CHLD 116: Introduction to Curriculum

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 54
Lecture Hours : 54
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 108
Total Student Learning Hours: 162
Strongly Recommended: ENGL C1000.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

Developmentally appropriate curriculum and environments for children birth through age eight. Students will use knowledge of children's development, theories of learning and development, and examples from various models of developmentally appropriate practice to plan environments and curriculum in all content areas to support children's development and learning integrated throughout indoor and outdoor settings. 54 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • Explore various early childhood curriculum models, approaches, and professional practices to inform and evaluate curriculum and environments.
  • Explain how the curriculum is integrated across all developmental domains and content areas.
  • Observe and evaluate teaching strategies, curriculum and environmental designs.
  • Observe children as a basis for planning curriculum and environments.
  • Apply knowledge of academic discipline content, children's growth, development, and individual characteristics to plan developmentally and linguistically appropriate, engaging, and supportive learning experiences for infants and toddlers through early primary years.
  • Develop plans for physical environments that are appropriate for children's individual ages and stages, skills and abilities, needs, and learning goals.
  • Explain how different teaching strategies could be used for a variety of curriculum goals.
  • Describe guidance and interaction approaches to support social relationships and learning.
  • Explain how the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are applied to various situations and how specific learning experiences could be adapted to address individual children's learning and development needs.
  • Describe various strategies for engaging and partnering with families to support children's development and learning.

Major Course Content

  1. Theoretical Frameworks for Planning Curriculum and Environments
  2. Models of Developmentally Appropriate Play-Based Approaches Such As
    1. Emergent Curriculum
    2. High-Scope
    3. Waldorf
    4. Reggio Emilia
    5. Montessori
  3. Planning Early Childhood Curriculum
    1. Effective practices for planning, implementing, and evaluating developmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate curriculum, and learning experiences for:
      1. Infants and Toddlers
      2. Preschoolers
      3. School-Age children
    2. The ongoing curriculum cycle
      1. Observe
      2. Plan
      3. Implement
      4. Assess
      5. Document
      6. Reflect
    3. Level of teacher involvement-teaching continuum 
    4. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
    5. Teacher-child interactions
    6. Guidance and discipline
    7. Relationship-based practice
    8. Effective use of questions
    9. Planning opportunities for children to support each other in learning
    10. Family engagement
    11. Ethical and professional practices
    12. Content areas
      1. Application of teachers' discipline-based knowledge in the content areas
      2. State and national contents areas
      3. Planning developmentally appropriate curriculum for 
        1. Math
        2. Science
        3. English language development
        4. Language and literacy
        5. History and social science
        6. Social-emotional development
        7. Visual and performing arts
        8. Physical development
        9. Health
    13. Appropriate use of instructional technology
    14. Adjustments to curriculum and environments to address children's individualized learning needs including:
      1. Culture and ethnicity
      2. Socioeconomic status
      3. Home language
      4. Ability
      5. Gender
      6. Learning Style
    15. Planning Learning Environments
      1. Designs and impact of physical space
      2. Learning Centers
      3. Selection of equipments and materials
      4. Impact of routines and schedules
      5. Integration of content throughout the indoor and outdoor environments
      6. Indicators of quality
      7. Inclusion of children's culture and language
      8. Health, safety, and nutrition
      9. Staffing and zoning
      10. Environments impact on classroom management

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Education Programs, Bredekamp & Copple, current edition, NAEYC publications
California State Preschool Learning Foundations, Available at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/preschooollf.pdf
California State Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Program Guidelines, Available at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/itguidelines.pdf

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Example #1: Learners will create developmentally appropriate curriculum activity lesson plans and samples (when relevant) in core content areas for use in the professional field of early childhood education. Lesson plans will apply knowledge of child development theories of learning and explain how the curriculum content is integrated across the physical, intellectual, social and/or emotional domains.
Example #2: Through video-based and/or direct observations, learners will observe early childhood classroom curriculum (i.e., math, science, language and literacy, visual and performing arts, etc.) to evaluate and provide written analysis of developmentally appropriate practice.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Example #1: Learners will analyze and evaluate guidance and interaction strategies used by early childhood professionals and then present this information to the class for discussion and evaluation.
Example #2: Learners will research, plan and design developmentally appropriate early childhood learning environments (i.e., Learning Centers, physical spaces, etc.) and then present this information to the class for discussion and evaluation.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture