The Creative Curriculum model was founded by Diane Trister Dodge in 1988 and is based on the theories of theorists like Piaget, Erikson, Maslow, and Vygotsky. It focuses on five key beliefs: constructive play, social competence, relationships as the foundation for learning, linking curriculum and assessment, and family partnerships. Research studies have found it to be an effective model, with children in Creative Curriculum classrooms showing greater gains. Professional development is available to support ongoing learning about implementing the curriculum. The environment is divided into interest areas to support learning across domains.

2. THE CREATIVE
CURRICULUM
GROUP MEMBERS
Safeeya Hosein
Christina Sookdeo
Desiree Toussaint
Rosemarie Wilson-Mansingh

3. BACKGROUND OF THE
MODEL

4. BACKGROUND OF THE MODEL
Model Name: The Creative Curriculum
MAIN FOUNDER: Diane Trister Dodge (1988)

5. OTHER CONTRIBUTERSTO THE
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
The Creative Curriculum’s foundation is based off the
findings of six main theorists.
 T. Berry Brazelton and Abraham Maslow believed that
children need their basic needs met, which include
safety, belonging and esteem.
 Erik Erikson and Stanley Greenspan focused on the
necessity of having supporting, trusting relationships with
adults, which increases social, emotional development.
 Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky discussed how interactions
with others are crucial in cognitive development.

6. HISTORICALFACTORSTHAT
INFLUENCED THE FOUNDER
 Focus on the importance of discipline being
replaced, in the 1970’s and 80’s.
 It came about as a result of research, in the
beginning of the 21st century.
 This approach is supported by most leading
teaching organizations.

7. SPREADOF THE MODEL
 The Creative Curriculum continues to be
studied by other nationally recognized
researchers.
 Dr. Richard Lambert and Dr. Martha
Abbott-Shim are conducting a random-
assignment study of Head Start programs
in Georgia and North Carolina.

8. SPREAD OF MODEL
 David Connell is using a random-
assignment design in the state of
Oklahoma in preschool, infant-toddler,
and family child care programs.
 Dr. Dale Farran is conducting a random-
assignment study of Tennessee programs
as part of the Department of Education
sponsored Preschool Curriculum
Evaluation Research study.

9. DESCRIPTION OF SUCCESSES
 FACES 2000 is a national longitudinal study
of Head Start that examines children's
cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development; family characteristics, well-
being, and accomplishments; classroom
quality; and teacher and staff
characteristics, needs, and opinions.
 FACES 2000 found that children in Creative
Curriculum classrooms had greater
improvements across a number of
measures than children in classrooms that
did not use an integrated approach.

10. DESCRIPTION OF SUCCESSES
FACES 2000 researchers found that
Creative Curriculum classrooms
had higher scores on general
classroom quality as measured
through the ECERS-R than other
non-integrated models.
The most notable gains were in
children's language scores.

11. About the
model

12. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSEPECTIVES
(BELIEFTS)
The Creative Curriculum philosophy is based on five fundamental
beliefs that are strongly supported by theoretical and
empirical research:
 Constructive, purposeful play is the best vehicle for
meaningful learning
 The development of social competence is a key focus of the
preschool years
 Relationships are the foundation for learning
 Curriculum and assessment must be linked
 Families are essential partners in children’s learning

13. THEORETICAL
ORIENTATIONS
 Maslow’s Theory of Basic Needs & Learning & T.
Berry Brazelton
A child’s basic needs must be met before they are
able to learn.
 Erickson’s Theory of Emotion & Learning
Children develop through stages involving issues that
must be resolved for healthy development.
 Brain research has found physical evidence to
support Maslow and Ericson’s theories of learning.

