Curriculum Approach

As a person entering the educational field for the first time I feel that the method that

would help me learn, while I teach would be the Montessori Method because of its strictness.

According to, (Krafft, & Berk, 1998) Observations of 3-to-5-year olds were made during free-

choice periods in a Montessori and a traditional (play-oriented) program. Consistent with

Vygotskys theory that make-believe play serves, as a vital context for the development of self-

regulation, the incidence of private speech was much higher during open-ended activities,

especially fantasy play, that require children to determine the goal of the task, than during

closed-ended tasks with predetermined goals. The Montessori Method not only provides a strict

curriculum but also provides direction, support, and instructional resources so that I can focus on

learning the classroom, the children, and their development, so I can learn to be a better educator

in the future. According to, (Jaruszewicz, 2012) Montessori classrooms are orderly and clam,

and the environment is carefully organized and sequenced. The classroom is characterized by

three primary areas: practical life, sensory materials, and academic materials for reading, writing,

and mathematics. Montessori children are free to move about the classroom but must stay on

their chosen tasks and use only materials that the teacher has introduced or demonstrated. The

Montessori approach teaches children independence and life skills, things that are important in

everyday life. These activities include use of the five senses, kinetic movement, spatial

refinement, small, and large motor skill coordination, and concrete knowledge that leads to later

abstraction (Montessorimom, 2001). I like that everything is formed around the childs needs

which is the way it is supposed to be. After learning my job however, and I feel comfortable in

my new profession, although it is hard to transition from the Montessori method, I would like to
try another approach that aligns more with my own way of teaching. I feel the approach that

closely matches my soon to be teaching philosophy would be the creative curriculum approach.

The children are able to move from one interest area to another throughout the learning day,

while learning independently and making decisions during large blacks of center-based-play

(Zaur, & Simmons, 2014). I chose this approach, simply because it allows more room for the

educator to tweak the curriculum a bit to help individual students, and allows more hands on

activities. In this classroom, the teacher works hard to create a warm and welcoming

environment that encourages the children to feel safe, valued and welcomed in order to foster

their self-confidence (Zaur, & Simmons, 2014). I believe that the creative curriculum approach

would be an effective model doe early childhood education. According to, (Jaruszewicz, 2012),

provides teachers with ideas about the kinds of materials considered appropriate for those hands

on activities. The creative curriculum approach helps to educate teachers, that before you can

truly engage a child in

learning activities/concepts,

their social/emotional needs

need to be met first.

Because interest areas

include a wide range of

materials and equipment,

they are flexible enough to

support children at different

levels of development and

provide successful learning

experiences for typically developing children as well as children with developmental delays and

those who are cognitively advanced (Estes, & Krough, 2012, sec. 4.5).

I also believe that no child learns the same way or at the same rate, due to this I would

choose differentiation as my first approach to teaching. I feel this is the best way to adjust a

lesson plan for all types of children; typical, atypical, or gifted. This approach is great because no

two children are alike, they all require their own approach to learning. Differentiation will allow

me to cater all lessons to each individual student. Differentiation will be extremely effective

because the student who are struggling will be able to understand their lesson better. By utilizing

this approach, these lessons will be based on the students personal learning profiles, interests,

and readiness levels (Powell & Driver, 2013). According to, (Powell & Driver, 2013, sec. 7.3)

The exceptional abilities that gifted students display tend to fall into the categories of creative

thinking, general intellectual ability, leadership ability, psychomotor ability, specific academic

ability, visual and performing arts ability. These students will use acceleration to work through

materials at a faster pace than other students. Acceleration has been proven to provide a

challenging curriculum to students who are advanced. Students may be expected to challenge

themselves with enrichment. These activities will go into more depth than typical lessons.

(Powell & Driver, 2013). Rather than giving these students more work their coursework can be

modified to be more challenging, thus taking the same amount of time to complete as the other

students. Children are influenced by everything around them. They grow, develop, and learn

based on their environment, culture, family, peers, and experiences. As educators or future

educators like myself, we should encourage our youth to explore the world around them, be kind

to others, and learning can be fun.

 References:

Estes, L.S., & Krogh, S. L. (2012). Pathways to teaching young children: An introduction to

early childhood education. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Jaruszewicz, C. (2013). Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. Retrieved

from: https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUECE311.13.1

Krafft, K. C., & Berk, L. E. (1998). Private speech in two preschools: Significance of open-

ended activities and make-believe play for verbal self-regulation Early Childhood

Research Quarterly, 13(4), 637-658.

Montessorimom, (2001). What is the Montessori Method? Retrieved from:

http://www.montessorimom.com/what-montessori-method/

Powell, S. R. & Driver, M. K. (2013). Working with exceptional students: An introduction to

special education. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Zaur, J., & Simmons, J. (2014). A tale of five classrooms [Interactivity]. Ashford University,

College of Education, San Diego, CA