How do third teachers use the environment?

Considering the environment in ways that are intentional and purposeful helps to: • foster encounters, encourage communication and relationships • create environments filled with natural light, order and wonder • invite children to delve deeper, investigate and represent their learning through a range of mediums.

What does environment mean in education?

LAST UPDATED: 08.29.13. Learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn.

Why is the Reggio program environment described as the third teacher?

In fact, environment is defined as the “third teacher” in the Reggio Emilia approach. This is because it allows children to explore their interests, collaborate with other children openly, and learn from experiences inside and outside the classroom.

What does the environment is a teacher mean?

To think of the learning environment as a “third teacher” means we acknowledge the significance of the materials, space, and mood of the classroom (or other places designated for learning) in the child’s education.

How can the environment contribute to a child’s learning experience?

Environments should be welcoming and interesting. Unfamiliar surroundings and people can provoke a stress response, which has the potential to be damaging to a child’s learning abilities. Having homey features in a classroom environment helps children feel more comfortable and can help their ability to learn.

What is the third educator?

The environment of the school is seen as the third educator, after the teacher and the parent. The teacher, parent, and child as collaborators in the process of learning. The Reggio approach views the parent as an essential resource for their child’s learning.

What’s that about environment as the third teacher?

Environment as the Third Teacher, What’s that? Environment as the Third Teacher, What’s that? Children are consistently learning regardless of the involvement of an adult/teacher or their peers. Even when a child is alone, they are learning.

What does the third teacher mean?

I have always interpreted the third teacher as meaning that the environment functions so successfully, it is as if there was an additional teacher in the room. In Reggio Emilia early learning environments, the use of space encourages encounters, communication, and relationships (Gandini, 2004).

What is the third teacher approach in early years?

Creating and planning environments that act as a third teacher is a recommended pedagogical approach in How Does Learning Happen. This resource is meant as a guide and it’s purpose is to inspire educators and administrators in early years settings. It is clearly influenced by the Reggio Emilia Approach.

How can the environment act as an educator for the child?

“In order to act as an educator for the child, the environment has to be flexible: it must undergo frequent modification by the children and the teachers in order to remain up-to-date and responsive to their needs to be protagonists in constructing their knowledge.” Lella Gandini (1998)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV_vFJspRM0