14. THEORETICAL ORIENTATIONS
o Piaget’s Theory of Logical Thinking & Reasoning
Logical thinking develops in stages and children
develop reasoning by manipulating materials;
engaging actively in their environment, making new
discoveries and modifying their earlier way of thinking.
o Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Interaction & Learning
Children grow cognitively by interacting with adults
and peers.
o Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Children are intelligent in many different ways and
have the capacity to develop all the intelligences if
given encouragement, enrichment and suppor

15. THEORETICAL ORIENTATIONS
 Smilansky’s Theory of Children Play & Learning
The focus is on playing for fun, not competition.
 Learning and Resiliency-
Children who develop well despite the burden of
hardships.
 Urie Bronfenbrenner theory of bioecological
systems
These systems are dynamic and interactive, and
each system has a powerful impact on a child’s
development.

16. THEORETICAL ORIENTATIONS
 Erik Erikson and Stanley Greenspan
focused on the necessity of having
supporting, trusting relationships with
adults, which increases social, emotional
development.
 John Dewey proposed that children learn
best in a stimulating environment that is
designed according to the interests and
experiences of the children in the
classroom.

17. DOMAINS OF
DEVELOPMENT
Four main categories of interest:
Social/emotional
Physical
Cognitive
Language

18. DOMAINS OF DEVELOPMENT
The social/emotional stage helps promote
independence, self-confidence and self-
control. Within this stage, children learn
how to make friends, how to have group
interactions and how to follow rules.
The physical stage is intended to increase
children’s large and small motor skills.

19. DOMAINS OF DEVELOPMENT
The cognitive stage is associated with
thinking skills. Children learn how to solve
problems, ask questions and think critically.
The language stage deals with
communication. Children learn how to
communicate with others, listen and
participate in conversations, and
recognize various forms of print. In this
stage, children begin to recognize letters
and words and begin writing for a purpose.

20. DOES THE MODEL
PROMOTE INTEGRATION OR
SEPERATION OF SKILLS?

21. IS THERE AN EMPHASIS
ON LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT?

22. TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THE
MODEL FACILITATE THE
ACHIEVEMENT OF NATIONAL
OBJECTIVES AND GOALS?

23. DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION
 resources that help programs achieve the positive
teacher–child interactions.
 38 objectives for development and learning that are
fully aligned with the Head Start Child Development
and Early Learning Framework as well as the early
learning standards of every state;
 guidance for individualizing instruction to meet the
strengths and needs of every learner;
 content that addresses ten critical areas of
development and learning and detailed plans for
helping children integrate learning across the areas;

24. DIFFERENTIATION OF
INSTRUCTION
 daily opportunities for observation and
clear explanation of the strong link between
curriculum and assessment;
 detailed guidance about best practices for
working with English- and dual-language
learners;
 Strategies for working with all learners,
including children who are advanced
learners and children with disabilities.

25. ASSESSMENT

26. ASSESSMENT
 In early childhood education, assessment
is the process of gathering information
about children in order to make decisions.
 In the creative curriculum, two assessment
systems were used before.
1) The Creative Curriculum Developmental
Continuum for Ages 3–5,
2) The Creative Curriculum Developmental
Continuum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos

27. ASSESSMENT
 In response to this growing evidence of
the importance of early development
and learning, as well as the changing
needs of the diverse early childhood
programs across the country, Teaching
Strategies decided to develop an entirely
new assessment system.
 This new system is called Teaching
Strategies GOLD Assessment System; a
seamless, observation-based assessment
system for children from birth through
kindergarten.

28. TEACHING STRATEGIES GOLD
ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
 The new system will:
 serve children from birth through kindergarten
 focus on the key elements that research indicates
are most predictive of school success
 align with the expected outcomes identified in state
early learning standards
 serve the needs of English-language learners
 Teaching Strategies GOLD is inclusive of children with
developmental delays and disabilities, children who
are English-language or dual-language learners, and
also children who are advanced learners.

