Curriculum Proposal System
Course Details

Prerequisites (list each individually, one course per line, with course number and title)
Current Admitted to Teacher Education Program 7400:265 -- Child Development 7400:270 -- Theory & Guidance of Play 7400:280 -- Early Childhood Curriculum Methods New Admitted to Teacher Education Program 7400:265 -- Child Development 7400:270 -- Theory & Guidance of Play 7400:280 -- Early Childhood Curriculum Methods 5500:310 -- Instructional Design (per ED-05-04) 5500:311 -- Instructional Resource (per ED-05-04) New prerequisites to be checked at time of registration? yes
Corequisites (list each individually, one course per line, with course number and title)
Current None New None New corequisites to be checked at time of registration? no
Bulletin description
5200:325 ADVANCED EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM 4 credits (33 field and 27 clinical hours) Prerequisite: Admitted to teacher education program and 7400:265, 270, 280, and 5500:310/311. To teach skills for curriculum development half- and full-day programs to children 3-6 with an emphasis on authentic assessment, projects, and state/national standards.
Web Components
None
Textbook selection
Bredekamp, S., Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Petersen, E.A. (2003). A practical guide to early childhood curriculum: Linking thematic, emergent and skill-based planning to children’s outcomes(2nd ed.. Boston, MA : Allyn and Bacon. National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation (2001). Retrieved September 4, 2004 from http://www.ncate.org/standard/new%20program%20standards/naeyc%202001.pdf University of Akron writing lab (2002). Retrieved April 20, 2004 from http://www.uakron.edu/colleges/univcoll/writelab.php RECOMMENDED TEXTS: Newman, S., Copple, C., Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write: developmentally appropriate practice for young children. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Waite-Stupiansky, S. (1997). Building understanding together: A constructivist approach to early childhood education. Albany, NY: Delmar Publications.
Rationale
Fifty three hours of field allows only seven hours of college classroom instruction, not enough for a campus course that covers curriculum development with an emphasis on authentic assessment, projects, and standards.
Syllabus
The University of Akron College of Education Department of Curricular and Instructional Studies Advanced Early Childhood Curriculum (5200:325; 4 credits) (Prerequisites: 5500:310/311, 7400:265, 7400:270, 7400:280) Instructor: Lynn S. Kline, Ph.D. Office: 11 Zook Hall Phone: (330) 972-6150 Office Email: kline@uakron.edu Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday by appointment DESCRIPTION OF COURSES: To teach skills for curriculum development for half-and full-day programs for children 3-6 with an emphasis on authentic assessment, projects and state/national standards. RATIONALE: This course is designed to meet the following national standards of teacher preparation and professional practice: 1. Understands central concepts, tools of inquiry, structures of the discipline(s) she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for young children (INTASC /Praxis II –standard 1. Content Pedagogy; Praxis III- Domain C/ Teaching for Student Learning; NAEYC Standard 1- Teaching and learning) 2. Understands child development and learning and can provide learning opportunities that support development of the whole child; physical, intellectual, language, social and emotional (INTASC/Praxis II -standard 2. Student Development; Praxis III- A1 Becoming familiar with background, knowledge and experiences of students; NAEYC Standard 2- Promoting child development and learning) 3. Understanding authentic assessment tools/strategies (formal/informal) to evaluate the development of the whole child; physical, intellectual, language, social, and emotional development of young children (INTASC /Praxis II –standard 8. Assessment; Praxis III- A5 –Creating appropriate evaluation strategies; NAEYC Standard 3- Observing, documenting and assessing to support young children and families). 4. Is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of her choices and actions on others (students, parents, other professionals) and actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally (INTASC /Praxis II –Standard 9. Assessment; Praxis III- D1 –reflect on the extent to which learning goals were met; D3 –Building professional relationships; and D4- Communicate with parents or guardians; NAEYC Standard 5- Becoming a professional). 5. Utilizes developmentally appropriate guidance strategies with the intent to promote initiative, pro-social behavior, perseverance and self regulation (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) (INTASC /Praxis II –standard 5. Motivation and Management Praxis III- B1 –Creating a climate of fairness and B5 –Making environment safe and conducive to learning; NAEYC Standard 1 - Teaching and Learning). COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Reflect on practices observed and demonstrated continuing to build on and refine prior knowledge, skills, and dispositions about play, teaching strategies, curriculum development, and observation skills 2. Understand key components, reasons and strategies for creating a caring community of learners including positive guidance strategies. 