What is Curriculum? What is Assessment?

"The curriculum consists of the knowledge, skills, abilities and understandings children are to acquire and the plans for the learning experiences through which those gains will occur."- Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8 (2009, p. 20)

Assessment includes the tools and strategies staff members use to understand if children are developing, achieving the abilities appropriate for their age, and learning new skills. In early care programs, assessment tools and strategies help staff document children's individual progress, to ensure each child is progressing toward his/her goals. Assessment also informs the curriculum, as activity plans and learning experiences are tailored to the current development and goals for each child. You can learn more about curriculum and assessment best practices by reviewing the joint position statement Where We Stand from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) attached at the end of the Learn section.

Children and youth attending care and education programs should have a variety of experiences that are intellectually stimulating, engaging, and fun. High-quality programs rely on a written, evidence-based, developmentally appropriate curriculum as the foundation for teacher and youth leaders to use to plan daily routines and activities. Curriculum should be appropriate for the age of the children for which the caregivers, teachers, or youth leaders are caring. Part of a T&Cs duty is to understand appropriate experiences and developmental goals for the children served in their program. And to convey and use that knowledge in their work with program staff. Your program may have chosen a particular assessment, curriculum and format for documenting children's growth and development, so look to your own program's or Service's procedures and standards around curriculum and assessment as you work with program staff.

Curriculum planning for infants, toddlers and preschoolers is often tied to teachers' observations of children (i.e., a form of assessment), which guides the development of activity plans and learning experiences that help children work toward their individual goals, and is based on their observed interests. The basis for curriculum in school-age and youth programs, however, often looks different. Ensure activities and experiences are designed and developed based on current research and curriculum; for example, activities should be conducted in the following areas: character and leadership development; education and career development; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness & recreation; and technology. Children and youth may directly suggest activities or projects they are interested in, and/or activities may be centered around a larger project where there is a defined goal for the group (e.g., creating a community garden, putting on a play, making a model of the human heart).

Staff will bring their own personalities, talents, and interests to their work with children and youth to enrich the curriculum. Families may be invited to share information, knowledge, and skills with the children or youth in their child's classroom. The curriculum should build on the interests of the particular children and youth in the setting. Adaptations and modifications to the chosen curriculum can be undertaken with the help of special-education support staff (e.g., early interventionist or inclusion facilitator) or by following Service specific guidelines and polices related to inclusion and working with children with special needs. The T&Cs and program manager are leaders in ensuring that staff members implement the curriculum and any assessments with fidelity. The T&C demonstrates her or his role as a leader in the area of child and youth assessment, curriculum, and instruction.

The T&Cs demonstrates instructional leadership through:

• Classroom observations (examine environmental components such as schedules, materials, routines)
• 教师观察（使用反思监督周期：预观察员会议，课堂观察和观察后会议）
• 参加教师计划会议和其他团队会议
• Engagement in problem-solving meetings
• Modeling relationship-focused adult-child interactions
• 当他们实施新的策略或程序时，积极教练员工
• 参加员工的专业发展活动
• Individualizing observation feedback based on the staff member's needs
• Enhancing staff members' knowledge and skills through on-the-job professional development
• Providing staff members with resources and information to ensure that the curriculum is appropriate considering culture, language, and ability for all children and youth

The Virtual Laboratory School is designed to help new T&Cs develop competency in these kinds of practices. T&Cs can also continue to strengthen their abilities by partnering with colleagues or seeking mentors, and developing professional relationships where they can ask for feedback and share helpful strategies and resources.

The program manager assists T&Cs by providing leadership with regard to curriculum, assessment, and instruction. The program manager secures the necessary resources (e.g., classroom and playground supplies, materials, equipment) and makes sure those resources are in excellent condition and are age-appropriate for the children and youth in the setting.

