Creative Curriculum

The Creative Curriculum is considered to be an adaptive curriculum that continues to stay current, and focuses on gaining a better understanding of what teachers should know in order to provide adequate teaching for all students. The curriculum is best known for assisting teachers in organizing their classrooms according to interest areas. For example, blocks, dramatic play, discovery, library, art, etc. Through the various interest areas educators are expected to integrate content into their lesson plans, such as math, science, social studies, and literacy to expand on student’s learning (Dodge, Heroman, Colker and Bickart, 2010 p. xvi). The Creative Curriculum is a play-based curriculum that emphasizes the importance for pre-kindergarten
533). Notably throughout the preschool years, younger children participate in various forms of play. They include social, parallel, object, sociodramatic and locomotor play. Educators believe the amount of time spent with a particular type of play is due to a child’s age, cognitive level and physical ability (Smith, 2013 p.4). By allowing students to learn through play, educators create a universal design for learning within their classroom. It is the educators’ obligation to determine each student’s learning style and create a universal design for learning within their classroom. An issue many educators’ face when teaching to students, is how to teach the same concepts in a variety of ways while using various tools and materials. Using a play-based curriculum can assist educators in teaching concepts to students in an assortment of ways.
As former President Benjamin Franklin once stated, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”. (brainyquote) In order to merge the idea of universal design for learning and a play-based curriculum three important principles must be incorporated into the classroom. The first is multiple methods of presentation. This principle assists educators in teaching the same concept to students
Within the study researchers used a module of learning through play focusing on the concept of numbers. The approach was systematic, creating a more planned and purposeful play for students. The standard of learning through play was developed by using Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theory of combining a planned play with a cognitive activity (Ashari, Kosin and Jiart, 2013 p.198). The success of implementation was determined by students’ progress on a pre-assessment and post-assessment. All students that participated within the study were provided with the same pre-assessment, to ensure the student’s prior knowledge of numbers were being measured correctly. The students were then divided into two groups. One group was taught number concepts using the learning through play module, while the other group was taught by using a more traditional teaching method. The data collected from the pre-assessment revealed that the majority of students scored very similar, proving their prior knowledge of numbers was alike. After both groups took the post-assessment, the results determined that although both groups displayed progress, there was a greater improvement in students’ scores that were taught using the learning through play module (Ashari, Kosin and Jiart, 2013