Diploma Programme

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Review of early childhood development theories.
2. Presentation of ideas of Friedrich Froebel, Rudolph Steiner, and Maria Montessori.
3. Sociology of children.
4. Comparative education through study of two countries (India, USA, Canada, Australia).
5. Conversion on the Right of the child.
6. Sri Lanka’s13th Amendment and education reform of 1997.
7. Responsibilities regarding ECCD of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Women’s affairs, and the Children’s Secretariat.
8. Sri Lanka laws on child abuse, child labor, child custody, illegal drug use, trafficking, and childhood immunizations.
9. Role of UNICEF and international NGOs in preschoolprogramme.
10. Research methods to be used in project with emphasis on action research
11. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
12. Reports on assignment and presentation.

1. To relate the participants’ knowledge and attitudes about children to a broader understanding of child development theory and research.
2. To improve the participants’ practice and skills as preschool teachers based on knowledge and experiences gained in the class.
3. To managing early childhood Development programs and service with emphasis on community-based activities.

1. Express and encourage participants to develop their own personal philosophy of ECCD based on theory and practice.
2. Explain the various influences that affect a child’s growth and development.
3. Illustrate the greater understanding of the ECCD situation in Sri Lanka.

1. Contact hours – 5(S) x 6 hours = 30 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 25WD x 4 hours = 100 hours
3. Interview two different sponsors of preschool and write a brief paper on their similarities and differences. Choose from the following sponsors; Local NGO, Local government, religious group, community group and private group.
4. With a partner discuss the implications from the preschool survey for early childhood education in Sri Lanka. Write down your five primary conclusions and he ready to present the in class.
5. The convention on the right of the Child states that children have a right to protection, participation and non-discrimination. Give example of three local situations where one of these principles has not been upheld. (Example; gender, religion, social origin or ethnicity).
6. Review the preschool field survey administered by the ECCD department at Eastern University. Find out the average age of teachers in the sample, the average salary, the range of salaries, the number of children enrolled by age, the teacher / child ratio and at least eight other facts that you think are significant.

1. Academic Assignment – 25WD x 2 hours = 50 hours
2. Start writing a journal every day (1 hour per week) to record feelings and thoughts about class presentation, preschool classroom activities, community activities, mentoring activities, field work / academic assignment, and any special behaviors or concerns from your observation of children.
3. Write a brief proposal for an action research project. The proposal will need to be approved by the course co-ordinator before you begin any research.
4. Work is in progress on a Sri Lanka policy on ECCD. Name and explain five factors that you think should be included in the policy.
5. Collect articles from newspapers regarding Sri Lanka laws dealing with children. Write your reaction to the articles and bring to class.
6. Journal Preparation – 20 hours

Total Notional hours – 200 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment – 5 assignment (5 Sundays – 50 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to15% (84) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Miriam Stoppard, 2002.  Baby and Child Healthcare.
2. Kumar, R. 1998. Child Development in India: Health Welfare and Management, Volume I and II.
3. Rae Pica, 1987 Experiences in Movement.
4. Anne Yelland, 2005. Your Baby’s First 18 Months.
5. Training Manual on Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development.  UNICEF. 2007
6. Nutrition: Problems and What We Can Do.   UNICEF. 2006
7. Participatory Nutrition Improvement Project.  UNICEF. 2006.
8. Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume I. (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2008).
9. National Association for the Education of Young Children, NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards (Washington, DC: Author, 2008). (Accessed November 30, 2008).

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Review of first aid.
2. Common health problems of children locally and nationally.
3. Ideas on maturational theory according to ArnoldGessell.
4. Raising children’s awareness of good nutrition.
5. Growth monitoring.
6. Factors that influence a child’s rate of develop.
7. Physiology of digestion and implication for mealtimes and food quality.
8. Importance of movement experience for child’s development.
9. Children’s games to promote fine muscle and gross motor development.
10. Relationship between health and physical development, and children’s clothing.
11. Communicating health messages to parents and the community.
12. Helping children form goods habits.
13. Discussion of classroom activities.
14. Discussion of issues in mentoring activities.
15. Reports on assignments and presentation.

1. To develop skills to identify factors that promote healthy and safe environments and to implement appropriate practices in the classroom.
2. To plan activities to disseminate health and safely information to parents and the community.
3. To integrating health, nutrition, and other allied service in the program and service and cultivate in children good habits, self-care ability and a healthy life-style.
4. To develop a healthy life-style by cultivating good habits and awareness in matters of personal and public hygiene.