3. Utilize authentic assessment techniques when documenting development and learning. 4. Plan, implement, and evaluate experiences that reflect an integrated, child centered, inquiry-based, emergent and content-rich curriculum in conjunction with knowledge of curricular areas, child development (universal and unique), cultural contexts/environmental influences, and state/national standards. 5. Display positive communication skills for acting as a member of a teaching staff/team. 6. Acquire and demonstrate a disposition about teaching and learning that reflects young children as active, able constructors of knowledge. REQUIRED TEXTS: Bredekamp, S., Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Petersen, E.A. (2003). A practical guide to early childhood curriculum: Linking thematic, emergent and skill-based planning to children’s outcomes(2nd ed.. Boston, MA : Allyn and Bacon. National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation (2001). Retrieved September 4, 2004 from http://www.ncate.org/standard/new%20program%20standards/naeyc%202001.pdf University of Akron writing lab (2002). Retrieved April 20, 2004 from http://www.uakron.edu/colleges/univcoll/writelab.php RECOMMENDED TEXTS: Newman, S., Copple, C., Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write: developmentally appropriate practice for young children. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Waite-Stupiansky, S. (1997). Building understanding together: A constructivist approach to early childhood education. Albany, NY: Delmar Publications. REQUIREMENTS FOR COURSES: Attendance: Attendance is extremely important in this course, as is participation. Obviously, you cannot participate if you do not attend class! Exceptions will be made for medical emergencies (a note from your doctor must be submitted in order to be excused). Points will be deducted from your final grade if you have been absent for more than one class. In addition, points will be deducted from your final grade for excessive tardiness or leaving class before the end of the period. You will earn 10 extra points at the end of the class for 90% or better attendance Participation: Points will be awarded for activities as the course curriculum develops. All students are expected to participate in these classroom activities. Points given for participation and emergent curriculum activities are not extra credit; consequently, they will be calculated as part of the final grade. Unfortunately, if you are not in class or you forget your written assignments you will not be eligible to earn participation points for the day. No points will be awarded for work submitted in person or by e-mail after class. Portfolio Reflection: As described in your handbook, COE Handbook for Undergraduate and Teacher Education Candidates, you will be required to reflect on all 5 standards outlined by NAEYC/NCATE (2001) for Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs. In this course, we will focus on Standard 3- Observing, Documenting, Assessing to Support Young Children and Their Families. Your task will be to “construct a narrative description of this standard using your own words.” You are expected “to engage in the recursive loop of enhancing meta-cognition and self-understanding, setting goals, and reflecting.” Thus, this assignment may be reviewed by peers as well as the course instructor and will undergo revisions while you are in the COE. A teacher’s ability to write and express him/herself clearly and grammatically is of vital importance; therefore, grading will be strict in this regard. This portfolio will need to be edited (peer or writing lab) before being turned into the instructor at assigned dates for final evaluation (Objective 3, 4, and 6). NOTE: The portfolio guidelines require the inclusion of one self- generated document. This course is ideal for creating such documents. In addition, remember that citations from research or theorists supporting your ideas and examples from your field experiences provide credibility to the document. Group Project: Every student will be expected to actively participate in a long term project or inquiry demonstrating the Project Approach. This involves the asking of questions about a topic, investigating the questions, and reporting what was discovered as well as providing useful feedback to colleagues. The Project Approach will be discussed in class before you begin your inquiry. Midterm and Final Assessments: Students will experience a midterm as indicated on the course calendar. The test may involve multiple choice items, short answer, and essay questions on topics discussed during the course. The final will be given the last day of class. The final is in a case study format that will invite you to call on all your knowledge and skill to analyze the situation, synthesis information and make professional judgments. LAB ASSIGNMENTS Attendance/Participation: Attendance and active participation (this is NOT an observation class) in the lab experience is mandatory as assigned. You are expected to arrive on time, stay for the entire two and a half hour period and most importantly interact with the children. As a valued team member, you will be expected to show initiative in classroom practice, attend planning meetings and will be counted on to carry out the plans of the day. If, under rare and extenuating circumstances, you have to miss the lab, you will be treated as a professional. Thus, you are expected to notify your Cooperating