Philosophy
of Step by Step program
Step
by Step child-centered methodology is based upon theories of Piaget,
Erikson, Vygostki with aim understanding the categorization of
learning and psychosocial development. Step by Step methodology
emphasizes individualization, posing and solving problems, enables
children to make their own decisions and to be responsible for
them, to develop critical thinking skills and family involvement.
Cooperative
Learning
Seminar
on this topic provides information for different learning styles,
strategies and the basic models of cooperative learning. Presenting
the idea of cooperative learning provides achieving higher level
of understanding and developing interpersonal skills.
Learning
Through Play
During
the seminar’s workshops participants will explore the meaning
of the play and its influence on all developmental levels. Topic
provides learning strategies for practical implementation of the
play. Beside this the topic emphasis implementation of play in
the teaching curriculums and adaptation to meet children’s needs
and space arrangement.
Early
Reading and Writing
The
seminar is designed with the aim to present strategies and techniques
for developing early reading and writing, the meaning of early
reading and writing for the whole child’s development, special
accent is on developing other important language skills.
Creative
workshop for advanced reading and writing
The
aim of the seminar is to provide ideas for practical implementation
of defined technique for developing advanced reading and writing
skills, through book making, implementation of active methods
in writing process, and adapting strategies for developing language
skills.
Team
work
Seminar
provides basic information for theoretical research of teamwork
and its practical implementation, roles and responsibilities of
team members, and the meaning of teamwork in the process of successful
achieving aims.
Training
for mentors
Seminar’s
workshops deeply explore all strategies for guiding mentors in
the process of adapting training’s techniques, designing training
workshops, adapting skills for leading training as individual
trainer.
Evaluation
Seminar
provides fully information for the meaning of evaluation as integral
part and as well as final part in learning process. Adapting numerous
methods and techniques for evaluation and ways of recording, analyzing
and presenting evaluation’s data.
Project
Learning
Seminar’s
topic presents the process of project designing as an opportunity
for acquiring particular knowledge, developing strategies and
techniques for project learning, using problem research approach
and acquiring skills for developing and implementing individual
and group projects.
Creative
mathematics
This
topic provides preparation of the children/pupils for different
approach in acquiring math content, creating simulative environment
for implementing math’s activities and implementation of math’s
games and activities.
Creativity
development
The
aim of the seminar is to emphasize creativity development and
to encourage unique attitude toward creation. Participants will
have an opportunity to elaborate theoretical issues and learn
the components of creative thinking, problems connect with directing
to creativity as well as supporting and recognizing creativity
at each individual.
Creative
music
Participant
for this seminar will explore different opportunities in acquiring
part of the content-music and its realization. Integration of
the music content in different part of the curriculum web as a
mean of presenting music in pretty interesting and creative ways.
Teachers
role and adult-pupils interaction
Series
of workshops are with aim emphasizing the need of changing teacher’s
role, introduction to contemporary teaching methods, acquiring
new teaching skills, improving teacher-pupil communication, the
new teacher’s role in child centered classroom.
Mastery
teaching and managing classroom
Participants
will learn new content for classroom arrangement and creating
stimulate child-centered learning and teaching environment. Classroom
environment full of mutual trust, respect and approving, child-centered
classroom with emphasis on teacher’s role in meeting each pupil
individual needs.
Learning
styles and adult learning
Participants
will have an opportunity to explore different learning styles,
to discover learning style that best suits each individual. This
topic provides information how to plan thematic units having into
mind different learning styles. Different learning styles highlight
mutual differences and the need of individual approach in the
teaching process with the children and adults.
Developing
early speech skills
Seminar
emphasizes the meaning of developing early speech skills as a
meaningful aspect of whole child’s development. Introduction with
the strategies that encourage developing early child speech and
the stages in the speech development. The workshop contains activities
and attitudes for encouraging early speech skills.
Creative
science
The
workshop emphasizes scientific research for early childhood education.
The starting point is the need of observation and creating environment.
Through creative activities children are encouraged to classify,
compare, observe, measure, communicate, recognize and estimate.
