Criteria for Effective Curricula

Criteria for Effective Curricula ******* Sun, 11/04/2018 - 18:41

The criteria for effective, comprehensive curricula are based on early childhood education research, the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), and other standards for high-quality curricula (e.g., National Association for the Education of Young Children, Division for Early Childhood). The curricula were reviewed and rated on the following criteria:

Criteria for Home-Based Curricula

Criteria for Home-Based Curricula ******* Sun, 11/04/2018 - 18:47

Criterion 1

Evidence Base for Child Outcomes

Evidence from research demonstrates that the curriculum has been associated with positive child outcomes. The curriculum has been implemented and directly studied in early childhood home visiting programs, and the research showed significant, positive effects on child outcomes. Evidence of effectiveness has been obtained in rigorous research studies, such as randomized controlled trials or regression discontinuity designs. Research studies on the curriculum have optimally included multiple, diverse groups of children and families.

Review Question

Child outcomes: Has the implementation of the curriculum been associated with positive child outcomes?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Parenting outcomes: Has the implementation of the curriculum in these studies been associated with positive parenting outcomes?
Rigorous design: Has the curriculum been studied using a rigorous research design?
Sample and generalizability: Has the curriculum been studied with multiple samples representative of diverse children and families?
Fidelity of implementation: Have studies of the curriculum assessed fidelity of implementation?

Criterion 2

Research-Based Curriculum

The curriculum provides research-based content and parenting practices to support children's development and learning. A research-based home visiting curriculum is consistent with research on effective home visiting and parenting practices. Specifically, it promotes home visiting practices and interactions that research has shown to be effective in engaging parents and families. Additionally, a research-based home visiting curriculum promotes parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices that are shown to support children's learning and development.

Review Questions

Research-based home visiting practices and interactions: Does the curriculum suggest home visiting practices and interactions that research has shown to be effective in engaging parents and families?
Research-based parenting practices: Does the curriculum promote parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices that research has shown to be effective in supporting positive child outcomes?

Criterion 3

Scope and Sequence

The curriculum includes an organized developmental scope and sequence to support children's development and learning. A scope and sequence outlines what the curriculum focuses on and how the plans and materials support children at different levels of development. The scope refers to the areas of development addressed by the curriculum; the sequence includes plans and materials for learning experiences that progressively build from less to more complex, with the goal of supporting children as they move through the developmental progressions. A content-rich curriculum ensures that sequences of learning experiences include multiple, related opportunities for children to explore a concept or skill with increasing depth. Sequences of learning experiences should be flexible to respond to individual children's interests, strengths, and needs.

Review Questions

Scope: Does the curriculum include a clearly identifiable scope that promotes parents' and families' skills in supporting their children's development in the essential domains of learning and development?
Sequence: Does the curriculum include sequences of learning experiences for children that progressively build from less to more complex to help parents and families support their children as they move through the developmental progressions?
- Does the curriculum provide multiple, related opportunities for children to explore concepts or skills with increasing depth?
- Do the sequences of learning experiences allow for flexibility in moving through them based on the individual interests, strengths, and needs of children?

Criterion 4

Alignment with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)

The curriculum is aligned with the ELOF. Aligning a curriculum with the ELOF identifies the extent to which ELOF domains and sub-domains are addressed in the curriculum. Curricula that are fully aligned with the ELOF are comprehensive and cover all areas of children's learning and development described in the ELOF.

Review Question

Alignment with the ELOF: Does the curriculum provide learning experiences to support young children's development and learning in all of the ELOF domains and sub-domains?

Criterion 5

Learning Goals for Children

The curriculum specifies learning goals for children. The curriculum's learning goals are objectives for children's development and learning across domains. Learning goals should be measurable and developmentally appropriate. Measurable learning goals for children focus on skills, behaviors, and knowledge that are observable; developmentally appropriate learning goals are consistent with well-established developmental progressions. Learning experiences support children's progress toward the learning goals. In addition to the goals provided by the curriculum, home visitors collaborate with parents and families to identify individual goals for their child's learning and development.

Review Questions

Learning goals: Does the curriculum specify measurable, developmentally appropriate goals for children's learning and development?
- Learning experiences: Are the learning goals supported by the learning experiences described in the curriculum?
- Engaging parents and families around learning goals: Does the curriculum provide strategies for home visitors to engage parents and families in identifying individual goals for their child's learning and development?

Criterion 6

Ongoing Child Assessment

The curriculum provides guidance on ongoing child assessment. Ongoing child assessment is a process in which families and home visitors observe and gather information to understand and support children's development and learning over time. Information gathered through observation helps home visitors and families support children's individual interests and needs. Information from ongoing observations can also be used to periodically complete standardized and structured assessment instruments to evaluate children's developmental progress.

Review Questions

Ongoing observation: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how home visitors and families can observe and discuss children's developmental progress?
Standardized and structured assessment instruments: Does the curriculum recommend how home visitors can collaborate with parents and families to use standardized and structured child assessment instruments that are valid, reliable, and individually, culturally, and linguistically appropriate?

