Curriculum Development - An Introduction

Summary

This video script emphasizes the importance of an effective curriculum in early childhood education, focusing on the whole child's development. It highlights the need for a curriculum that is organized, responsive, research-based, and dynamic, balancing planned and emergent activities. The script showcases teachers' strategies for engaging children, assessing their skills, and incorporating cultural diversity and dual-language learning. It also underscores the significance of social-emotional learning and the integration of various learning domains.

Takeaways

• 📚 Curriculum is a comprehensive framework that includes learning goals, concepts, skills, teaching strategies, and instructional methods for children.
• 🌟 An effective curriculum is organized, intentional, responsive to children's needs, research-based, and dynamic.
• 🧩 It integrates planned and emergent activities to foster the holistic development of children in cognitive, physical, linguistic, social, and emotional aspects.
• 🏆 The National Association for the Education of Young Children outlines several key features of an effective curriculum.
• 👶 Tailoring the curriculum to meet individual children's skill levels and building upon them is crucial.
• 🤔 Observations play a vital role in curriculum planning, identifying areas where children need more support or growth.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Engaging children by making the curriculum interesting and relevant to them is key to their active participation.
• 🌐 Incorporating real-life, culturally diverse, and multilingual elements into the curriculum enriches the learning experience.
• 👥 Social-emotional learning is a significant component of early childhood education, focusing on expressing feelings appropriately and building relationships.
• 🎨 Learning domains are interconnected; activities often meet multiple learning standards across different domains.
• 📈 Regular curriculum meetings and assessments, such as the GOLD system, help in refining the curriculum to better suit children's evolving needs.

Q & A

What is the definition of curriculum in the context of early learning?

Curriculum in the context of early learning is a framework that identifies learning goals for children, concepts, and skills to be taught, along with teaching strategies and instructional methods.

What are the key characteristics of an effective curriculum?

An effective curriculum is organized, intentionally implemented, responsive and reflective of children, research-based, and dynamic.

How does curriculum integrate into various aspects of an early learning program?

Curriculum is woven into all activities and routines and informs all aspects of an early learning program, including environmental design, materials, schedule, assessment, and program evaluation.

What balance does an effective curriculum aim to achieve?

An effective curriculum aims to balance planned activities with emergent activities.

How does the curriculum focus on the development of the child?

The curriculum focuses on the development of the whole child, including cognitive, physical, linguistic, social, and emotional development.

What does the National Association for the Education of Young Children identify as features of effective curriculums?

The National Association for the Education of Young Children identifies several features of effective curriculums, which are considered when designing a curriculum.

How do early childhood professionals adapt the curriculum to meet individual children's needs?

Early childhood professionals adapt the curriculum by first understanding the children's current skills, then building upon those skills and ensuring the curriculum is interesting and engaging for the children.

What is the importance of observing children's progress and development?

Observing children's progress and development is crucial for planning and adjusting the curriculum to meet their needs, as well as for designing activities that support their growth.

How do teachers involve parents in the curriculum?

Teachers involve parents by sending notes home to inform them of the focus areas and seeking their input on how to work together to support the child's learning.

What is the approach to curriculum development for infants?

For infants, the curriculum development must be flexible and sometimes compromised due to the unpredictable nature of young children, with the primary goal being love, care, and attention to their needs.

How do teachers ensure that the curriculum is culturally inclusive?

Teachers ensure cultural inclusivity by connecting culture to individual people, representing various cultures in the classroom, and making an effort to include dual-language learners and their unique experiences.

What role does play-based learning play in the curriculum?

Play-based learning is central to the curriculum, providing hands-on opportunities for children to learn through socializing, communicating, and engaging in activities that are developmentally appropriate.

How do teachers reflect on the curriculum and children's progress?

Teachers reflect on the curriculum and children's progress by observing daily activities, using assessment systems like GOLD, and holding curriculum meetings to discuss observations and plan adjustments.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Effective Curriculum Design

The paragraph discusses the concept of curriculum as a framework that sets learning goals, concepts, and skills for children. It emphasizes the importance of an effective curriculum being organized, intentional, responsive, research-based, and dynamic. The curriculum should balance planned and emergent activities, focusing on the holistic development of children in cognitive, physical, linguistic, social, and emotional aspects. The National Association for the Education of Young Children's criteria for effective curriculums are mentioned, and the paragraph highlights the importance of observing children's skills, engaging them, and planning based on observations. It also touches on the need for curriculum to be interesting and to build upon individual children's skills. The teacher's role in designing activities and collaborating with parents to foster growth in specific areas is also discussed.

