The power of improvisational teaching

In this study we examine how improvisation can facilitate understanding how teachers respond to children\u27s multiple resources, interests, experiences, and skills in early childhood programs. Improvisation is conceptualized as a responsive, partnered activity through which teachers and children generate meaning and knowledge together. In our analysis we show improvisation is taken up differently in two classrooms and how it variably provides opportunities for learning. Two cases from a professional development program designed to support culturally and developmentally appropriate early mathematics are used to demonstrate the possibilities improvisation creates in era of increasing standardization of curriculum

Controle Local na era de responsabilidades: Um caso de estudo de pré-escola infantil (preK) em Wisconsin

The opposing principles of local control and increased standardization are a prominent tension in the United States’ education system. Since at least the early 1990s, this tension has taken shape around the accountability movement, defined by educational reforms that hold schools, teachers, and students accountable for performance on new standards, assessments, and curricula. While many scholars have examined the manifestations of the current accountability movement, few have looked at this phenomenon within the growing public preK movement. Drawing from interviews with state policymakers and district-level actors, this paper describes how the seemingly contradictory principles of local control and increased state and national standards (what we refer to simply as standardization) are shaping the policy and practice of Wisconsin’s preK system, known as 4K. We argue that rational models of policy making fail to explain the coexistence and blending of the strands of local control and standardization we found in our data, and suggest that Deborah Stone’s (2001) policy paradox provides a better theoretical framework for our findings.Los principios opuestos al control local y el aumentado de exámenes estandarizados han causado bastante tensión en el sistema de educación en los Estados Unidos. Desde el inicio del 1990, esta tensión ha tomado forma alrededor del movimiento de responsabilidad, que se distingue por las reformas educativas que tratan de asumir la responsabilidad a las escuelas, los profesores y estudiantes sobre las nuevas normas, evaluaciones y planes de estudio. Mientras muchos han examinado las manifestaciones del movimiento de la responsabilidad actual, pocos han observado este fenómeno que va creciendo dentro del movimiento preescolar (preK). Usando entrevistas con diseñadores de políticas de estado y autores a nivel del distrito, en este artículo se describe cómo aparentemente se contradicen los principios de control local y se aumentan las pólices estándares, nacionales y estatales (las que nos referimos simplemente como la estandarización) son mol-da la política y la práctica del sistema de pre-escolar (preK) de Wisconsin, conocido como "4K". Nuestro argumento es que los modelos racionales de la formulación de políticas fallan al explicar la convivencia y la mezcla de aspectos de control local y la paradoja política que encontramos en nuestros datos, sugieren que la política de Deborah Stone (2011) proporciona una mejor estructura teórico para nuestras recomendaciones.Os princípios opostos de controle local e o aumento na padronização são uma tensão proeminente no sistema de ensino dos Estados Unidos. Pelo menos desde o início dos anos 1990, essa tensão tem tomado forma em torno do movimento de responsabilidade, definido por reformas educacionais que sustentam escolas, professores, e estudantes responsáveis pelo desempenho de novos padrões, avaliações e currículos. Enquanto muitos estudiosos têm examinado as manifestações do atual movimento de responsabilização, poucos têm olhado para esse fenômeno dentro do crescimento público do movimento pré-escolar infantil (preK). Tomando de entrevistas com formuladores de políticas estatais e autores de nível distrital, este artigo descreve como princípios aparentemente contraditórios de controle local e o aumento de padrões nacionais e estatais (o que nos referimos simplesmente como padronização) estão moldando a política e a prática do sistema de pré-escola infantil (preK) de Wisconsin, conhecido como “4K”. Defendemos que os modelos racionais de formulação de políticas falham em explicar a coexistência e mistura dos fios de controle local e padronização que encontramos em nossos dados, e sugerem que o paradoxo da política de Deborah Stone (2011) proporciona uma melhor estrutura teórica para as nossas descobertas

More than teacher directed or child initiated: Preschool curriculum type, parent involvement, and children's outcomes in the child-parent centers.

This study investigated the contributions of curriculum approach and parent involvement to the short- and long-term effects of preschool participation in the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Data came from the complete cohort of 989 low-income children (93% African American) in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, who attended preschool in the 20 Child-Parent Centers in 1983-1985 and kindergarten in 1985-1986. We found that implementation of an instructional approach rated high by Head Teachers in teacher-directed and child-initiated activities was most consistently associated with children’s outcomes, including school readiness at kindergarten entry, reading achievement in third and eighth grades, and avoidance of grade retention. Parent involvement in school activities, as rated by teachers and by parents, was independently associated with child outcomes from school readiness at kindergarten entry to eighth grade reading achievement and grade retention above and beyond the influence of curriculum approach. Findings indicate that instructional approaches that blend a teacher-directed focus with child-initiated activities and parental school involvement are origins of the long-term effects of participation in the Child-Parent Centers

Imagining a Future in PreK: How Professional Identity Shapes Notions of Early Mathematics

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110548/1/aeq12086.pd

Imagining a Future in PreK: How Professional Identity Shapes Notions of Early Mathematics

This article describes how early childhood teachers engaged in a public preK professional development program. We examine how developing teacher identities mediated engagement with the discourses of developmentally appropriate practice, early mathematics, and funds of knowledge and how they connected present practice to an imagined future. We found that helping them to connect practice experience and new mathematical content knowledge through play allowed them to envision a meaningful place for math with young children

Researcher perspectives on class size reduction.

This article applies to class size research Grant and Graue’s (1999) position that reviews of research represent conversations in the academic community. By extending our understanding of the class size reduction conversation beyond published literature to the perspectives of researchers who have studied the topic, we create a review that includes political histories of, contextual details about, and assumptions undergirding the conversation. We find divergent (and sometimes competing) perspectives on identifying beneficiaries of class size reduction (or CSR) and the correct context in which to view CSR research. By contrasting the logic and assumptions embedded in pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), class size (CS), and class size reduction studies, we conclude that sometimes research conflates these constructs and their associated theories of action, and such distortion poorly serves the needs of policymakers and stakeholders in education. We recommend that future inquiry focus on mechanisms of change, particularly instruction—both in terms of instructional strategies that capitalize on the resource of a smaller group and the types of support needed for teacher and administrator professional development