Teachers from our Canossian Kindergartens and from three parish kindergartens, namely St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Cross and St. Mary of the Angels had the opportunity to become students for a day when they came together to attend a seminar on early childhood education facilitated by experienced early childhood lecturers, Dr. Pamela Sharpe and Dr. Linda Gan from the National Institute of Education.
Dr. Sharpe and Dr. Gan are two of the experts involved in the formation of the new standard curriculum that will be used by all pre-schoolers from year 2003 onwards. The new programme includes activities that will develop language and literacy skills, basic number concepts, simple science concepts, social skills, creative and problem solving skills, appreciation of music and movement and outdoor play as expressed in the Ministry of Education (MOE) guidelines.
The talk explored the rationale behind the implementation of the new pre-school curriculum and why the new curriculum would focus less on reading and writing (as was the main emphasis over the past years) and more on the holistic development of the child. As expressed in the MOE guidelines on the eight desired outcomes of pre-school education, at the end of pre-school education, children would:
 |
Know what is right and what is wrong |
|
|
Be willing to share and take turns with others |
|
|
Be able to relate to others |
|
|
Be curious and be able to explore |
|
|
Be able to listen and speak with understanding |
|
|
Be comfortable and happy with themselves |
|
|
Have developed physical co-ordination and healthy habits |
|
|
Love their family, friends, teachers and kindergarten |
Early childhood educators therefore face a challenging task ahead as there is a constant need to be creative in coming up with child-centered programmes and activities. The talk was therefore much appreciated by the teachers as it provided some valuable insights into the approach of the new curriculum. One interesting aspect picked up from this talk is the importance of learning through play. Young children prefer to do things they enjoy and therefore through play, they would be able to move from perception (things they like) to abstraction (thinking skills) a lot faster. Other aspects include the use of rhymes, dramatic play and even puppets in the teaching of language.
Light refreshments were served during tea break and this allowed the pre-school teachers from the various kindergartens to interact with and get to know one another.
The teachers were excited with their newly learnt teaching methods and were also more mentally prepared to take on the challenges of the new curriculum. The talk therefore served a dual purpose in providing valuable teaching insights as well as to prepare teachers for the challenges to come. We look forward to many more such talks.
By Belinda Antony