05:01

👶 Developmental Progression and Individualization

This paragraph focuses on the developmental progression of young children, particularly three-year-olds, and how teachers can scaffold their learning experiences. It discusses the importance of understanding where each child is in their development and providing opportunities for growth. The paragraph also emphasizes the significance of individualizing curriculum to meet the needs of each child, taking into account their interests and capabilities. Cultural diversity and inclusion are highlighted, with the importance of representing various cultures in the classroom and connecting culture to individual people to help children understand diversity. The incorporation of dual-language learning into the curriculum and the use of parent involvement to enhance the learning experience are also mentioned.

10:03

🎨 Interconnected Learning Domains

The final paragraph explores how learning standards across different domains are met simultaneously in early childhood education. It illustrates how activities in areas like art can involve multiple domains such as science, sensory experience, literacy, language, and social-emotional learning. The paragraph underscores the interconnected nature of learning domains and the importance of social-emotional development, especially for children experiencing group interactions for the first time. The process of curriculum planning, including weekly meetings and the use of the GOLD system for assessment, is described to show how observations and children's interests guide the curriculum development.

Keywords

💡Curriculum

A curriculum is a comprehensive plan that outlines the educational goals, content, and learning experiences for students. In the context of the video, the curriculum is described as a dynamic framework that is responsive to children's needs and is woven into all aspects of an early learning program. It includes environmental design, materials, schedules, and assessments, aiming for a balance between planned and emergent activities to support the holistic development of children.

💡Early Learning Program

An early learning program refers to educational initiatives designed for young children, typically before formal schooling begins. The video emphasizes that such programs should be informed by a well-structured curriculum that supports cognitive, physical, linguistic, social, and emotional development. The program should engage children in a variety of activities that are both planned and responsive to their interests and developmental stages.

💡Developmentally Appropriate

Developmentally appropriate practices are teaching strategies that are sensitive to the child's developmental stage. The video script mentions that the curriculum should be developmentally appropriate, meaning activities and materials should match the children's abilities and interests. This includes providing hands-on learning opportunities that allow children to learn through play and social interaction.

💡Intentional Implementation

Intentional implementation in education refers to the deliberate and purposeful execution of teaching strategies and curriculum plans. The video underscores the importance of implementing the curriculum intentionally, meaning educators should be mindful of how they introduce and carry out activities to ensure they align with the learning goals and the needs of the children.

💡Cognitive Development

Cognitive development pertains to the growth of a child's mental processes, including thinking, learning, memory, and reasoning. The video highlights the importance of a curriculum that focuses on the cognitive development of children, which is integral to their overall growth. Educators are encouraged to design activities that stimulate and challenge children's thinking skills.

💡Social-Emotional Learning

Social-emotional learning (SEL) involves the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. The video script mentions that educators should pay attention to the social-emotional aspect of learning, helping children to express their feelings appropriately and navigate social situations.

💡Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills refer to the small muscle movements involved in tasks requiring manual dexterity, such as writing, cutting, and grasping objects. The video script provides an example of a teacher observing and focusing on the development of fine motor skills in children, which is an important aspect of the curriculum. Activities are designed to help children improve these skills, such as learning to cut or write.

💡Dual-Language Learners

Dual-language learners are children who are acquiring two languages simultaneously or sequentially. The video mentions the presence of dual-language learners in the classroom and the importance of incorporating their linguistic needs into the curriculum. Educators are encouraged to individualize instruction and involve parents in activities that celebrate linguistic diversity.

💡Individualization

Individualization in education means tailoring teaching methods and curriculum to meet the unique needs and abilities of each student. The video script emphasizes the importance of getting to know each child and designing activities that cater to their individual capabilities. This approach helps in setting appropriate expectations and providing differentiated instruction.

💡Cultural Representation

Cultural representation in education involves acknowledging and valuing the diverse cultural backgrounds of students within the learning environment. The video script discusses the importance of representing various cultures in the classroom, connecting culture to individual people to help children understand diversity. This approach fosters inclusivity and respect for all cultures.

💡Assessment

Assessment in education is the process of gathering and analyzing information about student learning to make informed decisions about instruction. The video mentions the use of the GOLD system for assessment, which allows educators to track children's progress and adjust the curriculum accordingly. Assessment helps in identifying areas of strength and need, ensuring that the curriculum remains responsive to the children's developmental stages.

