Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/buyers-guide-curriculum/5012067/
Child Care Information Exchange Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum ProductsToday, in designing and refining the curriculum of your early childhood organization, you have a myriad of resources to support you. These range from packaged comprehensive curriculum kits that address all aspects of children's development to targeted curriculum packages that address specific curriculum areas such as self-esteem, multicultural programming, or health and safety.
Having such a rich base of support can be reassuring, but it can easily become overwhelming. In this guide, we are going to share with you questions to pose in evaluating curriculum products. These questions are based on the insights of the curriculum product developers listed at the end of this article.
- Is the product founded on research-based principles of learning?
- Does it respect the social nature of learning?
- Are activities proposed appropriate for the age of children?
- Does it realistically take into account the limited amount of planning time available for teachers?
- Is it easy to use by teachers with diverse levels of training?
- Does it help teachers construct knowledge of effective practices without being overly prescriptive?
- Does it encourage teachers to utilize their own creativity?
- Does it provide guidance on organizing an effective learning environment?
- Does it maintain a consistent focus on a particular ...