Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/writing-love-letters-to-teachers-as-experts-of-their-practice/5025690/
*See the pdf version of this article for additional graphics and photos.
*We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Lift a Life Foundation, and Metro United Way and Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C) as strategic partners in this research.
On a cold morning in late February, Christie Angleton arrived in Debora Stephenson’s toddler classroom for a scheduled observation. There was a productive hum in the air as children chose invitations and play spaces around the room. As Christie greeted children and took field notes, she and Debora chatted about the morning and recent happenings in the classroom. After a moment, Christie noticed a small plastic terrarium with a frog inside.
“Oh my goodness! What is this?” she asked.
“Oh, is he out?” Debora exclaimed. “We hardly see him!” She quickly scooped up the terrarium, set it gently on the floor, and invited her toddlers to the carpet. With exclamations of delight, small bodies smushed together around Debora and the frog, the first moments of a group discussion that would last nearly an hour.
Another day, Pamela Jett visited the 3-year-old classroom down the hall from Debora’s, where Lonnie Warfield and her preschoolers were finishing breakfast. A small group of girls, lately very interested in fashion and makeup, ...