Eric.ed.gov – Early Childhood: Child, Teacher, Parent

The field of early childhood holds promising keys to unlocking many of the mysteries in learning. Educators in the field, given the right tools, have the potential to have a profound impact on the long-term success of their students. The design of this curriculum comes directly out of the incredible possibilities set in motion while exploring this field. Early childhood programs have three essential components or learners. Primary learners are the child, the parent(s) and the teacher. In order to best serve the child, early childhood programs must not only focus on the curriculum and programmatic issues, but must also spend time training staff and providing learning opportunities for parents. Successful early childhood programs aim to employ the most effective resources available to meet the needs of the existing population. Accessing and assimilating current research, the first goal of this practicum is to revamp and restructure preschool curriculum in order to develop a comprehensive instructional model that utilizes authentic assessment to intentionally drive instruction and design appropriate intervention strategies while simultaneously providing an enriched multi-sensory environment to address the unique cognitive, psychosocial and biosocial needs of each child. The instructional design incorporates Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory, Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence theory, Marion Diamond’s and Jane Healy’s research on the brain and enriched environments as a template. Teachers at the early childhood level are not necessarily degreed or even trained in early childhood. The experience and expertise of teachers at this level vary greatly. Staff training requires intentional thought and preparation to ensure excellence in the early childhood classroom. instructional design elements for staff that includes basic educational techniques as well as complex educational issues. The creation of staff instructional designs will take place following existing staff’s completion of self-evaluations. By examining current research and technology, methodology for staff is consequential and genuine. The final objective of this practicum is to delve into an instructional area that promises indirectly to serve the child, but is often neglected. Instructional design models must account for the special needs of the parental community. This practicum provides informational forums for parents focusing on relevant issues dealing with the growth and development of children as well as topics that support the parental journey. Topics currently relevant to the community include strategies for the emergent reader; kindergarten readiness; and integrating science and math at home; the importance of play; families in crisis. This practicum provides a sampling of the lessons from each section. Three appendices are included: (1) Preschool Assessment, Pre-kindergarten (4-5.6); (2) Conference Summary Sheet; and (3) Staff Evaluations.