topic ii the early childhood curriculum ellen marshall, ph.d. & cathy mcauliffe-dickerson, ph.d

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


Introduction

Before going on with this presentation, please ask yourself (and answer yourself!)How would you define curriculum?


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)


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


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


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


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


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)


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


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


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


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


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)


(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


(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


(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


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


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.


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:


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!)


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


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!


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:


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.


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.


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


(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


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?


topic ii the early childhood curriculum ellen marshall, ph.d. & cathy mcauliffe-dickerson, ph.d

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