How Is Early Childhood Curriculum Developed? Jupiterimages / Thinkstock Early childhood curricula can vary widely in philosophy and approach. Early childhood educators can benefit from having a framework within which to compare them. The curriculum a program or school chooses or develops is defined in many ways, both theoretical and practical. From a theoretical perspective, curriculum […]
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What is my role as a teacher? As you explore the information and materials about the curriculum you will be using in your classroom, you may wonder how a curriculum is created in the first place and what makes one curriculum different from another. For example, if the director of your preschool says that it
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What are children like and how do they learn? The Curriculum Landscape: Major Models and Approaches Moneky Business / Thinkstock Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Describe the key elements considered in curriculum development and major research efforts that have affected curriculum. Describe the key features of classic curricula developed
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Five Key Questions As we proceed in our exploration of early childhood curriculum, five key questions provide the organizing elements for the twelve chapters in this text. Together, they represent a coherent philosophy of education and a practical framework for reflection: What is the purpose of curriculum? (Chapters 1 and 2) What are children like
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Reinventing the Wheel You will work with many people and resources to shape the early childhood curriculum of the future. Intergenerational professional relationships can be very important and helpful, as this is one of the ways in which we pass along practical curriculum wisdom (Henderson & Kesson, 2004) acquired over many years of teaching. As
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A Case Study: Mary and Jane Let’s look at how this process works. In this scenario Mary and Jane are reflective co-teachers for a multiage class of 4-year olds and kindergarteners. They observe that six of the boys in the class are entirely focused on “superheroes.” This is evident in many aspects of the curriculumlanguage,
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The Reflective Teacher Your early childhood education studies will provide you a knowledge base and professional dispositions that will continue to be informed by your experiences as a teacher and curriculum developer. Excellent teachers are also reflective, purposefully thinking about the curriculum decisions they make and their teaching in three principal ways (Schon, 1983, 1987;
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The Concept of Theory to Practice In simple terms, “theory to practice” describes the translation of ideas about how children grow and learn into the decisions we make and actions we take as teachers (Dewey, 1904; Mezirow, 1997). As you have learned in this chapter, our thinking today about early education and curriculum is derived
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Why Is It Important for You to Think about Curriculum? Think of the maxim “Practice what you preach.” It will be relevant every day of your teaching career, as your actions represent what you believe about teaching and learning. Consciously and unconsciously, whether adhering to a curriculum approach or using specific materials from a curriculum
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Politics, Government, and Early Childhood Curriculum Getty Images President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the War on Poverty legislative initiative in August 1964. This program included authorization for the Head Start Programs, which continue today. Trends in early childhood curriculum can be significantly affected by public policy and government intervention, innovations in technology and media, and
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