Balancing Constructivist and Instructivist Curriculum Goals in Early Childhood Education, Lilian G. Katz

“The field of early childhood education has long been marked by intense controversy concerning appropriate curriculum and teaching methods and goals.  This article explores some implications of traditional dichotomies of the field and suggests that while there are many reasons to resist the side that advocates formal academic instruction, it does not necessarily follow that what is offered to children in nonacademic programs sufficiently addresses their academic development.”

 

 

Study Guide Questions:

A.         What is the difference between Constructivist and Instructivist teachers?

 

B.            What effect might this article have on efforts to narrow the early childhood curriculum to a focus primarily on cognitive development?

 

C.                  Write a one-page summary of this article for your principal and discuss it with him/her.  Prepare a summary for parents to use at Back-to-School Night.  Discuss the results with colleagues.

 

D.            Using Katz & Chard (1989) or The Young Investigators, study the Project Approach and conduct a project in your class.  What were the results?  What surprised you?

 

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