We receive many inquiries each week, either through our Web site or e-mail address, asking about High/Scope Foundation "basics." Even persons who know about High/Scope in one context, such as research, are curious and even surprised to learn about our other activities, for example, staff training or publishing. But the majority of queries concern the how's and why's of the High/Scope early childhood educational approach. That's why we've put together the following list of questions and answers, starting off with a brief summary of how we got started and all that we do and then highlighting the major components of how we approach educating young children.
What is the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation?
The High/Scope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization, established in 1970 with headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Foundation promotes the development of children and youth worldwide and supports educators and parents as they help children learn. High/Scope engages in the following activities:
- Develops curricula (instructional programs, professional development programs, and assessment instruments)
- Trains teachers, caregivers, and youth workers
- Conducts research in education and interprets and publishes what it discovers
- Publicly supports programs and policies that benefit children and youth
- Publishes educational books, videotapes, and other materials
What is the High/Scope educational approach?
High/Scope is an "active learning" educational approach. Active learning means students have direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas. Children's interests and choices are at the heart of High/Scope programs. They construct their own knowledge through interactions with the world and the people around them. Children take the first step in the learning process by making choices and following through on their plans and decisions. Teachers, caregivers, and parents offer physical, emotional, and intellectual support. In active learning settings, adults expand children's thinking with diverse materials and nurturing interactions.
How does the High/Scope approach differ from other early childhood programs?
The High/Scope educational approach is consistent with the best practices recommended by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Head Start Performance Standards, and other guidelines for developmentally based programs. Within this broad framework, however, High/Scope has unique features that differentiate it from other early childhood programs. One is the daily plan-do-review sequence. Research shows that planning and reviewing are the two components of the program day most positively and significantly associated with children's scores on measures of developmental progress. The second feature is the 58 High/Scope preschool key experiences which define the content areas of the preschool curriculum. These are the social, intellectual, and physical experiences that are essential to young children's optimal growth. The key experiences are organized into ten content areas that comprise social development (initiative and social relations), visual and performing arts (creative representation, movement, and music), reading (language and literacy), and math and science (number, classification, seriation, space, and time). High/Scope teachers keep these key experiences in mind when they set up the environment and plan activities to encourage learning and social interaction. They also form the basis of High/Scope's child assessment tool-the High/Scope Preschool Child Observation Record (COR).
What are High/Scope's goals for young children?
High/Scope is a comprehensive educational approach that strives to help children develop in all areas. Our goals for young children:
- To learn through active involvement with people, materials, events, and ideas
- To become independent, responsible, and confident-ready for school and ready for life
- To learn to plan many of their own activities, carry them out, and talk with others about what they have done and what they have learned
- To gain knowledge and skills in important academic, social, and physical areas
High/Scope provides children with carefully planned experiences in reading, mathematics, and science. For example,the High/Scope Early Childhood Reading Institute insures that early learning and staff development in the area of literacy are compatible with the latest findings from research and practice. Our key experiences in mathematics are aligned with the early childhood standards of the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics. Studies continually demonstrate that children in High/Scope classrooms show high levels of initiative. Teachers further support social development by helping children learn how to resolve interpersonal conflicts. The National Institute for Child Health and Human Development stresses that all these areas of academic and socioemotional growth are essential for school readiness.
Does the High/Scope approach work?
Almost 40 years of research shows that High/Scope programs advance the development of children and improve their chance of living a better life through adulthood. National research with children from different backgrounds has shown that those who attend High/Scope programs score higher on measures of development than similar children enrolled in other preschool and child care programs. The Foundation is perhaps best known High/Scope Perry Preschool Project study comparing low-income children who attended our program with those who did not. As adults, preschool participants had higher high school graduation rates, higher monthly earnings, less use of welfare, and fewer arrests than those without the program. For every dollar invested in high-quality early childhood education, society saves $13 in the cost of special education, public assistance, unemployment benefits, and crime. Research also shows that High/Scope training with teachers and caregivers is highly effective. In a national study, teachers with High/Scope training had higher quality programs than did similar teachers without such training. Higher quality programs were in turn linked to better developmental outcomes for children.
Who uses High/Scope?