1. Interpret the participants’ understanding of good health as related to other development aspects.
2. Enhance skills of participants in diagnosing minor health problems, performing growth monitoring, and implementing preventive health practices.
3. Identify and implement movement activities with children ages 3 – 5 years.

1. Contact hours – 5(S) x 6 hours = 30 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 25WD x 4 hours = 100 hours
3. Interview 3 parents of children in your class. Discuss their children’s sleeping habits. Find out how long they sleep and if they wake up during the night. Find out if they have bedtime rituals and how long it takes them to fall asleep. Bring your notes to class.
4. Interview a mother of a newborn, healthy child. Find out what she did during her pregnancy that she thinks contributed to the health of the child. Bring your notes to class.
5. Plant two or three vegetables in the schoolyard to help the children learn about nutrition. Ask some of the parents to help with the garden. Take photographs or draw pictures to show the progress of the plants’ growth.
6. Interview 5 parents about the clothing in which their children are the most comfortable and the reasons that the children dress as they do for preschool.
7. Design and make a drawing of an item of safe playground equipment that can be made from available materials. Present your ideas in class.
8. Make a drawing of your playground and school yard. Draw in existing equipment and then draw in equipment designed by your classmates that would work for your children. Think about safety, flow of children, maintenance and appearance.

1. Academic Assignment – 25WD x 2 hours = 50 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Observe the behavioral patterns of children and adults during any religious or cultural function at home. Reason out or correlate the practices in relation to aspects of health and present your ideas in a paper.
4. Weigh and measure the children in your preschool class. Record this information along with the child’s birth date. Analyses the statistics referencing a Sri Lanka growth chart. Update information monthly to monitor the children’s growth.

1. Journal Preparation – 20 hours

Total Notional hours – 200 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment – 5 assignment (5 Sundays – 50 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to15% (84) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Eileen Allen. K, and Lynn, R. Marotz, 2002 Development Profile Birth to six.
2. Tandon, R.K., and Sudarshan, K.N., 1999 Directory and Handbook of Children.
3. Lefrancois, R.,2001 Off Children: An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Development.
4. Conversation with Families: Participatory Resrarch Handbook, Save the Children and UNICEF.2005
5. Play that is not Play, NEP, Save the Children and UNICEF.2006
6. Marion Molteno, Starting Young, 2000. Save the Children/UK
7. The young Child in the South Pacific Family, University of the South Pacific.2001
8. Jack McCubbin, M.D, 2005. Your Baby before Birth.
9. Karen Miller, 1997. Ages and Stages.
10. Brain Development Booklet,2000. Sarvodaya.
11. Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning, 2nd ed. (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2007).

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Scientific relationship between music and brain development and academic performance.
2. Information on vibration/sound waves and application for preschool music experiences.
3. Information on light waves/magnification and application for preschool visual arts experience.
4. Five senses and a general aesthetic sense.
5. Identifying and promoting creativity among young children.
6. Learning potential in teacher-made material.
7. Learning potential in children’s arts and creative construction.
8. Discussion of classroom activities.
9. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
10. Reports on assignment and presentation.

1. To build confidence and skills in offering a range of creative activities in the classroom.
2. To learn about the many uses of items from the environment for fostering creativity and promote using open-ended question to encourage children’s creativity.
3. To stimulate children’s creative and imaginative powers, and encourage them to enjoy participating in creative works.
4. To appreciate the beauty of nature and works of art experience different cultures and develop diversified visions and develop creativity.

1. Describeandorganize of aesthetic sense and creativity among young children.   
2. Generate skills and knowledge of participants to promote creative development of children.  
3. Choose the importance of aesthetic sense and creativity on an individual and societal level. 

1. Contact hours – 3(S) x 6 hours = 18 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 15WD x 4 hours = 60 hours
3. Play or sing various kinds of music (different tempos, different volumes, and different styles) to an infant and watch for the reactions in terms of experiences and movement. Do the same for a 3 year old child and watch for reactions as well as verbal responses. Write a one-page paper on how you think music affects children.
4. Walk around the community or village with your preschool class to look for creative expressions. Make a list of at least 15 examples and bring it to class. (Examples: art on temple walls, carving on doors, designs in fabrics).
5. List 8 sources or materials in your community or village for creative project and experiences in your classroom. Bring list to class.
6. Bring 5 learning activities created from recycled materials for a class display.
7. Develop and present a program to educate families about the creative process. Be ready to report on it in class. Take photographs if possible.
8. Work with partner to discuss your attitudes toward creative children. Decide if your attitude encourages creativity or discourage creativity. Take notes on the discussion and be ready to discuss main ideas in class.

