Books/theories for early childhood teachers
February 1, 2010 7:52 PM Subscribe
Anyone have recommendations for books/websites to help an MSW professional translate an early literacy project into M.Ed language?
I want to help a friend with a social work background who is working with teachers (early childhood/preschool). She needs to find the overlap of theories/methodologies/practice so that she can develop a common language around facilitating early literacy.
I'd like to offer her some resources -- i.e., what preschool teachers now find most useful (also, what new ideas are being discussed in education circles). I thought books by John Gatto might help (she is a progressive and has some early child teaching experience herself). All I could remember from my education classes were John Holt (fairly old stuff) and Howard Gardner (learning styles). Is any of this work still relevant? applied?
Most serious is the contentious issue of 'evaluation of learning'. Where do preschool teachers stand on the controversies? What is being done in 'pre-literacy' at the preschool level? What are the latest (useful) theories/methodologies? Which ones are promoted - but are known to be NOT useful?
I want to help a friend with a social work background who is working with teachers (early childhood/preschool). She needs to find the overlap of theories/methodologies/practice so that she can develop a common language around facilitating early literacy.
I'd like to offer her some resources -- i.e., what preschool teachers now find most useful (also, what new ideas are being discussed in education circles). I thought books by John Gatto might help (she is a progressive and has some early child teaching experience herself). All I could remember from my education classes were John Holt (fairly old stuff) and Howard Gardner (learning styles). Is any of this work still relevant? applied?
Most serious is the contentious issue of 'evaluation of learning'. Where do preschool teachers stand on the controversies? What is being done in 'pre-literacy' at the preschool level? What are the latest (useful) theories/methodologies? Which ones are promoted - but are known to be NOT useful?
OK, I know this is looooong after you first posted this, but I just saw your question while browsing through the "unanswered" section of AskMe.
Your friend might be interested in episode 2 of the CBC Radio documentary The Hurried Infant. It's a discussion of the way society is trying to push developmentally inappropriate stages of literacy onto children. The interviewer speaks with neuroscientist Maryanne Wolfe and psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, both of whom have published articles on early childhood literacy and learning (bibliography and links at bottom of page).
(I cited this documentary previously in an AskMe from a parent who was asking how she could teach her 14-month-old to read. There is more and more pressure to formally teach children to read at younger and younger ages, but according to Wolfe, most children's brains are not developed enough to read until the ages of 5-7. Trying to teach children to read before they're ready not only doesn't work, Wolfe argues, but has actually been shown to be detrimental to their development of reading skills.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:19 PM on April 29, 2010
Your friend might be interested in episode 2 of the CBC Radio documentary The Hurried Infant. It's a discussion of the way society is trying to push developmentally inappropriate stages of literacy onto children. The interviewer speaks with neuroscientist Maryanne Wolfe and psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, both of whom have published articles on early childhood literacy and learning (bibliography and links at bottom of page).
(I cited this documentary previously in an AskMe from a parent who was asking how she could teach her 14-month-old to read. There is more and more pressure to formally teach children to read at younger and younger ages, but according to Wolfe, most children's brains are not developed enough to read until the ages of 5-7. Trying to teach children to read before they're ready not only doesn't work, Wolfe argues, but has actually been shown to be detrimental to their development of reading skills.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:19 PM on April 29, 2010
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The saddest thing is how many myths there are about the education of young children - and how little most people know about the truth. A greater focus on very young children should be a platform for all change in our society: Early Childhood Development and Learning: Ten Key Lessons
posted by Surfurrus at 6:21 PM on March 4, 2010