The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education
Philosophy
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education's philosophy is grounded in social constructivism and inquiry-based learning. Children are capable, competent, and able to build their knowledge through exploration and social interaction.
Relationships with caring and responsive teachers are not only children’s rights, but are crucial to their growth, learning and development. These relationships help children to nurture their curiosity, to develop questions, and to hypothesize about possible connections so that they may make meaning of their world.
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education sees parents as children’s first teachers. Teachers and college students are seen as their second teachers, and the environment is seen as their third teacher. Special consideration is given to the materials that are chosen for optimal learning opportunities and how the teachers construct the spaces where children will play, learn, and interact with others.
Connections to SDSU
The program is in conjunction with the Early Childhood Education Program at SDSU. The classrooms are led by SDSU Faculty, who not only teach children, but also support and mentor college students while they gain hands-on experience in teaching. One of the components to the program is our observation booths where families and SDSU students can observe and learn from children engaging in activities in an unobtrusive manner.
Contact Us:
For more information please contact the program coordinators. For questions about enrollment contact Laura Gloege at 605-688-6477, laura.gloege@sdstate.edu. For potential collaborations and Out-of-School-Time questions contact Jen Johnson at 605-688-4751, jennifer.johnson@state.edu
