his assignment is the culminating project for ECH 395. Since a draft was submitted last week, you must incorporate any feedback given to you by your instructor prior to submitting the final draft.
The completed assignment must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of effective learning environments for young children. Students will complete their previously expanded and submitted designs to picture a developmentally appropriate learning environment grounded in early childhood theory. This design should include all the necessary components per the ECERS criteria.
There are two parts to the Applied Design Project: (1) the design and the (2) the written narrative.
The design must picture an early childhood learning environment including a classroom and outside area. The design must include:
a hand-written/designed plan on a paper/poster big enough to show all the elements of your design.
a key (if necessary)
typed labels and descriptions prepared as a PowerPoint, Floor Planner, or other computer-generated documents.
designs should be submitted as images in such a way that all aspects of the design can be seen clearly.
design includes:
furniture/storage arrangement
displays (where children’s art work get hung, parent communication board, etc)
large/small group areas
learning centers
Most importantly, the design must demonstrate and incorporate a firm knowledge of the practical application of design principles for both typically and atypically developing children.
The written narrative describing their design will be a comprehensive (5 pages) document that will include:
A name for the classroom
Ages of children served and size of the group
A description of the major elements depicted in the environment.
Major aspects of the design should be discussed, with information from the text incorporated to support the design choices provided in multiple areas including:
The overall influence of design (what was the inspiration? What philosophy might your design be based upon (Reggio, Waldorf, Montessori, a Christian Based program, a traditional preschool, etc). (1 page)
Why is your design developmentally appropriate? Use your text to support your design choice. You should use theories to support your design. (1 page)
Brief description of your learning centers with reference to basic materials. (1 page)
Discuss the non-tangible elements of your design (color, lighting, noise, air, etc.) and their importance to your design. What feeling/culture do you hope your design inspires children and families entering your space? (1 page)
How did you plan for children with disabilities, diverse populations, families, teachers, and support staff? (1 page)
Reflection: what did you enjoy most from this experience/assignment and what was the most challenging? (1 paragraph)
For information about the assessment of this assignment, view the rubric below.
APA requirements for this assignment are as follows: Title page (no headings need to be included); pages numbered; overall APA formatting with one-inch margins, double spacing, and recommended font. No reference page is required if you only use your course texts. Please cite any outside sources appropriately if you use them.
notes back from teacher –
draft is looking good! Before you submit the final, just be sure to check the rubric to be sure you all have required elements in the paper and the design. One thing for sure you want to do is separate the indoor and outdoor designs onto two separate documents 🙂
