CHAPTER 1 Janette Lopez

CURRICULUM THAT ENGAGES YOUNG EDEC 339

26 January 2019

CHILDREN
WHAT IS CURRICULUM?
Curriculum has many different known definitions
Umbrella curriculum-all of a child’s experienes, inside and outside the education
setting
Curriculum model examples: High/Scope Model, Montessori Method, Reggio Emilia
Approach, Waldorf Education, Developmental Interaction Approach
Packaged Curriculum-Purchased Documents that consist of prepared lessons
Planned Curriculum-Created by teacher or group of teachers that have early
childhood knowledge, intentionally using strategies made specifically for what the
children know, and what they observe about the children
HOW DOES EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM REFLECT
THE WAYS YOUNG CHILDREN LEARN? (CONTINUED)
It is very important to take a close look at what the unique qualities of children are
Young children learn through play and active exploration
 Learn through senses and real life experiences

Having direct experiences with the world around them

 Real experiences such as trips, cooking, setting the table, watering the garden

Learn as a whole
 Need to be rested, fed, interested and happy in order to learn

Repeated experience
 Repetition is important, not fast paced
HOW DOES EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM
REFLECT THE WAYS YOUNG CHILDREN LEARN?
Young children learn by reenacting experiences
 Dramatic play, blocks, language, art

Learn as individuals
 ”one size fits all” is not true here, look at their personal interests

Learn from relationships

 Children learn from surrounding people, family, teachers, and peers

Young children learn best when home and school work together
THE SOURCES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
CURRICULUM
Curriculum can originate from
 Beliefs about what is worth knowing
 Knowledge of learners and their development
 Knowledge of subject matter

Curriculum is a product of time

 Influenced by social and political forces

Standards-Learning goals for which each student should be able to do at their

specific grade level
Humanistic approach to education-reflects concern for potential of human beings
Looking at childhood as a valuable time, not just as a preparation for adulthood
INFLUENCES OF CURRICULUM DECISIONS
Values and beliefs
 What and how you teach reflects your values
 Your beliefs about children's motivation influences how you teach
 Children inherit ability to learn
 Play, child choice and relationships are very important
KNOWLEDGE OF CHILDREN: DEVELOPMENTALLY
APPROPRIATE PRACTICE (DAP)
What and how you teach is based on your knowledge of children
DAP-enables you to plan for children at the appropriate level for their age,
particular needs, backgrounds, and interest
Influenced by NAEYC (framework of principles and guidelines)
Practical to use from birth to age 8
Diversity-culture, families, special needs
WHAT DOES DAP SAY?
Child development and learning
 Research based information about age-related characteristics

Strengths, interests and needs of the individual child

 Learning about each child in your class and their unique personality and interests

Social and cultural context in which children live

 Values and expectations in the home of the child
 Considering the child's past experiences

Individually appropriateness, age/developmental appropriateness, cultural

appropriateness, and intentionality (adjusting as the child learns and develops new
skills)
FAMILY, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY
What we teach and the way we teach should be respectful and inclusive to children’s
families
If the content is worthwhile to the learner, then the curriculum has little value
Look at what the family believes in important for the child to learn\
Teach the children about real life situations, they want to know and interact more with
the world around them
Schools often limit the curriculum and do not teach the children important complex
things about complex topics in the real world
Teach them real things that require real study and thought
WHAT TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW TO PLAN EARLY
CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM
As a teacher, you know the basic material needed to be able to teach such as, read,
write, compute, etc., but to be an early childhood educator, you need to know much
more.
You also need to have an inquiring mind, awareness of others and cultures, and an
interest in the world around you.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
EC teachers need have knowledge about children and how they develop in order to
create an effective curriculum for the students.
Curriculum subjects are not specific entities, they need to be naturally mixed in with
exploration and play
Based on Maslow (basic human needs), these things need to be met before you can
engage students in learning skills and concepts
Vygotsky-social experiences by interacting, scaffolding, embracing children's cultures
Piaget-actively engaged opportunities with objects and people to understand
Gardner-multiple intelligences
EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM
Good curriculum includes experiences
for self-selected play
Good curriculum also includes activities
with individual children and groups to
help them learn
You need to understand what makes the
curriculum subjects/why its important,
and what you can expect a child to do
at a certain age
EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS
Common Core standards-outline what
students should know and be able to do
at the end of each grade
Many states also have early learning
standards for preschool children
Standards can be useful, but also
controversial
There are many things that standards do
not address including, intellectual
engagement, challenging activities,
applying literacy, etc.
HOW EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM IS
ORGANIZED
It can be organized in many different ways
Subject-Based Curriculum-one subject at a time (math, science, reading) organized in
block times
Learner-centered curriculum
 integrated approaches to curriculum
LEARNER-CENTERED ORGANIZATION
Based on developmental stage, needs and interest of children
Pre-planned activities to ensure that the children have large blocks of time to play
and explore
Emergent Curriculum-Planned activities that emerge from observations of children
and based on the child's interests
Learner centered organizations are important to all EC classrooms
May leave gaps in what is learned and may not be sufficient as children get older
INTEGRATED ORGANIZATION
Children investigate a topic in depth over time
Examples include-unit planning, thematic planning, integrated study, and project
approach
Approach where they believe that the children learn best through their particular
strengths or intelligences
Most effective way to plan curriculum
THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING CURRICULUM
Children learn from experiences in and out of school.
Learn through routines, relationships, incidental encounters, people, places and
objects
To create an effective curriculum, you need to observe the students and decide your
teaching strategies
Interact with children in play, and to help them acquire knowledge, skills, and
dispositions
Dispositions-tendencies to think, feel, or act, attitudes or habits of mind
IN CONCLUSION
Children learn by observing, doing and interacting in play
We need to support their natural curiosity, development in learning, and help them
become problem solvers
There is no certain right way of teaching
Your choices of teaching and beliefs are the ways in which we will touch the future
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

State and describe 3

dimensions of the
Developmental Appropriate
Practice
ANSWER
Child development and learning
 Research based information about age-related characteristics

Strengths, interests and needs of the individual child

 Learning about each child in your class and their unique personality and interests

Social and cultural context in which children live

 Values and expectations in the home of the child
 Considering the child's past experiences