Reggio Emillia and John Dewey

Moudhi mohammed
H00366005
I placed in Tefal el Emarat KG, which is placed in Al- Dhaer area. Tefal el Emarat KG use
MOE curriculum Instruction in MOE schools is in Arabic, although English as a second
language is emphasized. There is also an Islamic and Social Studies component. MOE
curriculum is used in both public and private schools. MOE curriculum helps the teachers to
know that the students will learn. The MOE curriculum is designed to develop an innovative
education system to ensure a highly knowledgeable and globally competitive society,

Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy focused in both primary and preschool
education. It’s described as the child-centered where its focused in the child interest. The
program is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through
exploration and discovery through a self-guided. In my lesson, I linked all the centers to
Reggio Emilia approach like in the first center where the students use natural resources like:
seeds, flowers, stems, leaves and roots. They had to throw the dice and see how much they
got like “2” so they should write 2 and put 2 pieces of seeds on it. In the science center,
I put the soil, seed, and water in front of them and let them do a real plant. And the art
center I put for them many options to choose, I put for them leaves papers, stem, and
strews, and different colors, they can choose what they want to draw the leaves with, they
can use the leaves, they can use their hands whatever they want. Students need to be
surrounded by the materials that will allow them to investigate. The environment of the
school is seen as the third educator. It should be a "studio" filled with materials such as
clay, paint, and writing implements that allow hands on, investigative learning. Reggio Emilia
used documentation to save the child’s work like, camera, tape a video, write notes,
recorders. So, for me I did for them formative assessment to save their work and to see
what they were able to understand I gave them plane paper, and colors to draw a flower
with its parts. Formative is a part of documentation. Formative helps the teacher to know
what the students were able to know and understand. Documentation helps the teacher to
let the parents see their children’s work when they come to ask about their child levels.
Reggio approach is also about the classroom design, he believed about showing their work to
the others and put it in around the class well help the students to do more because we
appreciated their work. So, after I finish the centers I let the student put their work
around the class so they can see their work. The Lesson is about the flower parts and what
does the plant needs to grow. The lesson was for KG2/4 students where they are 26
students. The lesson was taken in their classroom, In this lesson, I was trying to let them
know that part of the flower and what does the plant needs to grow and let them be able
to say all the key words. While I was teaching them in the carpet they were able to
understand me and they were able to know the answers without me telling them the
answers. In the centers I did math center, writing center, science center, and art center. In
the math center the students had have a worksheet where there are 5 boxes empty and a
dice, they have to throw the dice and count how many they get, so if they got 3 they
have to add 3 seeds in the seeds boxes after they finish all the boxes they should add
altogether and write down the answer. In the writing center, the students had like a book
diary they l trace the words (seeds, steam, leaves, roots, flower) after they finish tracing
they draw it.
In the science center the students had a cup, seeds, soil and water, they have to follow
the instructions and apply it like, you have to put 3 seeds after you put the soil. In the
art center in this center, they had colures and strews, sticks and leaves that will help them
to draw the flower and its part. They draw the flower with their hands and they choose
what they want to draw the stem with, they will have had two choices one with the stick
and the other with the strew. And for the leaves they will had original leaves that they
must press it on the colure and print it in the paper that it’s in front of them. And the
last center they had cutted sun, drops of water, flowers, leaves, stems, and roots they had
to make a whole flower and place each one with the label of it. First, they had to label the
name of the plants needs and then they labeled what does the plant needs to grow

John Dewey believed that human beings learn through a 'hands-on' approach. His curriculum
that focuses on connecting multiple subjects. He also believed that the students and the
teachers must learn together. In my lesson, I linked the 3 subjects together, math, English
and science. So, in this lesson the lesson was about healthy and unhealthy and the students
must know the difference between them the lesson was for KG2-4, they are 26 students
but 3 were absent. The lesson was taught in their class. in this lesson, I wanted the
students to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy and be able to sort them
in math center
First in the carpet they had to answer the question and tell me while I was showing them
the pictures it is healthy or unhealthy, after I finish they must go their centers, in the
English centers they had like a book where it’s written “I like to eat ___” they should write
what they like “apple “there will be written for them the words so it will be easier for
them. In the math center the students have to sort, by colors, healthy, unhealthy food,
fruits and vegetable they will have cutted papers and a paper. In the science center, they
had a paper that have a picture and two tables “what does grow in the tree” and “what
does grow underground”. In the other centers, they had two pictures, “fill Sara’s stomach
with healthy food” they will have pictures of the healthy food and they must cut it and
put it in Sara’s stomach. The last center the students had like a plane plate, and different
kind of papers that have vegetables, fruits, healthy and unhealthy pictures. Some students
will have to put the fruits and vegetable and the other students will have to put the
healthy and unhealthy.

Reggio Emilia differ from John Dewey in the child interest. The teacher’s role within the
Reggio Emilia approach is complex. Working as co-teachers, the role of the teacher is first
and foremost to be that of a learner alongside the children. The teacher is a teacher-
researcher, a resource and guide as she/he lends expertise to children. Within such a
teacher-researcher role, educators carefully listen, observe, and document children’s work and
the growth of community in their classroom and are to provoke, co-construct, and
stimulate thinking, and children’s collaboration with peers. Teachers are committed to
reflection about their own teaching and learning. But in John Dewey the student’s role is
project based learning, STEM activities. And the teacher is a facilitator, deliver content and
background information, and he also believed that students must know and discover by them
self’s. But in both theories, they believed that the students must do as much as they learn
(hands on activities. And in Dewey's approach was truly child-centered. A child-centered
approach to education places the emphasis of learning on the needs and interest of child. In
Dewey's view, children should be allowed to explore their environments. His curriculum
focuses on connecting multiple subjects, where students are allowed to freely move in and
out of classrooms. The role of the teacher in this setting would be to serve more as a
facilitator than instructors. In Dewey's view, the teacher should observe the interest of the
students, observe the directions they naturally take and then serve as someone who helps
develop problem- solving skills.

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/john-dewey-on-education-impact-

theory.html