29. TEACHING STRATEGIES GOLD
ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
 Teaching Strategies GOLD has a total of 38 objectives,
including 2 objectives related specifically to English
language acquisition.
 Thirty-six objectives are organized into nine areas of
development and content-area learning:
 Social–Emotional
 Physical
 Language
 Cognitive
 Literacy
 Mathematics
 Science and Technology
 The Arts

30. TEACHING STRATEGIES GOLD
ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
 The Teaching Strategies GOLD
assessment system has four components:
 Objectives for Development & Learning:
Birth Through Kindergarten
 Child Assessment Portfolio
 Assessment Opportunity Cards
 On‐the‐Spot Observation Recording Tool

31. RESEARCH

32. RESEARCH
What Is the Research Behind The Creative
Curriculum?
 The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is
based on the past 75 years of research.
Many of the important works of theorists
(Piaget, Erikson, Maslow, Vygotsky,
Gardner, Smilansky) and more recent
research on learning and the brain and
learning and resiliency were used in
developing The Creative Curriculum.

33. IS THE CREATIVE
CURRICULUM A VALID MODEL?
 Validity in this case refers to the effectiveness
of The Creative Curriculum in promoting
children's learning in the classrooms.
 This curriculum has been proven to be a valid
model through effectiveness research.
 Studies revealed what many teachers who use
this curriculum have known intuitively, that
children who learn in classrooms implementing
this curriculum fare better than children who are
exposed to different curriculum models that
don't use an integrated approach.

34. RESEARCH STUDIES ON THE
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
 The first study- an evaluation of the Department of
Defense Sure Start program (Abbott-Shim, 2000), involved
nearly 100 children in 10 randomly selected classrooms
using The Creative Curriculum.
 Trained data collectors administered classroom
observations, child assessments, and parent questionnaires
to determine the quality of classroom teaching practices
and to assess children's developmental gains.
 The Sure Start Effectiveness Study provides significant
evidence that The Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood,
ensures positive child outcomes, effective teaching
practices, and high parent satisfaction.

35. RESEARCH STUDIES ON THE
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
 The second study, conducted by the Louisiana
Department of Education (LDE, 2001), also
examined developmental gains for children in
classrooms using The Creative Curriculum.
 Again, although a comparison group was not
used, the results indicated positive average
gains in three developmental areas:
social/emotional development, cognitive
development, and physical development.

36. RESEARCH STUDIES ON THE
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
 The third study, sponsored by the US
Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), is an ongoing effort to evaluate child
outcomes and program quality in Head Start.
 The Family and Child Experiences Survey
(FACES) conducted in 2000 used a random
sample design. FACES researchers found
that The Creative Curriculum was the most
widely used curriculum and that programs
that used an integrated curriculum showed
greater gains in several cognitive and
social/emotional areas.

37. RESEARCH STUDIES ON THE
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
 A fourth study has recently been
conducted by Philliber Research
Associates for The Hartford Foundation
for Public Giving.
 This evaluation of children enrolled in 14
childcare centers found significant gains
for children who were in classrooms
receiving The Creative Curriculum
intervention.

38. PLANS FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH
 Teaching Strategies is committed to
supporting researchers in examining the
effectiveness of The Creative
Curriculum.
 Currently underway are six studies of The
Creative Curriculum.

39. PLANS FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH
1) US Department of Education-Preschool Curriculum
Evaluation Research (PCER)
 Two randomized experimental studies of The Creative
Curriculum are being conducted as part of this national
examination of early childhood curriculum effectiveness.
2) State of Oklahoma
 The State of Oklahoma Department of Education has
sponsored a two part study. The first is an implementation
study including pre-and post-test scores on classroom
quality and implementation and focus groups of
participants. The second part is a randomized experimental
study of preschool programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

40. 3) University of Missouri-Kansas City
 The University of Missouri-Kansas City has been
contracted with the Mid-America Regional Council
(MARC) covering Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas) to
conduct an evaluation of a new Creative Curriculum-
based teacher training model on child and family
outcomes.
4) University of North Carolina at Charlotte
 Currently underway is a randomized experimental
study of The Creative Curriculum in North Carolina and
Georgia, sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as part
of its Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research
(PCER).
PLANS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