Highlights

Curriculum is a framework that identifies learning goals for children.

Effective curriculum is organized, intentionally implemented, responsive, reflective, research-based, and dynamic.

Curriculum is woven into all activities and routines, informing environmental design, materials, schedule, assessment, and program evaluation.

Balance of planned and emergent activities is crucial for curriculum effectiveness.

Curriculum focuses on the holistic development of children: cognitively, physically, linguistically, socially, and emotionally.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children identifies several features of effective curriculums.

Curriculum design should start with understanding children's current skills.

Curriculum should be interesting and engaging for children.

Planning curriculum based on observations to identify areas for improvement.

Importance of fine motor skills development in early childhood education.

Involving parents in curriculum to support children's learning at home.

Adapting curriculum for infants, prioritizing love, care, and attention over strict lesson plans.

Incorporating real and relevant materials in curriculum to enhance children's success.

Asking open-ended questions to foster curiosity and exploration.

Importance of nurturing lifelong learners through curiosity and learning processes.

Observing and reflecting on children's activities to meet their specific needs.

Supporting children's progression and development through teacher skills and strategies.

Developmentally appropriate activities that are hands-on and play-based.

Individualizing curriculum to meet the unique capabilities of each child.

Building relationships with children to understand their needs and interests.

Incorporating culture and diversity in the classroom community.

Supporting dual-language learners by incorporating multiple languages in the curriculum.

Meeting learning standards through various interactions and activities.

Interwoven nature of learning domains in early childhood education.

Emphasis on social-emotional development and expressing feelings appropriately.

Using the GOLD system for assessment to tailor curriculum to children's needs.

Transcripts

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Curriculum is the framework

that identifies learning goals for children, concepts

and skills to be taught, teaching strategies,

and instructional methods. An effective curriculum is

organized, is intentionally implemented,

is responsive to and reflective of children, is research-based,

and is dynamic.

It's woven into all activities and routines and informs all

aspects of an early learning program: environmental design,

materials, schedule, assessment,

and program evaluation. It's a balance of

planned activities and emergent activities.

It's focused on development of the whole child. Cognitively,

physically, linguistically,

socially, and emotionally.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children

has identified several features of effective curriculums.

Consider the design of your curriculum as early

childhood professionals share how they include each feature in their curriculums.

Are you ready for that job? As you're massaging it it's becoming more yellow.

How many pieces are there?

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(teacher interacting with child)

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Where can you find these things? For your curriculum you want to

make sure that you first know where the children are at the different

skills and then you're building upon those skills as individual children.

You want to make sure the curriculum is interesting to children and that they're engaged

in the curriculum.

I plan based upon my observations and I go

through and I find out what areas I need to get more

observations or an area that I notice that my kids

are not progressing where I would like them to be.

A really great easy example would be like fine motor skills. My kids are just

developing how to cut, how to write, how to feed themselves, use that fine motor grasp.

So what I do is I go around and I make sure that I have a really good positive

observation proving that each child is developmentally where they are. And if

I do not, then I make sure that I really focus on that area

that standard, that category. And I design my centers and

my mealtime and my conversations, and my music, and my outdoor activities, on

that specific area that I know I'm not seeing the growth that

we want to see. And sometimes I even send notes home to the parents

and say, "We're really focusing on this. What can we do together?"

And get input from them. I love you.

There's a curriculum developed for us. And

we follow that curriculum as much as we can.

But with the infants, we have to compromise

it sometimes. Because we cannot possibly get everything done

that we want to because we might have

two kids that are sick or you might have one that's really fussy. Lesson plans

are written and we try to do as much as we can. But the first goal

of those lesson plans: love, care, and tend to those children.

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We have to get ready to go by 9 o'clock. What do we need to take with us?

We try to bring in real and relevant things that

that they would have. Possibly in their home, like you said maybe they

haven't used before. And having

them be in a way that they can be successful with

using them. We try to always ask open-ended

questions. Questions that might have them explore more

in their thoughts. Maybe things that they

weren't thinking about. We want children to be

lifelong learners and they need to be curious

to continue that learning process.

Teacher: Boo! (child laughing) We bring in things that maybe they hadn't

tried before or used before. And then that sparks new learning

and more curiosity and we try to take

things to the next level of what they would be interested in. Watching,

being reflective each day on different

things that you saw the kids do. We

look at each child and try to meet their specific needs, but then also as a classroom

try to bring in what the class is interested in.

