Hello, I’m Marie Russell, the program chair of Child Studies in Early Childhood Education. And I’d like to tell you a bit about the exploration form that you have in your course, this term. Now, an exploration form is a type of discussion board, but it’s one in which you’re great solely on your participation. It’s truly your chance to explore the topics in the unit. You’re not going to be assessed on what you say, the length of your post the day of the week that you post it, nor will your grammar spelling or punctuation be created. It’s really and truly a time for you to think about the topics. Think about the assigned reading that you’ve done for the unit, the videos that you’ve watched, read the assignments in the journals in the course, Then use this the week of the unit to talk about those things. Your posts in the form, importantly to throughout the week, lock in and read what others are saying. We find that students really benefit from learning from one another by sharing their perspectives and experiences. Also, you’ll have an opportunity to learn from your instructors as they also contribute to the conversation. Now, a couple of other things to keep in mind with this. When you post, make sure that you’re always posting your own thoughts and ideas. It’s certainly in no way acceptable to submit anyone else’s work. These are questions that really are asking you to think about your own reactions, experiences, ask questions and just build your own knowledge around the topic. Be honest in how you present yourself. It’s certainly fine to quote something or to share a resource, paraphrase something that you’ve read. But in those cases, you must tell us where you got the information. That is something that is required, of course, in all of our courses, and there’s no exception for that in the exploration form. You will have the opportunity, in the event that you miss a post in a given week, to go back to units and read and contribute to a conversation. If you’re making up work from one of the previous two units, the most you can earn in points at that time is ten points. In any form, you’re welcome to post as often as you like. You can always go back and look at the various units and read through the forms. But the idea is for you to really participate actively in the active unit. So that you can use any insights during that time to help with the assignments and deepen your learning for the week. You’ll also notice in our courses that in child studies, most of them are set up as a single thread. Which means that instead of starting a new discussion form, you simply hit reply to the prompt that’s there. Your reply will go to the end of the thread. In that way you’re reading along as if it’s one conversation. Now you may find there’s something that someone has said or shared that you want to comment on. You can certainly click reply after something that they’ve written and your reply would appear under the related prompt. Those can be gathered together through a filtering on your discussion board. But otherwise, you can just think of it as a conversation that has a beginning and people contributing and just growing organically as the week progresses. Now if you have any questions about this, please reach out to your instructor. But I do encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from what I hope you’ll find is a beneficial experience. Thank you.
The Exploration Forum is a chance to discuss any topics related to this unit or the course. It is an opportunity to think about how the concepts we cover relate to you and your work as an early childhood practitioner. It allows you to express your thoughts, expand your thinking, gain knowledge and perspective, share and view resources, and gather ideas about approaching the course assignments. Think of this as “practice time,” where you ponder, apply, and make connections while earning points based solely on participation.
There are no assigned topics or questions to answer and no length requirement. While you should use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation, your grade will be based solely on participation.
Unit 3 Reading Assignment – Chapter 10
Gordon, A. M., & Browne, K. W. (2017). Beginnings & beyond: Foundations in early childhood education (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
Chapter 10 explores ways to build meaningful content that supports learning in context.
- Chapter 10: Creating a Context for Learning
Course Resources
Websites:
You will need to review these websites for your Journal assignment. They will help inform your understanding of the many factors that must be considered when creating a positive and compelling context for learning
- Bank Street
- Champions of Early Learning
- Creative Curriculum
- Desired Results for Children and Families
- Montessori
- NAREA
- Waldorf Education
Textbook PowerPoints:
- Gordon_BeginningsandBeyond_11e_PPT_CH10.pptx Gordon_BeginningsandBeyond_11e_PPT_CH10.pptx – Alternative Formats
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