Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood – EDUC 670

Course Description

The course is designed to show current trends in curriculum organization, the effects of environment on learning and adapting curriculum content and methods to maturity level of the young child. Emphasis will be placed on designing individual educational programs for all children.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

How a society cares for and educates its children clearly reflects the worldview and core beliefs of any people. Therefore, it is imperative to look at all programs and practices through the lens of a Judeo-Christian view that clearly sees children as individuals created in the image of God. A major responsibility of the pre-school teacher and/or administrator is to develop curriculum that simultaneously meets the mission and goals of an organization and the children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, developmental, and spiritual needs. The ability to evaluate and differentiate among various theories and practices is an essential component to experiencing success in early childhood education.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations/notes

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in Module/Week 1.

Discussion Board Forums (8)

There will be 8 Discussion Board Forums throughout this course. Discussion boards are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate is required to provide a thread in response to the provided topic for each forum. Each thread is to be 400 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the candidate is required to reply to 2 colleagues’ threads. Each reply must be 200–250 words.

Lesson Plans (2)

The candidate will practice aligning literacy and content standards and use these items to direct instructional planning. (CLO: D, E, F)

Theoretical Framework Paper

This assignment will allow the candidate to become acutely aware of his/her pedagogical stance. The paper must include at least 5 references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible. A title and reference page is required in addition to the 5 pages of content. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Classroom Design PowerPoint

The candidate will design a PowerPoint presentation explaining how his/her pedagogical stance influences his/her classroom design. This presentation must be no more than 10–12 slides. There must be at least 5 references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible.  (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, G)

Reflective Summary

The candidate will write a reflective summary about the Classroom Design PowerPoint assignment. The first paragraph must delineate what he/she learned from reading colleagues’ comments/advice concerning his/her PowerPoint presentation, and the second paragraph must explain what the candidate learned about himself/herself through this assignment. Each paragraph must have at least 250 words.  (CLO:  A, B, C, D)

Tests (2)

Each test will be open-book/open-notes, contain 48 multiple-choice and essay questions, and have a 1 ½ hour time limit. (CLO: F, G, H)

Quiz

The quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 20 multiple-choice and essay questions, and have a 45-minute time limit.  (CLO: F, G, H)