Importance Of Emergent Curriculum And Its Implementation In Schools

Concept of Emergent Curriculum

1.You are required to refer to at least   three books or journal articles  on emergent curriculum. Use your reading to help you discuss what Emergent Curriculum is and how it is implemented in schools.

2.The picture below illustrates a four year old girl showing her work. If you are the teacher of this child, what kind of activity would you conduct to enhance her interest? Create a lesson plan based on this child’s interest.

The main objective of this assignment is to discuss the importance of emergent curriculum and how the teachers can use the various tools and implements of emergent curriculum. It also helps to recognize the emergent traits within the students through the tools of negotiation, interaction and many other such devices. This assignment will also deal with the different ways in which the teachers can teach the students in a playful manner. This assignment will mainly talk about the ways in which the emergent curriculum is being implemented in different schools nowadays. It also shows how the teachers are trying to find out several measures to recognize the emergent traits within the students and nurture them through playful activities. The main purpose of this assignment is to show that play lies at the heart of learning and children are to be taught through different playful activities.

The main objective of all the books and articles that have been read is to find out many new and innovative kinds of teaching methods for children. As stated by Balisane, (2015) in his work called Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood Education, the print or any kinds of printed materials must be used in a very colorful and a meaningful way. For the students at their early schooling years, the main learning activities are through the drawing and singing and many other such functions as well. However, it is the duty of the teachers to conduct several such programs where the children will be involved in some behavioural activities or some group discussion kinds of activities. For an instance, activities like performing a drama, or telling few lines on any paintings made by them, reciting poems. So, it is basically talking about the process by which the children become readers. This process, however, has to be supported by the teachers in every way possible.

There are mainly two different strategies by which a student learns. One among them is the where the student learns just be listening to their teachers or any adult members reading out a story to them. They themselves try to comprehend meaning from any kinds of pictures or crafts. The second strategy is one where the students will learn themselves by reading several study materials.

Tools and Methods for Recognizing Emergent Traits

As has been said by Whitebread and Coltman, (2015) in their book called the Teaching and Learning in the Early Years, is that the children have a certain age group of learning. This age group generally begins at the early ages of their schooling life. So, it is at this point of time, that the minds of the children are in the most active state. So, the term emergent teaching basically deals with the new and emerging ways of teaching through which the teachers can actually support the children in learning. This book mainly emphasizes the importance of teachers training as well. The training of the teachers is also very essential for identifying the emergent traits within the students. There have to be some or the other kinds of variations in the teaching methods. The preschool students have to be taught in a very friendly way by explaining them the class topics in a playful manner. 

According to Crowell and Reid-Marr, (2013) in their book Emergent Teaching: A Path of Creativity, Significance, and Transformation, states that emergent curriculum is of utmost importance to address the emerging traits or the changes that take place in the personality and the behavior of the students with age.

Emergent curriculum as the very name suggests mainly talks about the system or a kind of a curriculum that has to be made by the teachers so that they can teach the students in a very organized and a proper educational manner (Duncan et al., 2015). However, this has to be kept in mind that not all the children will be same. There are many differences rather there are many kinds of variations that are present in the kinds of the upbringing of the children. Children who are born and brought up in a very literate environment are usually very active in terms of learning (Roskos, 2017). They usually have a very deep interest in reading. There are also children who are very creative in nature; they usually enjoy the acts like painting or making several kinds of crafts.  Going back to the traditional times, it is found that the teachers had a strong belief in making the students follow their directions blindly. However, there have been several new trends in the recent approaches of teaching. Making a lesson plan and teaching the children are also one of the very common practices in the modern day teaching set up (Oropilla, 2014). However, the most important part that often goes unnoticed is that the same lesson plan always gets repeated every year. This can be quite harmful to the students. This is where the concept of emergent curriculum comes in. It must be the duty of the teachers to make sure that they are able to see and make out the changes that have emerged or come up within the nature of the children. It is a very common feature that there will obviously be several changes in the behaviour and the interest of the students (Hansen, 2017). In the present day scenario, the teachers are trying to use this concept of emergent curriculum. The first step in this is to identify the interest that is emerging within a child (student) or within a group of some students. Once the teacher has been able to identify the particular kind of interest that is present in the child he or she can then plan a lesson as per that particular interest. The major objective of this particular lesson plan will be to guide and support that child or that student in developing the interest that he or she has. For an instance, the teacher must use the tools like observation and interaction with the students in the classroom sessions. It is from the behaviour of the students in the class like how they listen, how they speak, how they interact and also many other such activities, that the teachers get a clear idea about the kind of interest that is present within them. However, there can also be several variations in this childish behaviour as well. A particular child can be very shy, hesitant and nervous while inside the classroom and the entire discussion is only about academics. However, it is this same child who can be very smart, social and also very interactive when allowed to play outside in a sandy place given all the tools and the implements of construction. So, it is clear from the behaviour that the emergent trait in this child is construction or crafts than sitting inside the class and studying. So, the teacher and the students must be interacting with each other openly (Dearing et al., 2015). It is from this very interaction that the concept of the emergent curriculum will arise and will be developed. The main motif of this particular curriculum is to make the students learn or study through play. The basic rule must be to provide the children with a very friendly, free and open, amicable environment. There is no unnecessary adult intervention or strict academic codes of conducts (Reding, 2016).

