Description
Book SynopsisLearning Stories and Teaching Inquiry Groups is a practical text focused on how ECE practitioners can establish teacher inquiry and reflection groups and integrate the use of learning stories to strengthen their assessment, teaching practices, and knowledge of child development. Drawing on relevant research and the authors’ direct work with teachers, the book focuses on describing ways the authors have adapted the framework of the learning stories approach from New Zealand to specific US educational contexts via examples from several urban and rural ECE contexts. The book provides practical examples of novice through veteran early childhood teachers engaging and collaborating in onsite and cross-site inquiry and reflection with a focus on learning stories.
This text will be useful for infant, toddler, and preschool teachers taking courses at the AA, BA, and MA levels, as well as teachers engaged in onsite professional development. This text will help early childhood educators learn to write learning stories as an observational and assessment approach to document young children’s learning experiences and to deepen teachers’ understanding of the role of narrative in linking child development knowledge with effective environmental design, high-quality curricular approaches, and socially and culturally inclusive relationship practices. The text will support early childhood educators’ professional development through easily understood instructions and case study samples of inquiry work with learning stories through community of practice. Educators will learn how linking learning stories with regular, systematic forms of teacher inquiry, documentation, and reflection promotes a new image of children as holistic learners.
Trade ReviewThis valuable and constructive book provides an approach to professional development and assessment in education that will both excite and inform. Teacher inquiry is closely linked to Learning Stories, providing vivid opportunities for teachers to deepen their understanding of learning. Margaret Carr, Emeritus Professor, University of Waikato, and , Director, Educational Leadership Project, Aotearoa, New Zealand
What a wonderful book! Learning Stories provide an innovative avenue for reclaiming the voices of teachers, children, and families. The power of Learning Stories is that they create a sensitive dialogue that enhances and sustains teachers’ relationships with all who care about the education of young children. This book will be a great addition to the NAEYC family of fine publications. -- Andrew Stremmel * Professor of Early Childhood Education *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: The Power of Teacher Inquiry Groups: Linking Inquiry, Documentation, and Reflection Chapter 2: Learning Stories as an Approach and Framework for Authentic Assessment and Critical Pedagogy Chapter 3: Identifying and Creating Learning Stories Chapter 4: Integrating Inquiry and Learning Stories for Socialization, Play, and Language Chapter 5: Integrating Inquiry and Learning Stories for Equitable Learning Opportunities Chapter 6: Family Engagement and Learning Stories: Inclusion of Diverse Voices Appendix A: Learning Stories Can Supplement Various Assessment Tools Appendix B: Resources and Approaches for Starting Your Own Inquiry Group About the Authors Index
