Execution has to do with how the Learning Experiences are offered to the children or how the learning is delivered to them. The two basic (but HUGE) elements of Execution are the Human Factor and Developmentally Appropriate Practice or DAP.
Most of the best theories and virtually all research on child development and learning completed in recent time, stress the importance of the human factor in assisting children to grow and learn in the best ways. The Gesell Institute says, “healthy development depends on the quality and reliability of a young child’s relationships with the important people in his or her life, both within and outside the family. Even the development of a child’s brain architecture depends on the establishment of these relationships. Young children experience their world as an environment of relationships, and these relationships affect virtually all aspects of their development”.
I Do It My Way – I follow a curricular continuum that explains each step of the early learning/teaching process. It begins with Evidence – the proven facts of child development; moves to the Expectations – the educational objectives we have for each child’s learning; continues to the Environment for learning, which I contend is Physical, Emotional, and Educational Safety; describes the Experiences teachers need to offer and the Execution or delivery of those experiences; and culminates with Evaluation or assessment of each child’s learning and of a program itself.
I am reviewing the curricular continuum to stress that the Human Factor has to be present not just during child-teacher interactions, but the aspects of philosophy, attitude, and action need to be taken into account throughout the whole curricular process from Evidence to Evaluation.
The Components of the Human Factor are:
- The Teacher, in knowledge, committment, and involvement
- The Positive Emotional Environment of safety the teacher creates and maintains
- The involvement and participation level of each Individual Child
- The Learning Community, including parents, administrators, teacher, & children
Next Blog: The Human Factor 2 – The Environment, The Child, The Community
Teach 'Em the Way They Learn 