Curriculum Planning This paper will explore the effects on a child’s growth and development. What factors, such as, poverty and abuse can have on the development of a child. What educators can do to help identify delays and develop appropriate behavior in children. Also, this paper will explore what children are learning in preschool and programs that can be useful in the growth and development of children. There are differences in the growth and development of every child. Growth refers to specific changes and increases in the child’s actual size (Allen, K. & Marotz, L. 2010, p 24). Development refers to any increase in complexity, from simple to more complicated, and detailed (Allen, K. & Marotz, L. 2010, p 25). Teachers and caregivers often get these confused. Growth defined as an increase in size, whereas development defined by the improvement and acquisition of skills. Growth often limited by the lack of resources and development, will still take place by using the resources a child possesses. Our textbook, states “growth and development are influenced by a child’s unique genetic makeup and the quality of the everyday environment, which includes nurturing, health care, and opportunities to learn the full range of skills that are evidence of developmental progress” (Allen, K. & Marotz, L. 2010, p 25). Every child grows and develops differently according to how the child acquires the necessary skills in six key developmental areas (Allen, K. & Marotz, L. 2010, p 35). Those areas are physical, motor, perceptual, cognitive, language and social-emotional (Allen, K. & Marotz, L. 2010, p 35). All these areas are addressed separately, but they intertwine with each other. They are also interdependent, so the child develops health from the time they are infants to their adult years. The development of a child depends on several factors, which also affect their growth. These factors start at the time the child is conceived and continues throughout their life. The main factor in the development of a child is nutrition. Proper nutrition is essential for the growth of vital organs and brain function. The other factor is a child’s environment. A child raised in a happy, healthy home will develop better than a child raised in a home where there is neglect or abuse, whether it is emotional, physical, or mental. A child from a happy home will develop the skills to trust and to love, whereas, a child from an unhealthy home will be less trusting and may show less in the way of feelings and trust in those around them. For a child’s brain to develop properly, they require the proper amount of stimulation and nutrition during their first three years of life. This is the time when a child’s brain will be most affected by their environment. The rapid brain development in this stage of their lives is what affects their cognitive, and also their social-emotional growth. Healthy development at this stage in a child’s life will help ensure they will reach their potential and become a productive member of society. According to the World Health Organization, “the more stimulating the early environment, the more a child develops and learns. Language and cognitive development are especially critical during the first six months to three years of life (WHO, n.d). When children spend their early years in a less stimulating, or less emotionally and physically supportive environment, affects brain development and leads to cognitive, social, and behavioral delays (WHO, n.d.). Later in life, these children will have difficulty dealing with complex situations and environments. High levels of adversity and stress during early childhood can increase the risk of stress-related illness and learning problems well into the adult years. ” (WHO, n.d.) When working with young children who have delays, teachers need to be able to provide the proper learning experiences for them, so they may succeed in life. The teachers’ ability to arrange their classrooms and direct the student’s behavior is crucial to them achieving positive outcomes in the educational setting. Even though, significant behavior management does not always guarantee that instruction is always effective, but it does indicate the environmental factors that make it possible for proper instruction (Emmer, E.T. & Stough, L.M., 2001). In an article, titled “Effective Classroom Management: Teacher Preparation and Professional Development” makes a sensible and true statement about the education of teachers. “In teacher preparation programs, greater emphasis needs to be placed on preparing both general and special educators to be competent and efficient at managing today’s classroom with their diverse range of learners” (Oliver, M.R. & Reschly, D.j., 2007). In every classroom, there will be children with delays in some way, and we as teachers should be educated on how to handle these children and effectively teach them and help them develop the skills they will need later in their lives. Teachers need to be able to provide guidance based on student-appropriate levels. If they provide students with information or materials that may be above their current skill level, students may become frustrated and lose interest in the subject. This may cause them to engage in behavior that allows them to avoid the lesson (Wehby, J.H., Symons, F.J., Canale, J.A. & Go, F.J. 1995). When the lessons provided are too easy for the students, this may also cause inappropriate behaviors because of boredom and the lack of challenge. To increase on-task behavior, task completion and comprehension of the subject, is the teacher's role to provide student materials that are appropriate for the level