CULTURE, LEARNING and TEACHING

The Ulu Watu temples are perched on the edge of a cliff in the south of Bali. The temples are old - relics of an ancient place of worship. I walked the path along the edge of the cliff, looking down onto the surging surfing waters where the Bali Strait met the Indonesian Ocean. 

The day was nearing its end. The sun was low in the western sky and distant fishing boats were returning home to the shore. The sun sank lower and the crowds in the temple grew larger, as did the monkey population waiting to grab things from the humans invading their space. And one did just that – he grabbed the sunglasses off the nose of a Japanese tourist who went running after him to retrieve his expensive designer specs. Not sure whether he was able to in the end.

With the setting sun the skies turned to deepening shades of orange scarlet, and crimson. The 'oohs' and 'aahs' from other tourists around me grew more audible. The cameras began to click in rapid succession. I was participating in a spectacular Balinese sunset experience - viewed from the cliffs of Ulu Watu, over the vast expanse of the Indonesian Ocean, as far as the eye could see...

Environment - Is the general school and classroom environment bright, spacious, airy, welcoming and child-friendly? Do you see a lot of diversity in the school amongst teachers as well as children? Is the school welcoming of diverse families? Are there indoor and outdoor spaces where young children can learn and play? Do the classrooms allow ample space for the children to move around throughout the day? Are there multiple play areas in each classroom that allow for diverse activities such as Reading and Writing, Art and Painting, Dramatic Play and Housekeeping, Construction and Block Play, Sand and Water Play, and so forth. 

Teachers - Are the teachers and staff well-qualified and experienced? Are the group sizes small and is there an adequate number of teachers in each classroom? What about the teachers' demeanor and approach to children - Are they engaged in play with the children or are they merely supervising? What is the teacher turnover rate?

Curriculum - What is the educational philosophy underlying the pedagogy and curriculum - Progressive, Reggio Emilia, Bank Street, Montessori, Waldorf? Is the school philosophy in sync with your parenting philosophy? Is it a play-based approach to learning or a more traditional academic approach or somewhere in between? Are there plenty of hands-on activities for children to engage with around the classroom or are they spending more time sitting at tables? Is the curriculum culturally responsive - do teachers welcome the inclusion of children's racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds to inform and enrich the curriculum and their teaching? Does the school make an attempt to get to know your child before they start school? Are there any specialty teachers in the school for Art, Music and Movement, Literacy? Most importantly - do the children look ACTIVELY ENGAGED and HAPPY?? 

Calendar and Schedule - Does the school's annual and daily schedule work for you as a family in terms of drop-offs, pick-ups, and holidays? If both parents are working will the school offer an early drop-off or a late pick-up? Are there substantial after school activities for your child? 

Affordability - A preschool does not have to break your bank. There are expensive good schools but also moderately priced good schools. Is the school tuition affordable for you as a family? Does the school offer a sliding scale fee, or a payment plan spread over the year, or any financial assistance?

Access - To conserve time and energy as a family it is advisable to look for a preschool near your place of residence. Over time it is easier and more sustainable if the preschool commute is easy for the parents and for the child. 

The above are just some of the points to keep in mind while shopping for a preschool. I am including a link below to a PBS article where you can get more important information on this topic.

This Spring semester I had the pleasure of teaching a Master's Thesis class at the CCNY School of Education as an adjunct. In short - I loved it! It was wonderful to be in the classroom again and teach graduate students in person after 5 years! The last time I was in a classroom with students was in March 2020 just before the Covid lock downs. Classes continued to be held remotely at City College until I retired in 2022. So going back to teaching in person this semester and interacting with graduate students face to face was an amazing, exciting and deeply satisfying experience.

The course I taught was Research in Education - focusing specifically on early childhood classroom curriculum and teaching practices. Each student picked a topic they wanted to learn more about and conducted a qualitative inquiry on it. The students in the class are working toward their Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education and for all of them this was their first structured comprehensive semester-long research project! We met for the final class of the semester and celebrated the completion of the course as they each presented a visual representation of their projects.

