...Integrate Science and Arts Process Skills in the Early Childhood Curriculum How can early childhood teachers help children think creatively, discover new possibilities, and connect their ideas? Integrate science and the arts in the curriculum! “The greatest scientists are also artists as well.” –Albert Einstein Kathy Morrison Art and science are intrinsically linked—the essence of both fields is discovery. Artists and scientists function systematically and creatively. Their knowledge, understanding, and outcomes are explored in hands-on studios or high-tech labs. In classrooms for all ages, integrating science and the visual arts offer children the latitude to think, discover, and make connections (Alberts, 2011). • Young children are also natural artists (Althouse, Johnson, & Mitchell, 2003). Most are delighted to participate in open-ended art activities, dramatic play, singing, and dancing. Young children paint, sculpt, sing, or dance in their own unique ways. They want to be involved in the visual and performing arts, to try new things, and to experiment with the familiar (Pinciotti, 2001). For young children, the process in science and art is much more important than whatever product may result (Stivers & Schudel, 2008). The fundamental science process skills for early childhood are to • • • • • observe, communicate, compare, measure, and organize (Sarquis, 2009). Art and science are intrinsically linked. Scientists and artists typically observe life from...
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...Reem 2013 Active learning through play and creative arts Reem 2013 Active learning through play and creative arts Play and creative arts are important aspects of children’s learning that are being used in kindergartens. This action research project explores the using of play and creative arts in a kindergarten classroom. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and analyze how play and creative arts activities enhance and support children’s learning in literacy and numeracy lessons. Qualitative methods were used to gain data that reflect on the implementation of play and creative arts strategies and activities in teaching and the interpretation collected from participants. The three types of tools that used to collect data are observations, interviews and a reflective journal to ensure validity of results. After analyzing the data, two interrelated themes emerged. The first theme highlights the benefits of play and creative arts in early childhood. The second theme shows the benefits of using them can support literacy and numeracy development. Consequently play and creative arts seems to promote development in children’s learning processes and they also offer the learners’ confidence in their learning. To conclude, this study shows that play and creative arts may have positive effect in improving the children’s overall performance and attitudes. Play and creative arts are important aspects of children’s learning that are being used in kindergartens. This action research...
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...Early Childhood Curriculum & Methods The comprehensiveness of understanding of young children Roxie Baker October 22, 2012 Monique Snowden I choose to go with the age group of pre-k. Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or vision of education and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education. When designing a curriculum, the comprehension must be understood in a classroom. The topic of this paper is using a curriculum to set up a pre-k classroom. It’s very important when understanding the curriculum to master the essentials when designing a classroom. Designing a classroom is one of the major issues for a teacher when trying to incorporate the curriculum into the classroom. Most classroom are well thought of because the usually plan a participation exploration, and conducive to a learning environment. Teachers who have better classrooms have students with higher achievements and organizational skills. A real challenge for teachers is trying to provide general educations that are inclusive that works for all children. Some of the theories and/or philosophies that I have chosen was John Lock because that education make the man, and I believe that and it’s all about where you put the education after you have it. So he came up with a theory of Associationism. A great mind needs to be brought to light. Another great philosopher is...
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...High Scope Curriculum Flora Villalba CHD 411 February 9, 2013 Professor: Ruth Monroe Abstract The highScope curriculum is an early childhood education program for children from birth to 5 and sometimes to 8 years old. This program can be for children with or without special needs and for diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities. The program goal is to increase children’s cognitive, socioemotional, and physical development, giving children skills that will help them do well in school and be more constrictive and more responsible in their lives. The curriculum is based on the work of constructivists, such as Jean Piaget, High/scope’s founder David Weikart and others, who believed that children learn best when they build understanding through direct experiences with people and real life objects around them (DeVries and Kohlberg (1987) and Kammi and DeVries (1978) Based upon the fundamental premise that children are active Learners who learn best from activities that they plan and carry out themselves as well as what they hear and see, The classroom is set up into different areas, these are set up in a way that allow children to choose, find, use, and return the materials they use on their own. The High/Scope curriculum uses a procedure called the plan-do-review sequence (Hohmann & Weikart, 1995). Children are encouraged to plan their task and have them carryout their plans and later reflect on what they learned. Children have the opportunity to be involved...
