‘Time slots, lesson hooks and human ne(s)ts’: outlining an active learning agenda for the early years in a multicultural context

Zapri, D (Dimitra)
Greek Ministry of Education, Zurich

 

Submission type

Oral and Poster

Scheduled

Room 208, 10-07-2019, 13:30 - 15:00

Keywords

early childhood education, learning agenda, curriculum planning, ecological theory, case scenario, multiculturalism, empowerment, Zurich

Summary

This workshop results as a practical implication of the ‘Feeling at Home’ presentation and invites participants to sketch out an overarching learning agenda for preschoolers in a multicultural setting.  Such an overarching agenda, rather than being reduced to a set of specific learning objectives, should form a dynamic and creative conceptual guide for any facilitator, who wishes to empower a community of learners at an early stage.

                For this purpose, the context of preschool native language and culture courses of Zurich canton will be used as a case scenario, as the kindergarten level has only recently been included in the courses official curriculum, being therefore less developed than the other levels. Participants will work in groups and exchange their experience and thoughts on how to incorporate parents’ and children’s needs and expectations, the facilitator's potential roles and any pragmatic requirements and limitations (e.g. existing curriculum, time, space) in their hypothetical yearly agenda. Ultimately, this whole process will be linked to key ecological concepts, such as Bronfenbrenner’s systems and Gibson’s affordances, which are pertinent to exploring complex learning contexts.

Auteurs