PREPARING CHILDREN FOR THE
CAN-DO CLASSROOM
Learning to work in groups
There are 3 steps required to enhance student learning. The first step is orientation, which is when the teacher provides an example and describes the activity. This includes all aspects of the activity, including how to care for the materials at the centre and the clean up procedure. The next step is opportunities to practice, which is to follow no later the day after the orientation, but can occur as soon as right after the orientation session. This is when students get to practice what the teacher modeled. A new center where students practice a new activity can be introduced along with the centers students are already familiar with. The last principle is reflection; students and teachers reconvene after the students have practiced the activity a dozen or so times to discuss and examine it. This is a time for critical thinking when students can share their findings and ask questions that occurred to them while they practiced at the centre.
Learning to Choose
The Can-Do classroom creates decisive students by teaching them to make smart choices. This is largely accomplished during the breathing out period as students independently decide which centers or activities they would like complete. As students self-regulate their behaviour, their decision making abilities improve.
Finding a Comfortable ‘Way in’
There are many different approaches to starting a Can-Do classroom. Approaches to incorporating a Can-Do classroom can vary from incremental implementation through to a fully integrated classroom. Each teacher must assess the readiness of their students and determine the appropriate approach for their class. The first is the ‘Toe In’ approach – this is the least aggressive. In this approach the teacher and the students are just getting their feet wet with a Can-Do classroom. The teacher is still very heavily directing the areas of play and there are only 3 students at each centre. The next is the ‘Foot In’ approach which is similar to the ‘Toe In’ approach but encourages students to leave their desks, and their comfort zones, for 20 minutes daily. In the ‘Leg In’ approach students choose their own playmates and centre time increases to 40 minutes daily. The ‘Waltz In’ approach is similar to implementing the full breathing out classroom, there is little direction by the teacher and students choose investigated play activities which last for 45 minutes and they reflect on their learning. The ‘Dive In’ approach is similar but the centers last for an hour and there is more focus on the play-debrief-replay model. The last approach is the ‘Fly In’ which involves creating an innovative combination of the above approaches specific for the needs of your classroom
Critique
In this section, we questioned some of the storage, accessibility and time to set up different centres during the day. Also, we agreed that the suggestions the book gives are ideal, however, it is unlikely that there is that amount of storage available in the classroom and time to set up all new centres and put away and store the other centre during the day. We questioned the use of a buddy board/centre board, which, takes the responsibility off of the teacher for centre choice but we believe to be too restrictive for students. Overall, we weren’t for the like of the centre board idea. We felt that it didn’t fully allowing children to problem solve with the number of children involved. If it’s working and they’re getting along, why not let them?
There are 3 steps required to enhance student learning. The first step is orientation, which is when the teacher provides an example and describes the activity. This includes all aspects of the activity, including how to care for the materials at the centre and the clean up procedure. The next step is opportunities to practice, which is to follow no later the day after the orientation, but can occur as soon as right after the orientation session. This is when students get to practice what the teacher modeled. A new center where students practice a new activity can be introduced along with the centers students are already familiar with. The last principle is reflection; students and teachers reconvene after the students have practiced the activity a dozen or so times to discuss and examine it. This is a time for critical thinking when students can share their findings and ask questions that occurred to them while they practiced at the centre.
Learning to Choose
The Can-Do classroom creates decisive students by teaching them to make smart choices. This is largely accomplished during the breathing out period as students independently decide which centers or activities they would like complete. As students self-regulate their behaviour, their decision making abilities improve.
Finding a Comfortable ‘Way in’
There are many different approaches to starting a Can-Do classroom. Approaches to incorporating a Can-Do classroom can vary from incremental implementation through to a fully integrated classroom. Each teacher must assess the readiness of their students and determine the appropriate approach for their class. The first is the ‘Toe In’ approach – this is the least aggressive. In this approach the teacher and the students are just getting their feet wet with a Can-Do classroom. The teacher is still very heavily directing the areas of play and there are only 3 students at each centre. The next is the ‘Foot In’ approach which is similar to the ‘Toe In’ approach but encourages students to leave their desks, and their comfort zones, for 20 minutes daily. In the ‘Leg In’ approach students choose their own playmates and centre time increases to 40 minutes daily. The ‘Waltz In’ approach is similar to implementing the full breathing out classroom, there is little direction by the teacher and students choose investigated play activities which last for 45 minutes and they reflect on their learning. The ‘Dive In’ approach is similar but the centers last for an hour and there is more focus on the play-debrief-replay model. The last approach is the ‘Fly In’ which involves creating an innovative combination of the above approaches specific for the needs of your classroom
Critique
In this section, we questioned some of the storage, accessibility and time to set up different centres during the day. Also, we agreed that the suggestions the book gives are ideal, however, it is unlikely that there is that amount of storage available in the classroom and time to set up all new centres and put away and store the other centre during the day. We questioned the use of a buddy board/centre board, which, takes the responsibility off of the teacher for centre choice but we believe to be too restrictive for students. Overall, we weren’t for the like of the centre board idea. We felt that it didn’t fully allowing children to problem solve with the number of children involved. If it’s working and they’re getting along, why not let them?