1. Academic Assignment – 15WD x 2 hours = 30 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Make a study on traditional lullabies in different communities and analysis common characteristics.
4. Make a study on the influence of electronic media in enhancing the aesthetic sense of young children.
5. Identify three young children whom you assess as creative. Think what criteria you used to identify them and study them closely. Write a document under the title, “Identifying Creative Children.”
6. Do case studies on three popular musicians, artists, sculptors, and/or potters and identify common features in their childhood.
7. “Environment is one main factor that promotes creativity.” Make a study to justify the above statement.
8. Make a collection of children’s song on a diskettes and assess them for popularity among children from different environment.
9. Study environment that foster artists skills and sense among young children. Write a brief paper or prepare an oral presentation to give in class.
10. Study a group of children of ages 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5 years for their development of expressive skill in handing clay (processed mud). Summaries your ideas in a report.

1. Journal Preparation – 12 hours
2. Field Study – 30 hours

Total Notional hours – 150 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment –3 assignment (3 Sundays – 30 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to09% (50) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Mary Mayesky, 2001. Creative activities for young children.
2. Rae Pica, 1999. Experiences in Movement.
3. Play in that not Play (NEP, Save the Children, UNICEF. 2000
4. Training manual on Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development UNICEF. 2001.
5. Students by Ethnicity State of California, 2006 (Sacramento: California Department of Education, (Accessed May 28, 2008).
6. Children Now, California Report Card 2006–2007: The State of the State’s Children. (Accessed July 14, 2008).
7. Children Now, California Report Card 2007–2008: The State of the State’s Children.(accessed July 14, 2008).

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Trace the history of individual with disabilities in Sri Lanka and how perspectives have changed over Time.
2. Vulnerable children such as street children and orphans.
3. Indicators of specific disabilities.
4. Inclusionary practices in the Preschool.
5. Ideas of Erick Erickson and Susan Isaacs.
6. Social/cultural perspective in child-rearing and their influence on children in preschool.
7. Physiology of strong emotions.
8. Counseling parents and children.
9. Technique for handling deviant behavior and reinforcing positive behavior.
10. Play as a therapeutic technique for the young child.
11. Specific activities for social-emotional development.
12. Using leisure time to promote wellbeingfor teachers and children.
13. Discussion of classroom activities.
14. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
15. Reports on assignments and presentation.
16. Examination covering module.

1. To understand children’s individual differences, and both the generality and uniqueness of children’s development, in order to cater for each individual’s needs.
2. To encourage and help children understand their thinking and emotions, and express their feelings and needs through appropriate use of language and non-linguistic means.
3. To foster in children positive attitudes towards people and an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of individuals in the family, school, society and country.
4. To learn guidance technique to encourage positive behavior.

1. Employandselect of the findings of relevant psychologists and educationist on mental, emotional, physical development of children.
2. Explain the process of social skill development in young children and its importance.
3. Recognize familiar with natural characteristics as well as deviant behavior of children of 3 – 5 years old through skilled observation.
4. Examine familiar and comfortable in responding to children with special needs and to their families. 
5. Inspectprogramme for the 3 – 5 age group that help children to overcome emotional imbalances.

1. Contact hours – 5(S) x 6 hours = 30 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 25WD x 4 hours = 100 hours
3. Choose a child in your class that is having a development delay in some area. Make an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for the next two months. Include activities and short term goals to support his development. Devise a way of tracking his progress.
4. Visit a children’s institution or a special school. Interview adults to find out how the children are cared for. Ask the adult if he/she thinks the institution is the best setting for the child. Write down your three recommendations to improve the lives of the children in the institution.
5. Observe a small group of preschool children playing. Make a list of 10 behaviors that you see.
6. Children sometimes are upset or cry when unfamiliar visitors come to visit the preschool. Devise three strategies to help prepare them for visitors. Make a poster with illustrations and brief text to explain your strategies.

1. Academic Assignment – 25WD x 2 hours = 50 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Study a sample of preschool age children (2.5 – 5 years) for special disabilities such as; hearing impairment, vision impairment, physically handicapped, mentally handicapped, or affected by socio-economic conditions of the family. Identify facilities (government or NGO organizations) available in the area to direct these children for treatment.
4. Set up mixed groups (boys and girls, disabled and typically developing, ethically different, etc.) of children in activities and observe if and when adult interventions is needed. Suggest suitable interventions in such situations. Be ready to report on this experience.
5. Designate two children from a preschool (your own or from a neighboring preschool). Do a case study on their levels of development. Propose appropriate activities to promote their growth. Try the activities and report on success.
6. In the same preschool there can be children from different social and cultural groups. Find out whether there are visible characteristics in,

• Language used,
• Relationship with other children,
• Emotional reactions and,
• Spiritual sense.

