Date of Award

5-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Education

First Advisor

Catherine Pangan

Second Advisor

Cathy Hartman

Abstract

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy that puts children at the center of everything involved. The main principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach covered in this paper include the Hundred Languages, which are the idea that children communicate in multiple different ways, the atelier, which is a space that gives opportunities for exploration and social interaction, and documentation, which is a form of representation that shows a child’s thinking and work. The goal of my work was to reflect on my growth as an educator who incorporates arts into the general education classroom and takes inspiration from the Reggio Emilia Approach. Due to my background with both the arts and the Reggio Emilia Approach, I enjoyed my interactions with the Mosaic of Marks, Words, Materials exhibition and atelier, the Book study surrounding the exhibition and atelier, and the 4th North American Reggio Emilia Alliance fall conference. During these experiences, notes on my reflections, thoughts, and learnings were dutifully taken and analyzed for themes. From these themes, I saw growth in my understanding of Hundred Languages, as I realized that they are access points of knowledge and impact how children learn information as well as share what they know. The Hundred Languages are superpowers that give children the ability to believe in themselves and their peers as they discover more about them and use them to communicate. I learned that the atelier is an interactive space where interactions happen, between children, between children and materials, and between the Hundred languages, helping to create holistic learning. Documentation, a process I was unsure of before, is now something I look forward to using in my classroom to give power to the students' process by continually documenting in the moment, instead of afterward. Growing as a Reggio Emilia-inspired arts integration educator through this process has helped me develop the confidence and skills that will influence my presence in my future classroom.

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