From Children’s Interests to Children’s Thinking

ACT Board President, Seong Bock Hong, and colleague and past ACT president, Jane Tingle Broderick, are proud to share their recent publication from NAEYC that draws from Constructivist Theory to inform your Emergent Curricular Planning Process using a Cycle of Inquiry.

With the Cycle of Inquiry process, Constructivist and Reggio inspired teachers learn the teacher practices for planning and implementing emergent curriculum that is closely linked to children’s thinking.

You’ve Observed What Children Are Interested In—What’s Next?

Emergent curriculum is an engaging, effective way for young children to learn and an enjoyable way for educators to teach. But planning and implementing inquiry projects based on children’s interests can be a puzzling process. The cycle of inquiry described in this book makes this process more tangible by:

  • Guiding you to observe and consider what children are thinking and wondering about
  • Detailing how to use documentation forms to record and revisit your observations, interpretations, questions, and plans
  • Providing constructivist strategies to support children’s inquiry and deepen thinking
  • Illustrating how to identify early learning standards met and make children’s learning visible
  • Following the process with real-life examples
  • With this guidance, you’ll increase your competence with emergent curriculum and energize your teaching—and children’s learning!

The book was selected as a Summer Book Winner from Academics Choice. The evaluation is based on these criteria: Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), General Thinking Skills and Standards, Character Building, Engagement, Ease of First/Simultaneous/Repeat Use, Quality/Durability, Innovative and Unique.

 

About Academics Choice

Academics’ Choice Awards™ help parents and educators validate claims such as “critical thinking” and “educational toy” with a qualified, scientific and objective approach to evaluation. Academics’ Choice Awards™ bring recognition to the best thinking-based products in the industry.

Science has proven that we can enhance our cognitive abilities throughout our entire lives. Academics’ Choice Awards was founded on this premise, with the mission of helping us all improve our thinking and decision-making skills, to make the world a smarter, more thoughtful place.

To facilitate this goal, the independent Academics’ Choice Awards program was create with a review team and Academic Advisory Board consisting of leading thinkers and graduates from Princeton, Harvard, George Washington University, and other reputable educational institutions. With the help of our Board and other experts, we developed a standardized approach to product evaluation and assessment based on existing best practices and academic standards, piggybacking on years of research and hard work by countless educators.

 

About ACT:

The Association of Constructivist Teachers (ACT) aims to grow the use of constructivist practice for all students and educators, pre-kindergarten through university. We invite you to join us as we construct a new understanding of equity in education at our Annual Virtual Fall Conference: Constructivist Teaching is Social Justice Teaching held online from October 23-24, 2021. Continuing education credits and scholarships available. Reserve your spot now!