Preschool Classroom Essay

Chapter two discusses various theorists that helped to mold and shape early childhood education to where it is today. There are several different theorists that contributed to the development of early childhood education. Some of these theorists include Alfred Adler, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey. Each theorist developed a unique theory that has caused early childhood guidance and education to flourish like it has today. Without learning and building on these theories, early childhood guidance and education would never develop or change. The chapter explains how some theories may seem strange to the contemporary families, but these theories are the foundation of how early childhood education got to where it is today. The book goes

Early childhood is a time of curiosity, a time for play, and a time of rapid development. Every child is unique and deserving of an early childhood education that facilitates academic, social, and developmental growth through a variety of enjoyable experiences. Differentiated instruction adapts content, products and processes to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of students (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). Friedrich Froebel, the creator of Kindergarten, believed that children grow and learn as they play (Bruno, 2009). Play-based instruction not only enables young learners to have fun, but it also encourages interactive and cooperative learning, passion for discovery, and a foundation for later learning experiences

Hailed by Newsweek (1991) magazine as the international role model for preschools, the Reggio Emilia approach has caught the attention of early childhood educators. In 1999, current Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley visited the schools in Reggio Emilia to better understand its benefits (Dunne, 2000). It’s principals are understood by only a few, however, and has limited following with approximately 1200 Reggio inspired preschools in operation, most of them private (Sipprelle, 2009), making the innovative ideas offered by this approach available to only a few. Why have so few schools emulated those so successful in Reggio Emilia, Italy? Is Reggio Emilia applicable in the American classroom? A look

Early childhood education often focuses on learning through play or a center-based approach to learning. Jean Piaget was a philosopher who placed great importance on the education of young children. Piaget believed that learning comes from within and that children construct their own knowledge of the world through experience. “The research and theory of Jean Piaget concludes that play meets the physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social needs of children.” (wikipedia.org)

Although the framework is slightly different for every nation, the development of early years curricula has been significantly influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, the Montessori

As early childhood educators we all have our own philosophies and approaches to education. There are several types of early childhood programs. Each program has its own philosophies, methods, and program goals. Every early childhood educator is unique making each early childhood program experience special. Consistently, early childhood programs offer educational foundations that prepare young students for their educational futures. In this paper I will focus on comparing and contrasting two programs that stood out to me, Ridgeline Montessori and the Whitaker Head Start.

The date of my observation was April 27th, 2010. It was about 9:30 in the morning when I began my study. I went to Grossmont College’s Child Development Center. The first thing I began looking for was if the child-teacher ratio was correct. The child ratio was 2 teachers to about every 8 children. The ratio was good. As I entered there was one large room that almost looked as if it could be two rooms they way it was set up. One half consisted of a large bookshelf with numerous books on it with a couch in the front of it. The other half of the room was almost like a little kitchen. It had a table with chairs around it with a sink and cabinets behind it. There were “age appropriate” toys as well as books all over the

As cognitive domain influences social domain, teachers must combine learning and development with emotional and physical domains. A developmentally appropriate curriculum is effectively based on what is known interrelationships and sequences of ideas. Teachers effectively must note and report every detail, maintain expectations no matter how challenging the environment is, achieve goals and have the framework for each child be the right amount and

According to our text book, Early Childhood Education Today by George S. Morrison, the High Scope method is made up of five key elements and three basic goals that make up a curriculum aimed at the children’s different stages of development including intellectual and social skills along with encouraging constructive processes of learning. The first three principles include active participation, daily planning by teaching staff, and setting developmental goals for the children. In active participation, the children are encouraged to choose their activities and are observed by the teacher who acts as a guide. Regular daily planning requires a developmentally based curriculum with observation of the children, which are done by the teaching staff. High Scope uses “key developmental indicators” meaning that the activities support developmentally vital skills and abilities, so the teachers set developmentally sequenced goals based on those indicators.

This analysis uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Program Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K: 2011) a study supported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) that tracks children’s educational experiences and development as they progress along the school system. Although, the ECLS-K: 2011 provides comprehensive data about multiple aspects of a child’s educational experience only select data points (11,027 degrees of freedom) were used in this analysis and are summarized in table 1.1.

Reflecting on class readings, class discussions, case study observations and activities, I find that testing and accountability is negatively impacting instruction in early childhood classrooms at three levels. First, I believe that in this era of high-stakes accountability teachers are being both implicitly and explicitly forced to teach to the test. For example, during my three classroom observations that I conducted, I witnessed how the lead teacher was more concerned about coverage of the material versus students actually understanding and being comfortable with the content. Consequently, I believe this teacher practice led to students misbehaving or not understanding additional problems. It appeared that children were not making connections about the information being taught and therefore were not able to see purpose and larger goals of the lesson (Krechevsky, Mardell, Rivard, & Wilson, 2013).

This essay discusses two great theorists Maria Montessori and Friedrich Froebel. First, I will evaluate and compare their similarities and differences in philosophy and methods of education. Furthermore, Montessori’s and Froebel’s influence and implementation on early childhood education. Finally, my personal view of theorists educational methods which I could use in practice with young children in early childhood and childcare education as a practitioner. I will discuss my own attitudes, values and beliefs related on reflection on learning from Maria Montessori and Friedrich Froebel.

“Reggio Emilia is an approach to education that originated in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Children are the emphasis of the program, it is child led and incorporates project based learning. Reggio Emilia is a flexible approach to curriculum, in Italian it is called progettazione. (Cross, 2006). The teachers generalize and wait to see what the children do with the topic and what type of prior knowledge they will used in the project. (Cross, 2006). The teacher may predict that the children will learn about a topic and based on the children’s reaction and prior knowledge. They may learn something else that was not expected by the teacher. Teachers take into consideration the interests of the child, encouraging children and parents to participate to provide provocations. (Cross, 2006). Family is an important role of Reggio Emilia. “Loris Malaguzzi who is the inspiration of Reggio Emilia preschools and founded the first non-Catholic preschool in Italy, strongly believe in connection with parents and believes in parent partnership to help build the whole child.” (Vodopivec, 2012). “The Reggio Emilia Approach was also known for incorporating many different developmentally practices in that were inclusive of early childhood special education” (Vakil, S, Freeman, R., & Swim, T. J,

Everything teachers plan and do should focus on the individual child. They tailor, adjust, and adapt the curriculum to fit each child in the program, rather than expecting children to fit the program (Elkind, 1987). It is imperative in a developmentally appropriate perspective that the curriculum and teaching methods be age appropriate, individually appropriate, and culturally appropriate (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). This means considering and understanding similarities within an age group, and also recognizing each child’s individual differences. In a developmentally appropriate classroom, children are allowed to progress at their own rate, and both the curriculum and teaching strategies are relevant for all the children in the classroom. Thus, a great deal of flexibility is required, but this does not mean a total lack of structure and academics; rather, it means that the structure and academics of the program are based on individual and group needs and current understanding of child development (Raines, 1997).

Purpose: Review four articles about Early Childhood development. Description: Barnett and Belfield (2014) talk about a study that shows that three and four year old children that come from poor families with little education have a higher preschool attendance rate than other children. Gaynor (2015) talks about the early childhood development factors explaining the variance in school readiness among five year olds. Bridgemohan et al (2005) talks about how close contact and regular communication between home and school can help Early Childhood programs work better for everyone involved. Weber-Mayrer et al’s (2015) article is about how the educators also learn while they are teaching the children. Results: (self-explanatory)