Criterion 7

Home Visitor-Family Relationships and Interactions

The curriculum promotes positive home visitor-family relationships and interactions. A home visitor's positive relationship with parents and families through culturally and linguistically responsive interactions forms the foundation of home visits. A strengths-based approach to building relationships with families provides a foundation for home visitors to interact with families. The curriculum provides strategies for how home visitors can establish positive relationships and responsive interactions with parents and families. The curriculum also provides strategies to bring families together in groups to facilitate peer support.

Review Questions

Relationships with parents and families: Does the curriculum offer suggestions for how home visitors can establish positive relationships with parents and families?
Responsive interactions with parents and families: Does the curriculum provide suggestions for how to engage in responsive interactions with parents and families?
Peer support: Does the curriculum offer suggestions for how to bring parents and families together in groups to facilitate peer support?

Criterion 8

Professional Development and Materials to Support Implementation

The curriculum offers professional development and materials to support implementation and continuous improvement. Professional development includes gaining the knowledge and skills required for effective implementation of a curriculum. Standardized training procedures include initial and ongoing training to support home visitors as they learn to implement a curriculum with fidelity. Standardized training procedures provide consistent content and delivery methods across training sessions. Curriculum materials to support implementation include resources that come with a curriculum to help home visitors understand how to use it. The materials may also include resources to help education managers and coaches support home visitors to implement the curriculum effectively.

Review Questions

Professional development: Does the curriculum offer standardized initial training and ongoing professional development opportunities for program leaders and home visitors?
Curriculum materials to support implementation: Does the curriculum include resources and tools to support fidelity of implementation and continuous improvement?

Criterion 9

Learning Experiences and Interactions

The curriculum promotes rich learning experiences for children to support development across domains. Rich learning experiences take place within the context of responsive relationships. The curriculum helps home visitors support the family-child relationship as the foundation for learning in all domains and encourages parents and families to engage children in play, movement, and active exploration. The curriculum also provides guidance for how parents and families can interact with children to extend their exploration, thinking, and communication. Home visitors and families collaborate to plan learning experiences and routines for children that build on the family's culture, language, and preferences.

Review Questions

Family-child relationship: Does the curriculum help home visitors support the family-child relationship as the foundation for learning in all domains?
Active exploration and play: Does the curriculum encourage parents and families to engage children in play, movement, and active exploration?
Interactions that extend children's learning: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how parents and families can extend children's exploration, thinking, and communication?
Individualization: Does the curriculum provide guidance to home visitors on how to collaborate with parents and families to develop caregiving routines and learning experiences that build on their culture and home language and, if necessary, are responsive to their child's disabilities or special needs?

Criterion 10

Learning Environments and Routines

The curriculum provides guidance on how to support parents and families in making the home a rich learning environment and in establishing developmentally appropriate routines. A nurturing home learning environment offers developmentally appropriate schedules, routines, and indoor and outdoor opportunities for play, exploration, and experimentation. The home learning environment should include age-appropriate materials and supplies. The curriculum should support the selection of developmentally appropriate learning materials from the home and culture that foster children's open-ended exploration and inquiry.

Review Questions

Environment: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to engage parents and families in using the home as a learning environment?
Learning materials: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how parents and families can use materials found in the home and that are part of their culture and community to support their children's learning?
Routines: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to support parents and families in establishing developmentally appropriate routines that foster learning?

Criterion 11

Cultural Responsiveness

The curriculum supports cultural responsiveness. Cultural responsiveness is a strengths-based approach to relationships and caregiving rooted in respect and appreciation for the role of culture in children's learning and development. A culturally responsive curriculum prompts home visitors to incorporate the family's culture into home visits. The curriculum guides home visitors to build relationships and interactions with families of diverse cultural backgrounds; to learn about families' expectations, practices, and preferences for supporting their child's learning; and to work with parents and families to incorporate their culture and traditions into home visits.

Review Questions

Interactions: Does the curriculum support culturally responsive ways of interacting with diverse families and children?
Learning experiences: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to collaborate with parents and families to adapt learning experiences for children from the curriculum materials to build on the family's traditions, culture, values, and beliefs?

Criterion 12

Linguistic Responsiveness

The curriculum supports linguistic responsiveness. Linguistic responsiveness refers to practices that support the learning, development, and engagement of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. It involves partnering with families to intentionally support the development and learning of children who are dual language learners (DLLs). The curriculum provides guidance to families to support the home language while providing suggestions on how to expose children to English.

Review Questions

Home language: Does the curriculum encourage home visitors to support parents' and families' use of their home or tribal language during learning experiences in the home?
Supporting dual language learners: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to support development of the home language and expose children to English?

Criterion 13

Individualization for Children with Disabilities, Suspected Delays, or Other Special Needs

The curriculum provides guidance on how to help parents and families support their child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need. Home visitors and families can adapt learning experiences from the curriculum for a child with a disability or other special need. The curriculum includes suggestions for accommodations to the physical home learning environment and adaptations of learning experiences in the curriculum to meet the learning needs and strengths of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. The curriculum also provides suggestions for how home visitors can provide resources and referrals to families as needed.

