High/Scope

The High/Scope early childhood education philosophy is a method of running a preschool, kindergarten, or elementary school developed in the United States in the 1960s. It is now common there and in some other countries.

The philosophy behind High/Scope, based on Jean Piaget's ideas, is that children should be involved actively in their own learning. They "learn by doing", often working with hands on materials and carrying out projects of their own choosing. The adults working with the children see themselves more as facilitators or partners than managers or supervisors. High/Scope's approach encompasses all aspects of child development and involves teachers and parents in supporting and extending children's emotional, intellectual, social, and physical skills and abilities.

In a High/Scope school, different areas of the classroom are designated for different activities, for example water play, reading, sand play, art, writing, dramatic play, etc. Children are intended to be able to access all facilities independently and be able to take some responsibility for use of these areas.

An important part of the High/Scope approach is the plan-do-review sequence. Children first plan what materials they want to work with and what they want to do (this can be done formally or informally in small groups). Only once they have made a plan, however vague, of what they want to do can they go and do it. Then, after this choice worktime, the children discuss what they have been doing and whether it was successful.

Origin

As director of special services in the Ypsilanti (Michigan) public school district, David Weikart became increasingly interested in the failure of a number of at-risk high schoolers from poor neighborhoods. These students did poorly on district-wide, standardized tests and also received low scores in IQ assessments.

He formed a committee, including himself and a few elementary school principals, and discussed possible changes to teaching methods and curriculum choices. Even though they did not expect to radically change Ypsilanti's teaching core (which mostly worked), they explored why it seemingly failed a certain population of students.

While searching for better teaching methods and programs, Weikart (now also part of a special services committee tackling the same issue) zeroed in on programs for 3 and 4 year olds. Outside the normal organization of the school district, Weikart sought a chance to open Michigan's first preschool. He hired four teachers and began operation of the school at Perry Elementary School.

Weikart, its teachers, and the hired staff chose to differ from traditional nursery schools by designing a program that focused on a child's intellectual maturation rather than a child's social and emotional advances. They wanted a program that:

#Possessed a firm, legitimate bed of theory for teaching/learning ungirding its structure
#Supported the child's talents through an active process of learning
#Relied on teachers, administrators, and families to support the success of the program.

Today High/Scope's approach has been used successfully in preschools and elementary schools, both public and private, in a wide range of settings including Indian Reservations, large cities, and small towns.

Two sources, (Jean Piaget and J. McVicker Hunt) stood as the best foundations on which to build the curriculum upon. Piaget's ideas corresponded to the devotion to learning in an active setting, not passively.

Central Concepts

*Active Learning
*Adult-Child Interaction
*Learning Environment
*Daily Routine
*Assessment
*Key Experiences
*Plan-Do-Review

References

*Broecher, Joachim: "Hochintelligente kreativ begaben". Muenster, Hamburg 2005 (Application of the High/Scope Approach in Educating the Gifted to a German Summer Camp)
*Hohmann, M. and Weikart, D. (2002). "Educating young children". High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
* [http://www.londony.ca/childcare/highscope_history.htm "What is the History of High/Scope?"] - Provided by YMCA Child Care Services

ee also

*Compensatory Education

External links

* [http://www.highscope.org High/Scope Educational Research Foundation]
* [http://www.high-scope.org.uk/ High/Scope UK]