ReseARCH/ProfessionalDevelopment inAppl ied Research.aspx

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‘I want to paint how my heart feels’, quipped a nearly six-year-old.

‘We want to make a long snake, from here to there. It’s the year of the snake!’

‘We are designing a new school with clay’, another small group of five- and six- year-olds chimed confidently.

At Child at street 11, these expressive encounters are a natural extension of being with young children 12 hours a day.

the big picture and curriculum choices

The curriculum approach at Child at street 11 builds on children’s interests to engage learning about the world around them. It presents children

A child proudly showing her clay creation

this will create a better home/school partnership to involve families and the community in children’s learning journey. this is a favourable change.” – Ms Narayana Samy Pushpavalli,Principal of Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Kindergarten

”the revised kindergarten curriculum Framework together with the early years Development Framework are big leaps for singapore. I believe it shows the government’s commitment for high quality preschool education with the children’s interests as the central aim. I am happy to see that both these documents look at early childhood curriculum with the chIlD as the focus. It is good to see that we are headed in the right direction.” – Ms Liane Shaw, Shaws Pre-school Group

What can the early childhood sector look forward to? The early Childhood Development Agency (eCDA) will be working closely with the Pre-school education Branch, MOe to roll out a series of training workshops on understanding the principles and putting them into practice. The training is slated to begin from August 2013. Look out for further details closer to date.

• Learning goals that establish what children should know and be able to do at the end of their kindergarten education.

educators will find the iTeACH principles a useful and practical guide as they plan and facilitate learning experiences to support children’s learning through purposeful play and quality interactions. The learning goals will also help them plan for the holistic development of children in the following areas:

• Aesthetics and Creative expression• Discovery of the World• Language and Literacy• Motor skills Development• Numeracy• social and emotional Development

We interviewed 2 participants and this is what they have to say:

“the shift from “content learning” to the “process of learning” comes out strongly in the refreshed curriculum framework. the changes are in keeping with international approaches and a more comprehensive understanding of how children learn. the consideration of language, culture and values of the home and the larger community are emphasized.

with exciting learning opportunities to discover, explore and direct their own learning. To implement this emergent curriculum, adults need to participate creatively and flexibly to observe, collaborate and document learning for the purpose of informing pedagogical practice.

this approach offers:

1. A tool for evaluating the quality of children’s learning

2. Deeper engagement through shaping, facilitating and extending learning possibilities

3. Building a collaborative community to understand how children learn

4. Making visible children’s thinking and learning and sharing them with families, the community, and the world at large.

Child at street 11 began this creative pedagogical journey more than a decade ago by observing and listening to children. No other source is more authentic than children’s own voices in shaping the curriculum.

teachers use this framework to record and document:

1. Observations of children’s conversations, ideas and curiosity

2. Children’s interactions 3. Children’s understanding of

expectations, routines and class culture

4. Creative explorations with open-ended materials

5. Design the focus for outdoor exploration

6. Connect learning experiences to real world experiences

7. Children’s questions based on making meaning of the world, relationships

children in Street 11 are encouraged to:

1. Communicate, connect, negotiate, and make choices

2. Predict and problem solve as they work in small groups

3. employ various strategies to self regulate, self evaluate, set self-targets and practice conflict resolution. Collaboration is the guiding mantra for teamwork amongst children and with adults.

Collaboration amongst colleagues is critical to the process of co-constructing a curriculum which responds to children’s inherent curiosity and intuitive ways to make deeper connections.

Children are part of decision-making process in the true sense of creating a learning experience. It involves play, curiosity, imagination and creativity, which are characteristic of children’s intuitive minds. Children are part of the designing and thinking of open-ended explorations as they have access to diverse materials.

Principals, supervisors and educators now have the revised kindergarten curriculum

framework (2012) developed by the Ministry of education (MOe) to guide them in designing and implementing a quality curriculum for children. Nearly 1,200 kindergarten principals and child care centre supervisors who attended the briefing session early this year were given an overview of the revised framework. Drawing on current research in early childhood education, internationally recognised early childhood principles, professional advice from early childhood educators and experts, as well as views of primary school educators and other stakeholders, the framework outlines the following:

• Beliefs on how children learn and develop;

• Teaching and learning principles (iTeach); and

nurturing Early

LeArnerS A Curriculum

Framework For Kindergartens

In Singapore (Revised 2012)

Teachers and children collaborating and co-constructing learning

Child at Street 11

Children gathering around to see how watermelon juice is made

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PLAce

of PoSSibiLitieS

(bottom left) Display panels introducing the framework

(bottom right) sector sharing their views on the framework

(top) The panel addressing queries from the sector

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Professor Masayo Ave, a renowned design educator from Japan was recently here in

singapore to conduct a Train-the-trainer design workshop, ‘Cultivate the sense of wonder’. Her focus was on cultivating the sensorial abilities of children and their sense of wonder. Quoting Rachel Carson, author of the book, “The sense of Wonder”, Professor Ave stressed the importance of educators in supporting children’s meaning-making journey through nature.

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder… She needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with her the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” – Rachel Carson

Drawing from her designer-architect background, Professor Ave used principles of design to impart tips and techniques for nurturing wonderment and stimulating children’s imagination.

