Project: Curriculum Framework
Alicia Owens
(2024SU-ECET-3122-01) Inclusion in Early Child Ed.
Suny Empire
June 9, 2024
It is clear from examining early childhood education that curriculum, assessment, and
environment are essential to providing children with holistic support. The focus of an educator
should be to evaluate each child's unique needs and provide them with a well-defined framework
that will support them at every developmental stage. These conceptual frameworks are used to
pinpoint developmental delays and offer a clear picture of how well the lesson planning is working.
Teachers are given a clear picture of how to use the "whole child" approach to support their
students. Furthermore, these ideas give learners the education they deserve based on their current
accomplishments and provide them with the opportunity to consider any future objectives they
might need.
When creating a curriculum framework to aid in the development of young children, it is
essential to assess the child's future objectives and their current skills. With assessment, this is
possible. Assessment can be defined as “Where are we now" and "where should we go next".
Learning objectives and experiences are customized for each student using formative assessment
tools that take language and cultural sensitivity into account. Additionally, Formative assessment
informs instruction and aids in individualized learning objectives and experiences for each student.
Assessment must be considered because it evaluates students' comprehension and progress toward
learning objectives. It allows teachers to adjust instruction to the skills and competency levels by
using observational data. Also, assessment contributes to quality programming for all young
children and their families because it improves classroom conditions and offers feedback on the
overall approach to the curriculum.
To enhance children's learning and development, the curriculum must possess a structured
developmental scope and sequence. Scope and Sequence is an observational tool to capture the
focus and ways in which the plans and resources provided support children at various
developmental stages. Scope and Sequence must be considered because it assists in the
effectiveness of the learning environment and materials. The sequence of learning experiences
includes plans and materials that gradually build from simpler to more complex, according to the
needs of the children. Furthermore, scope and sequence contribute to quality programming for
all young children and their families by guaranteeing a curriculum that is rich in content and
providing learning experiences that are organized in a way that gives children a variety of
connected chances to explore a particular topic or ability. For example, early math skills such as
sorting can be explored with a variety of real-life materials in a math center or during small group
or individual sessions. Children can be encouraged to sort in a variety of ways; size, color, quantity,
etc.; learning experiences should be adaptable to each child's needs, interests, and strengths. State
and/or program standards may serve as the common scope and sequence for all learners in each
state, region, or program. In terms of scope and sequence, broad outcomes for all learners are
frequently set by these standards. It's crucial to keep in mind that while federal, state, or program
standards serve as a common framework, they might not always contain all the knowledge and
skills necessary for early development.
Activities and instruction are a strategic design to assist children in reaching their goals in
various situations and settings. It is essential to establish a consistent, clear daily routine and design
lessons that capture and retain students' attention. Activities and instructions must be considered
because authentic observations and assessments are useful in helping to plan learning experiences
for young children that are developmentally appropriate. Additionally, students with learning
disabilities must be customized to fit their unique learning preferences. Children's individual needs
must be taken into consideration when determining the necessary customized outcomes. For
children with recognized disabilities, these skills are frequently listed in individualized education
plans (IEPs) and individualized family service plans (IFSPs). Individually targeted skills signify a
significant modification or change in terms of expectations, performance criteria, and/or form or
format, while still adhering to common standards for all children. Individually targeted skills
should focus on the underlying, earlier, or prerequisite skills that are required for a child to have
access to and fully participate in the curriculum. Activities and instruction contribute to quality
programming for all young children and their families because children can truly have an
enhanced experience when developmentally appropriate activities are provided for them. Routine
and instruction provide authenticity when thoughtfully planned choices are provided. Children
obtain autonomy over their work and learn to manipulate the environment appropriately.