And it comes from watching

a lot of two-year-olds.

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When we talk about a three-year-old

coming in and they have the desire to

want to learn how to, say, draw a circle. Well they're not, they

don't know innately where they are

in their development. Then what I can

do once I observe that and I see that that's an emergent pattern coming from that

child and how they have the desire to want to do the next

thing, I can start to help them to understand

how that shape works. And give them a lot of opportunities

with learning experiences to help them to grow

from this place to the next place. And it's their

progression and development. It's not me saying, "Well you have to stand here

and do the circle." It's all the parts leading

up to that and then now we're going to use those teacher skills and

strategies to move that child and scaffold that learning to the next,

to the next place.

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Developmentally appropriate activities for young

children...I think that that's centered around everything

that we do here. It's knowing about development

and it's also getting to know the individual children.

And it's giving the kids a lot of hands-on opportunities

to learn through play. Through

socializing, through communicating with their teachers and their peers.

I think the most important thing is individualizing

and when you get to know the kids then you know what each one

is capable of. So you can maybe have higher expectations for

this guy over here, but she's not quite there yet. So you want to approach her

a different way. Having a relationship with the child

on their level really helps us to know what their needs are. If you

listen to them and you play with them, they tell you where they are and what they

enjoy doing. And when you find out what they enjoy doing it's easy to meet their goals

and their developmental practices by

doing what they enjoy doing. Child: Whee!

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We all have a culture that's near and dear to us.

And I think at the heart of it all is that everybody's

culture is important and equally important and should be equally represented

in a classroom community. And it doesn't have to be like the same

bit of everybody's culture that's represented. But the part that maybe

they feel closest to. I really like to connect culture at this age to

individual people. That's how kids can understand culture. If we

talk about a culture that's far away from us and that we don't know anybody who's

part of that culture, it's lost on them. So connecting culture to an individual

is what really helps them to grasp the idea that people are

somewhat the same, but also somewhat different. We do

have some dual-language learners in our classroom. In fact, that's been a huge part

of our curriculum lately. We have a couple of children who are from

China, we have a Middle Eastern child and we have one little girl

who speaks English and Japanese. So we have

actually been trying to incorporate that as part of our

whole experience. We've been inviting parents in to read Brown Bear, Brown Bear...

a book that we know really really well to us in all different languages. And we've

learned to sign it. So we're really trying to make it special for those

dual-language learners. And sometimes we do have to individualize instruction for them.

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Ready? One big, huge jump! You made all the way to the number...

three.

You actually see that we're meeting a lot of learning standards through all of the interactions.

Children in dramatic play are often acting out social roles or

they're characters from literature that they have really

decided to role play. So part of that is social-emotional,

part of that is the arts and

performing. We see children working with numbers and math

all of the time. We can see children

basically in all areas meeting multiple

learning standards across domains at all times. When we put together

an activity and reflect on it at the end of the day, we typically

see that we have about five or six standards just for one

activity. So when we are in the art area we're using tools, tools

falls under science. When you're working with something like finger paints,

that's a sensory experience. It can also be science, but if

we're making letters in it, we are then using literacy skills. If we're

talking about our creations, we're using language skills. If we're sharing

tools, that's social-emotional. So it really seems as

though learning domains don't evolve in isolation. They're all

fused together. And once you start to see how they're interwoven, it all

makes a lot of sense. Yeah the social-emotional

part is really the biggest element of what we do.

A lot of our children when they're coming here this is their first experience away from

home and having to interact with a large group of

children, to interact with adults who are less familiar,

it's really important to learn how to express your feelings appropriately

in a social group. Even for some children recognizing

what they're feeling. Sometimes big emotions are scary for children.

So letting them know that it's ok and giving them positive ways

of letting them out, are really big parts of what we teach.

(music) That's a good

choice. Good job buddy. We don't push, right? Child: No.

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So thinking back to whenever we're planning curriculum,

we have curriculum meetings once a week where we meet as group, the

teaching team. And we usually go through, we have observations

on our form that we fill out to talk about the curriculum

and then also any observations, what you're seeing interest-wise of the children

so that's another way to tie it into documentation. We

also have the GOLD system that we use for assessment so when we're

logging in observation through that system we can printout

and see what we've logged in, what areas need some more focus,

where we can kind of cater and develop the curriculum to the needs

of the children.

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