Designing an Early Childhood Course Assignment from Inception to Reflection (Essay)

Introduction The assignments instructors give preservice teachers are presumably meant to provide a window into their suitability for independence in the classroom, and to provide insight into their theoretical and practical understandings of course content. Thus, valuable and effectual assignments are critical to the preparation of teacher candidates who must be current with respect to their theoretical and practical understandings about how children learn (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999) and how best to facilitate that learning in school (Donovan & Bransford, 2005). In this paper, I question, explore, and reflect on the processes involved in designing and selecting course assignments. Specifically, in the context of developing a syllabus for an undergraduate early childhood mathematics and science methods course, I took myself to task and challenged my professional instincts and experiences regarding proposed course assignments. I considered the sources that instructors typically use for developing assignments and their direct relevance to course content and instructional objectives and outcomes. My goal was to find or to design assignments that would encourage preservice teachers to consider and to apply the theoretical and practical implications of teaching early childhood mathematics and science, and would afford me sufficient opportunities to assess the preservice teachers' progress therein.