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Topic II
The Early Childhood Curriculum
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Objectives for this topic: Explore your understanding of the
components of a sound early childhood curriculum
Investigate your ability to articulate the relationship of your educational philosophy, early learning standards, and teaching techniques to your early childhood curriculum
Explore your understanding of one early childhood curriculum model
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Introduction
Before going on with this presentation, please ask yourself (and answer yourself!)How would you define curriculum?
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Curriculum
Curriculum can be defined as “an organized framework that delineates the content children are to learn, the processes through which children
achieve the identified curricular goals, what teachers do to help children achieve
these goals, and the context in which teaching and learning
occur” (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992)
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Curriculum Your curriculum is a reflection of
your philosophy (the basic principles,
attitudes, and beliefs) of early childhood education (this needs to be based on sound research-based information)
goals (early learning standards) for the children
teaching techniques used to achieve those goals
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
A comprehensive curriculum includes… Social-emotional development Language and literacy Mathematics Technology Scientific inquiry Understanding ourselves and our
communities Creative expression and arts
appreciation Physical skills and development
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
What about you? Is your curriculum
comprehensive? The completion of the
ECERS-R should help you in answering this question
Even though the ECERS-R not a curriculum, it assists in evaluating the context in which teaching andlearning occur
It is a significant step in ensuring an appropriate early childhood context for your curriculum
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Curriculum Development is… An ongoing process Based on sound theories of child
development Based on knowledge of how children
grow and develop at different ages and stages (developmentally appropriate practices)
Based on the cultural needs and interests of your students
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Position Statements
Follow these links and read some information about early childhood curriculum:
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/meth
ods/instrctn/in5lk5.htm NAEYC:
http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/PSDAP98.PDF
(see page 12 – Constructing Appropriate Curriculum)
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Research in a nutshell
Follow these links and read some research related to curriculum:
From the Clearinghouse of Early Education and Parenting: http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/
digests/1997/dunn97.html From the Association of Early Childhood
International: http://www.acei.org/playpaper.htm
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Curriculum Models… Can provide guidelines for planning and
organizing experiences and activities No one curriculum model addresses all
of the developmental and cultural needs of children
Examples of curriculum models: Montessori, Bank Street, High/Scope, Reggio
Emilia, Primary Years Programme, the Project Approach
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
STOP! Research the Internet
for more information on one of the curriculum models listed in the previous slide
Select one that especially interests you
Write a reflection about the information
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
What do these curricula have in common? They are based on developmental and
constructivist learning theories (remember those from Course #1?)
The philosophy, goalsand teaching techniquesthat form the pillars of these curricula are based ondevelopmental and constructivist theoriesof learning
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Let’s go back to Slide #4… Remember that your curriculum is a
reflection of1. Your philosophy (the basic principles,
attitudes, and beliefs) of early childhood education (this needs to be based on sound research-based information)
2. Your goals (valid standards) for the children3. Teaching techniques used to achieve those
goals (again based on research-based practices)
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
(1) Your Philosophy Have you written your philosophy of
early education? Many teachers post this on the door to
their classroom (along with their photo) or give it to their students’ parents
Check out these explanations of philosophies: http://resumes-for-teachers.com/news/
philosophy-of-education.htm http://www.uwstout.edu/art/artedportfolios/
creatingyour/philosphy.htm
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
(1) Your Philosophy Write a working
draft of your philosophy of early learning
If you already have one written, revisit it and revise it if necessary
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
(2) Your Goals (Standards) for Early Learning The second item that
your curriculum must reflect is your selection of the early learning standards…remember the standards we asked you to identify early in the Mano a Mano journey?