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...This paper will discuss developmentally appropriate methodologies in teaching language and literacy to young children across a developmental curriculum. Also to be discussed will be the aspects/knowledge of language, language diversity and Theoretical Perspectives. There is now evidence that it is never too early to teach a child. Through research it has been discovered that the infant even before he/she is born can hear sound and as we know that is how we acquire language, by hearing spoken words. According to Otto (2010), language development begins when language speakers assume that an infant is a participating partner in conversational settings, even though it is months before the child is able to begin using conventional words. In an article written by Dr. Carmelita Lomeo-Smrtic,Ph.D, she wrote that “Teaching children to become literate members of society is a daunting task, often relegated to the elementary teacher. However, research on teaching children to become literate suggests that this process must begin well before kindergarten. Research suggests that children are primed for learning language in utero. Also from the Otto text, “research on children’s perception of speech and the development of the auditory system in utero has determined that the fetus can perceive sounds beginning with the 25th week of gestation and at the 35th week a fetus’s hearing acuity is at a level similar to an adult’s (2010). Knowing all...
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...in Early Care and Education Programs on a Native American Indian Reservation ‘‘The drum is considered the heartbeat of the community’’ Jennifer L. Gilliard1,3 and Rita A. Moore2 This article investigates how culture shapes instruction in three early care and education programs on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Interviews with eight early childhood teachers as well as classroom observations were conducted. The investigation is framed by the following research question: How does the culture of the family and community shape curriculum? Data analysis suggested that ongoing communication with parents and community about teaching within a culturally relevant context, building a sense of belongingness and community through ritual, and respecting children, families, and community were essential to defining the Native American Indian culture within these early learning programs. KEY WORDS: culture; in; tribal; early; education; programs. INTRODUCTION Instruction informed by children’s home and community culture is critical to supporting a sense of belongingness that ultimately impacts academic achievement (Banks, 2002; Osterman, 2000). American school populations are increasingly diversified with immigrants and English language learners; but American teachers are over 90% European American (Nieto, 2000). Educators who are from different cultural perspectives than those present in the families and communities of the children they teach, ‘‘may 1 Department of Education, Early...
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...The importance of science education for children Published 03/11/2008 Science Communication 17 Comments Tags: Science Education One of the features of wordpress is a list of what web searches have led people to your blog (or at least hits anyway) and they themselves can be fascinating glimpses into what people are interested in or what information on (mostly Tyrannosaurus and Jurassic Park). A recent one was the title of this post and it is a very interesting question (precisely it was “what is the importance of teaching science to children?”). Apart from the fundamental answer (well, everyone should know a bit about biology, chemistry and physics, much as they should know a bit about history, geography, art and maths) it is a good question. What does science bring to the table? It’s hard to put in specific terms, but science as a concept (as opposed to just learning facts and theories, or heating stuff in test tubes) has some nice ideas to offer that would be useful for many people to learn and would be useful throughout their lives. Concepts such as logical deductions and inference, parsimony, and not accepting arguments (or dismissals) based on authority but from evidence, and scepticism would all be handy. Teaching someone how to appraise and evaluate conflicting evidence and any bias in that evidence would be useful ‘life skills’ for pretty much everyone. Let’s face it, it ultimately comes down to trying to spot patterns, work out reasons for them, and to spot errors...
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...Early Childhood Research Quarterly 19 (2004) 375–397 The early childhood classroom observation measure Deborah Stipek∗ , Patricia Byler School of Education, Stanford University, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-3096, USA Abstract This study assesses a new measure of early childhood classroom practice in 127 kindergarten- and first-grade classrooms. The measure was designed to be appropriate for classrooms serving children from the age of 4–7 years. It assesses the nature and quality of instruction as well as the social climate and management of the classroom. Two separate scales assess the degree to which constructivist, child-centered and the degree to which didactic, teachercentered instructional practices are implemented. Findings indicate that the measure produced reliable scores and meaningful, predictable associations were found between scores on the observation measure, on the one hand, and teachers’ self-reported practices, teaching goals, relationships with children, and perceptions of children’s ability to be self-directed learners, on the other. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Early childhood; Classroom observation; Teaching; ECCOM; Measure 1. Introduction Political and public concerns about improving education have been fueled recently by reports highlighting the number of students, particularly from economically disadvantaged homes, who fail to achieve minimum academic standards. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2002)...
