THE BANK STREET APPROACH

(Development-Interaction Approach)

DEVELOPING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM Prepared by:

(ECED 212) CHRISTINE ROSE M. ESPIRITU

Objectives:
1. Determine its origin
2. Define the bank street approach
3. Discuss its philosophy
4. Describe its curriculum and its environment
5. Identify the teacher’s roles in this approach
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1. The Origin of BANK STREET APPROACH

Where did the BANK STREET APPROACH come from?
In 1918:
• Children were seen and not heard 
• All schooling was teacher directed 
• Teaching was drilling 
• Preschool education had not been researched 
And then along came LUCY !!!
 Lucy Sprague Mitchell was born July 2, 1878 in Chicago.

 In her time, children were taken care of but silenced. They were
looked upon as inferior and given strict scheduled lifestyles.

 Lucy did not have a very intimate relationship with her father but she was influenced by him
because of his great interest in education reform.

 Little did they know she would mark the education system of America forever.

 Her thoughts: How could anyone expect to teach children when they do not even understand the
way children learn & what they are interested in learning.

 She was fascinated by the theories of John Dewey.

+ John Dewey’s ideas: children learn through experiences connected to others as well as he called
their learning a “psycho-social function.” Stimulating the creativity of children and encouraging
each child individually is a key to affective education.

 She pursued a college education in University of California at Berkley. Even though during this
time it was rare for women to obtain this level of education.

 Fun Fact: She graduated & became the very first woman to become a Dean at their University.

 In 1916, Mitchell started the BUREAU OF EDUCATION EXPERIMENTS(BEE) in New York with the
help of her husband Wesley Mitchell and colleague Harriet Johnson.
- Staffed by a physician, social workers and teachers
- It’s objective was to study children in an environment with free atmosphere

 A Nursery School was opened in 1918.

 The BEE moved to 9 Bank Street in 1930 and remained there until 1970. Today it is located on
West 112th Street.
• In 1950 the BEE was renamed the Bank Street College of Education.
• Bank Street played an integral role in the formation of the national Head Start program in
1965.
 In the 1970s the name of the approach was changed from Bank Street to the Direct-Interaction
Approach so that its name would better reflect the focus of the approach.

2. What is the Bank Street Approach all about?

The Bank Street approach…
 is also known as the Development-Interaction approach
 the emphasis is on educating the whole child - emotionally, socially, physically and
intellectually in an experience-based, interdisciplinary and collaborative setting.

3. What is its PHILOSOPHY?

The Bank Street approach’s Philosophy…
 Education is:
• experience-based
• interdisciplinary
• collaborative
 Emphasis on educating the whole child
• entire emotional
• social
• physical
• intellectual being

4. What is its CURRICULUM and ENVIRONMENT?

 It focuses on the child's integrity as learner, teacher, and classmate is valued and
reinforced.
 The curriculum is centered on Erikson’s stages of psychological development because
autonomy is encouraged throughout a child's development.
 The Bank Street Approach helps children make connections between home and school,
and aids their ability to form relationships.
 Children are prompted to explore imagination and problem solving.
 Through their exploration children makes sense of the world and learn to respect it.
 The Bank Street schools are divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. The Lower
School is divided by age into separate classrooms: the 3/4 year old class, 4/5 year old
class, and 5/6 year old class.
 The curriculum is broken down into the following categories: social studies, math, science,
music, emergent literacy, Spanish, arts/shop, library, physical education
 A unit may extend on for as long as needed (aka other curricula may spend one month on
a topic where bank street spends 3 months)
 Social Studies is the core of the curriculum and other concepts and skills are integrated
into the children's work from there
 Communication is the primary goal of literacy through language (speaking and listening),
reading, and writing.

5. What is the Teacher’s Role in the Approach?

 A teacher’s role in a bank street approach classroom is to be there to support the children
in the classroom while at the same making them think to further their intellectual abilities.
 Because the bank street approach has to do with children interacting and learning on their
own terms, the teachers must be aware of what the students are doing and make good
observations.
 “Teachers attempt to build a social environment in which children are known and
responded to as individuals, where the interaction between adult and child and between
child and child is supportive of learning, and where the children come to identify with the
teachers’ goals for their learning. Teachers carry dual roles of support and control to
exercise that measure of understandable authority that is essential to a functioning
learning environment” (Biber, 1973).
  Therefore, teachers are somewhat more lenient with students because they believe that
they can fend for themselves and that by giving them some freedom in the classroom,
they will learn in a way that is best for them personally.
 Because much of a bank street approached classroom relies on a child’s senses and is all
about interacting with their environment, the teacher must make their classroom
comfortable for all different types of learners. Teachers in a bank street setting must
understand each one of their students and recognize how each one develops.
 “The teacher’s role both in teaching and guidance is to use their sensitivity to recognize
nuances in the children and to make changes as appropriate. They recognize the
importance of helping the children develop a strong sense of self” (Essa, 125). The teacher
is not following an authoritarian role but instead making rules to fit the needs of his/her
students and providing materials that will stimulate learning.

6. APPLICATIONs
 Free expression in clay, paint and drawing was encouraged.
 Field trips to interesting places around the city, such as the zoo or a bridge.

“LIVELY INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITIES

TURN THE WORLD INTO AN EXCITING LABORATORY
AND KEEPS ONE EVER A LEARNER.”
-L.S.MITCHELL