The move: Reggio Emilia‐inspired teaching

Abstract

In the Rainbow District School Board, we have been refining our approach to Early Learning and inquiry learning in the primary grades for the past five years. Our work in Early Learning is primarily inspired by the preschools of Reggio Emilia, a city in Northern Italy about the same size as the city we live in. The preschools in Reggio Emilia gained international recognition for being the best in the world, beginning in 1991 when they were cited in Newsweek magazine as one of the ʺbest top ten schools in the world. " They have consistently won awards and recognition since. For 70 years the Reggio educators have studied how young children learn, refining their theory of learning and teaching. The Reggio Emilia perspective shifts the focus of the classroom away from the teacher and onto the students, viewing children as capable, self‐reliant, intelligent, curious, and creative. This approach also treats the classroom as the 'third teacher', encouraging teachers to take a great deal of care in the creation and setup of the environment of the classroom and the materials that are introduced. Finally, this approach positions the teacher as a researcher, documenting the children's relationships and interactions with people, ideas and materials in the classroom. In the Rainbow District School Board, our understanding of the Reggio Emilia approach is ever evolving. Each year we have decided on a new focus to help grow our understanding of the elements involved in this type of approach. Some things we have focused on in the past are: treating the outdoors as an extension of the classroom, using the arts as a vehicle for learning and teaching, documentation as assessment, the