1. Suggest ways to overcome negative aspects about differences among children.
2. Meet five grade one teacher from five schools. Ask them about problems that they encounter in handling children during first three months. Suggest modifications for the problems and the primary schools in the areas.
3. What are the social and emotional problems that some children in preschool have? List problems and possible cause and prepare a brochure for parents with children of 0-3 years.
4. Research a reference on inclusive education and do a write up to explain how it applies to your area preschools.
5. Susan Isaacs emphasizes freedom for children to be active and emotionally expressive. Cite examples from your experiences on some positive results in children’s expression from their having freedom.
6. Bruner terms his model of learning as enactive, iconic and symbolic. Explain the above models with examples preferably from your own experiences.
7. Margaret McMillan and Susan Isaacs were well aware that there must be places where children can dig and watch things grow and die. Lady Allen of Heartwood (1968) wrote, “Children seek access to a place where they can dig in the earth, build huts and dens with timber, use real tools, experiment with fire and water, take really great risks and learn to overcome them.” Yet such areas appear to be problems in many of the Sri Lankan preschools. Discuss the situation with regard to outdoor play and work areas in our preschools.

1. Journal Preparation – 20 hours.

Total Notional hours – 200 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment –5 assignment (5 Sundays – 50 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to15% (84) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Chauhan, S.S., 1999.Advanced Educational Psychology.
2. Nayak, A.K., and Rao, 1989 V.K., Educational Psychology.
3. Tandon, R.K., 2001, Child Psychology.
4. AnandaGalappatti, Caring for Separated Children: An Approach from Eastern Sri Lanka. – Save the Children. 2006
5. Ronald Gallimore, et al. 2000. Development Perspective on Children with High Incidence Disabilities.
6. MeenaCariappa and Joseph K.Kovach, 2004. How to Help Your Disabled Child.
7. Play that is not Play (NEP, Save the Children, UNICEF).2007
8. Training Manual on Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development (UNICEF).2005.
9. Children in Immigrant Families: A California Data Brief (Oakland, CA: Children Now. 2007).
10. Kids Can’t Wait to Learn: Achieving Volun­tary Preschool for All in California (Oakland, CA: Children Now and Preschool California, 2004).

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Foundations of conflict resolution skills.
2. Conflict resolution for children.
3. Advocacy for resolving conflicts and promoting peace and harmony in the community.
4. Important events in the first year of primary school that needs support and unity from parent and the community.
5. Promoting peace and conflict resolution in home based learning.
6. Discussion of classroom activities.
7. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
8. Reports on assignments and presentation.
9. Examination covering module.

1. Todevelop and execute monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for peace education programmes and builds these into the new programmes.
2. To involve that the respect for human dignity and human rights and the protection of the environment are the core values, that need to be practiced to achieve peace and harmony and sustainable development through lifelong peace education.

1. Distinguish the importance of peace and harmony in the home and community for children’s development.
2. Predict the potential of the preschool as a catalyst in supporting peace in communities and villages.
3. Summaries skill and confidence in using conflict resolution techniques.
4. Justify children to use conflict resolution techniques.

1. Contact hours – 3(S) x 6 hours = 18 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 15WD x 4 hours = 60 hours
3. Interview 10 parents of children in your preschool. Find out their primary concerns about parenting their children and organize a programme for parents in the community. List and explain the major fears and concerns of parents.
4. Prepare a learning material or activity that can increase a child’s ability to solve problems. Be ready to present it in class and explain the learning principles involved.
5. Interview 4 preschools sponsoring groups or preschools teachers. Find out what uses are made of their building when the preschool is not in session. Bring the list to class.
6. Prepare a poster with drawing and brief text that encourages a positive action towards all children by adults in your community.
7. Write down an activity that you have used to promote peace in your preschool. Be ready to share it in class.
8. Identify personal biases that could affect your interaction with young children.
9. Interpret the purposes of appropriate and inappropriate behavior of parents. Bring notes for class discussion.
10. Analyze parent’s involvement at your school and at the school of the teacher you mentor. Look at day to day functions of the schools, fund raising activities, and public relations activities. If there is a difference between the two schools, suggest why you think the difference exists.
11. Analyze community (non-parents) involvement at your school and at the school of the teacher you mentor. Look at day to day functions of the schools, fund raising activities, consultations, control, negotiations, and public relations activities. If there is a difference between the two schools, suggest why you think the difference exists.

