Workshop in Taipei

taipeiworkshopThe workshop in Taipei on Sunday 20 November collected together the teachers, who had participated in the observation and data collection. The main content of the day was the sharing of teachers experiments and examples of their development models based on the research results. Many of the development tasks were related to outdoors and physical activity. Taipei is a cramped metropolitan, in where the pre-schools may not have a proper outdoor yard of their own. It was very inspiring to see creative solutions for fun and creative physical activity in constricted environment. Of the participating researchers were included, for example, Hui-Chun Lee (Tzu Chi University), professor Li-Chen Wang (Chang Gung University), professor Doris Cheng (Tung Wah Collegesta Hong Kong) and professor Karen Liu (Indiana State University). As an example, in Sanmin pre-school, the children go to the park every day. The group collects smiles from the people they meet in their way. They get smiles a lot! There were people waiting for the children to pass by. For example, a choir of senior citizens were waiting for the children and performed a song for the children. In the park the activities were fast, but the path to park and back took a long time, because there were so many familiar and unknown things to explore.

 

Yilan-Hualien area workshop

hualienworkshopThe workshop in Hualien on Saturday 19 November 2016 collected together the project early childhood educators participating in the data collection. The teachers presented examples from tree houses to using stumps in math. We also compared the Finnish and Taiwanese research results. In the workhop the teachers input, examples and sharing were essential. There were researchers from Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Turkey and Finland. Participating researchers included professoriHui-Chun Lee (Tzu Chi University), professor Li-Chen Wang (Chang Gung University), professor Doris Cheng (Tung Wah College of Hong Kong), professor Shu-Shuan Shih (Taitung University), professor Hui-Hua Chen (Dong Hwa University), Yeni Rachmavati (Pendidikan University), Mehmet Sahin (Dong Hwa University) and Wei-Chen Zhang (Dong Hwa University). The natural resources, Pacific Ocean, rivers, mountains, plants and animals give the pre-school settings a unique environment, which calls for respect and exploration. Thank you for the participants for a very inspiring day!

Plan – Act – Share

sharingIn Taiwan children spend time outdoors on average only 29 minutes a day and they are highly physically active only 23 minutes a day. In several pre-schools, the teachers have chosen as their development task increasing  both outdoor activities and physical activity. In the picture there is a map of the pre-school yard. Before children go out,  the map and outdoor possibilities are discussed with children to enrich children’s ideas. The time of outdoor activities has been extended from 30 minutes to one hour. Both children and teachers feel good. The weather is hot and the children sweat a lot! All teachers are outdoors together with children. After washing up children come indoors and the map is used again to deepen the experiences. In the photo, teachers of the group share their experiences with the teachers of other pre-schools and new ideas are developed. For example, the heavy rubber tiles that have been removed may not be thrown away, they can be used in building, math and exercise. The map can be left on floor for children to play and deepen their outdoor horizon.

Riverplan in Taiwan

riverplanIn Taiwan, the pre-schools have been using the results of the 2015-2016 data collection in their development of the activities. The development model is Riverplan. In the picture, the teachers are planning to increase the support of play. In the Riverplan, north bank is for the opportunities and the south bank are the dangers of the trip. In the river there is the process. First we have to make a good map of the environment we are about to travel. Then we need to clarify what tools and skills we need for a successful journey. Furthermore, in a meaningful trip the differences and personal interests need to be considered if we want the trip to be meaningful for everybody (participation). Finally, we need to consider how we can share our fruits of the trip for everybody to enjoy.