Teaching Children About Food Safety Food Safety Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators

Teaching Children About Food Safety Goals –Show you how to empower children to make decisions about food safety –Introduce several instructional strategies to use with children –Explain how you are to assess the effectiveness of your teaching methods

Teaching Methods Developmentally Appropriate Practice Curricular Integration Thematic Planning The Project Approach Direct Instruction Structured Discovery Play Activities Teachable Moments Role Modeling Problem Solving

Developmentally Appropriate Practices In the process of teacher decision-making use: What teachers know about how children develop and learn What teachers know about the individual children in their group Knowledge of the social and cultural context in which those children live and learn

Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice Create a caring community for learners Teach to enhance development and learning Construct appropriate curriculum Assess children’s learning and development Establish mutually beneficial relationships with families

Considering the Developing Learner Previous experience Age Abilities Health Feelings Needs Interests Learning rates and styles Attitudes, skills and knowledge Sense of security in social settings

Myths Associated with Developmentally Appropriate Classrooms Myth 1: one right way to implement Myth 2: teachers abandon all their prior knowledge and experience Myth 3: classrooms are unstructured Myth 4: classroom teachers don’t teach Myth 5: curriculum will have to be watered down Myth 6: academics have no place. Children just play

Myths Associated with Developmentally Appropriate Classrooms Myth 7: assessment only of what a child “can do” Myth 8: programs can be defined according to dichotomous positions Myth 9: programs suitable for only certain kinds of children Myth 10: just a fad, soon to be replaced by another, perhaps opposite, trend

Curricular Integration (Making Connections and Using Themes) Integrate new learning with prior knowledge Connect what is being learned in school with students’ interests and experiences outside school Making meaningful connections between the content and skills within a subject or between subjects

Thematic Planning (Using Themes in the Classroom) Do my children have opportunities to: –Connect prior knowledge –Make choices –Work with others –Extend knowledge –Develop skills and processes –Represent in a variety of ways –Have fun –Communicate (present)

The Project Approach For children ages 4 through 8 Provides related alternative activities and tasks for a wide range of abilities and experiences Use in mixed-age settings and diversity of groups The important components of the project approach: class discussions, investigations, field trips, visiting an expert or having a guest speaker, real objects or artifacts, and role play

Direct Instruction Direct teaching-A type of instruction practice whereby the teacher directs and structures the classroom environment. Subject matter is presented in a developmental manner with student practice and teacher evaluation/feedback following lesson presentation.

Structured Activities A structured program is one that is highly organized and teacher- directed with limited or no flexibility. Educational activities are formally arranged in a step-by-step fashion.

Structured Discovery The structured discovery model is one in which students “discover” information rather than having it told to them. The discovery from the lesson is a planned one, however; i.e., students discover a correct answer. What they discover is the lesson objective which is predetermined by the teacher. Structured discovery utilizes an inductive rather than deductive approach to learning.

Play Activities Play-A self-motivated activity through which learning occurs Children play in order to learn Play provides many opportunities for children to develop physically, socially, and intellectually

Teacher’s Role in Fostering Learning Through Play Teacher must act as a guide, a facilitator, a record keeper, and a resource person. Teacher must plan for play by creating environments and schedules, developing and modifying curricula, and advocating for the use of play as a context for learning. Teacher must engage and interact with children as they play. Teacher must assess, record, and display children’s learning no matter what form that learning takes.

Create Opportunities for Playful Learning Selecting a theme Webbing the possibilities Creating the connection Organizing the environment Extending the study Adding projects Wrapping it up

Teachable Moments Teachable moment-That particular moment or point in class time when all conditions are just right to explain a concept, thought, or idea. A then and there opportunity to teach students and/or to make a point.

Social Learning Theory-Role Models Self-regulation occurs when a child initiates new behavior or modifies existing behavior as a result of wanting to change based on things they have observed or read. Observation plays a powerful role in learning. –Children observe others to learn how to act –Children see, children do

Social Learning Theory-Role Models (Four processes involved in modeling) 1.Paying attention to people 2.Selecting behaviors to reproduce 3.Remembering the observed behavior 4.Reproducing what was observed

Who or what do children observe? Parents Siblings Other Family Members Teachers Movies Videos Video Games The Internet EVERYTHING!

Problem-based Learning Problem solving-The activity of arriving at the solution of a problem through the systematic organization and the cognitive processing of the relevant data

Problem-based Learning (A basic strategy) Work together to identify the problem Discuss the problem Brainstorm possible solutions Agree on a plan Check periodically to make sure the plan is working

Assessment Are my methods working?

Use of Observation in Assessment Observation is a valuable technique for assessment purposes. When children engage in hands-on learning, observation is one of the best choices for assessing their progress.

Use of Observation in Assessment An anecdotal record is one of the best observation tools to use for assessment purposes.

Use of Observation in Assessment A good anecdotal record should include: –Necessary identifying information (names of children observed, date and location of observation) –Provide a continuous, detailed description of student behavior –Record only observed behavior during the observation time –Provide an interpretation later than, and separate from, what was actually observed

What have you learned? Developmentally Appropriate Practice Curricular Integration Thematic Planning The Project Approach Direct Instruction Structured Discovery Play Activities Teachable Moments Role Modeling Problem Solving

What have you learned? Facts about teaching strategies that could help you teach and reinforce food safety content to your students What developmentally appropriate practices are How to assess whether you have been successful