The Reggio Emilia Approach:
A Panel on the U.S. School System's Response to an Italian Educational Method
Tuesday March 15, 2016 - 6.30-8.30pm
Feliciano School of Business Auditorium, Room 101
Co-Sponsored by the Dept. of Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Education
and Dr. Teresa Fiore from the Italian and Italian American Department
RSVP required here by Fri. March 11, 2016
This program grants Professional Development credit hours
For more info click here
The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on infant-toddler, preschoolers and now also primary school children. It was developed in Italy by the visionary teacher Loris Malaguzzi (1920-94) and the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia after World War II.
The program is based on the support of the potentials of children, as well as the principles of respect, responsibility, and community. Learning takes place through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children as observed, documented and sustained by the teachers. The assumption that animates the approach is that the children are knowledge-makers; that their learning is an autonomous process that occurs inside the social environment created together by educators, children, and their families; and that this takes place through dialogue and exchange made visible by documentation of practices.
The Reggio Emilia Approach identifies in creativity a way to produce and convey knowledge, as well as a tool for the children to express and build their personal and shared learning through their "hundred languages," as Malaguzzi defined the children's plurality of views and infinite potential for searching and being surprised.
This panel will explore the Reggio Emilia Approach, its history and growth in Italy, as well as its use in the U.S. school system, through presentations that embrace the perspectives of scholars, teachers, school directors, and parents.
Some of the questions that this panel will address include:
- What is the role of the Italian cultural legacy in the Reggio approach today? How has the approach evolved from its local beginnings in a relatively small Italian town to its international diffusion today?
- How can the Reggio approach be useful in the specific context of U.S. families’ lives, where full-time working parents may not have the time to be as involved as this approach expects?
- How can the Reggio approach respond to the needs of special education children in the U.S. system?
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