Reggio Emilia Program

PRINCE JOHN BARNAL

History of Reggio Emilia

 - Name of the Reggio Emilia educational approach was derived

from Reggio Emilia, Italy in 1945.
 - Founder: Loris Malaguzzi
 - Just at the end of the Fascist dictatorship and the Second World
War , there was great desire to create a more just world, free from
oppression which then urged men and women to gather strength
and build schools for young children.
Loris Malaguzzi
(Correggio 1920 – Reggio Emilia 1994)
 After taking degrees in pedagogy and psychology, Loris Malaguzzi began his career as an
elementary school teacher in the 1940s. In 1950 he established the Municipal Psycho-Pedagogical
Medical Center in Reggio Emilia, where he worked for more than twenty years. In 1963 he began
collaborating with the city administration for the opening of the first municipal preschools. This
network of services, which in 1967 also incorporated the “people’s nursery schools” that had been
established in the post-War period, was expanded in 1971 to include the first infant-toddler
centers. Malaguzzi directed these educational services for many years, working alongside other
close colleagues. Consultant to the Italian Ministry of Education, director of the education journals
Zerosei and Bambini, in 1980 he established the National Early Childhood Group in Reggio Emilia.
Malaguzzi untiringly promoted an innovative philosophy of education that would give value to
the wealth of potentials and resources of all children, as expressed in the concept of the
“hundred languages of children

"Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow
by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active,
reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn."
Common Misconceptions

 For many parents when your child starts going to school it means
less parent involvement in day to day learning and more teacher
structured lessons, less play and more work.

But a growing form of early childhood education, called Reggio Emilia

approach, is turning heads with its unique take on teaching- one which
makes parents, teachers, and children equal shareholders in the
learning initiative."
Reggio Emilia

 "Education is often understood as the sole responsibility of parents

and teachers. Reggio Emilia identifies a 3rd teacher between child,
teacher, and parent: the environment. Reggio Emilia has re-
conceptualized space as a key source of educational provocation
and insight."

Reggio Emilia believes there are 3 educators in the classroom:

the teacher, the child, and the environment.
"Childhood is often the first place where we begin to see and use the
environment imaginatively."

So, the question is: What does environment as the "3rd teacher" really mean?

The norm is that we tend to think of the environment as what we can

see around us, but it is way more than just being visual.
For human's an important and desirable activity is interaction with
others. Some researcher's have commented that "interaction should
have the dynamic to move thinking and learning."
In the Reggio approach, it is advocated that teacher's pay close
attention to the infinite number of ways that space can be made to
invite or "speak" and invite interaction.
Negotiated Curriculum is what that
is called!
 "Children come to care for their surroundings as well as see them in
unexpected ways, which becomes a part of a planned approach
to curriculum and evaluation that is organized around "expecting
the unexpected," a favorite Reggio Emilia saying."
Negotiated Curriculum

 Negotiated curriculum, also called emergent curriculum teachers

partake in a repetitive cycle of design, documentation, and
conversation. Teacher's introduce a provocation, listening closely to
the children's conversations as they engage with their surroundings,
and then they document the children's learning. From there, they
may discuss with other teachers and figure out a way to plan their
next activity based on the previous activity.

 "Documentation is a living testimony to interactions that happen

within a social space. Their story can be told through children's
portfolios, drawings, 3-D structures, words, photos, videos, and
documentation panels."
Examples of ways teachers can manipulate the
environment to invite interaction and learning:

 Positioning small mirrors around the classroom or placing easels to

natural sunlight.
 Those teaching in Reggio settings can also introduce "provocations"
used to surprise children and spark discussions!
 Reggio teacher's could put a pizza box in the kitchen corner, paper
and pencil in the blocks center, or scents that excite children's sense
of smell.
 Perspective of a child could sense even small changes that animate
the environment, making it feel "electric and alive"
"When your child starts going to school to
some parents it means less parent
involvement in day to day learning, and
more teacher-structured lesson; less play,
and more work.