The High/Scope approach serves the full range of children and families from all social, financial, and ethnic backgrounds. The approach is used in public and private agencies, half- and full-day preschools, Head Start programs, public school prekindergarten programs, child care centers, home-based child care programs, and programs for children with special needs. The High/Scope approach for grades K–5 is used in dozens of school districts around the country and is approved as a Comprehensive School Reform model. High/Scope's summer residential program for teens, the Institute for IDEAS, is one of the few out-of-school programs recognized by the Program Effectiveness Panel of the U.S. Department of Education. In addition to the programs throughout the United States using High/Scope, High/Scope Institutes operate in Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, The Netherlands, Singapore, and Indonesia.
What do teachers and other adults do in a High/Scope program?
In High/Scope programs, adults are as active in the learning process as children. A mutual give-and-take relationship exists in which both groups participate as leaders and followers, speakers and listeners. Adults interact with children by sharing control with them, focusing on their strengths, forming genuine relationships with them, supporting their play ideas, and helping them resolve conflicts. Adults participate as partners in children's activities rather than as supervisors or managers. They respect children and their choices, and encourage initiative, independence, and creativity. Because adults are well trained in child development, they provide materials and plan experiences that children need to grow and learn.
What does a High/Scope program setting look like?
The space and materials in a High/Scope setting are carefully chosen and arranged to promote active learning. Although we do not endorse specific types or brands of toys and equipment, High/Scope does provide general guidelines and recommendations for selecting materials that are meaningful and interesting to children. The learning environment in High/Scope programs has the following characteristics:
- Is welcoming to children
- Provides enough materials for all the children
- Allows children to find, use, and return materials independently
- Encourages different types of play
- Allows the children to see and easily move through all the areas of the classroom or center
- Is flexible so children can extend their play by bringing materials from one area to another
- Provides materials that reflect the diversity of children's family lives
What happens each day in a High/Scope classroom?
High/Scope classrooms follow a predictable sequence of events known as the daily routine. This provides a structure within which children can make choices and follow their interests. While each High/Scope program decides on the routine that works best for its setting, schedule, and population, the following segments are always included during the program day.
- Plan-do-review time. This three-part sequence is unique to the High/Scope approach. It includes a 5-10-minute small-group time during which children plan what they want to do during work time (the area to visit, materials to use, and friends to play with); a 45-60-minute work time for carrying out their plans; and another 5-10-minute small-group time for reviewing and recalling with an adult and other children what they've done and learned. In between "do" and "review," children clean up by putting away their materials or storing unfinished projects. Generally, the older the children, the longer and more detailed their planning and review times become. Children are very active and purposeful during "do" time because they are pursuing activities that interest them. They may follow their initial plans, but often, as they become engaged, their plans shift or may even change completely.
- Small-group time. During small-group time, 5-10 children meet with an adult to experiment with materials and solve problems. Although adults choose a small-group activity to emphasize one or more particular key experiences, children are free to use the materials in any way they want during this time. The length of small group varies with the age, interests, and attention span of the children. At the end of the period, children help with cleanup.
- Large-group time. Large-group time builds a sense of community. Up to 20 children and 2 adults come together for movement and music activities, storytelling, and other shared experiences. Children have many opportunities to make choices and play the role of leader.
- Outside time. Children and adults spend at least 30 minutes outside every day, , enjoying vigorous and often noisy play in the fresh air. Without the constraints of four walls, they feel freer to make large movements and experiment with the full range of their voices. Children run, climb, swing, roll, jump, yell, and sing with energy. They experience the wonders of nature, including collecting, gardening, and examining wildlife. During extreme weather or other unsafe conditions, teachers find an alternative indoor location for large-motor activity.
- Transition times. Transitions are the minutes between other blocks of the day, as well as arrival and departure times. Our goal is to make transitions pass smoothly since they set the stage for the next segment in the day's schedule. They also provide meaningful learning opportunities themselves. Whenever possible, we give children choices about how to make the transition. For example, they may choose how to move across the floor on their way to small-group time. With a consistent daily routine children know what is going to take place next, and it is not unusual for them to announce the next activity and initiate the transition.
