Emergent Curriculum in Early Childhood Classroom - Course Work Example

Emergent curriculum is a demonstrated way of making an excellent plan of the curriculum which is based on the childs interests, passion, and views at a given point in time. It captures the interests of children while making learning to take place naturally. This article is going to focus on the ways an instructor uses Emergent curriculum skills and personal life experiences to adjust his or her methodology in offering instructions to the children, how a teacher sees interest in children and whether or not emergent curriculum provides a chance for the right criteria of enhancing understanding in children (Stacey, 2009).

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In emergent curriculum, the instructor conflicts with emerging issues in the child to come up with a right set of the curriculum by brainstorming childrens different ways of studying concepts deeply. Before brainstorming, the teacher needs to the web the topic because of the subject and the sessions flexible and playful nature. The instructor is opened to possibilities rather than planning. Instead of using a lesson plan, the teacher is entitled to the road map of adjustments of curriculum instructional method to make the learners engage in an active natural learning atmosphere.

Stacey (2009) said that, she "found that emergent curriculum offers an opportunity to work with the ideas of both children and teachers to address children development needs she also said that, play-based curriculum should also be applied in ensuring a better learning atmosphere. Stacey (2009) said that the emergent curriculum play-based curriculum is kinder challenging but later argued that it offers a refreshing and positive stimulus for the instructors.

Can an explicit emergent curriculum be set according to a given cultural or ethnic group depending on the diversity of children characteristic in a given context? According to Stacey (2009), children might come from one family background but will tend to display different styles of learning hence influencing the design of an Emergent Curriculum (Stacey, 2009).

An emergent curriculum cannot be set or described by the knowledge of a single instructor. The process of coming up with an emergent curriculum fails to be enhanced since the teacher needs to make an observation, listen to the cycle of conversation of children, including dialogue and reflection and making meaning out of what is seen and heard. Therefore, to come up with an emergent curriculum, an instructor needs to make a precise observation, a cognitive reflection, develop a clear documentation and a method of adjusting the environment to ensure a supportive environment for children learning.

On the other hand, according to Jones (2012), a teacher needs to articulate the developmental approach practices DAP in making a curriculum for children learning atmosphere.

DAP. 1. Teaching to enhance development and learning

Since the childs interactions and relationships with adults are the major determinants of learning and development, the teacher should ensure a guided environment where the child is able to learn from his or her peers under child-guided experience and adult-guided experience. The teacher should the learning activities of children and their interaction with peers to shape the active engagement of children. Regulation of child guided experience is enhanced by child-guided experience whereby children develop primarily as a result of their interaction with other children and shaping their interests. Therefore, the teacher should study the child-guided experience so as to come up with a strategic curriculum that support the childs needs. Through this principle, the teacher considers it a priority to know every child and the significant people attached to the child. Also, the teacher fosters a caring learning through teaching.

DAP. 2. Planning curriculum to attain some certain important goals

Since the curriculum entails knowledge, abilities, skills and understanding children, the teacher is obliged to implement a curriculum that yield favorable outcomes and should state how the outcomes will be achieved. This developmentally appropriate practice plans the curriculum to help the young to achieve educationally and developmentally significant goals. The teacher designs a curriculum that incorporates plays, routines, small groups, interest groups and large groups for learning to ensure that the goals are achieved. A well planned relevant curriculum that is developed as a result the teachers knowledge of children and their interests to ensure that children learning experience is both child-guided and adult-guided.

Cultural diversity and its implication to childhood programs

According to Jones (2012), at the early stages for instance 2.5 to s years, children begin to learn different cultures and practices while in the learning atmosphere. The children will start taking feelings, stereotypes about people, ideas and stereotypes about themselves. The childs interaction with other children from different cultures shape their judgement and perception about others.

Implication of diversity in childhood education

Diversity compels the teacher to make a responsive learning environment that draws attention on the cultural knowledge, the talent children have as a result of their culture, the practices of every child as a result of their culture and the knowledge that children have according to their culture. The instructor creates a room for the children to interact according to their culture while designing a curriculum that incorporates all the possible cultural development (Jones, 2012).

Pros and cons of Emergent curriculum

According to Jones (2012), the benefits of this method are that teachers can link children personal capabilities, disposition, and understanding. Secondly, teachers can make a continuity of childrens prior knowledge about the new learning hence leading to a deeper understanding of topics of interests rather than focusing on lesson plans that are usually common and not learner-centered. On the side of children, the teacher can consider them as agents who ensure their learning.

The disadvantage of an emergent curriculum is that the teachers have to put him or herself in the shoe of the child to identify the right curriculum and to prepare to make several adjustments according to the changing learning needs of the children (Jones, 2012).

In conclusion, a fine adjustment of teaching methodology concerning enhancing an emergent curriculum enables the instructor to consider the child as the agent of the learning process so as to ensure a learning a great learning atmosphere that allows the learner to grab concepts maximumly. Therefore, an instructor makes a precise observation, a cognitive reflection and develop a clear documentation method to adjust the environment to suit the child in forming an emergent curriculum. Therefore, an emergent curriculum is a support environment for children learning.

References

Stacey, S. (2009). Emergent Curriculum and Your Teaching Journey. Emergent curriculum in early childhood settings: From theory to practice. Redleaf Press. (pp. 11-31).

Jones, E. (2012). The emergence of emergent curriculum. YC Young Children. Print. 67(2), 66-68.