/n Planning the Program Exactostock/SuperStock 4 Pre-Test 1. In early childhood education, the term program is broadly used to describe all the services provided by a school or center. T/F 2. One of the advantages of using an emergent curriculum is that the administrator has an opportunity to determine the theme of each unit ahead of time. T/F 3. The most effective instructional practices are those that are teacher directed. T/F 4. An antibias curriculum is an approach that actively respects and affirms each child's identity and each family's culture. T/F 5. Administrators don't need to know about classroom management because this is the responsibility of the teachers. T/F Answers can be found at the end of the chapter. Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Define programming and curriculum in the context of early childhood education. 2. Describe the role of the early childhood administrator in curriculum development, and evaluate the benefits and challenges of using an emergent curriculum as compared to preplanning lessons and activities. 3. Identify examples of effective instructional practices, and explain how an early childhood administrator ensures that teachers implement these practices. 4. Relate the primary goals of an antibias curriculum. Apply these goals to the inclusion of children with special needs. 5. Discuss the importance of classroom management in implementing a high-quality early childhood program, and identify strategies administrators can employ to support teachers' efforts to manage their classrooms. 89 68 Section 4.1 The Basics of a Program CHAPTER 4 A full month after she took on the role of director at the YMCA Child Care Center, Lindsay Miller walks down the hallway, peeking into each classroom along the way. In the Blue Room, the 3-year- olds are gathered on the rug, listening to the story of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff." The teacher announces, "After we read the story, we're going to act it out, so try to remember what each billy goat says to the troll." In the Red Room, the 4-year-olds are painting. They are dipping the wheels of toy cars in a pan of paint and then rolling the cars across a large piece of paper. "What happens when you roll the cars?" the teacher asks. “We're making a muddy road!" exclaims one of the children. At the end of the hall, in the Yellow Room, Lindsay sees the 5-year-olds measuring the classroom using their bodies instead of a tape measure. The children are lying on the floor, end to end. One of the teachers stands on a chair and takes a picture of the children all in a row. The other teacher announces, "Our classroom is 8 children wide and 10 children long!" Lindsay is pleased that the teachers in every classroom are offering engaging activities for the chil- dren. After all, this is the program the center is providing for families-care and education services for young children. She also knows that she has some hard work ahead of her, because even though she's confident that there's learning going on in every classroom, in her first few weeks as the direc- tor she's discovered that most of the teachers are not documenting their curriculum plans on paper. Some teachers use planning forms, some teachers just write up notes each week, and some teachers don't write down their plans at all. One of Lindsay's goals as the new administrator is to create a consistent process for planning and documenting curriculum. Introduction In this chapter, we will present an overview of programming, the actual content of the services provided by an early childhood program. We will examine the role of the administrator in choosing, developing, and implementing curricula and in leading the staff to use engaging and appropriate instructional practices and classroom management. 4.1 The Basics of a Program T The term program can be used to describe the actual early childhood center, the organization that is providing early childhood services, or the facility where the services take place; but the term can also be used to describe the learning activities that take place within the center or organization. When we speak of "programming" in early childhood education, we are referring to the planning of the curriculum, which also includes the instructional practices, the daily sched- ule, the routines for caring for children, and the recreational activities, such as outdoor play. The early childhood administrator's role is to ensure that the children's program represents best practice in our field. Administrators must have knowledge and experience in early childhood cur- riculum planning, teaching practices, and classroom management. Directors, administrators, and other staff leaders are also responsible for staying current in new research and developments in Section 4.1 The Basics of a Program CHAPTER 4 the field. As discussed in Chapter 1, teachers and caregivers need the leadership of someone who can keep the "big picture” in mind, someone who understands the philosophy and mission of the program and can translate that into practice, someone who has a vision for where the program is going, and someone who can inspire the staff and volunteers to continually improve the quality of the program. Programming for Learning and Caring When we talk about early childhood programming, most often the conversation is focused on curriculum—what children will learn and how they will learn it. But learning takes place in the context of social relationships. Lev Vygotsy, social learning theorist, stated, “Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)" (Vygotsky, 1978). This means that learning first takes place during interactions between people and then, secondarily, within the mind of the child. This concept is best illustrated by the ways infants interact with their caregivers. An adult hands a bell to a 10-month- old. Before accepting the item, the baby looks into the face of the caregiver. She sees a smile and hears words of encourage- ment, "Go on. Take the bell." The baby opens her hand and grasps the bell. "Shake it," says the caregiver. "Give it a ring." The baby, still watching the caregiver's face, shakes the bell. She hears the ring and feels the bell vibrating in her hand. The baby is surprised by the sound and feel of the ringing bell, but she sees the pleased look on her caregiver's face. Hemera/Thinkstock Most early childhood professionals believe that learning takes place in the context of caring relationships. The baby has learned something new about sound and music, but this learning took place in the context of a caring relationship. When planning and developing the early childhood program, administrators must always remember that the best learning environment is one in which children feel safe, accepted, and secure. Questions to Think About 1. How would you define, in your own words, the meaning of the word program? 