Can you talk about emergent curriculum? Do you still feel like a teacher when you’re taking the lead from your students? How does your role as a teacher change?
Alisa’s response:
Emergent curriculum and inclusive practice have a nice partnership. Imagine you are teaching a preschool dance class and your goal is to learn different locomotor movements, but all of the children want to move as if they are flying, just like the flying animal unit they just learned about! What a great opportunity to integrate those ideas of what they already know and relate to, and let go of the locomotor-only focus. I think it is safe to say that the majority of us need a sketch or a plan before entering a teaching scenario. The beauty of that plan is that it may trigger a learner to take you (the teacher) down a whole other path of learning that you had not intended, but can have a really successful result. Teachers are also learners and even if the curriculum shifts down a different path, it is our job (as the teachers) to go on that journey, if possible. Perhaps that is the path to better inclusivity? The role of the teacher may shift and feel different but by allowing an idea to grow more fully through the lens of a learner seems like a successful outcome. It is easy to feel uncomfortable with this idea but I highly encourage trying it out and see where it lands you.