1. Academic Assignment – 15WD x 2 hours = 30 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Plan an activity/function in your school where parents from all sectors (ethnic, economic, religious) are invited. Observe the behavior of the parents in relations to a few aspects such as; group talk / discussion, seating arrangement, grouping during tea/lunch time etc. write a report on the difference and your analyze of them.
4. Conflict is part of life. Resolving these conflict depends largely on individual’s reaction to them. Children even at preschool age are in conflict. Explain how you would set about in resolving the conflict. If you follow any theoretical model to solve the conflict, describe it.

1. Journal Preparation – 12 hours
2. Field Study – 30 hours.

Total Notional hours – 150 hours.

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment –3 assignment (3 Sundays – 30 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to09% (50) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Mayer, RajasinghamSenanayake and Thangarajah, Building Local Capacities for Peace: Rethinking Conflict and Development in Sri Lanka, 2003.
2. Mary Mayesky, 2004.Creative Activities for Young Children.
3. Our Dream of a Place Where Peace Prevails, Save the Children, 2006.
4. AnulaNikapota and DiyanathSamarasinghe, Training Manual for Helping Children in Situations of Armed Conflict, (UNICEF), 2005.
5. Statewide Number of English Learners, 1995–2007 (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2007). (Accessed July 14, 2008).
6. Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning, 2nd ed. (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2009).

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Ideas of Margaret McMillan, Amos Comenious and Hadow.
2. Understanding auditory and visual illusions.
3. Attention span of young children.
4. Learning strategies in early childhood.
5. Active versus passive learning and parents’ expectation of preschool education.
6. Planning activities.
7. Interpreting cues from children about their readiness to learn and using children’s interest in developing learning activities and resource materials.
8. Open-ended questions.
9. Discussion of classroom activities.
10. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
11. Reports on assignments and presentations.
12. Examination covering modules.

1. To demonstrate the ability to collaborate with students, candidates, parents, community members, and professional colleagues in order to support student learning and development.
2. To develop and understanding of each student’s cognitive, Social, physical, and emotional development and to create learning opportunities that support student academic development.
3. To demonstrate the ability to create a classroom environment that facilitates learning and a climate that encourages fairness, positive social interactions, active learning, and self-motivation.

1. Choose to support children’s holistic / integrated learning as opposed rote learning and drill.
2. Anticipate children’s curiosity and interests and set up the environment and activities accordingly.
3. Produce the importance and the complexity of managing children’s in the preschool and to develop the skill of managing it.
4. Estimate the efficient preschool teachers will take into account all resources available and the nature of young children and will design a suitable programme of work for the preschool. 

1. Contact hours – 3(S) x 6 hours = 18 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 15WD x 4 hours = 60 hours
3. Watch children playing with sand. Think of 6 open-ended questions you might ask to extend their learning. Write the questions down and bring them to class.
4. Watch a one or two-year old child to observe the 5 learning strategies. Describe in a brief report the child’s actions that helped you to identify a strategy.
5. Below is an experiences from a rural villages in Sri Lanka;

“A boy goes to visit the neighboring house. There is an improvised gate with big rods placed horizontally and two vertical pillars at either end. He tries to remove a rod following the action of his elders and fails. He tries to climb and get over to the other side and fails. Then he creeps under the lowest rod and succeeds. The mother was watching all the time, but did not help.”

Analyze the learning process of the child. What is the role played by the mother? Observe similar occasions and describe them. Does anything change if the child has a disability?

1. Observe preschool aged children playing at their home compound. Many of the games children play lead to exploration. Observe children playing on their own and identity situations leading to exploration.

“Father has made his preschool child a cart. The child was very happy and pulled it along to the neighboring house. On the way one wheel fell off and the child tried to fix it. Every time he kept it in position and pulled, the wheel came off again. The child started to cry and he hit the cart with a stick.”

Analyze this situation as a learning situation for the child. As an adult how would you mediate the situation to make it a good learning situation?

1. Imitating situations, people, and animals is a good learning process for young children. How would you suggest encouraging parents to promote children’s learning at home?
2. Running, jumping, creeping, and crawling are some exercises for gross muscle development. Visit 5 preschools in the area and do a study in;

• Availability of resources for above movement activities, and places where the available resources are not properly used.
• Plan suitable equipment for needy places and give details along with a map showing where to install it.

