HighScope

The High/Scope approach is a method of running a [nursery school] or [kindergarten] developed in the [USA] in the 1960s. It is now common both in the USA and other countries.

The idea behind High/Scope is that children should be involved actively in their own learning. The adults working with the children should see themselves more as facilitators or partners than managers or supervisors.

In a High/Scope institution different areas of the play space are designated for different activities, for example water play, reading, sand play, writing, role play, etc. Children should be able to access all facilities independently and know where to put things away when they've finished.

An important part of the High/Scope approach is the plan-do-review sequence. Children will first plan what they want to play with and how they want to play (this can be done informally in small groups). Only once they have made a plan, however vague, of what they want to do can they go and play. Then, after playtime, the children form small groups again, and with an adult discuss what they have been doing and whether it was successful.