Constructivism Across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms

Constructivism Across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms PDF Author: Christine Chaillé
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Former President of NAECTE and co-author of "The Young Child As Scientist," Christine Chaille brings a Reggio Emilia inspired, fresh, friendly and innovative introduction to constructivist curriculum for educators in preschool to primary classrooms. Designed to be a readable and user-friendly source for teachers who are looking for guidance and inspiration when incorporating constructivism and Reggio Emilia ideas into their classroom, the chapters in this book are organized into two categories: Introductory chapters and "Big Idea" chapters. Introductory chapters provide the broad, theoretical framework and an overview of constructivist practice and Reggio Emilia ideas. The Big Idea chapters present one of the seven "Big ideas" (light, balance, cause and effect, transformation, sound, zooming in and out, and upside down) as springboards to help teachers build an interdisciplinary, child-centered curriculum. Big Idea chapters also bring theory into practice by incorporating scenarios of real teachers implementing the projects discussed in their classrooms. By balancing theory and the realities of the classroom, this book helps teachers challenge themselves and their students with strategies for infusing new curriculum approaches in their classrooms without sacrificing what they need to accomplish in the process.

Constructivism Across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms

Constructivism Across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms PDF Author: Christine Chaillé
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
Former President of NAECTE and co-author of "The Young Child As Scientist," Christine Chaille brings a Reggio Emilia inspired, fresh, friendly and innovative introduction to constructivist curriculum for educators in preschool to primary classrooms. Designed to be a readable and user-friendly source for teachers who are looking for guidance and inspiration when incorporating constructivism and Reggio Emilia ideas into their classroom, the chapters in this book are organized into two categories: Introductory chapters and "Big Idea" chapters. Introductory chapters provide the broad, theoretical framework and an overview of constructivist practice and Reggio Emilia ideas. The Big Idea chapters present one of the seven "Big ideas" (light, balance, cause and effect, transformation, sound, zooming in and out, and upside down) as springboards to help teachers build an interdisciplinary, child-centered curriculum. Big Idea chapters also bring theory into practice by incorporating scenarios of real teachers implementing the projects discussed in their classrooms. By balancing theory and the realities of the classroom, this book helps teachers challenge themselves and their students with strategies for infusing new curriculum approaches in their classrooms without sacrificing what they need to accomplish in the process.

Early Childhood Curriculum

Early Childhood Curriculum PDF Author: Nancy Amanda Branscombe
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136671374
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
Through its unique integration of curriculum and learning principles, Early Childhood Curriculum: A Constructivist Perspective, 2nd Edition fosters authentic, developmentally appropriate practice for both preschool and early elementary classrooms. The constructivist format of this book encourages active involvement on the part of readers by asking them to observe, question, reflect, research, and analyze, thus allowing readers to create their own knowledge through their responses and actions. Early Childhood Curriculum examines curricular goals such as autonomy, development, and problem solving and links those goals with constructivist principles of learning. It explores ways teachers can create meaningful learning environments and choose curriculum tasks appropriately—in all content areas—that are linked to the learning and development needs of young children. The text provides a wealth of practical detail about implementing constructivist curriculum as the authors discuss classroom climate and management, room design, play, and cooperative learning, among other topics. The book also includes information about how teachers can meet required mandates and national and state standards in appropriate ways as they plan their curriculum, and examines the early childhood educator's role with community agencies, reform and legal mandates, and public relations. Special Features: • “Curriculum Strategies” highlight models for developing curriculum, including projects, curricular alignment, integration of various subject matter areas, and types of knowledge. • “Constructions” promote problem solving by allowing students to explore, revisit, examine, and learn from first-hand experience. • “Multiple Perspectives from the Field” provide interviews with teachers and other early childhood professionals, offering students a realistic look at the profession from a diverse group of educators. • “Teacher Dialogues” explore a wide range of student concerns, including curriculum, learning environments, assessment, and documentation, representing a collaborative support group for pre-service teachers and readers.

Developing Constructivist Early Childhood Curriculum

Developing Constructivist Early Childhood Curriculum PDF Author: Rheta DeVries
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780807741207
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Discusses how children can benefit from certain kinds of play during early childhood education, allowing them to explore their surroundings while still being conventially educated in the classroom.

