EDEC 658: Problems in Early Childhood Education

Credit Hours: (3)

Focuses on early childhood and issues and concerns in practices. Addresses related educational concerns of teachers and administrators on an individual basis.

Detailed Description of the Content of the Course

This course is designed to engage students in inquiry into three major "strands" related to early childhood education: early childhood/primary programs, current trends in curriculum/instruction, and curricular issues regarding early education. Students examine several aspects of programs: program philosophy; the design of facilities, curriculum materials and assessment; teaching practices; and productive partnerships with parents and the community. Students study early childhood philosophy and examine models of programs. There is an emphasis upon how early childhood and primary education in the US has responded to social, economic, philosophical changes over particular historical periods (the beginning of the kindergarten and nursery school movements, the war on poverty, the Governor's Goals for the year 2000, etc.). A number of models are used to develop students ability to plan and evaluate program models: Montessori, Bankstreet, Reggio Emilia Approach, Cognitively Oriented Curriculum, primary block or ungraded systems,team-teaching models, and traditional nursery school and primary programs.

The approach to curriculum and instruction in the course has two emphases. In evaluating and planning curriculum and instruction, there is continual use of standards and guidelines established by several professional organizations regarding curriculum and instruction and teacher preparation (NAEYC, IRA, NCTE, NCTM, NSTA, NCSS, etc.). Students apply knowledge of professional guidelines and of child development (EDEC 502) in evaluating, modifying and developing methods and materials. Trends in curriculum and instruction in specific subject areas are presented. Currently, these trends include: whole language and literature-based programs in language arts, dealing with issues in social sciences, inquiry-based approaches to science and math, and integrating learning-to-learn and higher-level skills into content areas. Issues in early childhood and primary education which are currently being addressed in this course include: the uses and abuses of standardized testing, alternative assessment, parent involvement, national curriculum, and ethics in teaching.

Detailed Description of the Conduct of the Course

Lectures, films, discussions and structured field observations are used to promote an understanding of the aspects of early childhood/primary programs described above. Students have also used a cooperative learning technique called jigsaw in which groups of students become "experts" on one model and then share their expertise in a "home" group (five students teach five different models to each other). During the course, students use an appropriate observation instrument to observe in either a preprimary or primary program. They also use the NAEYC position statements on appropriate practices for the different program levels to guide them in responding to what they observed. Videos and slides of early childhood programs are used throughout the course. Students construct instructional sequences. They also choose a project in the class which requires them to research the literature and to present a "mini-workshop" to their colleagues in the class.

Goals and Objectives

The purposes and objectives of this course are to enable students to:

1. describe a variety of program philosophies and patterns of organization of early childhood and primary education.
2. apply current knowledge on child development to facets of program planning and evaluation: setting up environments, curriculum and instruction, materials development, assessment.
3. apply guidelines for curriculum and instruction established by professional organizations to facets of program planning.
4. integrate parent involvement into early childhood and primary program development and implementation.
5. describe the social, historical, and economic influences upon early childhood and primary education.
6. apply professional knowledge in discussing issues in early childhood and primary education.
7. demonstrate skills in planning and implementing developmentally appropriate, integrated curriculum.
8. demonstrate skills in planning and implementing a mini-research or mini-training project in which they contribute to the professional development of others as well as their own professional development.

Assessment Measures

Students are assessed using the following:

• Performance and products in student-conducted workshops or Evaluation of their development, implementation and evaluation of the independent learning activities.
• Responses on essay tests.
• Evaluation of their field-based observations and/or observations of video-taped episodes of classroom teaching.
• Research project.

Other Course Information

Review and Approval
March 1999 Revised