Rethinking Kindergarten

If you’ve found that early childhood students often have difficulty following the rules and routines of the art room, this course will help you to dive deep into a variety of strategies, tools, and methodologies sure to support these young artists in the art classroom. You will investigate a variety of progressive philosophies, including Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and Waldorf as well as techniques for integrating play-based learning and teaching foundational skills. This eight-week intensive course will provide you with innovative opportunities to explore childhood development, create classroom resources, and revamp your philosophy of teaching younger learners.

For the official course description, see the Academic Catalog.

Required Materials

No text required for this course.

Additional Materials

Computer with basic audio and video output equipment
Internet access (broadband recommended)
Basic computing skills (see AOEU’s Technology Requirements)
Access to AOEU’s online learning platform, Brightspace, to view course content, submit assignments, and engage in discussion (provided)
Word-processing platform (Microsoft Office, Pages, Google Docs)

Graduate Credits

All courses will now close at 11 PM Central time on the 27th of each month. Graduate Credits 2 Graduate Credits

Price Graduate Credit $698.00

Timeline

Mon 8 Sun

Nov 2 Weeks Dec 27

Upcoming Course Run Dates

Nov 2 Dec 27

Jan 4 Feb 28

May 3 Jun 27

Jun 7 Aug 1

Mar 1 Apr 25

AOEU Course Code

ARE513

Morningside Course Code

EDUC500 AOE013

Course Objectives

Develop meaningful curricular materials suited to the needs of today’s diverse students.
Evaluate various philosophies of early childhood education to inform and improve practice.
Develop opportunities for play-based learning and student-directed inquiry.
Gain strategies for fostering rich and ongoing partnerships with other adults in the learning community to further enrich the experiences of students.
Examine strategies for classroom and student work management.
Develop tools to assess and advocate for process-based classrooms.
Build and reference a library of resources to address the needs of diverse learners.

Course Breakdown

Week 1

Early Childhood Development and Foundational Skills

Build knowledge of early childhood development and how it relates to art education.
Develop techniques for teaching foundational skills and understanding children’s artwork

Week 2

Comparing Progressive Early Childhood Philosophies

Research and investigate the three major progressive philosophies: Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia.
Identify common themes and differences between a variety of kindergarten philosophies.

Week 3

Tapping into the “Big Picture” of Kindergarten

Learn about the history of kindergarten and how it has transformed since its inception.
Interview a professional in early childhood education to develop a relationship for a future partnership and synthesize similarities and differences in philosophies of teaching.

Week 4

Process vs. Product and Learning Through Play

Investigate how play and process are an integral part of the early childhood learning experience.
Develop a series of play-based centers or units.

Week 5

Rethinking Space and Materials

Rethink your classroom space and materials to encourage authentic learning.
Design an action plan for the proposed changes to the classroom and art materials.

Week 6

Managing It All

Consider a variety of readiness levels and how this impacts classroom management in kindergarten.
Explore a variety of strategies for student engagement, classroom management, material organization, and activity transitions.

Week 7

Advocacy and Assessment Through Documentation

Learn about documentation as advocacy and an assessment strategy.
Discuss various ways to document student learning.

Week 8

Reflection

Reflect on major shifts in your teaching philosophy throughout the course and present learning to peers.
Create a comprehensive tool kit of lessons, visuals, and planning documents.

Process vs. Product and Learning Through Play

A sample assignment from Week 4 of the class Rethinking Kindergarten

1. Research

Do some research of your own regarding best practices for classroom management in early childhood classrooms. Identify and discuss one particular play-based learning strategy or idea that you would like to implement in your classroom. Why are you excited to try this in your classroom?

2. Discussion

Reference specific ideas you might use to advocate for shifts in teaching and learning. Share an advocacy statement for specific stakeholders (i.e., parents, administration, the board of education) and gain valuable feedback from the instructor and peers.

3. Practical, Hands-On Application

After learning about the power of play in early childhood education, design three or more play-based art centers. For each, include a paragraph explaining how you will introduce them, photographs documenting materials and setup, and a resource for students to reference during the process.

Teresa K.

"I appreciated seeing examples of the Reggio approach in action. This class gave us some great ideas, and then being able to connect with other teachers, seeing their ideas and getting their feedback was priceless!"

Yolanda P.

"I left this course feeling as though I completed a FULL semester at school and found the assignments to be very relevant, engaging and informative. The layout and timeline of the course allowed us to lead the lives we're supposed to lead outside of work. The grading criteria is accessible in every post and feedback was given promptly. A great experience! "

Elizabeth B.

"This course not only gave food for thought and future development but inspired ideas we could immediately implement and act upon in our classrooms. This is for me a highly valuable outcome of professional development."

What do past course participants think?

Hundreds of art teachers have taken the course Rethinking Kindergarten. Here’s what they actually think — without cherry-picking.
(12-month rolling average from all post-course survey respondents – Updated 2/27/2020)

94%

"THE COURSE CONTENT WAS RELEVANT AND UP-TO-DATE."

89%

"MY INSTRUCTOR PROVIDED VALUE-ADDED CONTRIBUTIONS TO ENHANCE DISCUSSIONS AND ENGAGE STUDENTS."

94%

"I ACHIEVED THE GOALS I SET AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS COURSE."

Let's Get Started

If you know what you need, then go ahead and register.

Don't worry if you still have questions. Our admissions counselors keep up with the requirements for teachers in your state and can help you choose a course that's right for you and your career.

All you have to do is reach out.