Kay Cutler

Visual Thinking Strategies = Creative and Critical Thinking.

The synergy that occurs between creativity and critical thinking allows powerful learning to occur.

Laboratory Schools as Places of Inquiry: A Collaborative Journey for Two Laboratory Schools.

Research Findings: Although there have been organizations that have supported cross-university collaboration (e.g., the National Organization of Child Development Laboratory Schools and the National Coalition of Campus Child Care), most laboratory schools have not engaged in sustained cross-program collaboration in order to advance their missions. This narrative describes an innovative and sustained collaborative journey of 2 university laboratory schools that share similar program philosophies and a common value for teacher research with children and preservice teachers. These 2 groups of faculty have developed a unique cross-university collaborative inquiry. Practice or Policy: The authors share highlights of their journey and their insights regarding the positive outcomes of their collaboration, including building a community of practice, articulating their practices, becoming a collective catalyst for change, and providing opportunities for professional development to occur on a daily basis within the context of their work with children. Challenges such as distance, time, cost, and the difficulty of sustaining ideas and relationships are also shared. These minor challenges were outweighed by the participants’ sense of joy in sharing perspectives and engaging in continuing dialogue that created lasting, genuine relationships and reenergized their view of the mission of laboratory schools as catalysts for change both for the laboratory faculty as well as for professionals in their communities.

Change Within a Teacher Education Program and Laboratory: A Reflective Commentary

Intentional, systemic philosophical change on an educational program level and on an individual level is often a slow and cyclic process. In this article, we reflect on the journey of philosophical change and growth from a traditional philosophy to an inquiry-based, Reggio-inspired one that occurred on both levels in an early childhood teacher education program and laboratory school over a period of 7 years. As an inquiry group, we reflected on the change we experienced in our own teaching methods, our interactions with staff members and each other, and our perceptions of change in interaction with our students. After carefully and systematically reviewing our reflections, five trends in change were identified. They were (a) recasting the image of the teacher and reevaluating the process of teaching and learning, (b) valuing dialogue, (c) cultivating a reflective mindset, (d) valuing outside perspectives, and (e) building meaningful relationships. The process of reflecting on and documenting our journey has improved our ability to articulate the change we made and to see our growth. Further it has illuminated future teaching and learning directions and aims that we intend to pursue. Finally, we hope that sharing this process will encourage others to examine what, how, and why of their teaching and learning in order to enhance their own professional development journey.