Curriculum must be planned with standards in mind
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Ways to think about standards in early childhood
Standards for early childhood programs are met in two ways: Naturalistically – this means they are
part of the natural set-up of the classroom learning centers…they are embedded in learning center and classroom activities
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Naturalistic example: (from Making Early Learning Standards Come Alive by Gaye Gronlund – Published by NAEYC – page 12)
In Lisa and Roseanne’s classroom of four-year-olds, two girls, Hannah and Ling, played in the dramatic play area for approximately twenty-five minutes. Lisa observed them as they tried on various hats, dresses, capes, and shoes and looked at themselves often in the mirror. At one point, Ling was wearing a crown of flowers. Hannah tugs the crown off of Ling’s head. Ling smiled, fixed her hair and did not protest. She just got another hat. Then Hannah found a plastic lunchbox. She opened it up and started to put play food items in it. Ling went to the play refrigerator and passed food items to Hannah, announcing what each one was as she did so.
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Naturalistic example (continued)“Apple, orange, banana, hot dog.” As Hannah
put the hot dog in the lunchbox, she said, “No, that’s not a fruit,” and took it out.
Lisa and Roseanne met after the morning session for a few minutes before heading to lunch. Lisa told Roseanne about the scene she had witnessed with the girls. As they talked, they realized that many early learning standards had been addressed in the play. Together, they made an oral list of standards, which included the following:
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Naturalistic example (continued) Using language to converse Dressing and undressing self Playing and cooperating with another child For Ling, getting along with a friend without
conflict For Hannah, sorting and categorizingSo these standards are part of the children’s
play…remember that play is the work of children! Besides naturalistic approaches to incorporating and observing the standards, there is also the (go to next slide!)
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
The Intentional Approach The intentional approach involves
planning specific activities to meet the standards
Incorporating the goals (standards) and activities into your lesson plan and
Planning how you will assess the children’s performance in relation to the standard
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Intentional approach (continued) These activities can be incorporated
into learning centers Can be a teacher-led activity Does not mean that you have to instruct
all the children at the same time!
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Intentional approach example: (from Making Early Learning Standards Come Alive by Gaye Gronlund – Published by NAEYC – page 14)
Brenda decided that she wanted to introduce the concept of measurement to her children in her mixed-age classroom of three-, four-, and five-year olds. She had noticed that they already identified which blocks were longer than others and which children were taller or shorter. She also knew that introducing children to comparison and measurement tools was a part of the mathematics early learning standards in her state. She planned a series of activities around measurement for the week that included the following:
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Intentional approach (continued) Introducing children to the concept at large group time Giving them opportunities to work directly with her on a
variety of measurement activities during exploration time Following up on those activities when the children
gathered again in large group timesBrenda began by introducing the children to a piece of string, a stack of connecting cubes, a ruler, and a meter stick. She showed them how they could hold any of these items next to another item and identify whether the item was longer, shorter, or the same size. She then put these items out at exploration time and helped children as they measured and compared items around the room. Another day, she announced that she was going to cut a piece of string as long as each child’s body so that they could measure things in the room that were just the same size as they were.
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Intentional approach (continued)At exploration time, she had
a lineup of participants eagerly awaiting their turn to be measured. Then off they went with their strings, measuring everything in sight. At the follow-up group time, Brenda asked them to tell the group what they measured in the room that was the same length as their string and recorded their answers on a large sheet of chart paper.
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Your Early Learning Standards
Think about your early childhood curriculum and lesson plans
Describe and give examples of your approaches for incorporating and assessing the early learning standards you have chosen to use
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
(3) Teaching Techniques Your teaching techniques should be based on
your educational philosophy Children learn best through active interaction
with three dimensional materials (remember the information on brain development?)
This active involvement makes it possible for later, more abstract, one-dimensional skills such as letter recognition and writing
Read more about teaching techniques by following this link:
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea1lk1.htm
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
Summary…Your turn again… Now that you’ve thought about your:
educational philosophy, early learning standards, and teaching techniques, curriculum components and you’ve researched one curriculum model…
Write a short reflection about your own early childhood curriculum…
Do your philosophy, standards, and teaching techniques weave together in research supported ways?
Do you feel like you need to change anything?
Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.
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