该计划经理能够与T＆CS一起了解，他或她的故意决定促进工作人员之间的温暖，关怀社区。强烈的社区感鼓励合作作为计划工作人员作为履行课程的团队工作。T＆CS和计划经理分享有关工作人员的相关信息，并协同工作，以确保工作人员为所有儿童和青少年提供高质量的教育和关怀。

Observations and Lesson Plan Reviews

T&Cs and program managers demonstrate leadership through planned participative observations in classrooms and continuous review of lesson plans. T&Cs can coach teachers through meaningful environmental and instructional changes with children and youth. A format for classroom and teacher observations may be predetermined for you by your program setting or Service. Ideally teachers or other staff who are being observed should be included in a pre-observation meeting or conference with T&Cs to discuss what will be observed and how the observation will be documented (e.g., video, audio, written notes). The observation should include the teacher's own reflections on practice. T&Cs can carefully construct questions to elicit information regarding the teacher's understanding of the curriculum. When T&Cs and program managers collaborate with the teacher around observation and planning, they acknowledge that this is a collaborative process where the teacher is an active participant in his or her own professional growth. Individual supervision (including observational data and collaborative feedback) can be a powerful way to ensure that teachers increase their knowledge and skills around their practices with children and youth.

环境是指令的关键部分（如此至关重要，通常环境被称为第三名教师）。环境不仅包括家具，材料和设备，还包括教师 - 儿童互动。有很多环境评级秤used in early care and education and youth programs. There have also been extensive studies conducted on teacher-child interactions and the impact adult-child interactions have on children's outcomes. A number of studies found the课堂评估评分系统（类）成为教师儿童互动质量的有效衡量标准。作为国家质量评级和改进系统评估的一部分，育儿中心，首发和预计计划通常需要这些环境评估。T＆CS和计划经理应该非常熟悉他们的设置所选择的观测工具。培训是至关重要的，以成为教师和儿童的热衷观察者。

书面课程计划是讨论其惯例的另一种方式。同样，您在工作中的设置可能具有书面计划的特定格式。T＆CS和计划经理将希望坐在规划会议上，并审查计划验证课程。T＆CS和计划经理必须首先在其计划的课程流程中得到良好，以评估工作人员如何利用材料或内容，并颁布您的计划的课程程序。yabo电子游艺学习使用书面课程并创造出发达的课程计划是需要时间和指导的过程。T＆CS应准备好为员工制定课程计划提供建设性的反馈和建议。活动应该是有意义的，并以儿童和青年的利益为基础。婴儿的计划，幼儿和学龄前儿童应包括发展信息以及计划的经验和互动支亚慱彩票持的发展。小学儿童和老年人可以加入同行和教师，计划正在进行的项目工作（例如，创建科学实验室，为中世纪节日创造服装和食物等）。由于T＆CS审查了新的工作人员的活动计划，他们应该记得要求反思问题，如下面列出的问题。 These will help T&Cs gauge staff members' understanding of the curriculum processes in their settings, and offer insight about where to tailor support.

• 你本周为您的活动计划提出您的想法在哪里？
• 您认为这些计划将如何帮助个别儿童达到目标？
• What are you hoping the school-age youth will gain from this experience?
• Do you think any modifications might be necessary to ensure all children can engage in this idea?
• What resources might you need to make this plan successful?
• 是否有办法涉及在这项活动中的家庭？

Watch the video below to hear T&Cs and program managers describe how they conduct productive observations and guide direct care staff to create intentional lesson plans.

Program Management: Curriculum Support

Staying Current

条例”和项目经理的一个重要组成部分ork is staying current with the field of early care and education and youth development. Joining a professional organization (e.g., National Association for the Education of Young Children, Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, the National After School Association) is an excellent way to receive timely information about what is new in the field. Subscribing to practitioner journals (Teaching Young Children那交换）提供可以在会议期间与员工共享的简短文章。包含基于证据信息的网站可以添加书签。

还需要评估T＆CS和计划管理人员并提供专业发展。寻找一个导师，书籍小组，让人们在类似工作中的社交群体，在那里您可以分享想法并学习有关该领域的新闻。当您务必参加自己的专业增长时，您将成为您的员工和家庭的更好领导者。