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Number of Schools:
Curiosity Corner is currently implemented in 226 schools
and other early childhood settings in the continental
U.S. The program is being used in 29 States and jurisdictions:
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Utah,
Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Program Description:
Curiosity Corner is designed for use in any early childhood
setting where children between the ages of three and
five are in attendance daily. These include pre-kindergarten
classes in elementary schools, child-care centers, Head
Start centers, cooperative preschools, and public early-childhood
centers.
Curiosity Corner is a comprehensive
program including initial training, on-going staff development
and support, as well as theme-related materials. (SFA
produces some manipulatives specifically for the program.)
Curiosity Corner is offered either
as a half-day or a full-day program. The instructional
processes are built around the effective instructional
concepts of cooperative learning, active teaching, and
detailed supportive structure as our other programs.
The two separate programs for three- and four-year-olds
are based on the same themes, with variations in books
and activities for each age group, to meet the developmental
needs of young children.
There are 38 thematic units guides.
Each weekly theme guide contains:
- a rationale and introduction to
the theme
- a web indicating what learning
objectives are covered in the unit
- an overview of the week’s
activities
- a list of materials needed for
the unit
- detailed lessons for implementing
each of the components in a five-day sequence
- a bibliography of books associated
with the theme
- newsletters to introduce the theme
to families
- appendices with blacklines, games,
and handouts related to various topics in early education
Each unit is organized into global,
real-world themes and features active, integrated experiences
that enhance children’s language and literacy,
and their cognitive, mathematical, social, personal,
creative, and physical development. Within each theme
guide are easy-to-follow, highly organized day plans.
Each day plan follows an established routine:
- In Greetings
& Readings, each
child is individually greeted and made to feel welcome
for a relaxed beginning to the day. Children look
at books and explore table-top activities before gathering
for the Daily Message that focuses on concepts of
print and alphabetic awareness
- Each day during Clues
& Questions, the
teacher and Curiosity Cat, the class mascot puppet,
introduce the concepts for the day with an active
problem-solving activity. This activity stimulates
the children’s curiosity and motivates them
to learn more about the topic.
- During Rhyme
Time, the children learn
active rhymes and songs related to the theme to promote
their phonemic awareness.
- During Learning
Labs children explore
the theme through concrete, hands-on experiences in
a variety of learning centers.
- Through the interactive story
component, Story
Tree, children have
opportunities to expand their world and explore the
theme through books and stories. During Story Tree,
they develop their vocabulary, learn to make predictions,
and prepare for reading by learning that print communicates
ideas. Children are challenged to higher levels of
thinking in interaction with educators who model thinking
and questioning within and beyond the story.
- Outside/Gross Motor Play
promotes physical, cognitive, and social development
through theme-related movement activities.
- During Snack
Time, children’s
health, hygiene, and interpersonal skills are enhanced
with discussion, exploration, and guidance.
- At the end of each day, Question/Reflection
has children review the experiences they had throughout
the day and reflect on what they have learned from
them.
- Through Home
Link activities, children relate what they
have learned in school with their life at home. Home
Links encourages families to actively engage in their
children’s learning through home visits, the
Home Link Page~a newsletter, a lending library, videos,
and participation in classroom activities. These aspects
of the program help keep families informed of their
children’s school experiences so that family
members can encourage their children’s learning.
Teachers
compile a Dynamic Portfolio for each child, which includes
different types of observations to indicate how the child
is continually growing and changing. Some schools have
quantified the observation data in the Portfolios; others
use standardized assessments for emergent literacy, language
and developmental screening. Teachers use the assessments
to tailor and scaffold instruction for individual groups.
Authentic, dynamic assessment strategies
are the basis for data collected and compiled into the
individual Dynamic Portfolios. Authentic performance
assessment focuses on the children’s concrete,
observable behaviors in the context of the Curiosity
Corner day. Dynamic assessment reflects the ever-changing
development of skills and concepts and the rapid growth
that occurs throughout each day and across the year
in different activities. Curiosity Corner provides assessment
tools that will be used to guide teachers through the
assessment process.
To investigate the benefits of the Curiosity Corner
program in light of real-world challenges (e.g., lack
of certified early childhood educators, inadequate space
for preschools, varying quality of settings), we used
both classroom observations and standardized testing
to compare the language abilities of children in Curiosity
Corner classrooms with those of children in preschools
without the program.
The sample of children studied included
169 three-year-olds in early childhood centers and 147
four-year-olds in public preschool classrooms. Of the
children studied, 67.9% were African-American, 15.6%
were European-American, 10.9% were Hispanic; 48.7% were
female and 51.3% were male.
Incorporating statistical methods
to reduce the likelihood of results being found by chance,
our research indicated several important and encouraging
differences between the experiences of children in Curiosity
Corner sites and children in other programs in New Jersey.
Overall, Curiosity Corner sites were
rated higher than control sites on the ECERS-R, particularly
the Language & Reasoning and Child-Child Interactions
subscales. The results are consistent with developers’
expectations that the program would positively impact
children’s language and literacy development,
as well as promote greater positive social interactions
among students. Additionally, according to performance
on the Mullen Expressive Language Scale, Curiosity Corner
three-year-olds showed statistically significant higher
expressive language ability compared with children in
classrooms without the program, which is consistent
with the findings from the ECERS-R. Higher quality social
interactions observed in Curiosity Corner sites may
both stem from and contribute to children’s expressive
competencies.
In contrast to findings for expressive
language, children in our program had scores similar
to those in control sites on receptive language and
visual reception. Control sites’ relatively greater
emphasis on teachers’ direction and children’s
compliance within a more traditional model of classroom
functioning may have contributed to the similar gains
in receptive language.
Beginning Fall 2003, we have received
funding through the Preschool Curriculum Evaluation
Research Grant Program to conduct a more comprehensive
study. The proposed research will evaluate Curiosity
Corner in 32 classrooms in 16 schools, randomly assigned
to Curiosity Corner or control conditions. Half of each
group will be in Success for All (SFA) schools, and
half in matched non-Success for All schools. This will
enable follow-up into kindergarten and first grade under
SFA or control conditions. The study will therefore
compare the effects of three years of high-quality intervention
(CC + SFA) to intervention in preschool (CC) or early
elementary (SFA) alone, in contrast to a control condition.
It will test the hypothesis that lasting and pronounced
impacts of early intervention depend on intervention
starting in preschool and continuing into the early
elementary years. Measures will include scales from
the FACES study, interviews, and observations over the
three-year study period. The results of this study will
have implications for whole school reform and the coordination
of preschool and elementary education for children from
high poverty communities.
For more information, please contact
Cheryl Sattler, Education Policy and Constituent Relations
Manager, at 1-800-548-4998, ext. 2583.
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