12 Curriculum Models
Curriculum Models provide a framework to organize planning experiences for children. In previous chapters, the planning cycle has been introduced and in accordance with best practices, the models identified in this chapter represent a variety of ways to use the planning cycle within these models.
Bank Street Model
Lucy Sprague Mitchell founded Bank Street, an Integrated Approach also referred to as the Developmental-Interactionist Approach.
In this model, the environment is arranged into learning centers and planning is organized by the use of materials within the learning areas (centers).
- Art
- Science
- Sensory/Cooking
- Dramatic Play
- Language/Literacy
- Math/Manipulative/Blocks
- Technology
- Outdoors: Water and Sand Play
The Bank Street Model of curriculum represents the ideology of Freud, Erikson, Dewey, Vygotsky, and Piaget. This model draws upon the relationship between psychology and education. By understanding developmental domains and creating interest centers with materials that promote specific areas of development, children’s individual preferences and paces of learning are the focus.
“A teacher’s knowledge and understanding of child development is crucial to this approach. Educational goals are set in terms of developmental processes and include the development of competence, a sense of autonomy and individuality, social relatedness and connectedness, creativity and integration of different ways of experiencing the world”.[1]
Creative Curriculum Model (Diane Trister Dodge)
In the Creative Curriculum model, the focus is primarily on children’s play and self-selected activities. The Environment is arranged into learning areas and large blocks of time are given for self-selected play. This model focuses on project-based investigations as a means for children to apply skills and addresses four areas of development: social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language.
The curriculum is designed to foster development of the whole child through teacher-led, small and large group activities centered around 11 interest areas:
- blocks
- dramatic play
- toys and games
- art
- library
- discovery
- sand and water
- music and movement
- cooking
- computers
- outdoors.
The commercial curriculum provides teachers with details on child development, classroom organization, teaching strategies, and engaging families in the learning process. Child assessments are an important part of the curriculum, but must be purchased separately. Online record-keeping tools assist teachers with the maintenance and organization of child portfolios, individualized planning, and report production.[2]
High Scope Model (David Weikert)
The High Scope Model focuses on developing learning centers similar to the Bank Street Model and emphasizes key experiences for tracking development. The key experiences are assessed using a Child Observation Record for tracking development and include areas of:
- Creative Representation
- Initiative
- Social Rela