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Creating Environments for Learning Third Edition Julie Bullard

Book Cover will be inserted here.

Chapter 1

Understanding the Importance of the Environment

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

The environment we are in affects our mood, ability to form relationships, ability to learn, and even our health.

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

The early childhood group environment is especially critical because:

Young children are in the process of rapid brain development

They spend many hours in the early childhood environment

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Did you know?

Children spend up to 12,000 in infant/toddler and preschool group environments and 4,000 in K-3rd grade classrooms.

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Why is play-based learning important?

Play has been recognized globally as an important learning tool and as an important right for children

An effective environment supports play-based learning

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Play promotes development in all domains

Builds social skills
Allows practice of cultural roles
Alleviates stress
Allows construction of meaning from emotional experiences
Provides health benefits

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Play promotes development in all domains

Is a vehicle for optimal cognitive development
Encourages flexibility in thinking and risk taking
Encourages self-regulation
Enhances language and literacy skills
Allows children to practice skills in an authentic way

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Did you know?

Several studies have found that play-based programs have better long-term outcomes than programs that rely primarily on teacher-direction.

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

A well-designed environment supports developmentally appropriate practices through:

providing rich opportunities for play

providing multiple opportunities for children to construct their knowledge through first-hand experiences

facilitating development across domains

providing materials that meet a wide range of developmental levels

providing materials that allow a child to increase complexity of learning over time

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

An effective environment supports positive behaviors

provides children with many choices
reduces stress by allowing children to learn in developmentally appropriate ways and by providing private spaces where children can escape.
includes a variety of activities that assist children to manage emotions
promotes positive relationships
is intentionally designed to prevent common behavioral issues

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Early childhood approaches and theorists support the importance of the environment

Jean Piaget believed that children learn through active involvement in play within their environment

Lev Vygotsky also stressed that children actively construct their own knowledge, with play as the vehicle for doing so

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Early childhood approaches and theorists support the importance of the environment

Steiner (the Waldorf approach) emphasized the need for an environment that promoted imaginative play

Maria Montessori stressed the need to provide a carefully prepared, orderly environment filled with child-size furnishings and beautiful materials

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Early childhood approaches and theorists support the importance of the environment

Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, referred to the environment as the “third teacher”
Reggio Emilia environments are aesthetic, containing beautiful materials and spaces that are filled with:
affordances (opportunities to learn)
provocations (activities, materials, or questions that provoke thought, problem solving, and creativity)

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Effective environments can support current elementary school initiatives

ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative adopted by 70 national organizations and several international groups
Partnership for 21st Century Skills adopted by 19 states

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

What affordances does this light table provide? Do the mirrors add to the opportunities?

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

The teacher is critical in

establishing and facilitating

learning through the

environment.

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Prerequisites for designing an effective environment include the teacher’s knowledge of:

Child development and developmentally appropriate practice

Individual children’s developmental level and interests

Children’s cultural backgrounds

Curriculum standards and early learning guidelines

The teacher’s and program’s philosophy

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

In designing the environment the teacher must:

develop an effective room arrangement considering health and safety and design outcomes

design each learning center

supply each learning center with an abundance of developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant, interesting, and intellectually stimulating materials

provide an effective schedule and transitions so that learning through the environment can occur

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

The teacher needs to interact with children within the environment to scaffold learning through:

modeling

asking open-ended questions and extending and expanding children’s speech

using rich descriptive language and new vocabulary

presenting additional information and enhancing children’s background knowledge

assisting children to carefully observe and reflect upon their learning

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

The teacher needs to interact with children within the environment to support learning through:

supporting peer interactions

acknowledging learners

helping children engage in sustained play

reminding children of the rules and intervening when needed to provide for safe play

observing and documenting learning

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Teachers also enhance and extend the learning beyond the learning center time through:

introducing centers and materials

providing relevant background information

introducing challenges

helping children to plan and recall experiences

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

Teachers also enhance and extend the learning beyond the learning center time through:

encouraging children to share their creations

assisting children to synthesize and discuss their work

enriching and changing centers as needed

helping families understand the learning center approach

Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age Eight, 3e Bullard

“The first lesson we must learn is that the tiny child’s absorbent mind finds all its nutriment in its surroundings. Here it has to locate itself, and build itself up from what it takes in. Especially at the beginning of life must we, therefore, make the environment as interesting and attractive as we can” (Maria Montessori, 1995, p. 97)