Parks as a catalyst for imagination

According to Professor Ave, our tropical parks are excellent places for triggering children’s imagination and creativity. she introduced ‘design gymnastics’ as an activity of finding symbols in nature. This activity allows educators and children to find all kinds of alphabets, numbers and symbols in nature and can be extended to using different plant parts to make faces or facial expressions. Children can express emotions using plant parts, thus an art activity can evolve into people and different characters and form a narrative

or storytelling. These artefacts are then placed on a circular “wonder plate” for children to display and a starting point to engage in a discussion.

Setting the Stage for Wonder

To begin, Professor Ave tells the story of “Cameleon” by Leo Lionni. After that, children set off to find leaves for their chameleon. she recommends giving children quality colouring materials and big drawing paper. she gives each child a cut-out of the chameleon to place on top of the leaf they have drawn. From this, children can create a magic garden, making stories with their artworks.

According to Professor Ave, drawing is a form of observation and documentation that encourages children to examine the characteristics of the leaf that they are drawing, and creates opportunities for scientific discovery, facilitating interdisciplinary learning.

Children need time to discover at their own pace. Implementing the activities in phases, focusing on one aspect, such as collecting plant parts, observational drawing, colouring and so on allow children time to concentrate on the task. Through this workshop, one can see how educators can cultivate their sense

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Nurturing A SenSe of

Wonder in Pre-SchooL

chiLDren

Leaves and flowers collected by children displayed on a wonder plate with magnifying glasses

of wonder, in collaboration with young children, to see the world through a shared lens of inquiry, discovery and exploration.

interview with Professor Ave

Please share with us your philosophy and beliefs in art education for young children.As an educator, what I create is creative educational programs, which contain the basics of all studies in harmony, to satisfy the children’s strong curiosity, the pleasure to understand and the wish to communicate.

The sensitivity, our pose, tone, the importance of being in-tune with our senses, usage of tools of high quality, creating the learning environment as well as presentation of children’s work in a professional manner... each single detail is a matter of educational quality.

can you share more about how we can set up meaningful art spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and stimulating for young children?The programs I developed comprise several stages - a stage of introduction, a personal exploration with deep concentration, interaction and collaboration. For each stage, I modify

“attention to finer details has a considerable poWer to revive an ordinary space as the most stimulating space for children.”

Prof. Masayo Ave

Professor Ave going around taking photographs of children’s works and answering questions

(bottom) Children feeling their artworks under the translucent paper

(top) Of chameleons, flowers and leaves drawn, coloured and cut out by children

Prof. Masayo Avearchitect and designerborn in Tokyo, 1962

Prof. Masayo Ave, Japanese architect and designer who has been settled in europe since more than two decades, is an embodiment of cultural and disciplinary synthesis. One of Japan’s most intriguing exports, Masayo Ave has practiced in Japan and europe, and she brings expertise in variety of design fields ranging from everyday objects to architecture.

For more information on her projects and exhibitions, please visit http://www.macreation.org/

the set up of the working space and sensitively consider the ideal interaction distance between the children and I as well as the ideal distance between children. Attention to finer details has a considerable power to revive an ordinary space as the most stimulating space for children.

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The authors of The elements of Mentoring have reviewed the literature on this topic and distilled the basic elements of mentoring into a brief 146 page text. While the text may not reveal groundbreaking new research, this book

can assist implementation by helping the mentor and the protégé to be literally on the same page. The simple language and clear structure makes effective mentoring relationship within reach, even in the busy environment of early childhood.

The six sections in the book spell out the elements of mentoring: skills possessed by excellent mentors, styles and personality traits of excellent mentors, beginning the mentor-protégé relationship, issues of integrity, addressing problems, and ending the relationship.

The book is full of common sense reminders that mentoring need not be intimidating or overly complex. For example, the authors state, “When a mentor is friendly, open, approachable and consistently encouraging, protégés are more at ease with risk-taking, more assured that they can succeed, and more comfortable asking for advice and assistance” (p. 16). With the many recent changes in the early childhood landscape in singapore, this is a reminder that risk taking is not only at the macro level, but also at the ground level of teachers who explore innovative ideas through collaborative interactions.

This is not a book to be read in one sitting. It is most effective when it is digested slowly, one element at a time, allowing time to percolate and infuse into daily teaching and mentoring practices.

Reviewed by Dr Paul Thayer, Associate Professor of education and Child LifeChair, Department of Child Life and Family studies, Wheelock College.

Editorial tEamDr Chan Lin HoMs Angela AnthonyMs Maria MahatMs Sandra WuMs Daphne Lim

ContaCt UsWe would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback or wish to contribute to this newsletter, please email us at CDN@ecda.gov.sg

issue 10 Apr - Jun 2013

Book Review

The eLementS

of mentoring

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Johnson, W. Brad & Ridley, Charles (2004).

The elements of mentoring. NY: Palgrave McMillan.

What’s happening!

CPDF Workshop29 May to 5 Jul 2013

The CPD Framework titled, “Achieving Excellence through Continuing Professional Development” was launched at Child Care seminar 2012. The next phase of the implementation of the framework is the training of child care principals and supervisors during a 1-day workshop. This CPDF workshop will be held from 29 May to 5 July 2013. We look forward to seeing you there!