Review Questions

Resources and referrals: Does the curriculum describe how home visitors can provide resources, information, and supports to families with a child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need?
Learning environment: Does the curriculum include suggestions for parents and families about how to set up an appropriate learning environment and materials to support the development and learning of their child with a disability, suspected delay, or other special need?
Parenting practices and interventions: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how home visitors and families can adapt learning experiences for a child with a disability or other special need?

Criterion 14

Individualization Based on Interests, Strengths, and Needs

The curriculum offers guidance on how to individualize based on the interests, strengths, and needs of children. Individualization is a process of collaborating with families to plan home visits and learning experiences that are responsive to children. Home visitors and families reflect on their observations of the child and together plan how to support each child's learning and development. When learning experiences are tailored to children's interests and take place in the context of a family's regular routines, they are more engaging and meaningful to children. Because children may vary in their developmental progressions, it is also important that the curriculum supports home visitors and families in planning learning experiences that are responsive to individual children's strengths and needs.

Review Questions

Individualization based on interests: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to tailor home visits based on the interests of individual children?
Individualization based on strengths and needs: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to tailor home visits based on the strengths and needs of individual children?

Criterion 15

Family Development and Well-Being

The curriculum supports family development and well-being as the context for promoting children's development and learning. Children develop in the context of their family systems; families provide a base of support for each child's development. Home visitors support family development and well-being through the family goal-setting process. They partner with families to identify goals that address family challenges and support family development and well-being. Home visitors also provide families with resources and referrals to support them as they work toward their goals.

Review Questions

Family goals: Does the curriculum provide home visitors with strategies to engage parents and families in setting goals that address family development, well-being, and challenges?
Ongoing assessment of progress toward family goals: Does the curriculum promote ongoing assessment of family progress toward their goals?
Resources and referrals: Does the curriculum include guidance on how to refer parents and families to additional resources in the community that may help them make progress toward their family goals?

Criteria for Infant and Toddler Curricula

Criteria for Infant and Toddler Curricula ******* Sun, 11/04/2018 - 19:01

Criterion 1

Evidence Base for Child Outcomes

Evidence from research demonstrates that the curriculum has been associated with children's positive learning outcomes. The curriculum has been implemented and directly studied in early childhood programs, and the research showed significant, positive effects on children's developmental outcomes. Evidence of effectiveness has been obtained in rigorous research studies, such as randomized controlled trials or regression discontinuity designs. Research studies on the curriculum have optimally included multiple, diverse groups of children and teachers.

Review Question

Child outcomes: Has the implementation of the curriculum been associated with children's positive learning outcomes?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Rigorous design: Has the curriculum been studied using a rigorous research design?
Sample and generalizability: Has the curriculum been studied with multiple samples representative of diverse children?
Fidelity of implementation: How much training was provided to teachers in the studies before implementing the curriculum? Have studies of the curriculum assessed fidelity of implementation?

Criterion 2

Research-Based Curriculum

The curriculum provides research-based interactions and teaching practices to support children's development and learning. A research-based curriculum is consistent with research on how children develop and learn. Specifically, it promotes interactions, teaching practices, and learning experiences that research has shown to be effective in supporting children's development and learning.

Review Question

Research-based interactions and teaching practices: Does the curriculum promote interactions, teaching practices, and learning experiences that research has shown to be effective in supporting positive child outcomes in the domains of the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)?

Criterion 3

Scope and Sequence

Review Questions

Scope: Does the curriculum include a clearly identifiable scope that addresses essential domains of learning and development for infants and toddlers?
Sequence: Does the curriculum include sequences of learning experiences that progressively build from less to more complex to support children as they move through the developmental progressions?
- Does the curriculum provide multiple, related opportunities to explore concepts or skills with increasing depth?
- Do the sequences of learning experiences allow for flexibility in moving through them based on the individual interests, strengths, and needs of children?

Criterion 4

Alignment with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)

Review Question

Alignment with the ELOF: Does the curriculum provide learning experiences to support children's development and learning in all of the ELOF infant and toddler domains and sub-domains?

Criterion 5

Learning Goals for Children

The curriculum specifies learning goals for children. The curriculum's learning goals are objectives for children's development and learning across domains. Learning goals should be measurable and developmentally appropriate. Measurable learning goals focus on skills, behaviors, and knowledge that are observable; developmentally appropriate learning goals are consistent with well-established developmental progressions. Teachers should be able to use a curriculum's learning goals to individualize learning experiences for all children, such as children from diverse cultures, children who are dual language learners (DLLs), children who are learning tribal languages, and children with disabilities or other special needs.

Review Questions

Learning goals: Does the curriculum specify measurable, developmentally appropriate goals for children's learning and development?
- Are the goals supported by the learning experiences described in the curriculum?
- Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to use the learning goals to individualize learning experiences for all children?