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...environment complimented by the Montessori materials and presentation? Dr. Maria Montessori, the revolutionary explorer in early childhood education in the 20th century discovered a world within the child. Her observations of the child, at Casa dei Bambini - the first Montessori Classroom - led her to discover the secrets of childhood. And the framework of Montessori Philosophy is based on three important discoveries; Tendencies, Absorbent Mind and Sensitive Periods. As Dr. Montessori said, the child has his own potential for life to develop. It is important for the adult to understand and allow the child build himself by his own experiences without the adult trying to fill their knowledge onto the child. Every child posses a pre-determined pattern of psychic unfold, which is not visible at birth but it is revealed when the child is exposed to the environment with freedom. When these two factors are provided, child’s psychic life will reach its potential and build his personality for his survival in the society. From birth and throughout the childhood, a child’s Absorbent Mind allows him to absorb impressions from his surrounding environment and directly store it into his psychic life. As an infant these impressions are absorbed unconsciously but gradually when the child has a conscious mind, he absorb impressions consciously and make language connections. There are blocks of time in early years of child’s life which he absorbs certain characteristics of his environment to the exclusion of...
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...Creativity can be defined as an idea or solution to a problem or situation which is original and distinctive to other work to which can be compared (Runco, 2004). It affects many varying domains that play a substantial role in society e.g. business, innovation, arts, sciences and education (Simonton, 1997). The concept of creativity was not fully recognised until the practical developments of man aided with the economy and also the standard of living –for example the invention of the steam engine and the telephone (Sternberg and Kaufman, 2010). However, it wasn’t until the late 18th century that ‘imagination’ was accepted independently as the leading factor in creativity (Engell, 1981). Many psychologists believe that the imagination is limited due to both internal and external factors that I shall outline in my essay. Cognitive processes and knowledge are fundamental factors when attempting to comprehend creativity. It is generally agreed that obtainable knowledge greatly contributes to creativity, and the quality of creative thoughts are affected by a person’s knowledge and the way in which the aspects of this knowledge is processed (Munford and Gustafson, 1988). Some psychologists believe that there is a threshold level that above an IQ of approximately 120, there is a strong association between IQ and creativity, but above that level this hypothesis is not supported (MacKinnon, 1961). A low IQ suggests that a person would struggle with creativity – regarding both the...
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...Assessment without High-Stakes Testing Protecting Childhood and the Purpose of School David Mitchell, Douglas Gerwin, Ernst Schuberth, Michael Mancini, and Hansjörg Hofrichter 1 Picture a breezy spring morning at the beach. White-tipped waves roll rhythmically up the sand, washing away footprints like a blackboard eraser on a classroom blackboard. A group of children on a school outing marches purposefully along the shore through the edge of the frothy waves. A couple of eager kids stride out in front. The teacher walking along with the main group of the class notices that one of the boys is lagging behind. The teacher slows her step to find out why this child is not keeping up with his class. There are several possibilities: 1. The child is unable to keep up with the group, due to some disability, physical or emotional, or simply exhaustion for lack of sleep or nourishment; 2. The child is unwilling to keep up with the group, due to a lack of interest or, perhaps, a surfeit of distractions along the way; or 3. The child does not know how to keep up with the group, possibly because he is new to this experience and has not been taught how to hold his balance against the waves. In each of these cases, the teacher will respond differently. In the first case, she may scoop up the boy and carry him, or ply him with a quick snack or a sip of water. In the second, she may draw his attention to something of interest up ahead or coax him with some gentle words of sympathy and encouragement...