2. Why would an early childhood administrator need to know that learning takes place in the context of caring relationships? Section 4.2 The Administrator's Role in Curriculum CHAPTER 4 4.2 The Administrator's Role in Curriculum E I verything children learn in an early childhood program is part of the curriculum, a plan for learning or a course of study. In early childhood education the curriculum is usually divided into content areas, such as language and literacy, math, social studies, science, and the creative or visual arts (music, dance, and painting). The curriculum may also include activities that focus on social-emotional growth, such as learning to make friends and get along with others. Some curricula may even include categories for learning other languages or about other cultures or, particularly if they are part of a congregation or religious organization, religious studies. To lead the selection or creation of a developmentally appropriate curriculum, early childhood administrators are required to have a good working knowledge of all curriculum content areas. However, unlike primary and secondary education, when the school day is usually divided into discrete subject areas and lessons, an integrated curriculum is often employed in early childhood education, meaning that many curriculum activities address multiple subject areas at once. Bb Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images/Thinkstock Language and literacy are core subject areas in any early childhood curriculum. Regardless of how the curricu- lum is organized, administrators must assure there is a balance of content areas addressed in the curriculum so that children develop a broad foundation of skills and knowledge that will prepare them for success in kin- dergarten and beyond. Every early childhood program must have a plan for how the curriculum will be organized and implemented. An administrator, such as a center director, leads this process, either indepen- dently or in collaboration with other staff members. Choosing or Creating the Curriculum A program's curriculum should be aligned with the organization's core beliefs and goals as expressed in the philosophy, mission, and vision statements. If, for example, a preschool's philoso- phy and mission emphasizes learning through play, the curriculum plans probably include many open-ended activities that will take place during free play, allowing children to make choices and use materials such as blocks and clay. In contrast, in a preschool with a philosophy and mission focused on providing school-readiness experiences for children who have been identified as at- risk for school failure, the curriculum plans probably include many teacher-directed lessons in language or counting skills, activities targeted to help prepare children for the academic demands of kindergarten and the primary grades. Section 4.2 The Administrator's Role in Curriculum CHAPTER 4 Early childhood administrators are responsible for leading and guiding decisions involving the cur- riculum. In some programs the administrator makes these decisions autonomously, while in oth- ers the administrator is accountable to a board, an owner, or an agency leader. For example, the director of a pre-kindergarten program in a public school system would probably be required to consult with the superintendent of the school district regarding major curriculum decisions. The ongoing development and implementation of the curriculum should be supervised by some- one with training and experience in early childhood education. Usually that person is the early childhood administrator, such as a center director, who has a degree in early childhood education. If the lead administrator of the program does not have training or credentials in early childhood education, the oversight of the curriculum may be delegated to another staff member; in a smaller program that might be a head teacher, while in a larger program there may be a specific role for a curriculum director who works with teachers to develop and implement curriculum plans. Purchasing Curriculum When it comes to deciding on a curriculum for use at a given program, the administrator has two options: purchase a ready-made curriculum from any of a number of published plans, or work with her teachers to create a curriculum that is specific and appropriate to their mission, philoso- phy, or community. Prepared curriculum plans, which are written by early childhood professionals, are widely avail- able for purchase and online. They may or may not be standards based or aligned with develop- mentally appropriate practice. While many include quite detailed and specific daily lesson plans, others are broad conceptual models that describe an organizing set of structures, ideas, and con- cepts that educators can tailor and adapt to meet the unique needs of their own programs. High Scope and Creative Curriculum are two commonly used models that provide a framework for curriculum planning but do not prescribe each activity or lesson. Both of these models are also aligned with NAEYC developmentally appropriate practices. Creating Curriculum In some early childhood programs, the early childhood administrator chooses not to purchase any curriculum publications or subscribe to a specific curriculum model. In these programs, teachers and administrators create their own curriculum plans from scratch, using a variety of resources and inspirations. One advantage of this approach is that the staff members have the flexibility to choose themes or topics that are relevant and interesting to the specific group of children enrolled in the program. For example, if one child's recent trip on an airplane has triggered an interest in air travel, the teacher may choose to create a curriculum unit about airplanes. When teachers use children's interests to inform their curriculum planning, they are creating an emergent curriculum. Creating an emergent curriculum is a process facilitated by teachers but led by children's interests and questions. One topic is usually explored over a period of time, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The primary benefit of an emergent curriculum is that the topics of focus are of great