ASE 260: Program Environment and Curriculum Development in ASE

Course Description

This course will focus on exploring standards and best practices in the development, planning, and facilitation of the program environment, activities, and curriculum of after school programs that serve children in elementary and middle school. Emphasis will be placed on developmentally appropriate programming that links curriculum content with developmental learning goals and outcomes. (3 credits)

Recommended Prerequisite

  • ASE 255: Introduction to After School Care and Education

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  1. Apply knowledge of child development (5-12) to program practices, including how they develop physically, emotionally, and cognitively.
  2. Identify and describe established quality standards and best practices in after school care, and illustrate the process of applying quality standards to developmentally appropriate daily program practices.
  3. Health and Safety: students will outline how to create environments that foster good health and safety practices.
  4. Interpersonal Environment: Social/Emotional Climate: students will analyze how the physical environment and activity choices influence the emotional climate of the after school program as well as the role of the after school professional in teaching social competency skills.
  5. Temporal Environment: students will demonstrate how to establish schedules, routines, rules and learning opportunities to meet children/youth needs.
  6. Physical Environment: students will design sensory rich indoor and outdoor environments that enable children to be independent and explore their interests.
  7. Curriculum Planning: students will plan and implement program activities that are aligned with children's interest, reflect positive youth development practice, have well defined objectives, and that reflect quality standards.
  8. Program Management: students will develop and maintain administrative policies and procedures to ensure program effectiveness and standards of quality.
  9. Identify and become familiar with online and print resources relating to after school care.
  10. Discuss and evaluate issues relating to the field of after school care.

General Education Outcomes (GEOs)

Please check the applicable GEOs for this course, if any, by outcomes at GEO Category Search, or by subject area at GEO Discipline Search.

Course Activities and Grading

AssignmentsWeight
Discussions (Weeks 1-8)

45%

Written papers / projects

25%

Midterm Portfolio (Week 5)

15%

Final Portfolio (Week 8)

15%

Total

100%

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak State College's online bookstore

  • Armstrong, Linda and Schmidt, Christine. (2013) Great Afterschool Programs and Spaces that WOW! Redleaf Press, St. Paul, MN. ISBN-13: 9781605541228

  • Sousa, David A. and Pileck, Tom. (2018) From STEM to STEAM: Brain-Compatible Strategies and Lessons that Integrate the Arts. Corwin A. Sage Publishing. ISBN-13: 9781506322452

Supplemental Readings and Materials

 

Course Schedule

Week

SLOs

Readings and Exercises

Assignments

1

1,3,4,9,10

Welcome and Introduction to the Program Environment and Quality Standards

Reading:

  • Great Afterschool Programs and Spaces that WOW!: Chapters 1 and 4
  • STEM to STEAM: Brain-Compatible Strategies and Lessons that Integrate the Arts: Chapter 1
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Submit Week 1 Paper
  • Prepare Week 1 Portfolio Assignment

2

1,2,4,5,10

The Child Centered Approach: Learning and Development and the Interpersonal Environment
Reading:

  • Great Afterschool Programs and Spaces that WOW!: Chapters 4, 6 & 7
  • From STEM to STEAM: Brain-Compatible Strategies and Lessons that Integrate the Art: Chapter 2
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Submit Week 2 Paper
  • Prepare Week 2 Portfolio Assignment

3

1,2,5,6,10

Implementing a Well Designed Environment and Incorporating Temporal Elements

Reading:

  • Great AfterSchool Programs and Spaces that Wow? Chapters 5, 8, 9 and Appendix B: Environment Planning Worksheet
  • Sharing Space Approach: Adopting the R.A.P. Model-Relationship, Agreement and Portability
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Submit Week 3 Paper
  • Prepare Week 3 Portfolio Assignment

4

1,2,7,10

Lesson Planning and Scheduling

Reading:
  • From STEM to STEAM: Brain-Compatible Strategies and Lessons that Integrate the Arts: Chapter 5, Chapter 9 and Appendix A-STEAM Lesson Plan Appetizers in Science, Technology and Engineering Lesson Activity Planning Tool
  • Activity Exchange. Checklist for Successful Activities. (https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/
    afterschool/activities/tips_dev_act.html)
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Prepare Submit Week 4 Portfolio Assignment
  • Submit Midterm Project

Midterm Portfolio

Compile your first four Portfolio Development Assignments (weeks 1-4), including this week's assignment, into one document. Create a cover page, table of contents, and three properly cited references. (Due at the end of Week 4)

5

1,2,7,9,10

Linking Activities to Skills, Developing a Theme-Based Curriculum and Project-Based Learning

Reading:

  • From STEM to STEAM: Brain-Compatible Strategies and Lessons that Integrate the Arts: Chapter 10 (read first), then Chapter 6 & Chapter 7
  • Service Learning Planning Template
  • View the video, Five-Year-Olds Their Own Project-Based Learning. (http://www.edutopia.org/kindergarten-project-based-learning-video)
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Submit Week 5 Paper
  • Submit Week 5 Portfolio Assignment

6

1,2,6,7,10

Creating Learning Centers and Enrichment Clubs

Reading:
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Prepare Week 6 Portfolio Assignment
7
1,2,3,6,8,9,10

Managing Partners for Quality Improvement

Reading:
  • Great Afterschool Programs & Spaces that Wow!: Chapter 2: Considerations for Management, page 19-40.
  • Great Afterschool Programs & Spaces that Wow!: Appendixes, pages 263-274
  • Connecticut After School Self-Assessment Tool (http://ctafterschoolnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/PDFs/Self-AssessmentTool_FINAL.pdf)
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Submit Week 7 Paper
  • Prepare Week 7 Portfolio Assignment
8
1-8

Goals Setting and Inclusion of Coursework in “Real World: “Keeping the Wow”


Reading:
  • Great Afterschool Programs and Spaces that Wow!: Chapter 11
  •  From STEM to STEAM: Brain-Compatible Strategies and Lessons that Integrate the Arts, Chapter 10, special focus on pages 205-210.

  • Video, URL: Every Opportunity Video, Atlanta Speech School, 3:50 minutes. (https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=every+opportunity+video&view=detail&mid=
    B06FAB64C9CA6565D513B06FAB64C9CA6565D513&FORM=VIRE)
  • Weekly Lecture
  • Read assigned chapters
  • Review the lecture material
  • Answer 3 discussion board questions
  • Submit Final Project – include all portfolio assignments (weeks 1-8) in one document

Final Portfolio Project

This final project should include all eight portfolio assignments and a summary (minimum of three paragraphs) of how this project with assist you in your work as an after school professional. Create a cover page, Table of Contents, Summary, labeled portfolio assignments, and all references properly cited.

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.