1. Identify a preschool. Walk for 3, 5 and 10 minutes in each of the four directions from the preschool and make a list and a map of appropriate learning places for observation, collection, experimentation, and exploration for preschool children. .
2. Study and develop programmes for five preschools along with participatory patterns and time allocations. Compare them and state whether the teacher could justify the subject selection and the time allocation. Find out what influences the teachers in deciding.

1. Academic Assignment – 15WD x 2 hours = 30 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Today many parents take an interest in their children’s learning. More than 300 years ago Comenius wrote about school as the mother’s lap. Hadow’s report on nursery and infant school education noted the benefits of teachers talking to parents about their children’s education. Yet when many of the parents in many communities are uneducated their children are at a loss. Discuss this with reference to schools in remote areas in Batticaloa.
4. Develop a curriculum web in one of the tropics; Wind, Fishing, Sea and Motor vehicle.
5. Children are eager to make a field trip to a nearby rice mill. List aspects of learning that can occur before, during, and after the trip. List activities to get ready for the trip and follow-up activities after the trip. List responsibilities that children can take for the overall trip. What will be the most important roles of the teacher?
6. Organize and plan a day’s work in the preschool. List behavioral objectives and materials required. Specify activities with a mix of large group/small group, active/quiet, indoor/outdoor, and child-initiated/teacher-initiated. Note time when assistance by other adults will be required. Note times when you can observe assess children’s learning.
7. A preschool teacher plans to take her 4 year olds on a nature trail and the come to you for advice. Describe the importance of a nature trail, prior organization needed, and precautions to be taken.
8. Read the learning situation below and suggest how potential learning experiences could be improved;
   1. Two children were playing with water. One poured water from a small vessel into a big one and the other poured water into a large cup from some smaller containers. After some time they both went away and sat down.
   2. A child was using water colour and was drawing something on a sheet of paper. The teacher passing by said, “Very good.” She kept walking and after that the child also left the painting activity.
   3. One day in a preschool children were asked to bring paper boats made at home. The teacher took the children to a nearby stream and allowed children to float their boats in the water. After seeing the boats float far away in the stream they returned to the preschool.

Analyze these situations and suggest ways to extend the learning activities profitably.

1. Think about; Nature corner, Interest table, Sand corner and Book/reading corner. What things in the above list are suitable for a preschool? Explain how each of them would enrich the learning curriculum. If you reject any, give reasons.
2. Journal Preparation – 12 hours
3. Field Study – 30 hours.

Total Notional hours – 150 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment –3 assignment (3Sundays – 30 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to09% (50) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Dorothy G.Singer, 2000. A Piaget Primer: How a child Thinks
2. Gayle Mindes,1988. Assessing Young Children.
3. Rogers, S. 20006. Play in the Lives of Children.
4. Laura E, and Adam Winsler, 2005. Scaffolding Children’s Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education.
5. Developing Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programme Serving Children from Birth through Age 8. (National Association for Education of Young Children).2002.

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Theory of concept formation and implication for mathematics and science.
2. Problems solving activities.
3. Formal, Informal,and incidental approaches to science.
4. Principle of Language development.
5. Skills in presenting children’s literature.
6. Children’s Television.
7. General and specific methods of motivating children and presenting activities.
8. Changes in primary school since educational reforms 1995 and implication for preschool education.
9. Curiosity of children and question that arise in the preschool setting.
10. Reports on assignment and presentation.
11. Discussion of classroom activities.
12. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
13. Examination covering module.

1. To develop interest in mathematics and cognitive ability through a variety of activities including play and experiment with objects, as well as everyday life experiences.
2. To cognitive and language development affective and social development enrich children’s life experiences and strengthen their interpersonal and communication skills.
3. To demonstrate pedagogical knowledge and skills and use this expertise to encourage each student to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

1. Define the difference between traditional teaching and facilitating learning.
2. Express to capitalize on children’s natural curiosity.
3. Estimate the importance of investing in the young child in order to develop him as successful adults.
4. Justify think critically about external agent that influence children are learning.
5. Create interest in new knowledge regarding children’s education.

