Early Childhood Program Featured in Training Videos

Gaye Gronlund is no stranger to Hawken -- or to the many other schools she has visited around the nation. Project Director for the National Association for the Education of Young Children`s book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs, she also served as a presenter at Hawken`s Early Childhood Training Institute this past summer. Gaye returned to Hawken this fall for a very special purpose: to film our students and teachers in action. Hawken was one of the several schools nationwide chosen by Gronlund to be highlighted on film for the purpose of training other teachers. The video is part of her current project on best practices in early childhood classrooms across the nation, and the vignettes illustrating developmentally appropriate practices in action will appear on a supplementary CD that will accompany the 2009 version of the NAEYC`s publication. Why did Gronlund choose Hawken from among so many other schools? "Hawken has a tremendous commitment to early childhood education," Gronlund notes. She believes Hawken`s teachers aspire to the methods and practices she is hoping to promote and instill: learning through play, exploration, child-guided discussion, and child-oriented focus on individual needs. "There must be a balance between teacher-led instruction and independent work on the part of the children - a combination of cooperative learning and exploration on their own," Gronlund notes. "The blend is critical." Gronlund feels there is a growing need for all schools to be introduced to the NAEYC`s best practices, particularly due to the wide practice of "teaching to the test," which overlooks developmentally appropriate practices and assessment procedures. In addition to being packaged as part of the teacher training materials to be published by the NAEYC, the footage will be debuted in three web-based seminars scheduled to take place between February and May of 2009. In late 2009, there will be a link at NAEYC.org that will enable visitors to access the footage Gronlund gathered during her recent visit to Hawken.