ch 11 developmentally appropriate curriculum · creating a developmentally appropriate curriculum...

CH 11DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE CURRICULUM

CREATING A DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE CURRICULUM

• Curriculum is all the activities, experiences, and interactions available to children in early childhood settings.

• A curriculum that includes freedom of choice, manipulation of real-world materials, and child-directed learning is appropriate for young children.


• Developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) –learning experiences are designed with an understanding of children’s ages and developmentally abilities and take into consideration their social and cultural backgrounds.

• It’s based on three important kinds of knowledge:

• 1. Knowledge of child development and learning

• 2. Understanding the unique developmental abilities and interests of individual children.

• Knowledge of the social and cultural settings of children and families.

• Culturally relevant teaching- is when early childhood professionals need to carefully analyze child and family strengths and find ways to put these assets to use in educating young children.


• DAP has five interrelated dimensions. They include the following:

• 1. Creating a caring community of learners

• 2. Enhancing child development and learning

• 3. Planning curriculum to achieve important goals.

• 4. Assessing learning and development.

• 5. Establishing and maintaining strong family-school relationships.

• The DAP curriculum must be tailored to the needs and interests of the children involved.


• Bredekamp and Copple (1997) identify nine guidelines for a developmentally appropriate curriculum.

9. Technology used in early childhood settings is physically and philosophically integrated into the curriculum.


• Developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children is created through a cyclical process consisting of three main elements:

• 1. Identify children’s needs and interests

• 2. Plan the curriculum

• 3. Engage in assessment


Identify Children’s Needs and Interests

• Developmental considerations

• Quality planning in early childhood settings requires plan activities that build on the young child’s social, emotional, physical, linguistic, and intellectual abilities.

• During the early elementary years, curriculum planning is strongly influenced by local school districtand state guidelines.

• Observations

• Observing children as they work, and play provides adults with many opportunities to gain insightsinto their interests and needs.


Plan the Curriculum

• Goals and objectives –creating a strong curriculum for young children requires a clear sense of what you are trying to accomplish.

• Curriculum objectives identify specifically what you expect children to know and be ab le to do.

• Objectives are used when specific activities of lessons are planned.• Curriculum goals –are broad learning outcomes that identifying the key results anticipated from the educational process.

• Goals are often created as p[art of a program-wide mission statement identifying its philosophy and values.

• Objectives –are more specific and describe in detail what children are expected to know or do.

• Common Core State Standard –are designed to provide information to teaches, schools, and families about what every student should know and be able to do in preparation for success after high school.

• Although these goals help identify what is to be learned, they don’t specify how learning should take place. Early childhood professionals must use their own knowledge of children and developmentally appropriate practice to plan the activities that should take place.


(cont.) Plan the Curriculum

• Physical space- An important element in curriculum planning is the physical setting itself.

• Early childhood professionals typically change at least a portion of each center’s (indoor and outdoor) materials weekly.

• Activities and lessons –Lesson plans are necessary to develop specific events and activities for each day

• Long-term –to provide a sense of direction for several weeks or months or even the entire school year.

• Short-term plans – weekly and daily plans are based on children’s interests and needs, identify the specific activities in which children will be engaging.


(cont.) Plan the Curriculum

• Schedule –this is necessary to think about how all these events and activities fit together to form a daily schedule with the correct components:

• Length of the program day

• Large blocks of time

• A balance of active/quiet times

• Meeting children’s needs

• Smooth transitions

• Consistent sequence of events


Engage in Assessment

• Assessment –there are two broad categories of assessment:

• Formative assessment –is used throughout the curriculum implementation cycle to check the effectiveness of the lessons and activities and to determine whether children are understanding.

• Summative assessment –is used at the end of a unit of study to provide evidence of what children know and are abele to do.

• Assessment is used to understand and improve the learning of all children.

THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUMWhy Implement an Integrated Curriculum?

• Integrated curriculum is a natural way of learning that matches what children and adults do outside the early childhood setting.

• Integrated learning makes the curriculum more relevant.

• The integrated curriculum also takes advantage of the child’s natural way of learning.• That is, hands-on manipulation of materials.

• The curriculum is typically organized around themes of interest to children.

• This type of integrated learning experiences gives children more time to develop deeper and more relevant understandings of the concepts being learned.

THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUMPlanning and Preparation

• Integrated curriculum is a natural way of learning that matches what children and adults do outside the early childhood setting.

• Integrated learning makes the curriculum more relevant.

• The integrated curriculum also takes advantage of the child’s natural way of learning.• That is, hands-on manipulation of materials.

• The curriculum is typically organized around themes of interest to children.

• This type of integrated learning experiences gives children more time to develop deeper and more relevant understandings of the concepts being learned.

THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUM(cont.)Planning and Preparation

• Integrated curriculum approach is more complicated and demanding for the early childhood professional than a more traditional curriculum.

• More planning and preparation are required rather than less.

• The starting point for planning an integrated curriculum is to select appropriate themes.

• The choice of topics primarily on the needs an interests of children.

THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUM(cont.) Planning and Preparation

• After selecting an appropriate theme, follow these planning steps:

• 1. Learn about the topic selected

• 2. Find and organize materials related to the theme.

• 3. Reflect on what you want the children to learn.

• 4. Identify open-ended questions to encourage inquiry.