Importance of Playful Activities

 A good way of implementing this curriculum is by teaching the students the class activities through some outdoor play activities like a sandy patch where the children will be given hose, shovels, buckets, water and other construction equipment as well. So, it is really a very good platform where the children that are interested in construction can work really well. Apart from this, there can also be an open patch or a gaming platform where several motorbikes or several pull cars can be given. The students can also play here by riding these cars. This helps in encouraging the children in different gaming and sports activities. There are also several seasonal activities as well like it is during the summer season that the children can be sorted into groups and can be made to participate in several activities like swimming, floating boast and other objects. The children are also allowed to play in the midst of open nature. They are often allowed to play in the park where they can involve themselves in activities like gardening, climbing and several other such activities. There are also equipments like water, seeds, plants, colors, paints, rice, beans and several other such materials through which the students can really explore themselves. This helps their teachers in identifying the emergent traits within them. This really helps the students to act as per their own choice and their freedom. There is no particular way of performing the activities and neither there are any particular adult models for those activities. In this process, the children themselves are the agents of learning. It is both motivating and very challenging as well (Lai & Cheung, 2015). It is through this process that the children not only learn their lessons or their emergent traits but also learn how to take their own decisions.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that emergent curriculum and the implementation of the same is essential for the proper learning of the students. It gives a huge boost and an interest to the students so that they can develop their skills of decision making. This also helps the teachers to understand their students well and they can thus pave the opportunities for the students to become more creative. This is also a huge motivation for the children. It also helps the students to become social and get rid of their shyness. They also develop the skills of oral language, self-expression, and several other such traits. It helps the students to recognize their own interest and nurture them further with the assistance of the teachers.

Varying Teaching Methods

2.Preschool Lesson Plan                                            Name:

Week of:                                                                     Theme: Handicrafts session

Days	Activity1	Activity2	Activity3	Activity4
Monday	Ask the student to display her work	Make arrangements for an exhibition	Make sure to call all the parents as the audience	Make sure that the student is getting maximum appreciation.
Tuesday	Arrange for frequent art and craft sessions.	Make the student acquainted with new forms of handmade crafts	Arrange special training for the student	Arrange for some special art and craft expert for guiding the student.
Wednesday	Arrange for new and innovative craft classes	Teach the student to make clay handicrafts.	see that the student gets full freedom of working	Every effort of the student must be recognized and appreciated.
Thursday	Arrange for a prize distribution show	Appreciate the efforts given by the student	Ask her to interact with her friends and say something about her experience	Let the student interact with others socially.
Friday	As an extended boost to the student, conduct an outing to art and crafts museum	Make the student introduced to the different forms of painting and crafts	Let the ideas of the student flow freely	Make sure that the self-confidence and the creativity of the student are boosted up to a great deal.

Thus, in order to encourage the work of the student, she must be given more platforms to nurture her skill. As the student has an emerging interest that is painting and handicrafts, she must be given more time to explore her interest in the same. In order to make her know that she is doing great, her efforts are to be recognized. She must be given at least a token of the prize as a sign of appreciation. There must be special classes of painting and crafts arranged for the student so that she gets a lot of motivation to work. She must be given ample opportunities to increase her sense of judgment and her decision-making skills as well.

