An audio reflection of my experience with the Teacher Research Project and Planning using the 4 Intentions of The Complementary Curriculum Approach.
Below is a transcript of the audio recording:
Hello, my name is Angela Lott.
Throughout this semester, I’ve been conducting a Teacher Research Project on preschool children, three and four years of age.
“Teacher research is intentional, systematic inquiry by teachers with the goals of gaining insights into teaching and learning, becoming more reflective practitioners, effecting changes in the classroom or school, and improving the lives of children…. Teacher research stems from teachers’ own questions… Teacher research is systematic in that teachers follow specific procedures and carefully document each step of the process.” (Henderson, 2012, p.1)
Over the past several weeks I have been following the teacher research cycle trying to answer the question, “What happens when we plan experiences with the 4 Intentions from the Complementary Curriculum Approach in mind?”
The four intentions as explained in The Complementary Curriculum Approach are; compelling materials, explicit presentation, responsive scaffolding, and following children’s interest. Compelling materials are intentionally chosen and presented thoughtfully to inspire children’s natural wonder and exploration. Explicit Presentation is used with the intention to “develops practices to teach children what you want them to know and be able to do successfully on their own.” (Kuh, 2022, p. 140-1). Responsive scaffolding begins with observation then “asks teachers to step in close to offer coaching, and then to step back so a child can experience the pleasure of concentration and the gratification of “I did it myself!” (Kuh, 2022, p. 168) Lastly, the fourth intention, following children’s interest, also starts with observation. Learning what common themes children are interested in which can be looked at as “Big Ideas” that inspire curriculums and engagement.
Earlier this semester, planned an experience for my students that supported their fine motor development and used the intention, compelling materials to do so. I found that the compelling materials provided an open-ended experience with endless possibilities and many children to engaged with, and many of them chose to, until it was time to clean up. For example, using a button and zip tie, E proudly held up her creation smiling big, she said, “I made a bracelet!”. I replied, “I see your bracelet, how did you know how to make that?” She explained, “I put this one in first and then I tipped it in and made it like this so I could make a bracelet, and then I did make a bracelet.” Later in the semester, I planned a STEM experience called ‘Mixing Potions’ for my students. I used the intention, responsive scaffolding to support individual children with materials and skills. Using responsive scaffolding meant I observed children in play and when I noticed someone needed extra support, I met them where they were at developmentally to support their learning needs and challenge them just enough so they could perform the skill themselves. An example of how I scaffolded for a student is within this anecdote; T held the baster with two hands and squeezed the bulb hard. He tried to squeeze water into his bottle. The end of his baster knocked over his bottle. He picked up the bottle and tried again and again his bottle knocked over. I said, “I wonder if you hold the bottle with one hand if it’ll stay steady.” T tried to steady the bottle in his left hand and squeeze water from the baster with his right hand. He couldn’t get the tip of the baster in the bottle. I reached across the table and held onto the bottle with him, steadying it. He lined the baster and bottle up and squeezed the water in. He refilled his baster then grabbed his bottle and put the tip of the baster in the bottle. I brought my hand back and watched T repeat these steps on his own. One of my favorite experiences I planned using the four intentions was “Coffee Café”. I planned this experience using the intention following children’s interest around pretending to make coffee and bake, with the goal in mind that I wanted to support children’s furthered development with their literacy and writing skills. Choosing this dramatic play theme that followed their interest, drew eager children into this area of the classroom and I found many of them willingly engaged in literacy and writing experiences. For example, in this anecdote, H read aloud her list. Then she threw her hand up in the air and growled, “We don’t even have that! Your kids’ gonna haveta have something else!” The child in that example, had used a menu and connecting words with picture and then wrote down a customer’s order on her serving pad.
When we plan experiences with the four intentions from The Complementary Curriculum Approach in mind, we are being so thoughtful about what our intended learning goals are, bettering the learning experience for the children. We’re choosing compelling materials, presenting them in a way that provokes interest and is inviting, which entices true exploration. Keeping the four intentions in mind means we’re also planning in detail what activities and materials will need to demonstrate with explicit presentation, so children know what to do and observing students and being present to provide responsive scaffolding if they need the extra support. Doing all of this while making sure that I’m following the children’s interest, so they want to engaged with the experiences we have planned and they see what’s relevant to them in their classroom.
By completing the Teacher Research Project, I have learned how to find the settled classroom.
I realized that using the four intentions from The Complementary Curriculum Approach works because of the intentionality behind the planning decisions. More children are busy exploring independently and engaged in activities around the classroom. Child to child conflicts are lower and since the classroom environment is working with me, not against me, I have more time to give individual support to children who need it.
Reference List
Henderson, Barbara; Meier, Daniel R.; Perry, Gail. The Nature of Teacher Research. 2012. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/pubs/Nature%20of%20Teacher%20Research.pdf Accessed 16 April 2024.
Kuh Ph.D., Lisa Portor; Ponte Ph.D., Iris Chin . Complementary Curriculum Approach: Transform Your Practice Through Intentional Teaching. 2022. Exchange Press. Kindle Edition.