1. Contact hours – 4(S) x 6 hours = 24 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 20WD x 4 hours = 80 hours
3. Watch 5 children’s T.V programme. Describe each programme briefly and analyze its appropriateness for children aged 4 – 5. Give reasons for you analyze. Be ready to report in class.
4. Write and illustrate a small book for children. You may base it on an actual experience the children have had at preschool or in the community.
5. Ask one of your parents or grandparents to describe to you how you learned to talk. Did you have difficulty making certain sounds or saying certain words? Did you talk a lot or very little? Do you remember any of the situations they describe? Be ready to share information in class.
6. Describes the steps on how to prepare to tell a story in a short paper.
7. Observe and record the behavior of a preschool-aged child from the time he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed in the evening. Do not interfere with his activities. Identify good behavior, behavior that could be improved and behavior that needs to change.
8. Do a study on resources available in your home surroundings that could be utilized for intellectual development of children in the community. If they are not properly made use of, what steps could be taken that would make your surroundings more “child friendly?”
9. Make a collection of folk stores from the old people in your village. Analyze the learning potential in them.

1. Academic Assignment – 20WD x 2 hours = 40 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Ask three children of the same age level at the same preschool to do the same constructional activity simultaneously without looking at each other. Each child should do it while you read the method one sentence at a time. Evaluate the final products. What competencies could be measured by this observation? What differences do you see among the children and what steps would you suggest be taken for each child?
4. You see three children at the beach playing. What activities would you suggest for their development of concepts like shapes, size, and quantity? What material / equipment would you need to provide?
5. Preschool children from more complex mental symbols of events and objects and use language to present their ides. Observe children in a free play situation for an hour and record their questions. Listen for the answers from another child or an adult. List the concept that they are likely constructing from the questions and answers.
6. Preschool children are increasingly able to make and follow a plan and predict the outcomes of their own actions. Observe a group of 4-years old and record example of their planning. Explain how the ability to plan will help them at home and later in primary school.
7. Children of poor families in rural areas have an enormous number of learning situation within a day whereas children of well-to-do families may have very few learning situations. Children of well-to-do families succeed in higher education whereas children in poor families succeed in higher education very rarely. Analyze this situation in the light of what you have learned about cognitive development.

1. Journal Preparation – 06 hours

Total Notional hours – 150 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment–4 assignment(4 Sundays –40 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to11% (64) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. John B.Best, 1985. Cognitive Psychology
2. David Jerner Martin, 1997. Elementary Science Methods.
3. Lynne Caneron, 2004. Teaching Language to Young Learners.
4. Jeannine Dobbs, 2002. Using the Board in the Language Classroom.
5. Training Manual on Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development (UNICEF), 2002.
6. Play that is not Play (NEP, Save the Children, UNICEF). 2007.
7. Children Now, California Report Card 2006–2007: The State of the State’s Children. (Accessed July 14, 2008).
8. Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning, 2nd ed. (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2009).

Contents

(Modules / Units)

1. Establishing minimum ECCD standards for Sri Lanka.
2. Developing quality indicators for preschool in the North East Province.
3. Eliminating the effect of high poverty level on preschoolprogramme.
4. Teachers as problems solvers.
5. Teachers as critical thinkers.
6. Adult’s role in children’s play.
7. Teacher’s roles as supervisor of staff, financial officer, model teacher, trainer, community worker.
8. The model school as a learning laboratory.
9. Role of preschools as community development agencies.
10. Income generation projects for preschool.
11. Relevance of preschool education to primary education.
12. Computer skills for the preschool teacher with practical work in lab.
13. Evaluating software for young children.
14. Use of other education equipment.
15. Effect of group size and child-teacher ratio on children’s learning in preschool.
16. Effective of play that is not play as determined by follow-up study by Sarvodaya.
17. Reports on assignment and presentation.
18. Discussion of classroom activities.
19. Discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
20. Examination covering modules.

1. To develop good communication skills with parents, linkages with the primary school, and positive involvement with community members.
2. To develop a positive attitude about the importance of parents as the child’s first teachers and to understand the on-going positive relationship between parents and child that needs to be supported by teachers.

