What is Curriculum? EDU 259 Spring 2014

Curriculum for Young Children Teaching is fun, exciting, and rewarding, especially observing enthusiastic and happy children. Copyright 2013 Wadsworth Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

What Is Curriculum? 1. Collection of ideas including learning, program, plans, school subjects, materials, topics of study. 2. Both planned and unplanned experiences to develop skills and knowledge. Looking at Terminology Particular words, or terms, have meaning and significance. Early childhood programs do not have fixed rules with fixed terminology. Copyright 2013 Wadsworth Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Curriculum Defined curriculum a noun A course of study; a program of studies (Barnhart and Barnhart, 1990) Curriculum for young children is the topic of this textbook. curriculums or curricula plural More than one course of study or program The teacher tried many different types of curriculums. The teacher tried many different types of curricula. curricular adjective Of, having to do with, or describing curriculum Early childhood educators continued to develop their curricular practices. Copyright 2013 Wadsworth Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

What Is Curriculum? Curriculum is an organized framework that delineates: The content that children are to learn The process through which children are to learn The process through which children achieve the identified curricular goals What teachers do to help children achieve these goals The context in which teaching and learning occur

Activities: The Core of the Curriculum 1. Hands-on - children use their hands, arms, legs, feet, and bodies rather than just listening and observing teachers. 2. Concrete - allow children to use real materials as active participants. Copyright 2013 Wadsworth Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Benefits of Planning and Managing Your Curriculum Ensures best opportunities to develop in secure, stable, interesting environments. Allows teachers to predict and prepare for events. Gives sense of predictability, confidence, and control. Maximizes use of time, increases opportunities for quality interaction. Copyright 2013 Wadsworth Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Multilevel Process Philosophy Goals - Expresses basic principles, attitudes and beliefs of program Goals - General overviews of what children are expected to gain Objectives - Specific teaching techniques or interpretations of the goals - Meaningful descriptions of what is expected to be learned - Designed to meet the physical, intellectual, cultural, social, emotional, and creative development of each child ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

DAP Curriculum Goals are developmentally and educationally significant Learning experiences reflect what is known - about young children in general - about young children in particular - about the sequences in which children acquire specific concepts, skills and abilities Builds on prior experience ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice—What Is It? Programs are based on the accumulation of data and facts about what children are like Programs designed for young children must be based on what is known about young children Early childhood educators must be steeped in child development knowledge Children must be considered in the context of their family, culture, community, past history, and present circumstances What is known about child development and learning of a particular age group so that the curriculum has appropriate experiences and learning activities to help children achieve and be challenged What is known about each individual child, the individual rate of growth, and the unique learning style so that the curriculum will reflect their needs, interests, and preferences What is known about the social and cultural context of each child so that the curriculum provides meaningful and relevant learning experiences that are respectful of the backgrounds of the children and families in the group. Culturally appropriate curriculum is also developmentally appropriate curriculum The curriculum should reflect the plurality of contemporary American society in general and the individual classroom in sensitive, relevant ways Banks (2006) describes transformative curriculum as a familiar ways of doing things and providing new insights and ways of thinking about culture For children to gain any meaningful knowledge, the content must contribute to a fuller understanding of human diversity, not just as a special-occasion topic © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Basic Principles of Development Domains of children’s development—physical, social, emotional, and cognitive—are closely related. Development in one domain influences and is influenced by development in other domains Development occurs in a relatively orderly sequence, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already acquired Development proceeds at varying rates from child to child as well as unevenly within different areas of a child’s functioning © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Basic Principles of Development Early experiences have both cumulative and delayed effects on individual children’s development; Optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning Development proceeds in predictable directions toward greater complexity, organization, and internalization Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts

Basic Principles of Development Children are active learners, drawing on direct physical and social experience as well as culturally transmitted knowledge to construct their own under-standing of the world around them Development and learning result from interaction of biological maturation and the environment, which includes both the physical and social worlds that children live in Play is an important vehicle for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, as well as a reflection of their development © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Basic Principles of Development Development advances when children have opportunities to practice newly acquired skills as well as when they experience a challenge just beyond the level of their present mastery Children demonstrate different modes of knowing and learning and different ways of representing what they know Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure

Common Misunderstandings about Developmentally Appropriate Practice There is only one right way to carry out developmentally appropriate practice Developmentally appropriate classrooms are unstructured Teachers teach minimally or not at all in developmentally appropriate classrooms © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Common Misunderstandings about Developmentally Appropriate Practice Developmentally appropriate programs do not include academics, generally interpreted to be the formal skills of learning reading, writing, and arithmetic Developmentally appropriate programs are only effective for particular populations, “usually assumed to be typically developing, white, middle-class children” In developmentally appropriate classrooms, there is no way to tell whether children are learning © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Common Misunderstandings about Developmentally Appropriate Practice Developmentally appropriate practice can be achieved simply by acquiring certain kinds of toys and materials Developmentally appropriate practice uses no goals or objectives In developmentally appropriate practice, the curriculum is child development Developmental appropriateness is just one in a sequence of changing trends in education Results of Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Practices Self-Esteem Mastering Meaningful Self-control Stress Later academic patterns © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Inclusive Curriculum Reflects awareness of and sensitivity to diversity of all areas of a child’s life: cultural, social, language, religion, gender, and capabilities Authentic inclusion: an approach that builds on and integrates multicultural and anti-bias strategies for a sensitive and culturally affirming program that includes all children Children with disabilities, from immigrant families, from families whose first language is not English, from all cultures, and girls and boys need the same things in a learning environment Adaptations are made to fit the capacities of individual children as needed ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Effective Curriculum: Integrated Curriculum Coordinates many subject areas and utilizes a holistic approach to learning Makes it possible for teachers to include skill development activities in context, not isolation Subject areas cut across learning activities and reinforce concepts in meaningful ways as children engage in their work and play ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Effective Curriculum: Advantages of an Integrated Curriculum Reflects the natural way children develop at their own rate and not in all areas of growth at the same time Allows for a wide range of abilities within a classroom age range of one year, as well as within a mixed-age group Accommodates individualization as children meet a variety of materials and experiences at their own unique developmental levels Maximizes the effect of rates of learning, different styles of learning, and multiple intelligences ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Effective Curriculum: Advantages of an Integrated Curriculum Provides for learning to take place within the context of meaningful activities Requires large blocks of time so learning can be more in-depth Promotes self-motivation and extension of learning Blends hands-on learning with skill acquisition Lends itself to both a theme and project approach to curriculum planning

Effective Curriculum: Emergent Curriculum Curriculum that emerges out of the children’s experiences and interests Emphasis is on children’s interests, their involvement in their learning, and their ability to make constructive choices Teachers set up materials and equipment for a few activities each day that will capture children’s interest, watch and evaluate what the children do, and support and extend what the children make of their experiences ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Effective Curriculum: Emergent Curriculum (cont.) Taking cues from children Noting what they play with, what they avoid, and what they change In order to be a meaningful learning experience, the curriculum should come out of the daily life in the classroom Children are encouraged to use whatever style of learning is most natural to them A materials-rich environment where play is valued forms the foundation for the curriculum ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Effective Curriculum: Emergent Curriculum (cont.) Collaboration and mutual learning Interaction between teachers and children, who both offer suggestions and ideas Accent is on mutual learning for both children and adults To be successful, teachers must listen and observe carefully as children play and generate new ideas, and then respond to what they hear and see that the children have learned ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Effective Curriculum: Emergent Curriculum (cont.) Sources for Curriculum Ideas Children Teacher’s and parents’ interests and skills Developmental tasks of the age group The physical and natural environment, as well as people and things Curriculum resource books Family and cultural influences Serendipity, or the unexpected Daily issues of living together, problem solving, conflict resolution, routines Values expressed by the school philosophy, the families, and the community ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.