Quality infant care is one of the best ways to promote your child’s development. At Nova Pioneer, we have a curriculum that provides a framework of our infant care and tots classroom. The curriculum is founded upon the world-renowned Reggio Emilia approach to early education. At the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach is relationships. What does this look like in practice?

 

Personalised attention 

We believe all babies have unique personalities, even in the first few months. Some are vivacious and babble frequently, while others like to observe quietly before trying new activities. Our teachers and caregivers know how to respond to a baby’s individual interaction style. At Nova Pioneer, we emphasise relationships to ensure each baby receives the positive interactions he or she needs. 

 

We do this in the following ways:

• A low staff-to-child ratio so that there is plenty of time for bonding with a primary caregiver. 
• A routine to promote a sense of stability. Feedings, naps, reading and other activities take place at the same time every day. 
• Babies have access to a variety of engaging materials. They get to experience lots of fun colours, sizes, shapes, textures and sounds. Diverse books introduce a wide range of new words to baby’s ears.

 

The role of the environment

Your baby’s physical surroundings play a vital role in their development. At Nova Pioneer, we see the environment as the third teacher in the classroom. We believe that a quality infant classroom should be thoughtfully designed to engage all of their senses in a positive way.

 

Babies thrive in a soothing sensory environment

Classrooms feature soft colors, appropriate lighting that isn’t too bright and a balance between “noisy” and “quiet” activities. Rooms are kept free of clutter.

 

Encouraging curiosity and creativity

We provide many different “no-right-answer” activities to encourage curiosity, creativity and imagination. Learning centers offer open-ended toys like blocks, balls and baby-friendly furniture that’s easy for crawlers and early walkers to use.

 

Safe space for babies to explore

For our youngest infants, tummy time supports physical development while the baby examines a variety of novel objects provided by the teacher. For those ready to crawl or walk, lots of child-directed activities allow our little ones to discover their own interests.

 

Skills development

Our caregivers and teachers introduce new skills when each baby is ready. These might include holding eating utensils or scribbling on a piece of paper with crayons.

The parent-child-teacher partnership

Reggio-inspired programmes understand that parents play an essential role in every child’s learning process. Thus, we strongly encourage parent involvement and welcome questions, comments and input on the baby’s individual needs.

 

Nova Pioneer Schools for Innovators and Leaders are inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach. The principles of relationships, spaces and environment are reflected in Tammy Gertzen’s classroom at our Boksburg campus.

At the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach is relationships. The school environment and spaces have been designed so that they foster interaction and communication, exploration and participation, a sense of autonomy and curiosity. In fact, the environment is thought of as the “third teacher” for its ability to foster connections between ideas, people and things. 

Think about the places you spend the majority of your time – your home, your immediate neighbourhood, and the place you work.  We aren’t always aware of it, but the spaces, activities and environment around us can have a big impact on how we feel, and what feels possible or allowable in that space. 

Being aware of how space, and place, shapes how we feel about ourselves and each other. In the 1970s Reggio Emilia began working on a project that looked specifically at the relationship between their philosophy of education, the architecture and resources of their schools, and their health and safety regulations. Through this project, they developed a set of design principles aimed at helping each school cultivate its own identity while still fostering values that are consistent across all the schools.

 

What does this look like in practice?

 

Care and beauty

 

The values of the Reggio Emilia approach and the unique identity of each school are communicated throughout classrooms and spaces. Over the decades, the schools have even worked with local companies to design particular kinds of furniture that can enhance children’s experiences and thinking. The environment, the spaces, the objects and furniture in them are all beautifully made and arranged. This beauty isn’t seen as a ‘nice to have’. It’s central to the educational experience. Beautiful spaces communicate that you care about the people and relationships they make in them, and encourage these people (big and small) to take care of each other and the things in that space. As the Charter of Services suggests, “taking care of the indoor and outdoor environment, the furniture, objects and materials by children and adults is an educational act that creates well-being, a sense of familiarity and belonging, aesthetic taste and the pleasure of inhabiting spaces, which are also primary prerequisites and conditions for safety”.

