CD 130--Curriculum:

Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Course Syllabus: FALL 2002

Course Description:

Text:

Learning Centers for Young Children. Georgia Bradley Houle, Consortium Publishing.

Developmentally Appropriate Practices, NAEYC

Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale. Thelma Harms, (ECERS).

Reflecting Children’s Lives: A Handbook for Planning Child Centered Curriculum. Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press.

Course Objectives

The student will formulate educational goals and objectives which are developmentally appropriate for the students they will be teaching, including children with special needs.

The student will demonstrate their ability to design and implement developmentally appropriate curricula.

The student will employ their child development theory in designing and equipping an indoor and outdoor classroom environment.

The Student will formulate techniques for guidance for groups of young children.

Course Requirements

Three hours of discussion/lecture per week
Regular attendance and participation is vital to a course in which lecture, discussion, exchange of ideas and experiences enhance student learning. If you are absent, it can affect your grade. You will be responsible for notes or work missed. To be successful in this class, a student should have a thorough knowledge of the methods, resources, and material taught in all child development core curriculum classes. Assignments rely on materials developed in other child development classes.

Respect
Students are expected to show respect for the instructor and classmates by arriving on time, participating in class activities, and leaving after the instructor has dismissed the class. Please remember to turn off all cell phones and pagers.

Collaboration
Collaboration is an important component of a respectful work environment. There will be many opportunities to work collaboratively with classroom colleagues. All participants are encourages to remain open to something new that might happen as the activity progresses. All participants influence the direction of the activity.

Flexibility
The Fall Semester flow of topics and assignments is described on the calendar. However, the instructor may adjust the class to reflect the needs and interests of the students. Therefore, listed topics of discussion or due dates of assignments may change. If you miss class, please check with a classroom colleague for any changes.

Accommodations
Students with disabilities who made need accommodations in this class are encouraged to notify this instructor early in the semester and contact Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSP&S) in person in Room 110, or by phone at 619-644-7112 (voice) or 644-7719 (TTY for deaf).

Class Participation and In-Class Projects
Class participation is an important part of the course, providing students with the opportunity to use the concepts, ideas and techniques discussed. There will be frequent in-class projects which can only be done in-class on the day presented (no make-up).

Journals
Students will be given a series of journals to reflect on the topics in the course.

Article Summaries
Students will read two articles on topics related to curriculum planning. Students will write a summary of the information following guidelines provided.

ECERS-R
Students will do a classroom evaluation using the ECERS-R. The instructor will provide guidelines.

Environment Assignment
Students will construct a classroom environment for an infant/toddler classroom, a preschool classroom or a school-aged classroom based on guidelines provided.

Daily Schedule Assignment
Students will construct a daily schedule for a preschool classroom based on guidelines provided. Students will have the opportunity to submit a draft and a final version. The final version will be the grade for the assignment.

Written Interviews

A. Students will interview a panel of classroom teachers that do Home Visits with the families in his/her program. Additional information about the assignment will be provided.

B. Students will interview a classroom teacher about classroom environment and curriculum planning. Additional information about the assignment will be provided.

Emergent Curriculum Planned Possibilities
Students will construct a plan based on the information about a group of children and the guidelines provided.

Theme Based Plan Evaluation
Students will be given a theme based lesson plan and will evaluate the plan based on guidelines provided.

EVALUATION

GRADING

CD 130: SPRING 2002 (Section 4052)

CLASS POLICIES

ATTENDANCE POLICIES

• Students will attend all classes. Students will arrive on time and leave when the class is dismissed, unless extenuating circumstances require otherwise.
• Exceeding three (3) consecutive absences, or four (4) non-consecutive absences, may result in a student being dropped from the class. Absences will deprive the student of total learning opportunities. It is assumed that when a student registered for the class they have made a commitment and understand the demands of this schedule.
• Do not ask instructor for permission to be absent. If it is necessary for you to miss a class, leave early or be late arriving, the instructor will assume that you have made the best decision for the circumstances and that you accept the consequences of your decision.
• Asking the instructor if you will “miss anything important” when deciding to be absent, late or leave early is insulting to the instructor. If class time were not important, there would be no reason to hold it.
• Students are responsible for being prepared for each class by keeping up with assignments and reading of the text and being prepared to make classroom presentations.

GRADING POLICIES

• Any assignment turned in and considered, by the instructor, not to be your own work will result in the assignment being graded with a "0" and no opportunity to makeup the assignment or missed points.
• Students are encouraged to discuss any concerns regarding the grading of an assignment.
• If it is the opinion of the instructor that the assignment turned in is not a college level piece of work, the instructor will return the paper, ungraded. The student may decide whether or not to re-write the assignment and receive full credit. The student will be given one week only to re-write and turn in the assignment.
• Please note that the instructor does not GIVE grades, students EARN their grade

TESTS AND ASSIGNMENTS POLICIES

• Take-Home Tests are to be done ON YOUR OWN. You may use your textbook and notes, but it is expected that you will develop and write the answers yourself.
• Students are responsible for turning in assignments on time. “On time” means no later than the end of the class period the day the assignment is due, unless otherwise agreed to by the instructor.
• Assignments turned in after the end of class will be downgraded by 10 percent of the possible score.
• Students are responsible for any class work missed due to an absence and the student will make arrangements with a fellow student to pick up any handouts, directions and class notes.
• Students are responsible for following the directions and requirements on the assignment sheets.
• Students are responsible for tracking assignment due dates as listed in the course syllabus.

MISCELLANEOUS POLICIES

• Students have the responsibility for contacting the instructor if they are having any difficulties.
• Questions and comments are always welcome. However, keep in mind that our class has only so much time and many students. Please keep your comments brief and to the point.
• Private conversations during class are very distracting. Whether the instructor or a classmate “has the floor,” please refrain from conversing with your neighbors.
• This is a class with many in-class projects and activities and all students are expected to participate to the best of their abilities. If there are any special accommodations needed, please talk with the instructor.

INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Instructor will begin and end classes as scheduled.
• Instructor will be prepared and endeavor to make each class time interesting.
• All students will be encouraged to participate. Participation between students and instructor facilities the college experience by allowing for the exploration of new ideas and concepts.
• All assignments will be pre-assigned with appropriate directions and the due dates provided. There is always the possibility that due dates may be adjusted or changed due to a variety of factors.
• The instructor will make time available, by phone or in person, for any student who requests it.
• Instructor reserves the right to modify the above policies when it is deemed appropriate for the circumstances.