- Eating and resting times. Meals and snacks allow children to enjoy eating healthy food in a supportive social setting. Rest is for quiet, solitary activities. Since both activities happen at home as well as school, we try to respect family customs at these times as much as possible. Our main goal is to create a shared and secure sense of community within the program.
How does High/Scope help children learn how to resolve conflicts?
Conflict is inevitable during the course of children's play, whenever they become frustrated or angry. This does not mean children are bad, selfish, or mean. They simply have not yet learned how to interpret social cues, understand other viewpoints, or match their behavior to the situation. To help children learn how to work out their disagreements together, High/Scope teachers are trained to use a six-step process to solve problems and resolve conflicts:
- Approach calmly, stopping any hurtful actions or language-A calm manner reassures children that things are under control and can be worked out to everyone's satisfaction.
- Acknowledge feelings-Children need to express their feelings before they can let go of them and think about possible solutions to the problem.
- Gather information-Adults are careful not to make assumptions or takes sides. We ask open-ended questions to help children describe what happened in their own words.
- Restate the problem-Using the information provided by the children, the adult restates the problem, using clear and simple terms and, if necessary, rephrasing hurtful words.
- Ask for ideas for solutions and choose one together-Adults encourage children to suggest solutions, helping to put them in practical and concrete terms. We accept their ideas, rather than impose our own, thus giving children the satisfaction of having solved the problem.
- Give follow-up support as needed-Adults help children begin to carry out their solution, making sure that no one remains upset. If necessary, we repeat one or more steps until all the children return to their play.
How can families use High/Scope at home?
Many of the activities that High/Scope teachers offer in their programs can also be done by families at home. For example, parents can provide many different learning materials, often using everyday objects that cost little or nothing. Parents can encourage children to make plans, carry them out, and talk about what they have learned from their experiences. They can try to be more predictable in their routines so children know what to expect. And they can use the steps of conflict resolution to help children resolve disputes with siblings and friends. High/Scope classrooms welcome visits from parents and encourage them to participate in field trips and other special events. We are especially eager for parents to share things about their families and culture so they can be incorporated into the program's daily routine. In addition, staff hold regular workshops to help parents understand child development and how it is fostered at school and home. Teachers and caregivers conduct at least one home visit and two conferences with parents each year to share what is happening in the program in general and with their child in particular. In sum, High/Scope regards parents and teachers as partners in promoting children's learning.
How does High/Scope assess children?
High/Scope assesses children's development with comprehensive observations rather than narrow tests, using the High/Scope Preschool Child Observation Record (COR). Observing a broad range of behaviors over several weeks or months gives us a more accurate picture of children's true capabilities than tests administered in one-time sessions. Using the key experiences as a framework, teachers record daily anecdotes describing what children do and say. Two or three times a year, they review these anecdotes and rate each child at the highest level he or she has demonstrated so far on 30 items in six areas of development: initiative, social relations, creative representation, movement and music, language and literacy, and logic and mathematics. Children's COR scores help teachers design learning opportunities tailored to their level of development. The COR is also used to explain children's progress to parents during conferences. Instead of only giving parents abstract scores, teachers share anecdotes illustrating what their children are doing now and how they will continue to grow. High/Scope has also used the COR in state and national research projects to investigate the effectiveness of our educational approach and to compare it to other curriculum models.
How does High/Scope evaluate programs?
A proven model can only benefit children if it is implemented with high levels of fidelity. To guarantee that programs claiming to do High/Scope are indeed using our educational approach, we certify teachers and trainers, and accredit programs with the second edition of the Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA) Trained evaluators observe in the classroom and interview program staff to record objective notes and complete ratings on 72 items in seven areas: learning environment, daily routine, adult-child interaction, curriculum planning and assessment, parent involvement and family services, staff qualifications and staff development, and program management. The PQA is also an excellent tool for staff development, because detailed examples of "ideal" implementation are built into the scoring system. Like the COR, the PQA is also used in state and national evaluation projects to assess the impact of training and examine the relationship between program quality and children's development.
Is High/Scope compatible with standards for which programs are held accountable?