Integrating Math and Science in Early Childhood Classrooms Through Big Ideas

Integrating Math and Science in Early Childhood Classrooms Through Big Ideas PDF Author: Christine Chaillé
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780137145799
Category : Constructivism (Education)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Integrating Math and Science in Early Childhood Classrooms Through Big Ideas offers teachers a way to think about the future classroom and to meet the needs of children who come to into it with diverse experience, knowledge, and abilities. "Change how we think about math and science for young children," the authors say in their Preface. "Instead of separating the disciplines, planning lessons and topics and projects aimed at math OR science content, let's look at the world the way the child does. Children think in terms of big ideas." In this unique book, the authors focus on big ideas-like patterns, transformation, movement, balance, and relationships-as a way to think about content, and they integrate science and mathematics through these big ideas, rather than linking them topically. The book looks at why it is important to think about thinking, introduces assessment early to help the teacher plan for assessment before teaching even begins, and sets up an environment that will support the construction of the big ideas that integrate math and science. Real-life scenarios provide invaluable insights into the teacher's thinking and planning, and each chapter includes two modules to be used for in-depth exploration of different aspects of the big ideas. It's a unique exploration of thinking and learning. The First Edition of Integrating Math and Science in Early Childhood Classrooms Through Big Ideas includes: Show future teachers why it is important to think about thinking. The first part of the book looks at this new way of teaching--the underlying framework of big ideas as a way to integrate math and science. Help students plan for assessment before teaching begins. Chapter 2 provides the knowledge needed in this critical area of teaching. Help students construct meaningful understandings of how math and science can be integrated through the big ideas that form the structure for any curriculum. Engage students in classroom experiences through real-life scenarios, illustrations, and photos. Introduce students to the ideas that form the foundation of a well-integrated curriculum. In an engaging style, the book is laid out to support real-life planning in a classroom.

Moral Classrooms, Moral Children

Moral Classrooms, Moral Children PDF Author: Rheta DeVries
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 0807753408
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
This classic bestseller, now updated for today's diverse teaching force and student populations, explores the benefits of sociomoral practices in the classroom. The authors draw on recent research to show how these approaches work with children ages 2–8. They focus on how to establish and maintain a classroom environment that fosters children's intellectual, social, moral, emotional, and personality development. Extending the work of Jean Piaget, the authors advocate for a cooperative approach that contrasts with the coercion and unnecessary control that can be seen in many classrooms serving young children. Practical chapters demonstrate how the constructivist approach can be embedded in a school program by focusing on specific classroom situations and activities, such as resolving conflict, group time, rule making, decision making and voting, social and moral discussions, cooperative alternatives to discipline, and activity time.

Building Understanding Together

Building Understanding Together PDF Author: Sandra Waite-Stupiansky
Publisher: Cengage Learning
ISBN: 9780827368354
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Based on sound learning, Building Understanding Together: A constructivist Approach to Early Childhood Education demonstrates the basic tenets of Piaget's constructivist theory in a comprehensive format. This text shows how constructivism can be applied to all areas of the curriculum; language arts, science, math, social studies, and the arts. Chapters include vignettes of classroom examples to help the reader connect the abstract, theoretical concepts to concrete applications of the concepts.

The Young Child as Scientist

The Young Child as Scientist PDF Author: Christine Chaillé
Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
ISBN: 9780205367764
Category : Constructivism (Education)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Young children - how they experience the world, interact with each other, pose questions and problems, and construct knowledge - form the basis for this insightful examination of early childhood science education. Authors Chaille and Britain explore the teacher's role in understanding and facilitating preschool and primary-school children's scientific explorations. Using three traditional content areas of science - chemistry, physics, and biology - and translating them into developmentally appropriate practices, The Young Child as Scientist leaves behind rigid views of science education. Both teachers and students of early childhood education are led to reconceptualize science in ways that have implications for their whole classroom. Without being a cookbook approach to curriculum planning or a purely theoretical approach, the text weaves practical examples and theory together to present constructivism as it can be implemented in real preschool and elementary classrooms. -- Provided by publisher

