At Templestowe Park Primary iTime stands for investigation time which is done through play based learning.
Why “Play-based”?
- Play is the most effective means for providing rich, diverse thinking and oral language, social skills and problem solving.
- reflects children’s different levels of maturity
- Children learn best from doing.
- Children must have a balance between child-initiated investigation and adult-directed learning.
- Centres are carefully planned for and facilitated by teacher and experiences referred to later in formal learning
- It builds positive teacher-child relationships which helps children with their development
How is iTime run in Foundation? - iTime is run a couple of times a week in prep
- Sessions begin with a tuning-in discussion. This is where the teacher introduces the learning intentions for the week/day. During this time the teacher speaks to three different focus children. When a child is a focus child it is their chance to talk and show off all the amazing learning they are investigating. There is also a child who is a reporter and a child who is a photographer. They have a task for that iTime session that they must complete.
- After roughly 45 minutes of investigations students are brought to the floor for a reflection time. This provides an opportunity for students to ask questions and discuss their investigations. The focus children, reporter and photographer also report back about all their amazing investigations.