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winter semester of 2006, I am overcome by a sense of tension and uneasiness. They were
designing projects as islands unto themselves. Although the topic emerged from the
children, these early childhood education students, for the most part, decided what related
activities to bring to their placement during the course of the semester. It often appeared
that there was no connection from one week to the next, except for the common topic,
and no attempt to build on previous learning. In essence, many of these projects appeared
to be long-term themes.
Collaboration.
The changes and transformations that I have made within my practice as a college
professor have been preceded by cognitive conflict and driven by theory. As the
participants in this study felt the discomfort when their use of themes collided with the
practice of emergent curriculum, I, too, had had a parallel experience. When I began
teaching emergent curriculum to students, I needed to reconcile classroom practice based
on lectures with the pedagogy of social constructivism. Theory converged with practice,
and I was inspired by the inspirational philosophy of Reggio Emilia. I allowed
opportunities for dialogue, discourse, and collaboration to emerge. Fundamental to this
shift was a theoretical understanding of practice. It was my recognition that the work I
did existed within a Vygotskian perspective of learning in a social context which
provided me with an experience of authenticity in practice. I recognized that learning
takes place in a social context. I also recognized that it is through others that I have
developed (Vygotsky, 1981). Where once there had been an absence of theory imbedded
in my practice, now theory occupied a prominent place in my practice.