Educational Methods Commons^™

Entering The Secret Hideout: Fostering Newness And Space For Art And Play, Shana Cinquemani

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the transformative nature of negotiated spaces between the school and children’s self-initiated drawings.

Introduction: Art & Early Childhood - Personal Narratives And Social Practices, Kristine Sunday, Marissa Mcclure, Christopher Schulte

Occasional Paper Series

In this issue of Bank Street’s Occasional Paper Series, we explore the nature of childhood by offering selections that re/imagine the idea of the child as art maker, inquire about the relationships between children and adults when they are making art, and investigate how physical space influences our approaches to art instruction. We invite readers to join a dialogue that questions long-standing traditions of early childhood art—traditions grounded in a modernist view of children’s art as a romantic expression of inner emotional and/or developmental trajectories. We have also selected essays that create liminal spaces for reflection, dialogue, and critique of …

Preparing Teachers For Place-Based Teaching, Amy Vinlove

Occasional Paper Series

This paper begins by offering two portraits of recent teacher education graduates providing place-based teaching in their classrooms, followed by a description of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions teachers (new or seasoned) must possess to effectively teach in a place-based manner. Next is a short discussion of the importance of experience and application of these tenets. Finally, there are three examples of activities and assignments my colleagues and I have developed for our teacher preparation program. We aim for these experiences to help inspire and prepare our graduates to integrate their local communities and places into their own classrooms, whether …

Nature Preschools: Putting Nature At The Heart Of Early Childhood Education, Ken Finch, Patti Bailie

Occasional Paper Series

Describes nature preschools as places that go beyond the typical preschool teachings within the classroom. Activities at nature preschools may include child-centered outdoor investigations, unstructured play and exploration in rich outdoor settings, large, natural areas to explore, and special programs that might include making maple syrup or apple cider, meeting live animals, and discovering pond life.

Learning Naturally: An Inquiry Study Of Streams In Hawaii, Becca Kesler

Occasional Paper Series

Describes a teacher-guided, place-based inquiry curriculum.

"I anticipated that it would give my students opportunities for exploration, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and collaboration, while developing a relationship with the natural world. This is the story I would like to share. My hope is that it will provide other teachers with the inspiration to consider the rich learning opportunities available in their local environments." -- Author

Discovering Place-Based Education In The Foothills Of The Himalayas, Monimalika Day, Doug Hernandez

Occasional Paper Series

The central feature of this paper is a portrait of a teacher conducting lessons near a pond in a remote village in the foothills of the Himalayas. It describes how the teacher provides opportunities for her young students to explore their natural environment and helps them to connect with their place. It is essential to note that her story represents the efforts of many other preschool teachers working with Prakriti.

Place-Based Education: (Re)Integrating Ecology & Economy, Mark T. Kissling, Angela M. Calabrese Barton

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the relationship between ecology and economy in place-based education.

Curtain Up: Place-Based Teaching & Learning In The New York City Theater District, Peggy Mcnamara, Bryan Andes

Occasional Paper Series

In this article we describe and analyze the process first grade teachers used as they guided their students to investigate a place in their school community called “the Theater District,” an important industry in the neighborhood.

Guggenheim For All: Museum Education For Students On The Spectrum, Chiara Di Lello

Occasional Paper Series

The aim of this paper is to articulate the strengths of Guggenheim For All (GFA) as a place-based learning experience and the ways it can benefit students on the autism spectrum. I review educator practices in light of both Universal Design for Learning principles and best practices for teaching students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and draw on anecdotal data from teachers that support a view of GFA as place-based learning.

Playing In Literary Landscapes: Considering Children's Need For Fantasy Literature In The Place-Based Classroom, Sarah Fischer

Occasional Paper Series

Are the philosophies and pedagogical practices of literature-based classrooms congruent with place-based classrooms? In this paper, the author argues that not only is imaginative literature compatible with place-based philosophies, but it can become a powerful centerpiece of a curriculum aimed at educating for a sense of place and inspiring life-long readers.

Reclaiming The Promise Of Place: An Interview With David Greenwood, Roberta Altman

Occasional Paper Series

David Greenwood (formerly Gruenewald) is a Canada research chair in environmental education at Lakehead University, where he also directs the Centre for Place and Sustainability Studies. He has published widely on critical place-based, environmental, and sustainability education. His current interests are to continue to make connections between the big ideas of place and sustainability and other big ideas and experiences in the arts, mindfulness, embodiment, and being in the world.