Criterion 6

Ongoing Child Assessment

The curriculum provides guidance on ongoing child assessment. Ongoing child assessment is a process of gathering information to understand and support children's development over time. Information gathered through observation and documentation helps inform curriculum planning, teaching, and individualizing for all children. Ongoing child assessment can also be used to periodically complete standardized and structured assessment instruments to evaluate children's developmental progress.

Review Questions

Ongoing observation and documentation: Does the curriculum promote ongoing observation and documentation of children's developmental progress?
Standardized and structured assessment instruments: Does the curriculum encourage the use of standardized and structured assessment instruments that are valid, reliable, and individually, culturally, and linguistically appropriate to assess children's developmental progress?

Criterion 7

Parent and Family Engagement

The curriculum promotes parent and family engagement. Parent and family engagement is a collaborative and strengths-based process through which early childhood teachers, families, and children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and staff that is built on mutual respect for the roles and strengths each has to offer. The curriculum provides culturally and linguistically responsive strategies to communicate with families and to engage families in children's learning.

Review Questions

Communication with families: Does the curriculum offer culturally and linguistically responsive materials and strategies for communicating with parents and families about their children's development and the curriculum's learning experiences?
Engaging families: Does the curriculum offer suggestions for how to engage diverse parents and families in children's learning and development?

Criterion 8

Professional Development and Materials to Support Implementation

The curriculum offers professional development and materials to support implementation and continuous improvement. Professional development includes gaining the knowledge and skills required for effective implementation of a curriculum. Standardized training procedures include initial and ongoing training to support education staff as they learn to implement a curriculum with fidelity. Standardized training procedures provide consistent content and delivery methods across training sessions. Curriculum materials to support implementation include resources that come with a curriculum to help education staff understand how to use it. The materials may also include resources to help education managers and coaches support education staff to implement the curriculum effectively.

Review Questions

Professional development: Does the curriculum offer standardized initial training and ongoing professional development opportunities for program leaders and education staff?
Curriculum materials to support implementation: Does the curriculum include resources and tools to support fidelity of implementation and continuous improvement?

Criterion 9

Learning Experiences and Interactions

The curriculum promotes rich learning experiences and interactions to support development across domains. For infants and toddlers, rich learning experiences take place within the context of an engaging play environment, interactions and conversations with caregivers and peers, and daily caregiving routines. Rich learning experiences support and extend children's knowledge, understanding of concepts, and skills across domains. Infants and toddlers develop and learn by freely moving their bodies and actively exploring their environments in open-ended ways. The curriculum offers infants and toddlers ample opportunities to move and explore and provides teachers with guidance on how to interact with children to extend exploration, thinking, and communication. Rich learning experiences should be culturally and linguistically responsive and inclusive of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs.

Review Questions

Active exploration: Does the curriculum encourage ample opportunity for infants and toddlers to engage in movement and active exploration?
Interactions that extend children's learning: Does the curriculum provide guidance to teachers on how to engage in interactions that extend children's exploration, thinking, and communication?
Individualization: Does the curriculum provide guidance to teachers on how to individualize learning experiences for all children?

Criterion 10

Learning Environments and Routines

The curriculum provides guidance on how to set up rich learning environments and developmentally appropriate routines. Rich learning environments are nurturing spaces that support the development of all young children. The curriculum provides guidance on how to design developmentally appropriate schedules, routines, and indoor and outdoor opportunities for choice, play, exploration, and experimentation. Learning environments include age-appropriate equipment, materials, and supplies. They also reflect home cultures and are flexible to support the changing ages, interests, and characteristics of a group of children over time.

Review Questions

Environment: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to design well-organized, engaging indoor and outdoor environments that promote active exploration and support all children’s development in the ELOF domains?
Learning materials: Does the curriculum come with or provide guidance on how to select developmentally appropriate learning materials that foster open-ended exploration and inquiry?
Schedule and routines: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to establish a flexible daily schedule centered around developmentally and individually appropriate caregiving routines?

Criterion 11

Cultural Responsiveness

The curriculum supports cultural responsiveness. Cultural responsiveness is a strengths-based approach to teaching and caregiving rooted in respect and appreciation for the role of culture in children's learning and development. A culturally responsive curriculum prompts teachers to learn about each child's strengths, abilities, experiences, and interests as developed within the child's family and culture. The curriculum provides guidance on how to modify and enhance curriculum plans and materials to build on these strengths, abilities, experiences, and interests with the goal of incorporating each child's culture into the classroom.

Review Questions

Interactions: Does the curriculum support culturally responsive ways of interacting with diverse children and families?
Learning experiences: Does the curriculum encourage caregiving routines and learning experiences for children that build on their families’ traditions, culture, values, and beliefs?
Learning materials: Does the curriculum suggest how to use learning materials that authentically represent the cultures and ethnicities of children and families?