Suggested Lesson Plan:

Preschool Lesson Plan                                            Name:

Week of:                                                                   Theme: Handicrafts session

Activity	1	2	3	4	5
Monday	Introduce the students to art and craft book	Help students spot the image of objects given in their book.	Help them name the different crafts from their book.	Help them identify the colors	Introduce them to the tools needed for making the crafts
Tuesday	Conduct the session in the Art and crafts room. Make sure to decorate the rooms with many colorful handicrafts.	Keep all the kids ready.	Make them acquainted with the tools needed for the handicrafts.	Explain to them how to apply the safety precautions.	Explain to them how to hold scissors.
Wednesday	Ask student to select colors papers of their choice	Ask students to draw different shapes on the paper.	Teach them to hold scissors properly. Make sure there are seniors or other teachers guiding them.	Ask them to cut those shapes accordingly.	Place their crafts on the display board.
Thursday	Ask the students to say a small story about the craft that they have made.	Call the students with their respective handmade crafts	Make all the students actively participate in this storytelling session.	Gather all the crafts together and put them up for a display.	Ask the parents and other teachers to see the crafts and appreciate the students.
Friday	Ask the students to use the handicrafts as puppets.	Ask all the students to bring the crafts	Make a script and assign a role to the students as per the crafts made by them.	Ask the students to participate in a drama.	Make sure that there is maximum participation. Make sure to include parents in the audience so that the students get maximum encouragement.

Make sure that the students participate in the drama or the puppet show and the parents are also invited as the audiences. There must be the supervision or the guidance if the teachers in conducting the show but at the same time the students must be given full freedom. In other words, the students must be their own agents of learning. There must be no such predefined bars as per which the students will have to make the crafts or set up the drama. The parents are also to be included so that they can see their wards perform and also encourage them at the same time.

One important activity that can be carried out in order to support the students and encourage them further is by taking them on an excursion to some art and crafts gallery, art exhibition or some museums as well. This will be helpful for the students as it will give them refreshment and at the same time will also help in increasing the emerging trait of painting or craft making. This will help the students in getting inspired with many new ideas of painting and crafts making and they will be interested in making more innovative kinds of crafts. This will help them nurture their skill unless a new interest emerges in the students. The students will also like this idea very much as it will be a kind of an outing for them. This will give them enjoyment and will also impart some educational elements as well.

Conclusion and justification

Preschool Lesson Plan

Thus, the emergent curriculum will really be very helpful for the students as it will help them to develop many skills. This skill development will not only help them for nurturing their emergent interests but will also impart several social skills among them as well. This will help the students to develop their sense of responsibility and their decision-making skills as well. As the students are being given this opportunity of making a puppet drama show with their handmade crafts, it will surely increase among them the interests, questions and more queries. As they will conduct a puppet show or a drama with the crafts it will increase their creative skills as well. They will also develop the skills of oral language, creative abilities. It is through this drama that they will also work on their self-expressive skills. They will be totally free from any kind of external interference. Though they will have the supervision there will be no intervention at all. They will also be much more responsive and enthusiastic as well. Thus this concept of the emergent curriculum must be used in the schools more often to encourage the student and keep up their levels of interest

References

Balisane, H. (2015). Investigation of Teachers’ Attitudes towards Computer Use in Primary Education in Kurdistan. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(14), 37-49.

Balisane, H. (2015). Investigation of Teachers’ Attitudes towards Computer Use in Primary Education in Kurdistan. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(14), 37-49.

Crowell, S., & Reid-Marr, D. (2013). Emergent teaching: A path of creativity, significance, and transformation. R&L Education.

Dearing, J. W., Dede, C., Boisvert, D., Carrese, J., Clement, L., Craft, E., … & Phiri, J. (2015). How educational innovators apply diffusion and scale-up concepts. In Scaling Educational Innovations (pp. 81-104). Springer, Singapore.

Duncan, G. J., Jenkins, J. M., Auger, A., Burchinal, M., Domina, T., & Bitler, M. (2015). Boosting school readiness with preschool curricula. Irvine Networks on Interventions in Development.

Hansen, D. T. (2017). The teacher and the world: A study of cosmopolitanism as education. Routledge.

Lai, E., & Cheung, D. (2015). Enacting teacher leadership: The role of teachers in bringing about change. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(5), 673-692.

Oropilla, C. (2014). Children’s Voices in Exploring Their Interests Using Different Media.

Pyle, A., & Alaca, B. (2016). Kindergarten children’s perspectives on play and learning. Early Child Development and Care, 1-13.

Reding, T. E., Dorn, B., Grandgenett, N., Siy, H., Youn, J., Zhu, Q., & Engelmann, C. (2016, October). Identification of the emergent leaders within a CSE professional development program. In Proceedings of the 11th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (pp. 37-44). ACM.

Roskos, K. A. (Ed.). (2017). Play and literacy in early childhood: Research from multiple perspectives. Routledge.

Whitebread, D., & Coltman, P. (Eds.). (2015). Teaching and learning in the early years. Routledge.

Wien, C. A. (2015). Emergent curriculum in the primary classroom: Interpreting the Reggio Emilia approach in schools. Teachers College Press.