For more than two decades EDC has led efforts to improve the quality and availability of child care by supporting the professionals who care for young children. For a profession that is historically underpaid and undervalued, we develop programs that enhance the stature, improve the professional opportunities, and raise the expectations of those who care for the very young. Partnering with local, regional, and national child care providers, we develop resource centers, design professional development courses, offer on-site consultation, and conduct research in such areas as curriculum and materials development, literacy enhancement, special education, parent involvement, performance assessment, and management and supervision.
This project is developing two products for the National Institute for Literacy. The products will be used by schools and other organizations and groups to engage parents with low literacy skills in supporting their children’s (kindergarten through third grade) literacy development through fun, at-home activities. The products include a facilitators manual and parent activity guide. EDC project stasff are working with national literacy experts on the development of the products.
CC&F/EDC developed and launched a major region on the PBS Parents Web site that helps parents promote the language and literacy development of their children from birth through age 8. CC&F/EDC continues to add resources and further articles on language- and literacy-related topics, such as parent-child book clubs and using computers with young children.
This national project was designed to strengthen the capacity of child care programs and Head Start to promote the social and emotional development of young children. CC&F/EDC worked on identifying the needs of direct-service staff to better support children’s social and emotional development. Working with partners in universities and national organizations, CC&F/EDC developed and disseminated training materials through national and local networks.
CC&F is augmenting the database of children’s literature that it developed last year for the PBS Parents Web site. During this project, CC&F will be adding approximately 185 books, including several in Spanish and English, for children from birth through grade three. This extensive database offers a children’s literature search tool that parents can use to assist them in finding quality books for children.
CC&F/EDC led a collaborative effort with federal and state agencies and key associations to improve services for young children whose families are migrant or seasonal farmworkers. CC&F/EDC analyzed policies and services and facilitated cooperative agreements between and among states and federal agencies to improve educational and health outcomes for children.
The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) and developmental psychologist Herbert Ginsburg have collaborated on a project that uses video to help teachers look clinically at their early childhood students’ individual learning needs, particularly in mathematics. Through the project, Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning (VITAL), CCNMTL and Dr.
CC&F will develop and launch a major new region on the PBS Parents Web site to help parents and caregivers nurture the creativity of their children from birth through age eight. CC&F is designing both online and real world games and activities to encourage parents and children to interact in ways that enhance creativity. To help adults understand how each activity relates to creative development and to spark their own ideas on how to further it, CC&F staff are also writing articles and adding resources.
CC&F/EDC integrated distance-learning technologies into a research-based professional development intervention to enhance the program and disseminate it more widely. Using a control group design, CC&F/EDC, with partners from Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina and the Center for Applied Linguistics, examined the implications of distance learning on discourse patterns and the design of professional development programs.
This comprehensive set of materials supports the improvement of science teaching and learning in early childhood centers and programs across the country. The materials guide and support teachers, staff developers, and administrators in implementing high-quality science education for young children.
CC&F and EDC’s Center for Science Education have developed the Young Scientist Series, a comprehensive curriculum designed to improve science teaching and learning for children ages 3 through 5. Each curriculum unit includes a teacher’s guide and multi-media professional development materials. The first unit, Discovering Nature with Young Children, was published by Redleaf Press in 2003; the second unit, Building Structures with Young Children, was published in 2004; and the final unit, Exploring Water with Young Children, was published in 2005.
