Resource - High/scope In The Elementary Classroom

HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY
school-age setting might also include a
math area, science area, writing area,
computer area, art area, bookmaking
area, and quiet work area. Each area is
designed around a particular curriculum
topic such as reading, science, math,
computer, and art. These areas are
settings designated for child-initiated
learning activities.
Materials
in a High/Scope classroom, children
have access to an abundance of meaningful
materials throughout the school
day. This variety and availability allows
children to direct their own discoveries,
and it accommodates for a variety of
learning abilities.
While a High/Scope elementary
environment uses many of the same
materials found in traditional classrooms,
the use and function of these
materials differs; for example, paint in
a traditional classroom may be brought
out at the teacher’s discretion only during
specific art classes, whereas in a
High/Scope classroom paint is accessible
to children on a daily basis to use in
self-directed ways during instructional
activities. An elementary High/Scope
environment also provides a variety of
open-ended materials (i.e., materials
that can be used in many different ways)
that invite students to engage in personal,
meaningful, and educational experiences.
These materials are available to children
to work with throughout the day, as well
as during the plan-do-review sequence.
High/Scope’s Elementary Teaching Practices
Daily schedule. Each day follows a consistent
schedule, which is carefully planned to include
individual, small-group, and large-group
experiences and a balance of teacher-planned
and child-planned activity. Each day includes a
plan-do-review time, lasting one hour or more,
in which children plan, carry out, and then reflect
upon an activity of their own choosing.
Small-group instructional workshops are
planned by teachers around specific content in
the major subject areas.
The classroom. The room is divided into
five or more distinct “interest” areas, such as
reading and writing, math, science, art, and
computers. In each area, a wide range of appealing
materials are stored in consistent, accessible
locations so children can get out the
materials they want and put them away independently.
Children are free to use any of the interest
areas during plan-do-review time, and
typically rotate through specific areas — such
as reading and writing, art, and computers —
during teacher-planned workshop times.
Subject areas. Teachers plan instructional
activities around content in important curriculum
areas as defined by state and local standards.
They draw upon their knowledge of active learning
principles and their own observations of children’s
abilities and interests to plan small-group
workshops focusing on concepts and skills in
each subject area. The emphasis throughout
these activities is on hands-on projects in which
children work with manipulative materials, apply
skills to solve practical problems, and learn to
communicate the results of their efforts in a variety
of formats. Many experiences require cooperative
work and the use of effective communication
skills. Teachers also encourage children
to use important concepts and skills during the
child-initiated activities that occur during work
time and other segments of the schedule.
Teacher-child interaction. High/Scope
teachers avoid the use of reward and punishment
to manage children’s behaviors and instead
focus on creating a positive social environment
in which expectations and limits are
clear. Adults help children learn to use a problem-solving
approach to resolve difficulties and
conflicts. Adults strive to focus on children’s
strengths rather than deficits and use teaching
strategies that build on children’s intrinsic motivation
to learn.
Child assessment. High/Scope teachers
document children’s progress by collecting brief
anecdotal notes recording observations of children’s
important behaviors and by compiling
portfolios of student work samples and other
kinds of documents that are evidence of children’s
progress. These assessment methods
supplement traditional standardized achievement
tests to provide a complete and balanced picture
of children’s progress.
The success of the High/Scope elementary
approach has been well documented in a number
of studies. Program effectiveness was initially
validated in the 1980s by the U.S. Department
of Education/National Institute of Education
Joint Dissemination and Review Panel. The
curriculum has since been revalidated by the
U.S. Department of Education’s Program Effectiveness
Panel. Data gathered on the approach
include improvements in children’s achievement
test scores and literacy skills and teacher reports
of improvements in children’s abilities to
solve problems, make decisions, and express
themselves creatively.
High/Scope’s Services and Products for Elementary Educators
ready School Assessment (rSA). This tool and related training can help schools become more
ready for children.
Classroom practices. We provide customized training to help teachers improve classroom practices
in selected areas. (Note: High/Scope does not offer specific curricula for basic academic subjects
such as reading, math, and science but instead focuses on how to teach using the existing curriculum.)
Movement and music. High/Scope’s Education Through Movement teaching model is the basis
for a range of training services and products.
www.highscope.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 11