In the following few blogs I have shared an image and brief summary of some of the research studies - but for now here is our group on the last day of class!!! Congratulations to each class member - I am so proud of them all!

Symone Williams looked closely at the social interactions of PreK children in an attempt to study how language and literacy was being promoted in the Block Center through peer interactions between the children, and in the Art Center through interactions between children and their teachers. A visual representation and summary of her project is given below:

My primary research question is "What kinds of social interactions do children experience in the prekindergarten classroom?" In addition, my specific sub-questions were "How is language and literacy development promoted in the block center through peer interactions?" and "How is language and literacy development promoted in the art center through teacher-child interactions?" My interest in this topic came from observing the children in the block area. I was curious about how children learn literacy in the play area.

I interviewed three teachers and observed four prekindergarten students. The students' age range was four or five years old. My data collection contained observations, pictures, videos, and interviews. After analyzing the data, I discovered three main findings. The first finding was conflict and compromise. Due to the limited space and materials in the block center, the children had a few arguments with each other. The disagreements provided the students with the opportunity to practice their speaking and listening. The dialogue between the children gave them the chance to practice their language skills. The second finding was the influence of family on children's art. The students used art to talk about their family. They may talk about a family member or an event they went to with their family. Sometimes, their drawings led them to write words or letters to label the picture. Labels help the children practice their letters and letter sounds. The third finding was modeling language. The teacher modeled language by asking questions, broadening sentences, and replacing words with new vocabulary.

One take away for me after completing this project was that I need to be in the moment with students. I miss so many milestones and growth because I am too focused on maintaining classroom expectations, setting up activities and completing small group activities. I realized that I need to spend more time with my students as they complete their activity of choice.

Irene Guerrero focused her study on the development of social-emotional skills and their impact on academic development in preschoolers. An overview of the project and her visual representation of her study is provided below:

My research study aimed to address Social-Emotional Learning in Preschool Classrooms and Its Impact On Preschoolers’ Academic Success. In exploring the topic, the study used the following two specific research questions to guide the research process: 1. What is the impact of social-emotional learning in a preschool classroom on children’s academic success? And 2. How can teachers support social-emotional learning in their preschool classroom? 

Through data collection such as observations, Student Social-Emotional Chart, Student Academic Chart, and interviews, information was generated to identify and analyze patterns. I observed both students two days of the week during the first two weeks of April for a period of thirty to forty-five minutes during a diverse range of activities such as choice time, lunch, breakfast, small group, arrival, circle time, outdoor play, and transitions. I conducted one-on-one interviews with two teachers, through a set of questions focused on gathering teacher’s experiences, and perspective to understand and answer the research topic. The interviews occurred once privately, on different days and times. The interviews took place in the school library for an hour long each. I reviewed my observation notes on a weekly basis, writing a reflection after completing this process. These notes contained insight into possible social-emotional learning and academic success, for which I reviewed and consulted throughout the process. I reviewed the interview transcript on a weekly basis, writing a reflection after completing this process. These notes contained insight into possible social-emotional learning and academic success, for which I reviewed and consulted throughout the process. I developed a coding system to use during the review of observation notes, social-emotional chart, academic chart, and interview transcript. The coding system revealed recurring, academic skills (Subject Area: reading/writing, science, math, social studies, Arts) and social- emotional skills (Developmental Domain: Language/Literacy, cognitive, social-emotional, and/or physical). As mentioned above by the participants and literature review, social-emotional learning plays a critical role in fostering not only the interpersonal and emotional development of preschoolers but also in laying groundwork for their academic success. 

This research study highlights the correlation between social-emotional learning competencies-such as emotional regulation, empathy, and cooperative behaviors and early learning in the classroom. When preschool environments intentionally support social-emotional learning through structured activities and responsive teaching practices, children are more likely to exhibit improved attention, stronger peer relationships, and enhanced readiness for academic tasks. These foundational skills are essential for effective participation in learning and for building resilience in the face of challenges. Despite the study's limitation of size and duration, the findings align with a growing body of evidence suggesting that social-emotional learning support is a key predictor for both short and long-term academic achievement.