Many parents in Singapore may have heard of the Montessori Method for preschool education, but increasingly, more parents are also enrolling their children in preschools based on the Reggio Emilia approach – another popular and established method of preschool education.
Known to create confident communicators who are not only independent thinkers but also lifelong learners, the Reggio Emilia approach has been around for nearly seven decades. It is uniquely characterized by three important concepts: respect for the child, an emphasis on building relationships, and the power of the learning environment. Visit a Reggio Emilia classroom today, and you will instantly be wowed by vibrant colours, interesting learning corners and throngs of wide-eyed children learning in awe alongside their teachers. So what makes the Reggio Emilia approach so effective and popular among early childhood educators?
1. Flexible style of child-directed learning
In a Reggio Emilia classroom, learning is led by the child with little to no dictation by the teacher of what to learn. Work is done in project form, with teachers only guiding research and offering help when required. There is a strong emphasis on the importance of oneself in the learning process. As such, lessons are entirely child focused, centred on the inquiries of students in the classroom. This stands in stark contrast to other approaches to early childhood education, such as the Montessori Method, which relies on a fixed, structured curriculum and a set of pre-determined and didactic tools to engage students and provide them with a healthy knowledge of topics that are important in the academic context. The flexibility of Reggio Emilia’s curriculum is one of the greatest distinguishing factors from its peers in the field of early childhood education, as children are allowed to have fun in the pursuit of knowledge as they are studying what they have an interest in.
2. Developing empathy and good social skills
The emphasis on building relationships is the second tenet of the Reggio Emilia approach. Extending beyond just the ones with their peers, these relationships apply to their parents, teachers, and community as well. In and beyond the classroom, children are taught to be aware of the needs of everybody around them. This translates into the idea of creating friendships with everyone in order to greater understand their needs. Through constant interaction with others on field trips or by other means, character is built and the child gains sharper communication skills.
3. Tailored learning by age groups
Students are also sorted by age of development, unlike the mixed-age classes as seen in Montessori schools, as Reggio-inspired schools believe that large age gaps between children and their vastly different levels of mental development will be harder to address than the relatively smaller differences in development within children of the same age group. While this offers less opportunity for students of different ages to interact while using the Reggio Emilia approach, this is made up for through visits to public places beyond the school to develop friendships in the community and communal learning sessions with peers, things that are not seen in the Montessori Method.
4. The role of the environment
Lastly, the Reggio Emilia approach also has a keen focus on the importance of the environment in the learning process. With thought placed into every detail of a child’s learning space, the Reggio Emilia-inspired classroom is distinguished from its barer, more visually quiet Montessori counterpart through the use of plenty of colours and welcoming materials. This is due to the different goals the classroom in the two forms of learning. While the Reggio Emilia approach believes that the environment should encourage children to want to learn, the Montessori Method feels that a colourful classroom takes a child’s focus away from his learning materials.
As a product of this belief in the power of the environment on a child’s development, sensory learning components and outdoor lessons are also more common in Reggio-inspired schools. This creates many options for lessons to be taught through experience rather than books, creating a more tangible memory of whatever a child learns in classes through the Reggio Emilia approach.
All in all, these core values at the very heart of the Reggio Emilia approach are responsible for the success of its namesake city in terms of educating young children. Applied in the Singaporean context, it is a powerful alternative method to other forms of early childhood education that keeps its competitive edge due to the flexibility of the curriculum and how student-led learning resembles play, creating a fun and wholesome experience for all.
Mulberry Learning Centre employs a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach in all schools with the goal of creating a healthy and inviting learning environment for all children. Our revolutionary pedagogy seamlessly blends healthy thinking via the Habits of Mind and the Reggio Emilia approach to create lessons tailored to fit your child’s intellectual needs.