Games
and toys
The
seminar on this topic emphasizes the meaning of the game and toys
as activities important for the child's development. The content
provides presentation of different games as an opportunity to
enhance children’s learning. Teacher will gain ideas for creating
different games and toys with aim enhancing the curriculum contents.
Creating
simulative learning environment
The
seminar is designed with aim presenting part of the Step by Step
philosophy. The emphasis is on learning. One of the main components
in the learning process is arranging learning environment. It
should be designed in a way to meet children’s needs, interests
and different learning styles.
Socio-emotional
development
The
seminar offers rich content for the socio-emotional development
of children. Teachers will explore theories and researches that
emphasis important role of the adult in supporting child’s socio-emotional
development. The aim of the workshop is to raise adult’s awareness
that they model behavior for the children.
Communication
Seminar
is designed in a way to highlights main components of proper communication
and the meaning of communication in daily routine. Proper communication
is one of the main tools in achieving educational aims for the
children. Teachers will gain ideas and insights for defining the
development and nurturing of honest and affirmative communication
in professional and private life.
Creative
workshop
The
seminar presents the concept of creativity and its importance
for the civilization. Seminar’s content offers different types
of creativity that will encourage children to express their own
creativity in an individual way. The seminar also provides information for planning
and implementing creative activities into art program, integrated
content for creative drama, music and dance.
Evaluation
of the educational process and student’s achievements
The
seminar is designed in a way to present contemporary streams for
evaluation and recording of children’s achievements. This is one
the main component in the educational process. The accent is on
ongoing evaluation and assessment composed of different methods,
techniques and tools for monitoring children’s achievements with
aim gaining overall picture of children’s abilities and capabilities.
Child-centered
educational methodology
The
seminar provides direction for designing developmental appropriate
practice with aim highlighting basic strategies of the learning
process. Besides this it offers opportunities for dealing with
the contemporary tendencies in the child-centered educational
process as well as the basic characteristics from the main stream
in the education.
Child-centered
methodology for infant and toddler
Seminar
designed in different workshops that will enable participants
to explore Step by Step child-centered methodology for infants
and toddlers. Implementing this contemporary approach in work
with infants and toddlers will enable them to become problem solvers,
to pose problems, to make choices, to think critically, to be
imaginative and to use different sources of information. To develop
above-mentioned characteristics it is necessary to create the
following basic conditions: developmentally appropriate practice,
creating child-centered environment where children can make choices,
where their needs and interests will be respected and environment
that will involve their parents.
Active
methods and forms of work
Adopting
active methods and forms of work that are best suited to contemporary
education. This seminar offers wide elaboration of the following
methods: designing projects, debates, panel discussions, mapping,
preparing graphs, solving problems, observing, role play and implementing
activities. The accent is on group work, pair work as the main
techniques that are best suited for implementing educational activities
in child-centered classrooms.
Types
of thematic teaching (daily, weekly)
This
seminar is designed for the teachers that used child-centered
curriculum in their classrooms. Workshops of the seminar serve
as a rich resource in implementing different models of thematic
teaching on the daily and weekly base.
How
to better teachers?
The
participants will have chance through creative workshops to elaborate
new findings for the child’s development. The contents of the
workshops provide information for creating and organizing child-centered
activities with emphasis on encouraging future individual child’s
growth and development and using creative approach for monitoring
child’s development.
Observation
Observation
of children during play and learning situation is the key to knowing
children. Being able to observe children interacting with others
in child-centered environment provides questions, clues, answers
and insights into personality traits as well as developmental
learning processes. Using information gained through observation
allows educators the opportunity to provide optimal learning environment
and meaningful instructional activities for all children.
Family
involvement
The
seminar emphasis parents’ role in designing education and environment
for children. Parents and teachers should work closely as a partners
and having each individual child as primary focus. In an inclusive
child-centered setting specialist are included in the team as
equal partners with parents and teachers. The entire team works
together to provide individualized instruction to suit children’s
needs and interest.
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