Teacher as well as me BEFORE your scheduled time of arrival. Of course, you must make up the missed hours as soon as possible. Missing more than one lab experience may result in the lowering of your overall grade one letter grade (10%) per absence. Professional Behavior: As a member of the teaching team, you are expected to behave professionally. This includes, but is not limited to: appropriate attire, prompt arrival and departure at scheduled time, appropriate language, and the maintenance of confidentiality for children, families, and program. Consequences for not acting professionally may vary. For example, if a Cooperating Teacher or Program Director deems your attire unsatisfactory, she has the right to ask you to leave the building. You must make up the missed DAY as soon as possible and you may face a reduction of points in your lab grade (see Attendance/Participation section above). Planned Experiences/Reflections: You are expected to plan and implement 3 learning experiences with a partner. You are also expected to plan and deliver 4 activities from your individual “Book in a Box” project which are supported by ODE pre-kindergarten academic standards. The experiences may be planned for a whole group or small group of students in a learning center. The experience must be experiential as described by Edgar Dale (Thompson, Pachnowski, Kushner Benson and Salzman, 2001) “direct purposeful experience” or “simulated real experience.” Each planned experience will include Language and Literacy Prek-K Content Standards as part of the experience. Submit a full description of the “planned experience” using the appropriate form to your Cooperating Teacher and me at least one week before implementation. This procedure will provide us an opportunity to provide you feedback to further enhance the success of the experience for both you and the children. Your Cooperating Teacher will observe and provide feedback on the lesson as part of the Lab Evaluation. Furthermore, you will reflect on learning during each planned experience on the “Planned Experience Reflection Form” as part of your professional journal. “Book in a Box” integrated learning project: In addition, you will have the opportunity to design a “Book in a Box” which is a collection of content rich and developmentally appropriate small learning activities and props related to a picture book or series of books. The activities and props support physical development, cognitive development (science, social studies and math), creative development as well as language and literacy development. The box should be decorated with pictures, symbols, or characters from the book that appeal to young children and will spark their interest. In alignment with the NAEYC/IRA 1998 position statement, this project is designed to support children as they explore and experiment with literacy, motor, perceptual, memory and problem solving skills. The activities and props should be durable, as children will want to handle them. Activities from the “Book in the Box” are to be used as planned experiences during the second round of your field experience. This project will enable you to generate materials that you can use to springboard emergent curriculum in the future as your career develops. Observation/ Document Learning (Panel): Purposes: 1. To represent the work of a group of children. This should describe and explain the children’s development, learning and/or interactions during an experience you planned. In other words, tell me how the children reacted to the materials, experiences, each other. Also, tell me what learning, both anticipated and unanticipated, occurred. 2. To communicate with parents, teachers, children, and other school personnel A full description of the documentation panel and guidelines will be distributed in class. The Panel: ¸ Documents learning using representations of the children’s thinking such as drawings, sculptures, paintings, graphs, dramatic play. ¸ Documents thinking using the children’s actual words. ¸ Highlights and explains what learning and interactions occurred. ¸ Displayed in or around the classroom for parents, teachers, children, and other school personnel. ¸ Completed on poster board, tri-fold display board, or foam board. Field Log: You are expected to maintain a meta-cognitive professional journal that represents your thinking about your experiences with the children. You will record what you have seen and heard, questions you have, opinions concerning activities, ideas to explore, and insights you might have gained from experiences you describe. A journal entry is due each week. General guidelines for the journal entry topics and due dates are provided on the Course Calendar. Field logs may include reflections on instructional strategies/curriculum; accommodating special needs; multi-ethnic curriculum; pro-social guidance strategies; parent connections; the professional feedback experience and professional insights gained from the field experience. Lab Midterm and Final Lab Evaluation: You will complete a midterm and final self-evaluation of your performance as a member of the teaching staff using the Lab Evaluation and Reflection Form. You may be asked to present teaching artifacts to support your self-evaluation. Your self-evaluation, cooperating teacher comments, Book in the Box presentations and professionalism will be combined to calculate your lab grade. Summary of Course Requirements: Grading Scale* 