In order to better meet the needs of academically at-risk students, educators require tools
to identify these students and modify their instructional strategies. Student progress monitoring
is a practice that helps teachers use student performance data to continually evaluate the
effectiveness of their teaching and make more informed instructional decisions. the teacher
determines a student's current performance level on skills that the student will be learning,
identifies achievement goals that the student needs to reach, and establishes the rate of progress
the student must make to meet developmentally or academic goals. Progress monitoring must
be considered because it gives a clear reflection on the entire range of skills that a student must
learn in an extensive period, rather than just the skills a teacher may be teaching that week or
month. By regularly measuring all skills to be learned, teachers can graph supports and make
modifications for a particular student if the material seems insufficient. Targeted outcomes
identify the accommodations required for certain children to guarantee their progression through
the prescribed curriculum. Target outcomes modify the classroom setting, offer more assistance,
and/or let children use different communication tools to show what they know and can do. Progress
monitoring contributes to quality programming for all young children and their families because
the standards aim to clarify what is expected of children after instruction that is personalized,
differentiated, adapted, culturally and linguistically relevant, and context-based, as opposed to
prescribing a rigid sequence of lessons or curricula for every child in every setting. Even though
all the children may have the same learning objectives, each child's unique needs are taken into
consideration when developing lesson plans.
Hands-on investigations are incorporated into the comprehensive, research-based Creative
Curriculum for Preschool as a means of facilitating learning. The curriculum promotes a hands-on
approach to learning to maximize the learning potential of play. The curriculum's main goal is to
support each student's skill development on an individual and whole-child basis. Teachers receive
support in the form of professional development and extra resources, and family engagement is
encouraged. The Curriculum offers tailored education by considering the developmental stages of
children. A special color-coded progression tool is used to illustrate how skills typically develop
from birth to the third grade. With embedded guidance and strategies found on curriculum
resources, effective scaffolded learning experiences are provided to respond to each child's current
strengths and needs, including those of children with disabilities. Creative Curriculum offers a
variety of advantages when applied to inclusive settings. Instructional changes and adaptations are
simple to implement, and learning outcomes are evident. Throughout the day, the program enables
the collection of observations in the form of photos, videos, notes, and the work of the kids.
Furthermore, the program makes use of Embed real-world, observation-based formative
assessment, which provides guidance for individualized instruction based on progressions
covering the whole early childhood development continuum (birth to age 8) and informs a child's
Individual Education Program (IEP).
Examining early childhood education makes it abundantly evident that curriculum is a
leading factor of providing a developmentally appropriate learning environment for all children.
In order for this to be effective, assessment, scope and sequence, activities and instruction, and
progress monitoring all need to be taken into strong consideration. The environment in which
children are exposed and the experiences they are introduced is critical to offering children
comprehensive support. An educator's primary goal should be to assess each child's individual
needs and provide them with a clear framework that will assist them at every stage of development.
These conceptual frameworks provide a clear picture of how well the lesson planning is going and
are used to identify developmental delays. Instructors are provided with a clear illustration of how
to support their students by utilizing the "whole child" approach. These concepts also provide
students with the education they merit based on their present achievements and give them the
chance to think through any future goals they might require.
Reference:
Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. (2007). Promoting
Positive Outcomes for Children with Disabilities: Recommendations for Curriculum,
Assessment, and Program Evaluation. Author. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globallyshared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/PrmtgPositiveOutcomes.pdf
Fuentealba, C. (2011). The role of assessment in the student learning process. Journal of
Veterinary Medical Education, 38(2), 157–162. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.38.2.157
Morell, Z. & New York State Education Department. (n.d.-b). Introduction to the New York
State Next Generation Early Learning Standards. In New York State Education Department (pp.
2–7). https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/introduction-tothe-nys-early-learning-standards.pdf
Teaching Strategies, LLC. (2024, May 30). Preschool curriculum for ages 3-5 - The Creative
Curriculum. Teaching Strategies. https://teachingstrategies.com/product/the-creative-curriculumfor-preschool/
Redirecting. (n.d.).
https://learn.sunyempire.edu/media/The+Instructional+Cycle_+Standards%2C+Curriculum%2C
+Instruction%2C+and+Assessment+for+1st+and+2nd+Grade/1_uglbxeud
Research Matters / How Student progress Monitoring Improves instruction. (2021, June 29).
ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/how-student-progress-monitoring-improves-instruction