High/Scope key experiences and assessment tools can be aligned with the teaching standards and child outcomes required by states, school districts, and federally funded programs. For example, the Preschool COR assessment instrument aligns with specific indicators in the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, and computer versions of the COR will generate reports documenting child progress in terms of Head Start Domains, Elements, and Indicators.. Similarly, the Head Start User Guide to the PQA (included in the Administration Manual of the second edition of the Preschool PQA) connects each PQA item to the relevant criteria in the Head Start Performance Standards. The High/Scope educational approach can also be cross-mapped with the early childhood standards of virtually every local school district or state department of education. As a whole, the High/Scope curriculum and teaching approach are compatible with the best developmental practices recommended by respected practitioner groups. The High/Scope Demonstration Preschool is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). In developing specific content areas, High/Scope also takes into account the standards and guidelines of relevant professional organizations such as the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
How does High/Scope train people to use the educational approach?
High/Scope trains administrators, curriculum specialists, teachers, and child care providers in the High/Scope approach. We also prepare them to work directly with parents. Training is held at individual program locations and at Foundation headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where we operate a Demonstration Preschool visited by hundreds of educators each year. In the past 30 years, High/Scope has conducted training in every state and in more than 20 foreign countries. We hold an annual international conference on education in Michigan as well as several regional conferences throughout the year.
To accommodate different training needs and schedules, High/Scope offers a variety of courses and workshops ranging from one day to multiple weeks spread over several months. Training combines theory with practical application. High/Scope curriculum courses cover all aspects of understanding and implementing the educational approach with children and youth. Adult training courses enable those in supervisory positions to train and support staff at their own agencies as they use the High/Scope model. In addition to these basic courses, High/Scope also offers an ever-expanding roster of advanced workshops and seminars on such topics as reading, assessment, conflict resolution, visual and performing arts, and staff supervision.
The Foundation has collaborative arrangements with institutions of higher education, enabling participants to earn undergraduate or graduate credit for attending training. Successful completion of High/Scope course work also results in teacher or trainer certification, or program accreditation, based on rigorous evaluation criteria including assessment with the PQA. Individuals and agencies who are certified or accredited, respectively, become members of the High/Scope International Registry. Anyone with an interest in High/Scope can also join the High/Scope Membership Association to receive updated information about Foundation activities as well as free periodicals and discounts on Foundation conferences and products.
How did High/Scope get its name and what does it mean?
The late David Weikart, High/Scope's founder, relates how High/Scope got its name in his memoir How High/Scope Grew.. High/Scope was originally established as a camp program for talented adolescents. Weikart relates that the name was chosen by the camp's founders "at the end of a long evening of heady and serious discussion about [the program's] purpose and goals." They chose "high" to signify their aspiration level and "scope" to describe the breadth of vision they hoped to achieve. The slash was added later by a graphic artist, who in designing a logo, needed to bring the two words together.
For a more comprehensive overview of the High/Scope educational approach, see All About High/Scope, a ten-part series written for teachers, parents, and program administrators (Cat.# N-P1166).
You can also learn about the above topics in greater depth with these High/Scope Press publications: the curriculum and its implementation—Educating Young Children (N-P1178); Tender Care and Early Learning (N-F1046); Supporting Young Learners (Vols. 1–4, N-P1278SET); The Teacher's Idea Books series (Nos. 1–6, N-P1249SET) and Models of Early Childhood Education (N-R1039); training—Training for Quality (N-R1033); research—Lifetime Effects (N-R1063), Significant Benefits (N-R1034); and Lasting Differences (N-R1057); early reading—Growing Readers Early Literacy Curriculum (N-P1250SET); Preschool Readers and Writers (N-P1224); Fee, Fi, Phonemic Awareness (N-P1190); and Letter Links; conflict resolution—You Can’t Come to My Birthday Party (N-P1171); art—Supporting Young Artists (N-P1192); and working with parents—You and Your Child newsletters (N-P1167SET) and Helping Your Preschool Child Become a Reader (N-F1059).
For a history of High/Scope as an organization, see How High/Scope Grew: A Memoir (N-P1228).
For information on these products or High/Scope training and evaluation services, visit the online store on our Web page at www.highscope.org, or e-mail us at training@highscope.org
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