Criterion 12

Linguistic Responsiveness

The curriculum supports linguistic responsiveness. Linguistic responsiveness refers to teaching practices that support the learning, development, and engagement of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. It includes supports for continued development of children's home or tribal languages by authentically incorporating children's languages into the learning environment. Furthermore, linguistically responsive practices can facilitate English acquisition. The curriculum provides scaffolding strategies to support children at any level of English knowledge to fully participate in the curriculum's learning experiences and environment. For infants and toddlers, linguistic responsiveness requires partnering with families to intentionally support the development and learning of children who are dual language learners (DLLs) or who are learning tribal languages. This process includes developing a plan, based on the languages of the teacher and family, to support a child's development of each language in the classroom as well as at home.

Review Question

Linguistic responsiveness: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to intentionally support the development and learning of children who are DLLs or who are learning tribal languages?

Criterion 13

Individualization for Children with Disabilities, Suspected Delays, or Other Special Needs

The curriculum provides guidance on how to individualize for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. Individualization for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs includes providing more specialized supports for children to access and participate in learning, social experiences, and activities. The curriculum's guidance for specialized supports includes specific teaching practices and ways of interacting with children, as well as adaptations to daily schedules, learning activities, and the learning environment. Individualizing for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs enables all children to access, participate, and thrive in early learning settings.

Review Questions

Teaching practices and interventions: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to embed research-based teaching practices and other interventions in daily routines and learning experiences to support the development and learning of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs?
Learning environment: Does the curriculum include suggestions to ensure the physical environment and learning materials are accessible to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs?

Criterion 14

Individualization Based on Interests, Strengths, and Needs

The curriculum offers guidance on how to individualize based on children's interests, strengths, and needs. Individualization is a process of planning and implementing learning experiences that are responsive to each child's interests, strengths, and needs. Teachers reflect on their observations of each child and then plan the most effective ways to support each child's learning and development. When learning experiences are tailored to children's interests, they are more engaging and meaningful to children. Because children may vary in their developmental progressions, it is also important that the curriculum supports teachers in planning learning experiences that are responsive to individual children's strengths and needs.

Review Questions

Individualization based on interests: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to plan learning experiences that build on the interests of individual infants and toddlers?
Individualization based on strengths and needs: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to make learning experiences responsive to individual children’s strengths and needs?

Criteria for Preschool Curricula

Criteria for Preschool Curricula ******* Sun, 11/04/2018 - 19:14

Criterion 1

Evidence Base for Child Outcomes

Review Question

Child outcomes: Has the implementation of the curriculum been associated with children's positive learning outcomes?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Rigorous design: Has the curriculum been studied using a rigorous research design?
Sample and generalizability: Has the curriculum been studied with multiple samples representative of diverse children?
Fidelity of implementation: How much training was provided to teachers in the studies before implementing the curriculum? Have studies of the curriculum assessed fidelity of implementation?

Criterion 2

Research-Based Curriculum

The curriculum provides research-based content and teaching practices to support children's development and learning. A research-based curriculum is consistent with research on how children develop and learn. Specifically, it provides rich content, teaching practices, and learning experiences that research has shown to be effective in supporting children's development and learning. A research-based curriculum focuses on domain-specific, developmentally appropriate content and skills that contribute to children's long-range development in each domain.

Review Question

Research-based content and teaching practices: Does the curriculum promote teaching practices, learning experiences, and developmentally appropriate content that research has shown to be effective in supporting positive child outcomes in the domains of the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)?

Criterion 3

Scope and Sequence

Review Questions

Scope: Does the curriculum include a clearly identifiable scope that addresses essential domains of learning and development for preschool children?
Sequence: Does the curriculum include sequences of learning experiences that progressively build from less to more complex to support children as they move through the developmental progressions?
- Does the curriculum provide multiple, related opportunities to explore concepts or skills with increasing depth?
- Do the sequences of learning experiences allow for flexibility in moving through them based on the individual interests, strengths, and needs of children?

Criterion 4

Alignment with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF)

Review Question

Alignment with the ELOF: Does the curriculum provide learning experiences to support children's development and learning in all of the ELOF preschool domains and sub-domains?

Criterion 5

Learning Goals for Children

The curriculum specifies learning goals for children. The curriculum's learning goals are objectives for children's development and learning across domains. Learning goals should be measurable and developmentally appropriate. Measurable learning goals focus on skills, behaviors, and knowledge that are observable; developmentally appropriate learning goals are consistent with well-established developmental progressions. Teachers should be able to use a curriculum's learning goals to individualize learning experiences for all children, such as children from diverse cultures, children who are dual language learners (DLLs), children who are learning tribal languages, and children with disabilities or other special needs.

Review Questions

Learning goals: Does the curriculum specify measurable, developmentally appropriate goals for children's learning and development?
- Are the goals supported by the learning experiences described in the curriculum?
- Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to use the learning goals to individualize learning experiences for all children?

