Reggio & Lifelong Kindergarten

By the end of this module you will have a greater understanding for the broad context Reggio Emilia and Lifelong Kindergarten; as well as important details on the logistics, communications, support, and expectations of this course.

The Reggio Emilia Approach to preschool education was started by the schools of the city of Reggio Emilia in post-World War II Italy. It is named after the town of Reggio Emilia in the Emilia Romagna province of northern Italy.

Reggio Emilia is a set of philosophies and practices centered on preschool and primary education, wherein children are empowered to explore, create, and interact with independence but also within a community. Principles of project based learning (PBL), community, and mentorship guide students in a more organic pathway or personal interests and exploration.

Lifelong Kindergarten represents a set of educational philosophies and practices centered on similar principles as Reggio, only extended to adult learners, often using technical tools and environments. We will be leveraging these principles and methods in our own practice, in this course.

Both approaches emphasize learning experiences that are student-centered, constructivist, and experiential in nature. Learning experiences that are hands-on and collaborative are preferred. Both pedagogies emphasize student-agency, exploration, and self-guided development. Both rely heavily on principles of social learning and the learning community as the greater context, or learning environment. Both leverage a diverse set of methods including *open-ended tools*, *learning portfolios*, and regarding the teacher as a *co-learner* rather than an authority figure.

Shared Principles

• We learn best working with other learners, with teachers, and our community. Our parents, our partners, and our peers.
• We have “one hundred languages” (Reggio) through which we express ourselves in a myriad of ways, e.g. moving, drawing, painting, building and more; or writing, video, audio, coding, storytelling, robotics, and more.
• Learners learn from the spaces they inhabit — they need aesthetic, orderly spaces where everything has a purpose and invitations to explore are abundant. This is true in a physical space as well as virtual.
• Teachers are active participants in the learning process, putting notions of authority aside and exploring alongside their student colleagues.
• Teachers listen too and observe learners closely, asking questions, and exploring the individual’s ideas.
• Teachers provide experiences that “provoke” thinking and learning.
• The learner’s work is documented in a learning portfolio, to stimulate discussion and sharing within and among the greater learning community.