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...Pomona L. Seay EDU500 - Assignment #2 Planning the Training Strayer University Dr. Carden February 12, 2015 Overview in Effective Lesson Planning: Planning your lesson ahead can effectively reach goals and objectives. In education, the planning tool is the lesson plan, which is a detailed description of an instructor’s course of instruction for an individual lesson. Lesson plans communicate to learners what they will learn and how they will be assessed. They help instructors organize content, materials, time, instructional strategies, and assistance in the classroom. Lesson planning help instructors create a smooth instructional flow and relate instructions to learners. Adults participate in continuing professional development for a number of reasons. With most adults is the need to maintain and/or improve current skills and abilities that are relevant to ones job. The reasons for participation are generally external to traditional academic expectations, such as fulfilling degree requirements. As such, developing instructional materials for adults requires a deeper level of understanding of the motivations, needs, and reasons behind their participation in a learning environment. The purpose of this guide is to provide curriculum developers and teachers of adults with information leading to a more balanced understanding of how and why adults learn, the rationale behind course development methods and techniques for this audience, and information...
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...The impact of early education as a strategy in countering socio-economic disadvantage Research paper for Ofsted’s ‘Access and achievement in education 2013 review’ Professor Chris Pascal and Professor Tony Bertram UK Research Team: Sean Delaney, Selma Manjee, Marjory Perkins and Manja Plehn International Research Team: Alice Bennett, Carol Nelson, Sarina Razzak and Maureen Saunders Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) © Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) 2013 The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of Ofsted. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to Elizabeth Boulton at publishing@ofsted.gov.uk or Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2 6SE This publication is available at www.ofsted.gov.uk/accessandachievement. No. 130155-RR-005 In June 2012, Sir Michael Wilshaw, HMCI, stated his determination to address the issue of narrowing the gap of educational achievement between disadvantaged pupils and others. To support this intention, The Centre for Research in Early Childhood has been commissioned by OfSTED to conduct a review looking at the impact of Early Childhood Education (ECE) initiatives to combat social and economic disadvantage, both in the UK and internationally. This paper: Examines the impact of nati...
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...William Blake proved himself as one of the most influential artists to spring from the Romantic Era without a doubt. What made Blake so popular may have been his ability to portray his time period in works of art that were beautifully crafted. Blake’s poetry was not appreciated during his lifetime because people were living the lives his works vicariously told, but once his time period ended, a historical book was left behind. The theme of a struggle is most prominently showcased in Blake’s poetry. Whether it be Blake depicting women and their power struggle throughout the 18th or 19th century, or depicting the lives of the children put into the labor force at a very early age. These children were put in a tunnel (almost literally when they worked in the chimneys), where there was no light at the end, this path had one and only one destination: death. The symbolism in Blake’s poetry accurately reflects the cruel conditions of child labor and the environment of hostility in which these children lived and breathed every day, what the church meant in society in the 18th century, and the family dynamics. Clearly marking its importance by publishing multiple items on the subject, William Blake composed two poems about children working in the chimney sweeps both titled “The Chimney Sweeper”. The transition of emotions from the first “The Chimney Sweeper” to the second demonstrates an evolution from purity to exposure (Mayhew 1), which correlates directly to the title...
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...MINISTERUL EDUCATIEI CERCETARII TINERETULUI SI SPORTULUI CERTIFIED ENGLISH Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ORADEA, 2012 Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................4 CHAPTER I: EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION..................................................5 I.1 EARLY LIFE.....................................................................................................................5 I.2 COLLEGE..........................................................................................................................5 I.3 LAW SCHOOL..................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER II: FAMILY, LIFE AND FIRST LADY OF ARKANSAS............................9 II.1 FROM THE EAST COAST TO ARKANSAS..................................................................9 II.2 EARLY ARKANSAS YEARS........................................................................................10 II.3 LATER ARKANSES YEARS.........................................................................................11 CHAPTER III: FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES............................................13 III.1 ROLE AS A FIRST LADY............................................................................................13 III.2 HEALTH CARE AND OTHER POLICY INITIATIVES.........
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