Criterion 6

Ongoing Child Assessment

Review Questions

Ongoing observation and documentation: Does the curriculum promote ongoing observation and documentation of children's developmental progress?
Standardized and structured assessment instruments: Does the curriculum encourage the use of standardized and structured assessment instruments that are valid, reliable, and individually, culturally, and linguistically appropriate to assess children's developmental progress?

Criterion 7

Parent and Family Engagement

Review Questions

Communication with families: Does the curriculum offer culturally and linguistically responsive materials and strategies for communicating with parents and families about their children's development and the curriculum's learning experiences?
Engaging families: Does the curriculum offer suggestions for how to engage diverse parents and families in children's learning and development?

Criterion 8

Professional Development and Materials to Support Implementation

The curriculum offers professional development and materials to support implementation and continuous improvement. Professional development includes gaining the knowledge and skills required for effective implementation of a curriculum. Standardized training procedures include initial and ongoing training to support education staff as they learn to implement a curriculum with fidelity. Standardized training procedures provide consistent content and delivery methods across training sessions. Curriculum materials to support implementation include resources that come with a curriculum to help education staff understand how to use it. The materials may also include resources to help education managers and coaches support education staff to implement the curriculum effectively.

Review Questions

Professional development: Does the curriculum offer standardized initial training and ongoing professional development opportunities for program leaders and education staff?
Curriculum materials to support implementation: Does the curriculum include resources and tools to support fidelity of implementation and continuous improvement?

Criterion 9

Learning Experiences and Interactions

The curriculum promotes rich learning experiences and interactions to support development across domains. Rich learning experiences support and extend children's knowledge, understanding of concepts, and skills across domains. As children actively explore their learning environment by manipulating objects and investigating concepts, teachers interact with them to extend their exploration, thinking, and communication. The curriculum offers children ample opportunities to engage in hands-on exploration and provides teachers with guidance on how to extend children's exploration, thinking, and communication. Rich learning experiences should be culturally and linguistically responsive and inclusive of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs.

Review Questions

Active exploration: Does the curriculum encourage ample opportunity for preschool children to actively engage in hands-on exploration?
Interactions that extend children's learning: Does the curriculum provide guidance to teachers on how to engage in interactions that extend children's exploration, thinking, and communication?
Individualization: Does the curriculum provide guidance to teachers on how to individualize learning experiences for all children?

Criterion 10

Learning Environments and Routines

Review Questions

Environment: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to design well-organized, engaging indoor and outdoor environments that promote active exploration and support all children's development in the ELOF domains?
Learning materials: oes the curriculum come with or provide guidance on how to select developmentally appropriate learning materials that foster open-ended exploration and inquiry?
Schedule and routines: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to establish a daily schedule and developmentally appropriate routines?

Criterion 11

Cultural Responsiveness

Review Questions

Interactions: Does the curriculum support culturally responsive ways of interacting with diverse children and families?
Learning experiences: Does the curriculum encourage learning experiences for children that build on their families' traditions, culture, values, and beliefs?
Learning materials: Does the curriculum suggest how to use learning materials that authentically represent the cultures and ethnicities of children and families?

Criterion 12

Linguistic Responsiveness

Review Questions

Scaffolding strategies: Does the curriculum provide research-based scaffolding strategies to support the development and learning of children who are dual language learners?
Home and tribal languages: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to authentically incorporate children's home or tribal languages into the learning environment?

Criterion 13

Individualization for Children with Disabilities, Suspected Delays, or Other Special Needs

Review Questions

Teaching practices and interventions: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to embed research-based teaching practices and other interventions in daily routines and activities to support the development and learning of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs?
Learning environment: Does the curriculum include suggestions to ensure the physical environment and learning materials are accessible to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs?

Criterion 14

Individualization Based on Interests, Strengths, and Needs

Review Questions

Individualization based on interests: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to plan learning experiences that build on the interests of individual preschool children?
Individualization based on strengths and needs: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to make learning experiences responsive to individual children's strengths and needs?

Criteria for Family Child Care Curricula

Criteria for Family Child Care Curricula ******* Wed, 12/23/2020 - 17:05

Criterion 1

Evidence Base for Child Outcomes

Evidence from research demonstrates the curriculum has been associated with children's positive learning outcomes. The curriculum has been implemented and directly studied in early childhood programs. The research showed significant, positive effects on children's developmental outcomes. Evidence of effectiveness has been obtained in rigorous research studies, such as randomized controlled trials or regression discontinuity designs. Research studies on the curriculum have optimally included multiple, diverse groups of children and providers and educators.

Review Question

Child outcomes: Has the implementation of the curriculum been associated with children's positive learning outcomes?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Rigorous design: Has the curriculum been studied using a rigorous research design?
Sample and generalizability: Has the curriculum been studied with multiple samples representative of diverse children?
Training: How much training was delivered to providers and educators in the studies before implementing the curriculum?
Fidelity of implementation: Have studies of the curriculum assessed fidelity of implementation?

Criterion 2

Research-Based Curriculum

The curriculum provides research-based interactions and teaching practices to support children's development and learning. A research-based curriculum is consistent with studies on how children develop and learn. Specifically, it promotes interactions, teaching practices, and learning experiences that research has shown to be effective in supporting children's learning and development.