Introduction: Claiming The Promise Of Place-Based Education, Roberta Altman, Susan Stires, Susan Weseen

Occasional Paper Series

Each of the papers in Claiming the Promise of Place-based Education offers a much-needed antidote to the forces that disconnect us from the places we teach, learn, and live in. Taken together, they provide an opportunity to reflect on the power of place in education. We invite you to enjoy the fresh air that the authors of this issue of Occasional Papers have brought with them to share with you.

Technology As A Tool For Collaboration, Understanding & Engagement, Kai Johnson

Occasional Paper Series

The author incorporates multimodal online inquiry to deepen the thinking of children in his elementary classroom. When he sees how engaged his students are in their work, he realizes that this is a true picture of constructivist learning.

Front Matter And Editors' Notes, Helen Freidus, Mollie Welsh Kruger, Steven Goss

Occasional Paper Series

Cover page, table of contents, editors' notes.

The Museum Of Small Things: Original Poems And Rationale, Domonique Williams

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study consists of an original children's collection of poems and an accompanying rationale. In addition to the poems, this study includes an examination of child development theories, the benefits of inquiry based teaching and learning, and makes a case for the value of family, museum, and school relationships.

Compassionate Discipline: A Study Of Research And Practice, Julie Wasserman

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Presents a spectrum of disciplinary methods, then, based on research and experience, proceeds to analyze particularly new-aged, child-centered disciplinary methods.

History Through Literature: The American Revolution In New York City 1775-1777, Brittany Lester

Graduate Student Independent Studies

History Through Literature is a homeschooling history curriculum for ages 10-12, or grades five and six, designed specifically with the needs of New York City's homeschooling community in mind. Using the historical novel Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson as a framework, the curriculum covers a variety of themes and topics within the context of the American Revolution in New York City from 1775 to 1777. Following a chronologically linear path through six learning units, the History Through Literature makes connections between true historical events and the fictional story of Anderson's heroine, Isabel, an enslaved girl determined to claim her freedom.

The Social Construction Of Teachers' Practical Knowledge In The Advisement Conference Group: Report Of A Case Study, Gail Hirsch

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

The work described here concerns the phenomenon of teachers' practical knowledge and the dynamic processes involved in its articulation and development within the local context of the teacher education experience as these were examined in a longitudinal case study, Telling Tales Out of School (Hirsch, 1987).

A Theoretical Framework For Advisement, Dorothy Bloomfield

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the theory and practice of advisement, offering a glimpse of the developmental facet of advisement and the relationship involved between advisor and advisee.

Working With Teachers, Maja Apelman

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Discusses advisement work with teachers as part of their professional development within schools.

Advisement: From Bank Street To Binghamton, Margaret Yonemura

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

The author describes her experience of adapting the Bank Street advisement model to a new master's program in early childhood/elementary education at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

The Advisement Process In School Reform, Esther Rosenfeld

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

As the new Teacher Director at Central Park East II elementary school, the author chose to adapt Bank Street's advisement model to the staff development work at her school. She suggests that the process may be appropriately applied more broadly in efforts at school reform.

Developing Collaborative Leaders: Reflections On Leadership Advisement At Bank Street College, Lonnetta Gaines

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the educational leadership advisement process in its role in preparing collaborative leaders.

Storytelling In Advisement, Nina Jaffe

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

As a folklore educator and storyteller, the author considers the role of storytelling as it occurs in advisement, not as performance art but as the primary role of communication in group meetings and individual conferences.

Advisement And Collaboration, Maureen A. Hornung, Ariel Katz, Claire Wurtzel

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes a collaboration between two Bank Street College advisees who had different strengths and levels of experience within the classroom.

Advisement: The Journey For Preservice Students, Maritza B. Macdonald

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the characteristics of advisement in the Preservice Program at Bank Street College of Education within the context of nine field-related issues, which seem to be predominant in the professional development of preservice students.

Talking With Symbols, Elizabeth Helfman

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Discusses a classroom of seven children with cerebral palsy and the effective communication techniques they learned through the language of symbols.

Thinking Together: The Value Of Discussion In The Five Year Old's Classroom, Elizabeth C. Radens, Susan Schwimmer

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Illustrates a kindergarten classroom where the teacher places a high value upon questions - child or adult generated. Discussion is the centerpiece of the program.

Computers: Will Their Magic Survive Schooling?, Barbara Dubitsky

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Looks at computers as a tool in classroom learning.

Case Study Of A Quiet Child: A Graduate Student's View, Marilyn Bisberg

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Follows a student teacher in a therapeutic nursery school who worked with a noncommunicative young girl.