Early Childhood: Program Planning is designed to give you a new perspective on planning and implementing developmentally appropriate practices for young children from birth through age eight. In this online course you will learn what is meant by curriculum, assessment, evaluation, and program planning as these terms apply to early childhood education. We will discuss several historical perspectives and theories of child development, and examine best practice for early childhood education. We will also examine key concepts and specific activities for teaching various curricular content areas including language and literacy, mathematics and science, and the expressive arts.

Course Objectives include:

• Identify the general guidelines for early childhood curriculum, assessment, and evaluation as presented by NAEYC.
• Explain the key components of a developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) for young children.
• Discuss numerous ways to make adaptations, accommodations, and modifications for students with special learning needs.
• Explain the three principles for learning presented by the National Research Council (1999) that directly apply to classroom teaching for children of all ages.
• Discuss research-based positions and standards for various curricular content areas.
• Identify and plan key components of an integrated early childhood curriculum that fosters curiosity and promotes the process of inquiry.
• Describe a variety of ways to integrate language and literacy, mathematics and science, and social studies and expressive arts activities in meaningful ways throughout the early childhood curriculum.

Please refer to the Course Resource document for more course information (requirements, grading, etc.)

Course Resources
Early Childhood Program Planning (Course at a Glance) (PDF Document)