Final Project Scenario:

The educational setting in which you work  will be holding an open house to recruit prospective early childhood teachers to work at your center. As the administrator, you have been tasked with developing a presentation for potential employees to help them understand the vision of your center which is “Developing the Whole Child by Becoming the Whole Teacher” and the five core values of your center or school: Practice Intentional Teaching, Incorporate Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Develop an Integrated Curriculum, Encourage Child-Centered Active Learning, and Focus on Teaching Happiness and Joy in Learning as Much as Skills. In your presentation you will explain this as the philosophy of your center or school by providing specific examples that focus on each of your five core values:

• Mission Statement (2 points):
  • Develop a mission statement for your education setting that embraces the five core values of becoming the Whole Teacher, social justice, and ethical practice. Support your mission statement with NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct (Links to an external site.).
• Philosophy Statement (2 points):
  • Create your philosophy statement regarding how you believe children learn, including the leadership traits you believe are needed and how your center or school aligns with your philosophy. Refer back to your work and the feedback you received in the Week One Discussion forum, Week Two Discussion One forum, Week Four Assignment and Week Five Assignment to guide the development of your philosophy statement.
• Practice Intentional Teaching (3 points):
  • Explain how you will implement an anti-bias curriculum in order to meet the needs of all learners. Refer back to your work in Week Two to assist with this.
  • Discuss the expectations you have for your staff regarding professional development including 21st century learning, current issues, theories, trends, and research related to child development and developmentally appropriate practices.
• Incorporate Developmentally Appropriate Practice (3 points):
  • Explain how you evaluate the effective implementation of developmentally appropriate strategies in the classroom for play, transitions, and disruptions. Refer back to your Week Three Assignment to assist with this.
  • Discuss how the center or school specifically focuses on children as active participants rather than passive recipients of information. Support your discussion with NAEYC’s Position Statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth to Age 8
• Develop an Integrated Curriculum (3 points):
  • Summarize your expectations for developing an integrated curriculum that incorporates both research-based and developmentally appropriate lessons across all the developmental domains. Refer back to your work in the Week Four Discussion Two forum to assist with this.
  • Explain, using examples, how your school or center incorporates Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (Links to an external site.) to develop an integrated curriculum that meets the needs of all learners. Make sure to support your examples with current research.
• Encourage Child-Centered Active Learning (3 points):
  • Discuss your expectations for designing a classroom environment that is based on developmentally appropriate strategies and tools to promote optimal cognitive development and learning in young children.  Make sure to include a copy of the classroom you designed for your Week Four Assignment.
  • Explain the curriculum approach you use and how it supports child-centered active learning and aligns with your philosophy.
• Focus on Teaching Happiness and Joy in Learning as Much as Skills (3 points):
  • Explain your expectations for engaging in self-reflection in order to foster the development of 21st century knowledge and skills.  Refer back to your Week Five Assignment to assist with this.
  • Analyze how your philosophy of teaching promotes teaching happiness and joy in learning and the leadership role you will take when fostering the professional knowledge and skills of your employees in this area.