Review Question

Research-based interaction and teaching practices: Does the curriculum promote interactions, teaching practices, and learning experiences that research has shown to be effective in supporting positive child outcomes in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains? Is the curriculum culturally relevant, researched-based, and supportive of high quality care as stipulated in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Final Rule?

Criterion 3

Scope and Sequence

The curriculum includes an organized developmental scope and sequence to support children's development and learning. A scope and sequence outlines what the curriculum focuses on and how the plans and materials support children at different levels of development. The scope refers to the areas of development addressed by the curriculum. The sequence includes plans and materials for learning experiences that progressively build from less to more complex, with the goal of supporting children as they move through the developmental progressions. A content-rich curriculum ensures sequences of learning experiences include multiple, related opportunities for children to explore a concept or skill with increasing depth. Sequences of learning experiences should be flexible to respond to individual children's interests, strengths, and needs.

Review Questions

Scope: Does the curriculum include a clearly identifiable scope that addresses essential domains of learning and development for children?
Sequence: Does the curriculum include sequences of learning experiences that progressively build from less to more complex to support children as they move through the developmental progressions?
- Does the curriculum provide multiple, related opportunities to explore concepts or skills with increasing depth?
- Do the sequences of learning experiences allow for flexibility in moving through them based on the interests, strengths, and needs of individual children?

Criterion 4

Alignment with the ELOF

The curriculum is aligned with the ELOF and in consideration of the CCDF Final Rule regulations. Aligning a curriculum with the ELOF identifies the extent to which ELOF domains and sub-domains are addressed in the curriculum. Curricula that are fully aligned are comprehensive and cover all areas of children's learning and development described in the ELOF. The curriculum is culturally relevant, researched based, and supports high quality care as stipulated in the CCDF Final Rule.

Review Question

Alignment with the ELOF: Does the curriculum provide learning experiences to support children's development and learning in all ELOF domains and sub-domains?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Alignment with the CCDF: Is the curriculum culturally relevant, researched-based, and supportive of high quality care as stipulated in the CCDF Final Rule?

The guidance below from the CCDF Final Rule reflects the importance of high-quality child care in the development of children.

"Since 1996, a significant body of research has demonstrated the importance of early childhood development and how stable, high quality early experiences can positively influence that development and contribute to children's future."
"High quality child care respects and supports linguistic and cultural diversity of children and their families."
"State early learning and developmental guidelines should be research based and developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate."

Reference

Child Care and Development Fund, 45 CFR §98 (2016).

Criterion 5

Learning Goals for Children

The curriculum specifies learning goals for children. Learning goals are objectives for children's development and learning across multiple domains that are embedded in a curriculum. Developmentally appropriate learning goals are consistent with well-established developmental progressions. Measurable learning goals focus on observable skills, behaviors, and knowledge. Providers and educators should be able to use a curriculum's learning goals to individualize learning experiences for all children, such as children from diverse cultures, children who are dual language learners (DLLs), children who are tribal language learners, and children with disabilities or other special needs.

Review Questions

Learning goals: Does the curriculum specify measurable, developmentally appropriate goals for children's learning and development?
- Are the goals supported by the learning experiences described in the curriculum?
- Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to use the learning goals to individualize learning experiences for all children?
Learning materials: Does the curriculum come with or provide guidance on how to select developmentally appropriate learning materials that foster open-ended exploration and inquiry?

Criterion 6

Learning Environments and Routines for Children

The curriculum provides guidance on how to set up rich learning environments and developmentally appropriate routines. Rich learning environments are nurturing spaces that support the development of all young children. They offer developmentally appropriate schedules, routines, and indoor and outdoor opportunities for choice, play, exploration, and experimentation. Learning environments include age-appropriate equipment, materials, and supplies. They also reflect home cultures and are flexible to support the changing ages, interests, and characteristics of a group of children over time.

Review Questions

Environment: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to design well-organized, engaging indoor and outdoor environments that promote active exploration and support all children's development in the ELOF domains?
Schedule and routines: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to establish a flexible daily schedule centered around developmentally and individually appropriate caregiving routines?

Criterion 7

Ongoing Child Assessment

The curriculum provides guidance on ongoing child assessment. Ongoing child assessment is a process of gathering information to understand and support children's development over time.

It includes continued observation and documentation of children's development and learning. The curriculum describes a process for ongoing observation and documentation and provide supports for providers and educators to use this process.

Review Questions

Ongoing observation and documentation: Does the curriculum promote ongoing observation and documentation of children's developmental progress?
Standardized and structured assessment instruments: Does the curriculum encourage the use of standardized and structured assessment instruments that are valid, reliable, and individually, culturally, and linguistically appropriate to assess children's developmental progress?