 

Environment as third teacher

 

Children are acutely sensitive to the world around them, and how a space or a particular material suggests certain possibilities. In Reggio Emilia, teachers welcome this influence and actively cultivate it, by recognising the environment as the third teacher in the classroom, capable of stimulating, deepening and challenging children’s thinking without saying a word. In a similar vein, they pay great attention to the intelligence of materials – the power of the natural and manufactured world to suggest certain uses or functions. When deciding what materials to introduce in the school around a particular investigation, teachers will first spend time exploring its particular ‘intelligence’, what possibilities it suggests to you as you explore it with all your senses. 

 

Sustainability and recycled materials

 

Both natural objects (like wood, stones and plants) and recycled materials (like plastic trays, pipes, material offcuts) are used to stimulate and deepen learning in the school. Schools aim to encourage empathy, the sustainable use of materials, and a kind resourcefulness that comes of being able to see new possibilities in natural and recycled objects and put them to use. When exploring a topic to do with the natural world, children are encouraged to go out into the environment, to see their object of study in its natural context (not to remove it), to get in relationship with the nature.

As for recycled materials, the city of Reggio Emilia has evolved recycling centres known as Remida, where offcuts and waste materials produced by the city’s factories and local artisans are collected, cleaned, and artfully displayed. These Remida are a free resource for teachers, a place they can go to explore the possibilities inherent in different materials, and collect what they need for their classroom or current investigation. “Remida is named after King Midas with the golden touch… It’s a name to acknowledge that everything, any material, can be, in our hands, in the children’s hands, like gold. A treasure. There is beauty in the imperfect.” 

The set up of provocations in the classroom inspires curiosity and imagination, it fosters communication and collaboration and supports enquiry and investigation. All the elements of great learning.

Applications to our Boksburg campus are open, contact admissions.boksburg@novapioneer or click below.

Nova Pioneer Schools have been directly involved in research on the pedagogy of play project with Project Zero of Harvard Graduate School of Education. They work with teachers from around the world to determine best practice for learning through play. Mardell and his research team visited Nova Pioneer to observe lessons. Nova Pioneer was a part of a group of three schools selected in South Africa chosen.

 

PRESS RELEASE: Ben Mardell is an optimist. Or as he explains, “Being in schools where children’s natural inclination to create, collaborate and care is supported makes me optimistic.” Ben is Principal Investigator at Project Zero, the oldest research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He investigates how children who learn through play develop social and cognitive skills.

Ben recently spent time at Nova Pioneer, a leading network of schools in South Africa and Kenya.  We got to ask him how the Pedagogy of Play teaches children emotional maturity. Children who learn this way are self-confident and prepared for the future.

Harvard University and the Lego Foundation research learning through play. They work with teachers from around the world to determine best practice for learning through play. Mardell and his research team visited Nova Pioneer to observe lessons. They loved what they saw, saying it was one of their most inspiring days in any school.

Mardell’s research shows that learning through play has many benefits including engaging children to be caring, creative and democratic citizens.  Play reconnects us and restores our sense of community while creating a generation of leaders. 

 

Developing more adaptive, active learners

At first, learning through play seems to oppose traditional school structures. However, learning through play is not devoid of rules and structure. It does not ignore the disciplines of reading, writing, mathematics and scientific method. Rather, it integrates with traditional schooling and offers the best of both worlds. 

Play is not unique to humans; in fact, we find it in all mammals. Play is part of our DNA, preparing us for unpredictable situations. “We instinctively learn through play. Imagine that one of our ancestors encountered a mammoth. This has never happened to our ancestor before. If he tried to figure it out in that moment, he would have been in serious in trouble. But, because he played hunting games as a child, he is adept at making spontaneous decision,” says Mardell.  In our fast-changing world, our children will certainly encounter a great deal of uncertainty.

Play fuels learning  because players are engaged but not stressed. “ It encourages novel experiences, active engagement, and learning from peers and adults.”

