[Its.an.education.project] Constructivist education in action

[Yoshiki Ohshima]

  Hi,

  There was a question on the OLPC News about real world examples of
the constructivist theory in education and I was reminded about Reggio
Emilia, Italy.  It is well-known among educators but perhaps not among
computer hackers so I thought I'd share it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

  I visited a "scuola" there a few years back, and I can tell you that
the constructivist theory can be successful if there is serious
attention on kids and kids education from teachers and parents.  The
city is willing to spend sizable chunk of their budget on 3 month to 6
years old education.  (I was told that beyond 6 years old, the city
doesn't have the control, and the organizers and teachers really
regret that.)

  It is in a developed country, it has budget, and it is not about
laptop (although they were experimenting computers and technology with
kids a bit), and it has strong focus on education and curriculum
(ahh^^;).  It cannot be more different perhaps but the contrast is
great food of thought for our project.  (If you can, go there and
see.)

-- Yoshiki