"Mwanzo, wazazi wengi nchini Singapore wanaweza kuwa wamesikia juu ya ""Method Montessori"" kwa ajili ya elimu ya kabla ya shule, lakini zaidi na zaidi, wazazi zaidi pia ni kujiandikisha watoto wao katika shule za kabla ya shule kulingana na mbinu ya Reggio Emilia - mbinu nyingine maarufu na imara ya elimu ya kabla ya shule." Kwa kuwa inaundwa na watu wenye kujiamini ambao sio tu ni wasomi wa kujitegemea, lakini pia ni wajifunzaji wa maisha yote, mbinu ya Reggio Emilia imekuwa karibu kwa miongo saba. Ni kipekee sifa na dhana tatu muhimu: heshima kwa mtoto, msisitizo juu ya kujenga mahusiano, na nguvu ya mazingira ya kujifunza. Kutembelea darasa Reggio Emilia leo, na wewe mara moja kuwa wowed na rangi vibrant, kona ya kujifunza ya kuvutia na umati wa watoto wide-eyed kujifunza katika hofu pamoja na walimu wao. Kwa nini Reggio Emilia ni mbinu bora ya kuelimisha watoto? 1. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Katika darasa la Reggio Emilia, kujifunza huongozwa na mtoto na kidogo au hakuna udhibiti na mwalimu wa nini kujifunza. Kazi hufanywa katika fomu ya mradi, na walimu huongoza tu utafiti na kutoa msaada inapohitajika. Kuna msisitizo mkubwa juu ya umuhimu wa mtu mwenyewe katika mchakato wa kujifunza. Kwa hiyo, masomo ni kabisa mtoto ililenga, katikati ya maswali ya wanafunzi katika darasa. Hii inatofautiana kabisa na mbinu nyingine za elimu ya mapema ya watoto, kama vile mbinu ya Montessori, ambayo inategemea mtaala wa kawaida, uliopangwa na seti ya zana za didactic zilizopangwa mapema ili kuvutia wanafunzi na kuwapa maarifa mazuri ya mada muhimu katika muktadha wa kitaaluma. Uwezo wa Reggio Emilia wa kuunda programu ya masomo ni moja ya sababu kubwa za kutofautisha kutoka kwa wenzao katika uwanja wa elimu ya mapema ya utotoni, kwani watoto wanaruhusiwa kufurahiya katika kutafuta maarifa wakati wanajifunza kile wanachofurahiya. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Kukuza hisia-mwenzi na ustadi mzuri wa kijamii Mkazo juu ya kujenga mahusiano ni kanuni ya pili ya mbinu ya Reggio Emilia. Mbali na mahusiano yao na wenzao, mahusiano hayo yanahusu pia wazazi wao, walimu, na jamii. Ndani na nje ya darasa, watoto hufundishwa kuwa na ufahamu wa mahitaji ya kila mtu anayewazunguka. Hii inatafsiriwa katika wazo la kuunda urafiki na kila mtu ili kuelewa zaidi mahitaji yao. Kupitia mwingiliano wa daima na wengine katika safari za shambani au kwa njia nyingine, tabia hujengwa na mtoto hupata ustadi wa mawasiliano mkali zaidi. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Wanafunzi pia hupangwa kulingana na umri wa maendeleo, tofauti na madarasa ya umri mchanganyiko kama inavyoonekana katika shule za Montessori, kwani shule zilizoongozwa na Reggio zinaamini kuwa pengo kubwa la umri kati ya watoto na viwango vyao tofauti vya maendeleo ya akili itakuwa ngumu kushughulikia kuliko tofauti ndogo za maendeleo ndani ya watoto wa kikundi kimoja cha umri. Ingawa hii inatoa fursa ndogo kwa wanafunzi wa umri tofauti kuingiliana wakati wa kutumia mbinu ya Reggio Emilia, hii ni kufanywa kwa njia ya ziara ya maeneo ya umma nje ya shule ya kuendeleza urafiki katika jamii na vikao vya kujifunza pamoja na wenzao, mambo ambayo hayaonekani katika mbinu ya Montessori. 4. Uwe na uhakika Sehemu ya mazingira Mwishowe, mbinu ya Reggio Emilia pia ina lengo kubwa juu ya umuhimu wa mazingira katika mchakato wa kujifunza. Kwa kufikiria kila maelezo ya nafasi ya kujifunza ya mtoto, darasa la Reggio Emilia linajulikana kutoka kwa mwenzake wa Montessori, wa macho, wa kimya, kwa kutumia rangi nyingi na vifaa vya kukaribisha. Hii ni kwa sababu ya malengo tofauti darasani katika aina mbili za kujifunza. "Kama ilivyo kwa njia ya Montessori, ""mtazamo wa Reggio Emilia unaamini kwamba mazingira yanapaswa kuhamasisha watoto wanataka kujifunza, lakini njia ya Montessori inahisi kwamba darasa lenye rangi inachukua umakini wa mtoto mbali na vifaa vyake vya kujifunza.""" Kama bidhaa ya imani hii katika nguvu ya mazingira juu ya maendeleo ya mtoto, vipengele vya kujifunza hisia na masomo ya nje pia ni ya kawaida katika shule za Reggio-kuchochewa. Hii inaunda chaguzi nyingi kwa masomo kufundishwa kupitia uzoefu badala ya vitabu, kuunda kumbukumbu halisi zaidi ya chochote mtoto anajifunza katika madarasa kupitia mbinu ya Reggio Emilia. Kwa ujumla, maadili haya ya msingi katika moyo wa mbinu ya Reggio Emilia ni wajibu kwa ajili ya mafanikio ya mji wake namesake katika suala la kuelimisha watoto wadogo. "Kutumia katika muktadha wa Singapore, ni mbinu ya nguvu mbadala kwa aina nyingine za elimu ya mapema ya utotoni ambayo inahifadhi makali yake ya ushindani kutokana na kubadilika kwa mtaala na jinsi kujifunza kwa kuongozwa na mwanafunzi inafanana na kucheza, kuunda uzoefu wa kufurahisha na mzuri kwa wote. """ Kituo cha Kujifunza cha Mulberry hutumia mbinu iliyoongozwa na Reggio Emilia katika shule zote na lengo la kuunda mazingira ya kujifunza yenye afya na ya kuvutia kwa watoto wote. "Pedagogy yetu ya mapinduzi inaunganisha mawazo ya afya kupitia ""Mazoea ya Akili"" na mbinu ya Reggio Emilia ili kuunda masomo yaliyoboreshwa ili kukidhi mahitaji ya akili ya mtoto wako."