1. Field Log 120 100%-94%= A 2. Attendance/Participation (90%) 19 93%-91%= A- 3. Group Project Presentation 71 (Individual + group) 90%-88%= B+ 4. Midterm/Final(lecture) 100 87%-84%= B 5. Lab Evaluations (Mid-term) 10 83%-81%= B- (Lab Evaluation/Recommendations) 140 80%-78%= C+ 6. “Book in a Box” 80 77%-74%= C 7. (3) Paired Experience/l Reflection @15(10 PE/ 5Ref) 45 73%-71%=C- 8. Book in the Box Experiences/Reflection 40 (25 PE/ 15Ref) 9. Panel Documentation 50 10. Portfolio Reflection 25 (Standard # 3) 700 * Students in the College of Education successfully complete this course by earning a “C” or better. The rest of the grading scale is as follows: 70-68% = D+; 67-64% = D; 63-61% = D-; and 60 or below = F. A final word. . . . For each hour in lecture, you are expected to do 3 hours of homework. Thus, for this course, you will attend lecture 2.5 hours a week and will be given approximately 7 hours of homework. This homework may include reading assignments, reflection questions, and/or small group investigations. In keeping with the spirit of collaborative, constructive education principles, candidates will need to become comfortable with sharing ideas and work as well as providing and receiving constructive feedback. Furthermore, your ideas and work may be examined and discussed by center staff. Classroom discussion and field experiences will undoubtedly result in differences of opinions. Thus, it is imperative that everyone demonstrates respect for the opinions of others (instructor, peers, children, families and cooperating teachers). Professional quality of all written work is expected. This includes spelling, grammar, usage and all the mechanics of good writing, as well as meaningful content and an articulate command of the language. All assignments must be typed. All written work should conform to APA format ( See--- American Psychological Association Publication Manual (5th ed.).(2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.) Or http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.htm Students whose names do not appear on the university’s official class list by the third day of class will not be permitted to participate (attend class, take exams, or receive credit). The University of Akron recognizes its responsibility to create an environment conducive to learning for every student. Therefore, the instructor of this course will not discriminate against any student in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Support services for students with disabilities are located in the Office of Accessibility, Spicer Hall 124 (330) 972-7928. If you require reasonable accommodations, you must provide me with a copy of a letter from this office by the Thursday of the first week of class. All students are expected to follow the University’s Student Code of Conduct and “are advised to become aware of the disciplinary procedures published in the University Rules and Regulations Concerning Campus Conduct and Student Discipline Procedures (Student Code of Conduct). The Student Code of Conduct can also be accessed by visiting www.uakron.edu/studdev or visiting the Office of Student Conduct, Gardner Student Center 104 for your free copy” (The University of Akron, 2000-2001 Undergraduate Bulletin, pg. 26). Failing to make yourself familiar with these stated regulations does not exempt you from being responsible for following them.
Bibliography
Billman, J. and Sherman, J. (2003). Observation and participation in early childhood settings: A practicum guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Bredekamp, S. and Rosegrant, T. (Eds.) (1992). Reaching potentials: Appropriate curriculum and assessment for young children (vol.1). Washington, DC: NAEYC Collins, M. (2002). Questioning to enhance student learning. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service (ETS). Darling, K. and Grawemeyer, B. (2003). Books in a box: Developing curriculum around picture books. Presented at the OAEYC Conference, March 6-8, 2003. Columbus, OH. Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2004, October 12). Retrieved October 20, 2004 from http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html INTASC Standards. Retrieved July 22, 2003 from http://www.dpi.state.nc.is/pbl/pblintasc.html Jalongo, MR. And Isenberg, J.P. (2004). Exploring your role: A practitioner’s introduction to early childhood education (2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Katz, Lilian G. and Chard, Sylvia C. (1989). Engaging children’s minds: The project approach. Greenwich, CT: Ablex. (ERIC Document Reproduction Services No. ED 407 074). Nilsen, B.A. (1997). Week by week plans for observing and recording young children. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers. Thompson, S., Kushner Benson, S., Pachnowski, L., Salzman, J. (2001). Decision-making in planning and teaching. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishes, Inc. Wait-Stupiansky, S. (1997). Building understanding together:A constructivist approach to early childhood education. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers. Wandberg, R. and Rohwer, J. (2003). Teaching to the standards of effective practice: A guide to becoming a successful teacher. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Wardle, F. (2003). Introduction to early childhood education: a multimimensial approach to child-centered care and learning. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.