Criterion 8

Parent and Family Engagement

The curriculum promotes parent and family engagement. Parent and family engagement is a collaborative and strengths-based process through which early childhood providers and educators, families, and children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and staff that is built on mutual respect for the roles and strengths each has to offer. The curriculum provides culturally and linguistically responsive strategies to communicate with families and to engage families in children's learning.

Review Questions

Communication with parents and families: Does the curriculum offer culturally and linguistically responsive materials or strategies for communicating with families about their children's development and the curriculum's learning experiences?
Engaging parents and families: Does the curriculum offer suggestions for how to engage diverse parents and families in children's learning and development?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Criterion 9

Learning Experiences and Interactions

The curriculum promotes rich learning experiences and interactions to support development across domains. Rich learning experiences support and extend children's skills, knowledge, and understanding of concepts. As children actively explore their learning environment through manipulating objects and investigating concepts, providers and educators interact with children to extend their exploration, thinking, and communication. Rich learning experiences are often integrated and support children's development across domains. They should be culturally responsive and linguistically responsive and inclusive of children with disabilities and other special needs.

Review Questions

Active exploration: Does the curriculum encourage ample opportunity for children to engage in movement and active exploration?
Interactions that extend children's learning: Does the curriculum offer guidance to providers and educators on how to engage in interactions that extend children's learning?
Individualization: Does the curriculum include guidance to providers and educators on how to individualize learning experiences for all children?

Criterion 10

Cultural Responsiveness

The curriculum supports cultural responsiveness. Cultural responsiveness is a strengths-based approach to teaching and caregiving rooted in respect and appreciation for the role of culture in children's learning and development. A culturally responsive curriculum prompts providers and educators to learn about each child's strengths, abilities, experiences, and interests as developed within the child's family and culture. The curriculum provides guidance on how to modify and enhance curriculum plans and materials to build on these strengths, abilities, experiences, and interests to incorporate each child's culture into the classroom.

Review Questions

Interactions: Does the curriculum support culturally responsive ways of interacting with diverse children and families?
Learning experiences: Does the curriculum encourage caregiving routines and learning experiences for children that build on families' traditions, cultures, values, and beliefs?
Learning materials: Does the curriculum suggest how to use learning materials that authentically represent the cultures and ethnicities of children and families?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Criterion 11

Linguistic Responsiveness

Review Questions

Linguistic responsiveness: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to intentionally support the development and learning of children who are dual or tribal language learners?
Scaffolding strategies: Does the curriculum provide research-based scaffolding strategies to support the development and learning of children who are DLLs?
Home and tribal languages: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to authentically incorporate children's home and tribal languages into the learning environment?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Criterion 12

Individualized for Children with Disabilities, Suspected Delays, or Other Special Needs

The curriculum provides guidance on how to individualize for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. Individualization for children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs includes providing more specialized supports for children to access and participate in learning and social experiences and activities. Specialized supports may occur in a variety of ways, such as specific teaching practices and ways of interacting with children or adaptations to daily schedules and the learning environment. Individualizing for children with disabilities or other special needs enables all children to access, participate, and thrive in early learning settings.

Review Questions

Teaching practices and interventions: Does the curriculum provide guidance on how to embed research-based teaching practices and other interventions in daily routines and learning experiences to support the development and learning of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs?

Learning environment: Does the curriculum include suggestions to ensure the physical environment and learning materials are accessible to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs?

Other Information Included in the Review Summaries

Criterion 13

Individualization Based on Interests, Strengths, and Needs

The curriculum offers guidance on how to individualize based on children's interests, strengths, and needs. Individualization is a process of planning and implementing learning experiences that are responsive to each child's interests, strengths, and needs. Providers and educators reflect on their observations of each child, then plan the most effective ways to support each child's learning and development. When learning experiences are tailored to children's interests, they are more engaging and meaningful. Because children may vary in their developmental progressions, it is also important for providers and educators to plan learning experiences that are responsive to individual children's strengths and needs.

Review Questions

Individualization based on interests: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to plan learning experiences that build on the interests of individual children?
Individualization based on strengths and needs: Does the curriculum offer guidance on how to make learning experiences responsive to individual children's strengths and needs?
Mixed Age groups: Does the curriculum offer guidance on supporting learning within mixed age groups?

Criterion 14

Professional Development Materials to Support Implementation

The curriculum offers professional development and materials to support implementation and continuous improvement. Professional development includes gaining the knowledge and skills required for effective implementation of a curriculum. Standardized training procedures include initial and ongoing training to support education staff as they learn to implement a curriculum with fidelity. They provide consistent content and delivery methods across training sessions. Curriculum materials to support implementation include resources that come with a curriculum to help education staff understand how to use it. The materials might also include resources to help education managers and coaches support education staff to implement the curriculum effectively. Professional development and materials to support implementation and continuous improvement should be designed to support providers and educators with a range of backgrounds and learning styles.

Review Questions

Professional development: Does the curriculum offer standardized initial training and ongoing professional development opportunities for program leaders and education staff?
Curriculum materials to support implementation: Does the curriculum include resources or tools to support fidelity of implementation and continuous improvement?