Drs. Ellen Marshall and Cathy McAuliffe Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Drs. Ellen Marshall and Cathy McAuliffe

Today’s Agenda Developmentally Appropriate Practices Curriculum ECERS-R and CLASS Learning Centers Project Presentations

What’s this phrase we keep using? Developmentally appropriate …what does that mean? Developmental = ? Appropriate =? Developmentally Appropriate = ??

What is meant by :developmentally appropriate content and outcomes?” NAEYC states that standards should “emphasize significant, developmentally appropriate content and outcomes” What is meant by :developmentally appropriate content and outcomes?” What are the three components of DAP? Age appropriateness Individual appropriateness Cultural appropriateness

Understanding DAP Why is it important to understand these three components of DAP? Research has shown over and over that teachers, when asked, will say they have a developmentally appropriate classroom But when an independent observer evaluates the classroom, it is largely inappropriate!

You and DAP Let’s see if I can help you understand DAP by taking you on a ski trip!

Developmentally Appropriate Practices Let’s go on a ski trip! Age appropriateness Individual appropriateness Cultural appropriateness

Adding to your knowledge about the three components What are they again?

Age Appropriateness What do we know about child development and how young children learn at different ages and stages? We use this knowledge to plan activities interact with children insure safe and healthy environments make sure what we plan is interesting and achievable, but challenging

Age appropriateness What does (or should) it look in your classroom?

Individual Appropriateness What do we know about individual children in our group? Strengths? Interests? Needs? We use this information to Adapt for individual children Be responsive to individual variations in children

Individual Appropriateness What does (or should) it look like in your classroom?

Cultural Appropriateness What do we know about the social and cultural contexts in the children in our classrooms live? We use this knowledge to Plan meaningful learning experiences Plan relevant learning experiences Be respectful to all children and their families

Cultural Appropriateness What does (or should) it look like in your classroom?

Meeting the Needs of All Children Multicultural education and infusion of multicultural content in programs and activities Developmentally appropriate ways to meet the special needs of all children Inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Morrison. Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education, 5e

Curriculum, Assessment, and Standards in Early Childhood Programs Weaving the Tapestry Curriculum, Assessment, and Standards in Early Childhood Programs

Curriculum: What is it? Either alone, or with a partner, write down a definition of “curriculum” Get with another pair or another person; discuss and refine definition Where does it land on the Curriculum Continuum?

Curriculum Continuum 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Everything that happens 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Everything that happens A detailed book of instructions

Your definition… How does it compare with the following definition?

A curriculum is a framework of teaching practices and activities (both planned and spontaneous) that are… based on the age of the learner, the individual characteristics of the learner, and the culture of the learner focused on all areas of development, including physical, social-emotional, cognitive and language based on each learner’s prior learning and experiences play-based and in which learners are actively involved with real objects in the real world meaningful and relevant to the learners

Reflection Get with a new partner or partners and reflect on this definition of curriculum Does it make sense? Are you implementing a curriculum that falls under this definition? Completely? Partially? Or not at all?

Case Studies In trios, read the case study which you have been assigned Using the definition of curriculum that you have been given, give this learning environment a grade What are three things you would recommend to improve the curriculum for this child

Assessment (both formal and informal) is… based on the age of the learner, the individual characteristics of the learner, and the culture and language of the learner used for purpose(s) for which it is designed based on multiple sources of evidence gathered over time authentic is based on appropriate standards and is used to improve teaching and curriculum

Standards are… a formalized set of benchmarks and milestones generally set up by age range or grade generally issued by an educational agency (such as Head Start), a state board of education, or a similar entity

What standards do you use? Who issues your standards? What are the key elements of your standards

Relationships What is the relationship between curriculum, assessment, and standards? Weaving the tapestry…

Metaphors What other metaphors can we use to describe the ideal relationship between curriculum, standards, and assessment? Think, pair, and share Illustrate…

ECERS-R and CLASS

Learning Centers Creative Art Project Approach/Emergent Curriculum Communication skills (I messages) DAP for reading to young children DAP for teaching children to write Blocks Substantial portion of the day Teaching Philosophy

Project Presentations