High Scope: Active Learning
          by Beth Cullom

          High Scope is a developmentally-appropriate curriculum style which was originally designed for preschoolers and is now used at the elementary level as well. It has been in practice for over 20 years and boasts some very impressive research statistics in public schools. I was trained in (and emphatically supported) this method as a public school teacher and, although we use a rather informal version, it provides the foundation for my homeschool teaching style. High Scope is a formal classroom approach to a basic concept: People learn when they are ready to learn, and teachers have better results when they respond to the "teachable moment."

          The lesson plan of a High Scope class will include the following:

                • Planning Time / PLAN
                • Activity Time / DO
                • Recall Time / REVIEW
                • Teacher Directed / SMALL GROUP
                • Gross Motor / USUALLY OUTSIDE
            The Five Components of Active Learning are:

            CHOICE / In Planning the child chooses what to do.

            LANGUAGE / Each child is encouraged to describe their activities; verbalize feelings, needs and desires.

            MATERIALS / Abundant materials, conveniently located for children to use in many ways.

            MANIPULATION / Children are free to manipulate their materials in a variety of ways.

            SUPPORT / Adults and peers recognize and encourage each individual's problem solving and creativity.
             

          Observation ("grading") is completed through the teacher's anecdotal records (kept daily) and recorded on the Child Observation Record (COR) using the 10 Key Experiences:
                • Creative Representation
                • Language and Literacy
                • Social Relations/Initiative
                • Movement
                • Music
                • Classification
                • Seriation
                • Number
                • Space
                • Time
          Active learning can look like chaos when an outsider looks in on a High Scope classroom. Knowledgable observers know that the teachers are working very hard to provide language, support and direction to individual children in a meaningful and relevant way, rather than acting like a policeman overseeing a large number of children with workbooks. For official High Scope information, contact:
           
              High Scope Educational Research Foundation
              600 North River Street
              Ypsilanti, Michigan 48198-2898
              Telephone: (313) 485-2000
              Facsimile: (313) 485-0704
              e-mail: info@highscope.org
              Materials and Mailing List Requests: (800)407-7377