Big Science for Growing Minds

Big Science for Growing Minds PDF Author: Jacqueline Brooks
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 0807772054
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Strong evidence from recent brain research shows that the intentional teaching of science is crucial in early childhood. Big Science for Growing Minds describes a groundbreaking curriculum that invites readers to rethink science education through a set of unifying concepts or “big ideas.” Using an integrated learning approach, the author shows teachers how to use readily available, low-cost items to create a safe classroom setting that fosters hands-on learning and exploration of real-life problems. The text includes classroom activities that connect science learning to mathematics, technology, art, and literacy. Book Features: Shows teachers how to address fundamental biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science concepts using easy-to-find objects.Describes constructivist learning environments that are aligned with emerging data on brain development.Includes guidance for adopting approaches and instructional strategies consistent with NSTA, NSES, and NAEYC guidelines. “We need to celebrate the birth of this book. It is a vivid embodiment of how young children learn scientific ideas when their teachers create conditions that match the ways youngsters are able to integrate meaning. Constructivist practice comes to life in these pages. At a time of narrow high-stakes tests, here is a model that preserves truly professional practice.” —From the Foreword by Doris Pronin Fromberg, Hofstra University “Big Science for Growing Minds is a wonderful, jam-packed storehouse of research-based ideas for the effective teaching of science. The author is masterful in her ability to clearly explain current brain research and cognitive science studies and to exemplify the research through practical classroom applications.” —Lawrence Lowery, Professor (emeritus), Graduate School of Education and the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley

Teaching STEM Literacy

Teaching STEM Literacy PDF Author: Juliana Texley
Publisher: Redleaf Press
ISBN: 1605545635
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Teaching STEM Literacy is comprised of ready-made, open-ended lessons reviewed and tested by teachers, which help educators integrate STEM learning into the early childhood classroom. Lessons are linked to the Next Generation Science Standards, and encourage creative ideas for three-dimensional STEM learning that are developmentally appropriate and exemplified through children's literature. The three-dimensional STEM learning—content, concepts, and practices—comes in twelve, ready-made open-ended teaching units that make it easy to teach science and inquiry to young children. This book uses the 5E framework (engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation) to cultivate children's skills of observation, questioning, and data collection by combining discovery, problem solving, and engineering solutions to authentic questions that young children might ask. Juliana Texley holds a master's in biology and chemistry, and a PhD in curriculum development/science education from Wayne State University, and has over thirty years of teaching experience. She is a graduate-level adjunct professor specializing in educational technology and assessment, science, and science teaching at Central Michigan University and Lesley University in Massachusetts. Texley has been a National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) member for thirty years, and served as president from 2014-2015. She is on the board for Young Voices for the Planet and led the development and evaluation of online learning programs for JASON Learning. Ruth M. Ruud has over thirty-five years of teaching experience ranging from early childhood to undergraduate studies. She has a master's degree in education with additional coursework in all areas of science. A former Delta Education FOSS (Full Option Science System) consultant, Ruth currently works as an adjunct professor teaching physical geography courses at Cleveland State University. She served as president of the Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association and has chaired a number of committees of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), is a member of the NSTA Recommends committee, and is the head reviewer for the NSTA Shell Science Lab Challenge.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education PDF Author: Donna Couchenour
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1483340341
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1567

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Book Description
The general public often views early childhood education as either simply “babysitting” or as preparation for later learning. Of course, both viewpoints are simplistic. Deep understanding of child development, best educational practices based on development, emergent curriculum, cultural competence and applications of family systems are necessary for high-quality early education. Highly effective early childhood education is rare in that it requires collaboration and transitions among a variety of systems for children from birth through eight years of age. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education presents in three comprehensive volumes advanced research, accurate practical applications of research, historical foundations and key facts from the field of contemporary early childhood education. Through approximately 425 entries, this work includes all areas of child development – physical, cognitive, language, social, emotional, aesthetic – as well as comprehensive review of best educational practices with young children, effective preparation for early childhood professionals and policy making practices, and addresses such questions as: · How is the field of early childhood education defined? · What are the roots of this field of study? · How is the history of early childhood education similar to yet different from the study of public education? · What are the major influences on understandings of best practices in early childhood education?