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. Learning goals are measurable and focused on 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 DLLs, children who are tribal language learners, and children with disabilities or other special needs.
What do the ratings mean?
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Full Evidence
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Moderate Evidence
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Minimal Evidence
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No Evidence
Curriculum
Review
The Creative Curriculum® for Family Child Care, 3rd Edition
Full Review & Ratings Learning Goals: Volume 3: Objectives for Development & Learning provides specific, measurable, and developmentally appropriate goals for children's learning and development. These goals are supported by learning experiences described throughout the curriculum. Volume 1: The Foundation also provides guidance for using observations, interests, temperament, and culture as tools for supporting individualization during lesson planning, daily routines, and organizing the environment.
Learning Materials: Volume 1: The Foundation provides guidance on selecting developmentally appropriate learning materials (e.g., Organizing Your Home and Your Day-Setting Up Your Home). Volume 2: Routines and Experiences offers guidance on routines and experiences, as well as choosing materials. Intentional Teaching Cards and Mighty Minutes provide guidance on ways to extend learning and adapt to the needs of children, including children who are DLLs and children with disabilities.
The Gee Whiz Curriculum for Family Child Care
Full Review & Ratings Learning Goals: The curriculum provides learning goals that are developmentally appropriate. Language, creative arts, and fine motor experiences are embedded in the curriculum with some examples of literacy, math, science, gross motor, and social and emotional activities. For example, the Awesome Opposites and Rockin' Rhyme units embed learning goals that are developmentally appropriate and support learning (e.g. Exploring Together; Wow! That's Hot!; Who Jumped Over the Moon?; How Fast Can You?). Resources for developmental goals are mentioned, but provider knowledge is an important element in using the tools provided for goal-setting. The curriculum provides some guidance to support providers in gaining this knowledge in its introductory materials. The User's Guide discusses individualizing the curriculum and Customized/Individual Lesson Plan and Individualization Web in monthly units support individualized planning. However, the curriculum lacks measurable, sequential learning goals with specific scaffolding guidance to support children in reaching goals within daily activities.
Learning Materials: The Gee Whiz Curriculum for Family Child Care provides activities with a developmentally appropriate set of materials included. A list of learning materials that foster open-ended exploration and inquiry are included throughout the curriculum (e.g., "Warm and Cold Water Play" lists strainers, ladles, funnels, bowls, plastic cooking spoons, etc. in the Awesome Opposites unit). The User's Guide provides an overview of how activities within the monthly units address developmental areas. For daily lessons and activities, a chart shows the developmental areas addressed by the activities for the day using picture codes. Teacher Guides in monthly units provide an overview of the “Program Symbols for Development” for providers to remember what picture code represents a developmental area. (e.g., question mark for Logic and reasoning, heart for Social and Emotional Development, and books for Literacy Knowledge). However, the curriculum lacks consistent support for children who are DLLs.