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Students prepared in the Early Childhood Education degree program build a research-based understanding of child development and learning in the context of a Biblical worldview of early education. They use their understanding and knowledge of the young learner’s characteristics, needs, and multiple interacting influences on children’s development and learning, to create environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, challenging, and Christ-honoring for each child.
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
(Luke 2:52)
*Key elements of Program Learning Outcome 1*
1a: Knowing and understanding, from the perspective of a Biblical worldview, young children’s needs and characteristics, from birth through age 8.
1b: Knowing and understanding the multiple interacting influences on children’s development and learning.
1c: Using research-based, Biblically-grounded knowledge of child development to create learning environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, challenging, and Christ-honoring for each child.
The artifact that I chose to compliment my knowledge and understanding of PLO #1 is my Creative Curriculum Project that I completed as a part of ECE 327: Creative Learning for Young Children. In this assignment, I designed and implemented two lessons which connected math and science learning in a way that was developmentally appropriate for their age and developmental level. The first activity, "Apple Differentiation", allowed a 2, 3, and 4 year-old student to explore different kinds of apples while practicing sorting and grouping, rote counting, prediction making, using descriptive words, and identifying personal prefernece. The second activity, "Dream House Design" was intended for older students (ages 9, 11, and 13 years old) to practice measurement and mathematical calculations in designing two-dimension floor plans that were unique and creatively inspired. This artifact connects with Program Learning Outcome #1 because I had used research based knowledge in order to design two activities that would be developmentally appropriate, challenging, yet engaging for each age group while connecting multiple areas of development within one activity. Within each activity, I also demonstrated my knowledge and understanding of "Promoting Child Development and Learning" as I had to be aware of the age differences and scaffold each activity to meet the needs of each individual student. I created a healthy, respectful, and supportive environment by allowing each students to share their options and reflections of the assignment to their peers, which created a sense of community and respect for diversity.
This artifact contributes to my learning because I was able to reflect on the experiences and evaluate the effectiveness of my instruction as well as the level of learning achieved by the students. As a result of effective evaluation, if I were to implement these activities again I have a better understanding of how I can improve the lesson to benefit the students and their needs while optimizing the learning experience.
Creative Curriculum Project- Part II.docx
Reflective Narrative
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