• 5. Plan activities and lessons related to the theme.

• 6. Invite family participation

• 7. Determine a closing event or activity

• 8. Evaluate the theme and what children have learned

THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUMThe Project Approach

• As children learn about, and become interested in, the integrated curriculum themes, they engage in more in-depth investigations of components of the theme that are of interest to them.

• A theme may evolve into a project.

• A project is an in-depth investigation about a topic that incorporates children’s questions, interests, and theories about that topic.

• It is a type of integrated learning in which children take on much of the responsibility for the directions for, and elements of, the work to be accomplished.

• Project learning at its best creates an environment in which children, teachers, caregivers, and families all become excited about and engaged in the learning process. Galinsky (2010) and others to this as a community of learners.

THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUMThe Project Approach

• Katz and Chard (2000) described three phases of a project• Phase ONE is called getting started and is the time when children and the adult spend several

discussion periods selecting and refining the topic to be investigated

• Phase TWO, field work is the direct study of the project selected and may include field trips, etc.

• Phase THREE, culminating and debriefing events, consists of concluding activities that help children summarize their new learning.

• It should be clear that project learning parallels the thematic approach. The major difference is that in project learning, the activities chosen, and the new directions taken are not clearly defined before beginning the study but rather are based on questions children pose along the way.

OBSERVATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGSInformal and Formal Observations

There are two primary categories of observations. One is spontaneous, whereas the other tends to more structured.

• Informal observations- are when you take a moment or tow between other activities to simply stop and listen and to observe what children are saying or doing.

• Formal observations –are written and have more specific purposes.

OBSERVATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGSUses for Observations

• Early childhood professionals use observations throughout the program day to do the following:

• 1. Build relationships

• 2. Document behaviors

• 3. Identify progress and potential problems.

• 4. Assess the curriculum

OBSERVATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGSBecoming an Objective Observer

• You will need practice to record all the important details that are needed for a useful observation.

• We all bring our own unique perspectives to the times when we observe children.

• All our personal experiences shape who we are and give us a distinctive approach to observing young children .

• In some instances, our perspectives create a bias against individual children.

• To avoid this potential for bias, make sure that you record the behaviors and words used by children, rather than your interpretation of what those words and actions mean.

OBSERVATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGSObservation Strategies

• In addition to the informal observations, there are several other observation strategies that you should learn to use:

• 1.Anecdotal records –consist of brief written descriptions that capture the essential actions and activities of children in early childhood settings. They should include when the observation was made (date and time), who was observed, what the children were doing, and what was said.

• 2. Checklist –consists of characteristics or behaviors that the adult marks off watch time they are observed.

• 3. Rating scales –adult observes a behavior of interest and uses their professional judgment to rate the quality of the behavior.

• 4. Running records –a longer narrative story that describes a child, a group of children, or an activity over an extended period.

PLANNING ACTIVITIES AND LESSONS

• When you take the time to understand children’s needs and interests, prepare the indoor and outdoor environments, and create a schedule for your program day, the process of planning activities and lessons then becomes an interesting and creative part of the curriculum planning process.

• Activity Planning

• Lesson Planning

ASSESSMENT

• Five assessment strategies used in developmentally appropriate early childhood settings are:

• 1. Standardized tests –are carefully developed tests created by professional designers to accurately measure a child’s performance compared with other children or in relation to some standard or objective.• Standardized assessments have been criticized by many for discriminating against non-white children

and for how the results of standardized tests are used.

• 2. Developmental screening – a short standardized assessment administered by a trained adult to identify children who may have a disability or learning problem.

• 3. Observation –is an important tool in determining children’s needs and interests for curriculum planning. Because the physical space plays such am important role in early care and education, observing how children use their environment is an important part of evaluation.

ASSESSMENT

• 4. Documentation of children’s work – the collection of children’s artifacts; such as their artwork and writing, photographs, observations, and video/audiotapes of children engaged in work and play.

• Documentation strategies should be based on the goals and objectives you have identified for the theme or project being addressed.

• 5. Portfolios –an assessment tools used to compile and organize information about individual children.

ASSESSMENT • 5. Portfolios –an assessment tools used to compile and organize information about individual

children.

• DeFIna (1992) presents seven assumptions about portfolios:

• 1.They represent a systematic effort to collect meaningful works.

• 2. Children should be actively involved in selecting pieces to include in the portfolio.

• 3. Portfolios can contain materials from early childhood professionals, families, peers, and school administrators.

• 4. Portfolios should reflect the actual daily learning activities of children.

• 5. Portfolios demonstrate the child’s progress over time.

• 6. Portfolios may have subcomponents

• 7. A variety of media can be used.

ASSESSMENT

5. Portfolios –an assessment tools used to compile and organize information about individual children.

• Shores and Grace (1998) suggest a 10-step approach for developing portfolios:

• 1. Establish a portfolio policy

• 2. Collect work samples

• 3. Take photographs

• 4. Conduct learning log conferences

• 5. Conduct interviews

• 6. Make systematic records

ASSESSMENT

5. Portfolios –an assessment tools used to compile and organize information about individual children.

• Shores and Grace (1998) suggest a 10-step approach for developing portfolios:

• 7. Make anecdotal records

• 8. Prepare narrative reports

• 9. Conduct three-way portfolio conferences

• 10. Use portfolios in transitions

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