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PRE-K UPDATE
MAY 31, 2018
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Here's the latest news from The Long Island Pre-K Initiative, your source for
expert training and useful resources:
www.nassauboces.org/pre-k
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What kind of story experience is "just right" for 4-year-olds?
Researcher scanned brain activity to find out
Cincinnati researcher Dr. John Hutton, who scanned the brain activity of 27 children as they were presented the same story in three different ways. Here's what they discovered, and named "The Goldilocks Effect":
The audio-only story was "too cold"--it activated language networks in the brain, but did not connect to other areas such as visual imagery. "There was more evidence that the children were straining to understand."
The animated cartoon was "too hot." It created a lot of activity in different brain areas but not a lot of connectivity. The children's understanding of the story was
actually the worst for the animation.
The illustration plus voiceover was "just right." Early educators will immediately understand Hutton's explanation. According to the May 24th NPR report, he said "instead of only paying attention to the words...the children's understanding of the story was 'scaffolded' by having the images as clues." Plus, there was increased connectivity between different networks in the brain.
Even though the latter option was best in the study, researchers point out that it's still not as good as a situation where a parent or other adult reads aloud to a young child--for example, says Hutton, "where caregivers point out specific words or prompt children to 'show me the cat' in a picture. That's a whole other layer of building reading."
Read more.
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What does an evolutionary psychologist have to say about early education? "Darwin's tips for kindergarten teachers"
Darwin contributed the idea of evolution to our understanding of the human race, and now a professor from SUNY New Paltz has extended this umbrella concept. Writing for Pyschology Today, he offers 10 tips for early educators, grounded in evolutionary theory. And--guess what?--they support much of what Pre-K teachers believe and do. For example:
#3 Modern education is evolutionarily mismatched. "Under ancestral conditions, children learned largely from other children--and they learned while engaged in play....If we want to improve education, we'd be wise to look to our ancestral past."
#6 Humans evolved for small-scale societies. For most of history, writes Glenn Geher, we lived in groups that seldom exceeded 150 individuals and it paid to be nice to each other. "Teaching kids about the importance of putting the interests of the group ahead of the interests of oneself is a basic part of early education."
#9 Why parents care so much. "Evolution has shaped humans in the same way that it has shaped all living things: To increase one's own genetic footprint in the next generation...Plan to be a teacher? Get ready to deal with parents! Lots of parents!"
Click here to read the full article, including the other 7 tips for teachers.
Photo courtesy of Hicksville Public Schools Pre-K
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From a first grade teacher: two ways to resist
the pressure to hurry learning
Justin Minkel feels so strongly about the negative impact of trying to accelerate "academic" growth that he recently wrote an opinion piece for Education Week. "...I see too many kids who are hurried and harried toward the level they're 'supposed' to be on by the end of a given grading period, with too little attention given to the path
they're walking to get there. I see children begin to define themselves by test scores, grades and how quickly they're leapfrogging from one level to the next." (As you read this quote, remind yourself that he's talking about 6- and 7-year-olds.)
Based on his experience, Minkel offers two approaches to counter such timetables. The first is to "Focus on the path, not just the destination." He cites the example of his first grade classroom where students now spend a half an hour a day with books they have chosen themselves--instead of spending time on worksheets, textbooks and numbered questions at the end of each story. The purpose: to encourage a love of reading.
Minkel's second piece of advice: "Honor growth above proficiency." At his school, 85 percent of the children speak English as a Second Language. While most are on or above grade level by the time they leave for middle school, many of them are still not proficient in math and reading when they finish kindergarten or first grade. "We have to give children time. We have to celebrate every step along their steep path to proficiency, rather than only holding up the end goal..as the single outcome worth celebrating."
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Is your Pre-K or K on social media? Let us know!
Are you photographing your class projects for Instagram or announcing your newly hatched chicks on Twitter? We want to know so we can help spread the word!
