EDUC X85.C - Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum in Early Childhood Education

Course Description

Methods for integrating and implementing developmentally appropriate experiences in language, art, music, and science, with a focus on the emotional, social, creative, physical and cognitive needs of children from infancy though eight years of age. Emphasis on child-centered active-learning approaches. This course will focus on research-based curriculum that promotes developmentally appropriate practices (or DAP) within the early childhood education field. In this course professionals base their instruction and care on research, standards, and recognized theory. This approach to teaching and learning supports teachers as reflective practitioners, transformative intellectuals, and creating, passionate, caring people. Providing learning activities that suit children’s age, development, and interests. Field work is required outside of class time to provide students with opportunities to learn and practice competencies related to the care and education of young children.

Learner Outcomes

• Create lesson plans plan to meet the needs of children’s learning.
• Design and implement developmentally, linguistically and culturally appropriate curriculum and assessments.
• Set developmentally-appropriate expectations for young children’s behavior.
• Describe elements of potentially effective, developmentally-appropriate learning environments (physical space, routines, materials, activities, equipment, classroom management, health, safety, and nutrition) that promote children’s development and learning
• Demonstrate sufficient discipline-based knowledge in the content areas appropriate for young children
• Describe typical learning trajectories in different domains of development and their implications for curriculum design and developmentally-appropriate learning activities
• Understand and demonstrate how to adjust a curriculum to meet the needs of young children and to address differences in young children’s skill levels and learning styles, as well as how to adjust the curriculum and learning activities to address children’s individualized learning plans for young children with special needs
• Set developmentally-appropriate expectations for young children’s behavior
• Describe elements of potentially effective, developmentally-appropriate learning environments (physical space, routines, materials, activities, equipment, classroom management, health, safety, and nutrition) that promote children’s development and learning
• Demonstrate sufficient discipline-based knowledge in the content areas appropriate for young children
• Describe typical and atypical learning trajectories in different domains of development and their implications for curriculum design and developmentally-appropriate learning activities
• Understand and demonstrate how to adjust a curriculum to meet the needs of young children and to address differences in young children’s skill levels and learning styles, as well as how to adjust the curriculum and learning activities to address children’s individualized learning plans for young children with special needs
• Identify key content appropriate for young children as contained in the California Infant/Toddler and Preschool Foundations and Curriculum Framework for planning developmentally appropriate curriculum and learning experiences for young children
• Use knowledge about children and learning goals to organize the curriculum to facilitate children’s understanding of key content area concepts and make accommodations and/or modifications as needed to promote children’s access to the curriculum
• Set individualized goals and objectives for content learning for young children in the early childhood setting
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of commonly-used early childhood curricula and approaches, including their alignment to the California Infant/Toddler Learning Foundations and the Preschool Learning Foundations as well as the principles put forth in the California Early Development and Learning System-based curriculum from the California Department of Education
• Design and implement learning experiences that are intentionally developmentally appropriate, engaging, and playful, as well assessments that reflect the interconnectedness of content areas and related children’s skills development in literacy, mathematics, science, and other disciplines across the curriculum, as applicable.

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Early Childhood Education Teacher : Required