Reinventing the Wheel
You will work with many people and resources to shape the early childhood curriculum of the future. Intergenerational professional relationships can be very important and helpful, as this is one of the ways in which we pass along practical curriculum wisdom (Henderson & Kesson, 2004) acquired over many years of teaching.
As a new teacher, you will likely be so focused on your day-to-day work that you might not think you will ever have time to think about the “big picture” or take a long view of what is happening as you work with curriculum. However, keeping the big picture in mind is critical to teaching from a metacognitive stance. Consider the following suggestions for things you can do to develop a reflective approach to your work:
- Seek out a mentor who models reflective teaching.
- Keep a journal and write in it regularly.
- Maintain a file of questions that arise about different aspects of curriculum.
- Engage in regular conversations with your students.
- Find and read resources related to your questions.
- Join a professional association, such as one of those listed in Feature Box 1.2, and attend conferences to network with others and develop a perspective on the context in which you work.