Help
This course has an assignment that is due by 11:55 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class.  Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

Textbooks

DeVries, R., Zan, B., Hildebrandt, C., Edmiaston, R., & Sales C. (2002). Developing constructivist early childhood curriculum: Practical principles and activities. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. ISBN: 978-0-8077-4120-7

Eliason, C., & Jenkins, L. (2016). A practical guide to early childhood curriculum (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-13-380129-3


Course Description

This course emphasizes the investigation and development of early childhood curriculum. Constructivist theory will be explored, together with alignment of emergent curriculum planning and developmentally appropriate practice, to provide for optimum physical, social, emotional, creative and cognitive growth of young children. Reflective planning will be utilized to design the physical and social-emotional characteristics necessary for effective classroom environments. Prerequisites: ED103, ED330/331; and concurrent enrollments in ED332 and ED333.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, each participant should be able to:

  1. Acquaint students with necessary components for developmentally appropriate curricu­lum planning utilizing constructivist theory. (CMU 1.b, 1.c, 2.a, 2.b, 2.d, 3.a, 3.c, 3.d, 7.a) (ECEC 1.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 6.1, 7.6) (MoSPE 1C2, 1C3, 2C1, 2C5, 4C1, 4C2, 4C3, 5C1, 5C3, 7C1, 7C2)
  2. Foster students' competence in the design and use of an emergent curriculum. (CMU 2.b) (ECEC 6.1, 6.2, 6.8, 6.9) (MoSPE 4C1, 4C2, 4C3)
  3. Familiarize students with the benefits and use of learning centers in the early childhood program. (CMU 2.b, 2.d) (ECEC 6.1, 6.2, 6.8, 6.9) (MoSPE 1C3, 4C1, 5C1, 5C2)
  4. Enable students to analyze and critique curriculum resources. (CMU 6.a) (ECEC 6.1) (MoSPE 8C2)
  5. Provide students with ideas for connecting home and school through creative lesson planning and take-home activity packets. (CMU 5.c) (ECEC 3.2, 3.4, 3.5) (MoSPE 1C5, 2C5, 2C6, 5C3)
  6. Enable students to reflectively plan the physical and social-emotional characteristics necessary for an effective, anti-bias learning environment. (CMU 2.a, 6.c, 6.d, 7.a, 7.b) (ECEC 3.2, 3.5) (MoSPE 1C5, 5C3, 6C2)
  7. Plan an early childhood program where optimum interactive learning occurs. (CMU 1.b, 2.a, 2.d) (ECEC 1.4, 2.3, 6.3, 6.4, 6.8) (MoSPE 1C3, 4C1, 4C2, 5C1, 5C2)