Course Competencies

Integrate strategies that support diversity and anti-bias perspectives.

Anti-bias education is described as incorporating the philosophy of multicultural education
while expanding to include other forms of bias, stereotypes and misinformation. Anti-bias
education not only addresses race and ethnicity but also includes gender, language, religious
diversity, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities and economic class. The reason this
is so important in young children is a childs culture, language, religion etc is a big part of who
they are and what they know. A child who feels they are not included in something because of
their culture will grow up with self-esteem issues and feel as though they are out of place. A
minority who grows up in the majority will always feel like a minority if their values and customs
are not addressed or respected. A way I incorporate an anti-bias approach in my classroom is
having pictures and resources of all different types of people. Posters have people of different
abilities and races. The room is set up so children can have their own space as well as a group
space. Books show different types of cultures and customs. I also have a knowledge of
childrens personal culture so that the children are respected. My curriculum take in my
knowledge of all of my children abilities. All of my curriculum has a part for every child to play. I
also plan curriculum to teach my children about others cultures. Through listening to different
types if music, learning about other countries, and learning about different types of families.

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Examine the critical role of play as it relates to curriculum planning

Play is one of the most crucial aspects of a childs learning. In infancy to early toddlerhood a
child is focused on soliatary play and using their senses, usually taste, to explore their
environment. Toddlers are more likely to parallel play. They play next to each other but not
necessarily as a group. From toddler to preschool age you start to see more associative play.
Where they play together but there is no rules. There is no formal organization and the children
all have similar goals. From preschool on you start to see cooperative play. Where play is
organized by group goals. There is usually a leader or some sort of set rules. A good example
would be playing soccer together or playing memory. There is more of a division whether a child
is in or out of the play. A teachers role is to be the facilitator. Making sure children have
adequate materials to play with as well as an abundance of things to play with. Play fosters
development by giving child their own sense of learning. Play words on fine motor skills, gross
motor skills, cognitive skills, understanding of math and science, as well as creative expression.
A child can experiment with anything from legos to dolls. Building something like a lego tower
will not only work on a childs fine motor skills but science and math as well. For instance, how
many legos tall if the table? Or how high can you build the legos until they fall over? Even
dramatic play teaches many important things. Playing with babies, or pretending to be a doctor
gives children many social skills. It also helps teach children to use their imagination and learn
important social skills. When playing with babies girls learn how to be good mom and boys learn
how to be good dads! Observing children play is a great assest to facilitate other play
oppurtunities for the children. If you are observing children play with the legos more than the
wood blocks you can attempt to add more to the lego station in order to develop more learning
skills or even add legos more into your curriculum! Another great tool is physical and cognitive

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assessment during play. If a 5 year old is still not able to grasp a scissors while cutting or
cannot match up bears while playing then this is something you can work on with the child
directly or get them more help in those areas.

Establish a developmentally appropriate environment.

There are a lot of different curricular areas. There is science, math, writing/ fine motor, music,
dramatic play, building/blocks, quiet areas as well as many more you can have as well.
Developmentally and age appropriate equipment vary widely. For instance, for fine motor, you
can have 4+ children working on writing letters and sometimes even words. For toddlers, you
would have something like attempting to trace a line or using big tweezers to work on digit
control. For science, you can do experiments and have more hands on activities for older
children while infants you could use squish bags or sensory bottles. Dramatic play for infants
can just be reading a book with them dramatically and looking at a mirror while a preschooler

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could be dressing up head to toe and pretending to be a doctor or a construction worker and
use real materials. There should be a variety of centers in your classroom. A child should be
able to move fluidly through the environment to get to each center. A environment should be
homey and have things child sized and at childs eye level. Their artwork should be at their
eye level as well so children understand this is their classroom. It should also foster a sense of
wonderment in a child.

Integrate Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) into curriculum.

DAP is defined as Developmentally Appropriate Practice. This means the curriculum supports a
childs current abilities. A good example of a developmentally inappropriate practice is calendar
time. A child does not usually have a good concept of time until they are around 7. Constantly
saying No..its not Thursday its. is not helpful for you or the child. It just discourages them.
Another alternative is making a tally for each school day. Or counting down until a specific
event. My children like counting down the days until the end of the month. It is important to
incorporate developmentally appropriate practices in curriculum because if the curriculum is too
challenging or not challenging enough then the child does not learn anything. Technology in the
classroom is a hot button topic. There is value in a screen free facility as a child is more likely
to engage in hands on play. At the same time, we are entering a very technological based age
where almost any job a child will one day have will have technology inbedded into it. My opinion
is screen time should be limited in early childhood classrooms. All technology should be used
as 1 of many tools in a classroom.

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Develop activity plans that promote child development and learning.

An activity plan needs to incorporate all required component parts. These include; description
and type of activity, opening questions, concepts and skills, questions to ask, procedure and
materials needed, performance standards, and potentential guidance techniques. Activity plans
should reflect developmentally appropriate practices by taking in account all of your childrens
different abilities before planning an activity. Performance standards should reflect a standard in
the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standard. When finishing an activity plan you should have
an accurate and reflective assessment of the activity. What worked and what didnt? Did it
benefit everyone? What can I do differently next time?

Develop curriculum plans that promote child development and learning across all content areas.

Curriculum plans should be developmentally appropriate for everyone in your class. It should
have all required components included and work on a variety of the Wisconsin early learning
standards. When finishing this should be assessed to be sure the standards were met.

Analyze early childhood curriculum models.

There are 2 big curriculum models. These include Reggio and Montessori.
The role of the teacher in the Reggio model is to be a learned with the children and be a guide
and resource to facilitate learning for the children. A big part of the Reggio model is observation,
reflection, collaboration, interpretation, analysis, and is made a part of the classroom. A child
will have many opportunities to revisit past experiences. Another big part of Reggio is the focus
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on having a nature focused environment. This includes plants and other materials found in
nature. This can incorporate the WMELS by repeating past activities that a child has done until
the child has mastered it.
According to Montessori it is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel
her presence too much, so that she may be always ready to supply the desired help, but may
never be the obstacle between the child and his experience" (Montessori, 1967). So, a teacher
in a Montessori would facilitate learning by letting the child be the guide and instead be a
resource if the child needs it along the way. A big part of Montessori is to have respect for the
child. Another big part of Montessori is having the environment prepared carefully so the child
can have the freedom to choose their activities but their activities include something in the
WMELS.

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