1. Examine the need to improve preschool education in Sri Lanka,
2. Appreciate the expanding role of the preschool teacher.
3. Explain and discussion of issues in mentoring activity.
4. Demonstrate and identify the preschool teacher’s roles.
5. Organize and service of community development agencies

1. Contact hours – 6(S) x 6 hours = 36 hours
2. Field work Assignment – 30WD x 4 hours = 120 hours.
3. Explain in a one-page paper how you would manage Rs. 10,000 to have the largest positive impact on your preschool.
4. With a partner write a short article about some area of child development or preschool education to be published in a newsletter for parents and other preschool teachers.
5. On a theme of your choice organize a week’s integrated learning programme with activities in music, art, pre-math, pre-reading, outside play, dramatic play, and children literature. Include a resource person visiting the class and a letter to parent explaining the theme and asking for donations of props, etc.
6. Write your professional resume listing the jobs you have held, your philosophy of preschool education, your professionaldevelopment plan, and other related experiences.
7. List 10 qualities to include in a self-evaluation that will be complied to include everyone’s ideas. Complete self-evaluation and be ready to discuss in class.
8. Ask the teacher whom you are mentoring to take the self-evaluation. Use the same instrument to evaluate her from your observations. In the role of the supervisor, how would you discuss the differences in the two evaluations? What would you say to encourage her and support her growth as a teacher?
9. Draw a floor plan of your classroom as it is now. Draw another floor plan of how you would like it to be. What would you need to be able to change it?  

1. Academic Assignment – 30WD x 1 hours = 30 hours
2. Continue writing in your journal and working on your action research project.
3. Assess the various influences in an early childhood education setting that affect the child’s growth and development. Write a one-page report.
4. In a two-page paper describe how observation can be utilized to guide instruction and classroom strategies.
5. Some preschool teachers comment, “These children are with sand in water at the beach so why do we need to provide them in our school? Our school buildings are so small.” If you are the person who listens to the above comment, what would you replay?
6. In one of the preschools in Batticaloa District there were cardboard boxes of different sizes covered with beautiful paper. Make a list of activities that these boxes may be used for.
7. Outdoor play areas mostly provide for gross muscle development of the child. Draw and plan with sketches, some of the play equipment that could be made from local resources.
8. A preschool was opened in a newly built building. Twenty children entered on the first day. Everybody was overjoyed. There were only 6 desks and 12 chairs with two racks. Parent’s donation came to preschool. One parents said that a chair cost Rs. 150 and desk cost Rs. 600. If you the teacher of this school, explain how you will utilize the fund of Rs. 5000 to make children happy learners.
9. Develop pragramme goal and objectives for your preschool and present them in a brief paper. State how you will evaluate the programme outcomes.
10. Study the development and historical view of preschool education in your village / locality. Analyze the causes and purposes for starting one and how the present preschool differs from the earlier ones in theory and practice, curriculum and methods.
11. Children of 3 and 4 years are together in a class. Observe the behaviors / activities of these children in your class to see if any vast difference is noticeable in the modes of behavior of the two groups. Suggest ways of organizing the preschool to meet such situations.
12. Visit the model schools being developed through the ECCD programme and make recommendations on use of space, activities, and outdoor plans.
13. Identify a preschool where a special needs child is enrolled and in attendance. Spend at least one day watching him. Make notes and records what similarities and differences you find in that child.
14. Make a list of 20 indicators of quality that you would expect to find in a model preschool.
15. Learning centers are a new concept to Sri Lanka preschools. What are the advantages of learning centers and what factors prevent teachers from establishing the in their preschool?
16. Explain how you would help teachers who have problems. Justify your solution.
    1. Teacher 1 – Children like stories, but I cannot present a story well in an effective manner.
    2. Teacher 2 – I have two children in the class. One is from a rich family and the other is from rich family. They always like to be together, but the rich parents don’t like that.
    3. Teacher 3 – One of the children in my class has difficulty in speech. Whenever he tries to say something’s a few other children ridicule him. It is very difficult to make him speak. 

1. Journal Preparation – 14 hours

Total Notional hours – 200 hours

( S – Sunday,  WD – Week days )

1. Assignment–6 assignment(6 Sundays – 60 marks out of 340)
2. End Examination – Student’s written final marks converted to17% (94) - marks out of 560. Based on length of the modules.

1. Audrey Curtis, 1991.A Curriculum for the preschool child.
2. Phyllis M. Click, 1997. Administration of schools for young children.
3. Rao, V.K. 2001.Preschool Educational System in India.
4. Sodhi, T. S., 1988. Text Book of Comparative Education.
5. Bhoodev Singh, 2006. Preschool Education.
6. Aims for preschool teacher (NIE).2006.
7. Early Child Development Centers (Ministry of Education).2005.
8. Equipment for Preschool (Ministry of Social Welfare),2004.
9. Growing up in a Pacific Society. (The University of South Pacific), 2000.
10. Training Manual on Integrated Early Childhood Care and Development (UNICEF), 2003.
11. Prekindergarten Learning and Develop­ment Guidelines (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2000).
12. Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning, 2nd ed. (Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2009)