On Twitter, you can message us @LongIslandPrek or you can e-mail your information to prek@nasboces.org
We love to share information about what local Pre-K classes are doing--summer programs, included!
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Early bird price expires this Friday, June 1!
Hurry up and register for Two-Day Summer Institute
Dates: Wednesday, June 27 & Thursday, June 28, 2018
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Registration at 8:00 a.m.)
Continental breakfast and lunch included
Place: Western Suffolk BOCES Conference Center, Wyandanch
Registration fee:
$125 per person "early bird." After 4 p.m. on Friday, June 1, 2018, fee is $140 per person. Online registration ends at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 25, 2018.
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Day One: "Kids First: Crafting Early Childhood Classrooms with a Culture of Empathy, Joy and Impact"--a full day with Kristine Mraz, co-author of Kids First From Day One and Purposeful Play
Day Two: Your choice of workshops on topics including STEM. literacy and nature experiences.
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Want to present at our November conference?
Deadline for proposals has been extended until June 4.
We are still accepting workshop proposals for our full-day conference on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. This event is for teachers, teacher assistants, administrators, directors and other early education practitioners. And it's an opportunity to share your best practices with them. Each workshop will last 90 minutes, which includes time for questions and answers. If your proposal is accepted, you will receive one free registration.
Click here for more information about the conference.
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This week's job listings for early ed on Long Island
Child Care Teacher Assistant
Sunday Respite Program Teacher Assistant
E-mail letter and resume to sritz@vclc.org or fax 516-921-8130
For the Long Island Head Start positions listed below
E-mail resume to humanresources@liheadstart.org or fax ro 631-758-2953
Full-Time Teacher Assistant
Long Island Head Start, Amityville, Bellport, Brentwood, Central Brookhaven, Huntington, Riverhead
Full-Time Teacher II (Infant/Toddler)
Long Island Early Head Start, Islip, Huntington, Patchogue
Full-Time Teacher Aide
Long Island Head Start, Bellport, Brentwood, Central Islip, Southhampton, Patchogue Early Head Start
Full-Time Family Advocate--Bilingual
Long Island Head Start, Amityville, Bay Area, Wyandanch
Full-Time Family Advocate
Long Island Head Start, Bay Shore, Bridgehampton
Part-Time Family Advocate--Bilingual
Long Island Head Start, North Fork
EHS-CCP* Disabilities Services Consultant
EHS-CCP Mental Health Consultant
EHS-CCP Health Consultant
EHS-CCP Nutrition Consultant
Long Island Head Start, Central Administration, Patchogue
Substitute Teacher Aide
Long Island Head Start, various
*Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships
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Here's how to add your school's staffing needs to this list:
In the body of the e-mail, include the following information:
For our records:
- Your name
- Your position
- Your e-mail and phone number
For the listing in our e-newsletter
- The name of your school and the town it's located in. You can include your web address, if you have one.
- A very brief description of the position or positions you want to fill. (For example: "Part-time Teacher Assistant" or "Full-time Pre-K Teacher."
- Information about how potential applicants should contact your for details or to apply. (For example: "Call Jane Smith at 631-xxx-xxxx" or "Send e-mail to jane.smith@schoolname.org")
It's important to understand that:
We will not include information about salary. We will not include any descriptions of your school or program, although we can include a link to your school's web site.
We will publish your information a single time. If you still have openings, you can e-mail us again with the details and we will run the information again.
Our e-newsletter is typically sent out on Wednesday mornings. However, it may be mailed on a different day, depending on content or technical considerations.
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative reserves the right to edit information; space in the e-newsletter is very limited.
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About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a grant-funded project that seeks to strengthen partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and to share information about research, policy and best practices for early learning. Administered by Nassau BOCES, it is supported with expertise from The Early Years Institute and funds from the Rauch and Hagedorn Foundations. Our partners: Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Western Suffolk BOCES, and the Child Care Councils of Nassau and Suffolk.
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NASSAU BOCES DEPARTMENT OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220 Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org
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