Blended Curricular Approaches in Early Childhood

Catalog description

This course focuses on curriculum design and differentiation to promote learning and development for all children, birth through grade 2, in classroom, home, and community settings. Practices traditionally “owned” by early childhood education and early intervention/early childhood special education are blended into a holistic approach where developmental domains and curricular areas are integrated across activities throughout the day to promote all children’s access to an full participation in learning activities. The foundations of curriculum development, most particularly using play and everyday routine activities as the context for learning, applying various adult facilitation strategies, observing and recording children’s behavior for planning and evaluating effectiveness, and embedding technology into appropriate learning experiences will be explored. Practices addressed in this course include drawing on each child’s individual strengths as well as home culture and language; meeting the unique needs of each child, including development in integration of IEP/IFSP outcomes and strategies; creating a positive physical learning environment through attention to space, materials, schedules, and transitions; and maximizing effectiveness by collaborating with families and professional team members using interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. Various curricular approaches and methods and developmentally appropriate practices and EI/ECSE recommended practices will be emphasized. 10 hours fieldwork is required.