of instructional difficulty (Gickling, E.E. & Armstrong, D.L., 1978). Students who are engaged and given numerous opportunities to respond to academic task are less disruptive and demonstrate improved academic skills (Sutherland, K.S. & Wehby, J.H., 2001) When a teacher is planning for their class they need to take into account such things as, students who have problems comprehending reading. A teacher may use graphics and pictures to help them understand a science question. If a student has problems understanding math, a teacher may use flashcards to help them learn. Children like it, when teachers make it fun to learn, and one way is hands on learning. Children feel a sense of accomplishment when they create something and make it work. Even children in preschool like cutting and pasting pictures together to create books or pictures to take home. “Curriculum, broadly speaking, is “what schools teach.” This includes all that is planned for children in the classroom, such as learning centers, morning circle, or a teacher-initiated small-group activity. Curriculum also includes the unplanned experiences a child has while building a bridge with paper towel tubes, string and popsicle sticks, waiting for the bus, (Self-Assessment Validation System) at the snack table or when frustration leads to a temper tantrum. Curriculum is the entire range of experiences that children receive at school. Content objectives and learning outcomes, knowledge of child development and careful observation of the needs and interests of individual children guide a curriculum (Early Childhood Education). The National Association for the Education of Young Children calls this “developmentally appropriate practice” (Neuman, S.B., Copple, C. & Bredekamp, S., 2000). Developmentally appropriate practice follows the interactive or constructivist approach” (New Jersey, 2010). Children who attend pre-school are expected to learn certain skills. It is up to the teachers to help children develop those skills needed for starting kindergarten and beyond. There are several essential ways that provide the essential preschool education children need. The most outstanding quality teachers and teacher’s assistants; these are essential and cannot be sacrificed. For each classroom, there should be no more than fifteen students per class, but a lower ratio of students provides for the teacher to do more and not be as distracted. The classrooms should be large and provide appropriate developmental activities for students. Age appropriate toys and activity centers are a must. Health and nutrition are paramount, and the family's involvement in class is extremely valuable. Children need to be with children of their age group, to build their social skills. Constructive play allows them to develop these skills and learn how to play well with other children. Children are a precious gift given to us, as caregivers and teachers are here to teach them and help them develop the skills to succeed in life. Children grow in different areas of their lives from the time they are born and continue developing throughout their lives. Being in school allows are children to develop the appropriate social-emotional skills they will need and also boost their minds. There are many factors that can have adverse effects on a child’s development such as abuse or neglect or poverty but these can be sidelined if we as teachers provide proper nutrition in school, and also, teach the child that we love them and respect them as individuals. We know that children need proper nutrition for their little minds to grow and develop but they also need love and caring to thrive. It is the responsibility of parents, caregivers, and families to provide these healthy environments for children. With all these positive influences in their lives, children will reach their goals in development and achieve their goals in life to become productive members of society. As they say, “feed a child’s mind; it’s worth it!”
References
Allen, K. & Marotz, L. (2010). Developmental profiles: Pre-birth through twelve (6th ed.) Belmont Emmer, E.T., & Stough, L.M. (2001). Classroom management: A critical part of educational psychology, with implications for teacher education. Educational Psychologist, 36(2), 103-112 Gickling, E.E., & Armstrong, D.L. (1978) Levels of instructional difficulty as related to on-task behavior, task completion, and comprehension. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 11, 559-566 Oliver, M. R., & Reschly, D.J., (2007). Effective classroom management: Teacher preparation and professional development. Retrieved from: http://www.tqsource.org/topics/effectiveClassroomManagement.pdf on October 21, 2012 Neuman, S. B., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write: developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Washington, DC: National association for the education of young children. New Jersey Department of Education, (2010) Preschool Program Implementing Guidelines; Retrieved October 21, 2012 from http://nj.gov/education/ece/guide/impguidelines.pdf Sutherland, K.S., & Wehby, J.H. (2001). Exploring the relationship between increased opportunities to respond to academic requests and the academic and behavioral outcomes of the students with EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 22(2), 113-121 Wehby, J, H., Symons, F.J., Canale, J.A., & Go, F.J. (1998). Teaching practices in classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Discrepancies between recommendations and observations. Behavioral Disorders, 24(1), 51-56
WHO/Early child development. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs332/en/index.html