 

The Reggio Emilia Approach

Nova Pioneer’s curriculum follows the Reggio Emilia approach, a play-based pedagogy. The school also supports the Africa Reggio Emilia Alliance, chaired by Nova Pioneer’s Director of Academics, Des Hugo.

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative approach to early childhood education. It values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child has a deep curiosity and potential. Children are curious to understand their world and their place within it. The fundamental principles of Reggio Emilia resonate with Nova Pioneer’s learning approach. And so, the school incorporates play as part of  learning

The Reggio Emilia philosophy underpins Nova Pioneer’s learning model. Hugo explains, “Playful learning, curiosity and exploration are essential for building knowledge.”

“Project Zero’s research perfectly aligns with our work. We offer an African perspective to complement the research done in Europe,” says Hugo. “The pedagogy of play offers rigorous learning opportunities. Students engage in joyful, contextual learning.”

 

Playful learning at Nova Pioneer a school developing  innovators and leaders

Playful learning, curiosity and exploration are essential for building knowledge.  At the same time, respect, responsibility, and community underpin Nova Pioneer’s curriculum. 

The curriculum incorporates play into daily school activities. A typical day at Nova Pioneer has many opportunities to learn in pairs and groups. The children learn to collaborate and share ideas.  The transition times and classroom routines support fun and play while learning. 

Game- and play-based activities reinforce literacy and numeracy lessons and build core skills.  Exploration days develop deep, inquiry based learning, that is playful and joyful.

 

Balanced learning

A pedagogy of play helps balance play with traditional school structures. For example, in play, children take risks and try new things. In a school we want our children to be safe from physical and psychological harm. “Both of these things are true,” explains Mardell. “We want children to explore and we don’t want them to get hurt. Realizing that the two aspects are not mutually exclusive was a defining moment in our research. We need to figure out a way for teachers to do both.”

At Nova Pioneer, play is woven into the more traditional Cambridge curriculum. Literacy and numeracy games are often part of the morning meetings. Children get to practice their skills, and teachers get to assess progress.

Teachers introduce the children to literacy and science objectives through real-life scenarios. They learn the importance and use specific academic concepts in small collaborative groups.

 

It takes a village

Learning does not happen only in the hallowed ground of the schoolyard. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Children are always learning. Parents can support teachers in a learning through play approach. “Ask your children questions and share in their wonder,” Mardell says.

Parents must become active participants in their child’s learning. Inquire about the explorations your child is doing at school. Find meaningful ways to support it. If they are learning about animals, plan a trip to the zoo. If they are learning about trees and plants take them out into the garden or a park.

“Ask your children questions; have conversations. Enjoy being curious and exploring with your child. This way, you lead your child by your own example. “A playful learning environment at home supports your children. It makes it more fun to be together and enjoy learning together,” says Mardell.

 

Adapting to change

There is a lot of hype around emerging technologies. The changes our children will need to adapt to are not in the far-flung reaches of science fiction. Self-driving cars and robots that perform surgeries already exist. It is only a matter of time before they become normal, for good or ill.

Nova Pioneer integrates technology into blended learning with Maths and Literacy. Hugo explains, “We use Mathletics and Reading Eggs programs for these rotations. These are game-based. Exploration Days also incorporate technology. Children learn basic coding, circuitry and even robotics.” 

“Our children are going solve problems using new technology,” says Mardell. “They cannot learn how to do this from a textbook because we do not know exactly what that technology is.  There isn’t a textbook about this.”

Children who learn through play have the confidence to handle uncertainty. We equip them with skills and empathy to work together in groups to solve common problems. 

 

Children who go to schools like this emerge as democratic citizens. They are adept at communicating, and creative. These children have learnt through doing long-term projects, and group work. They will be well prepared for the challenges they are going to meet in the future. 

The Pedagogy of Play – employed by schools like Nova Pioneer – will have a profoundly positive effect.  It will create a generation of engaged, caring and optimistic leaders. Leaders who are excited to tackle the challenges that may lie ahead.