41. 5) Vanderbilt University
 Dale Farran at Vanderbilt University is
conducting a study of the effectiveness
of The Creative Curriculum and Bright
Beginnings as part of their PCER research
funded through the US Department of
Education, IES.
6)Finally, Teaching Strategies Inc. has initiated
its own effort to expand the research available
on the effectiveness of The Creative
Curriculum.
PLANS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

42. PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

43. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Professional development is ongoing and available for
others to upgrade themselves and continue learning
more about the creative curriculum.
 In-Person Professional Development Sessions: The Creative
Curriculum
 It offers a wide range of in-person sessions from
introductory to advanced, designed to support effective
curriculum implementation.
 In-person sessions are available on-site and at Teaching
Strategies' Professional Development Center (PDC).

44. LIST OF EVENTS FOR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 National Association for the Education of Young Children
Annual Conference November 20-23, 2013
Washington, DC
Walter E. Washington Convention Center; Renaissance
Washington
Booth 1906
 Teaching Strategies GOLD Training for Pennsylvania
PACCA and Head Start Members November 22, 2013
Brookville, PA
 GOLD Introductory Lab Session: Focus on Reporting (for
Administrators)December 5-6, 2013
Bethesda, MD
Register through December 4, 2013.

45. LIST OF EVENTS FOR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Implementing The Creative Curriculum System for
Preschool (for Teachers)December 12-13, 2013
Bethesda, MD
Register through December 11, 2013.
 GOLD Introductory Lab Session: Focus on Reporting
(for Administrators)January 9-10, 2014
Bethesda, MD
Register through January 6, 2014.

46. LIST OF EVENTS FOR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 GOLD Introductory Lab Session:
Teaching Strategies GOLD Online (for
Teachers)January 23-24, 2014
Bethesda, MD
Register through January 16, 2014.
 Establishing a Creative Curriculum Program:
Infants, Toddlers, and Twos (for Teachers)January
30-31, 2014
Bethesda, MD
Register through January 23, 2014.

47. MATERIAL AND
SPACE

48. THE LEARNINGENVIRONMENT
The learning environment are examined in
three perspectives
 Setting up and maintaining the
classroom
 Establishing the structure for each day
 Creating the classroom community

49. SETTINGUP ANDMAINTAINING
THE CLASSROOM
The physical environment:
 Size of the room
 Colour of the walls
 Type of floor
 The amount of light
 The number of windows

50. SPACE
Attractive
Comfortable
Organized
Safe
Physical space are divided into
interesting areas

51. THE PHYSICAL SPACE ARE DIVIDED INTO
INTERESTINGAREAS1. Blocks
2. Dramatic play
3. Toys and games
4. Art
5. The library area
6. The discovery area
7. Sand and water play
8. Music and movement
9. Cooking experience
10. Computer and outdoor play

52. MATERIALS IN THE BLOCK
AREA
 Hardwood unit blocks

53. MATERIALS IN THE DRAMATIC
AREA
 A variety of clothing example: doctor
 Costumes – a butterfly, chicken

54. MATERIALS IN THE TOYS AND
GAMES AREA Manipulatives such as logos
 Puzzles
 Matching games
 Games with rules that children can play on the
floor, or top or a top a divider shelf.

55. MATERIALS IN THE ART AREA
 Child size scissors( child safety)
 A table on the floor
 An easel
 Workbench
 Drawing paper
 Water paint
 Glue
 Forms
 Colour pencils
 Crayons

56. MATERIALS IN THE LIBRARY
AREA
 An attractive space with soft furniture
 Beautiful picture books- big books
 Story book for different culture
 Writing materials such as paper crayons, colour pencils
or pencils

57. MATERIALS IN THE DISCOVERY
AREA
 Child size magnetic
 Real life resources such as plants and animals
 Magnifying glass

58. MATERIAL IN THE SAND AND WATER
AREA
 Sand table
 Water table

59. MATERIALSIN THEMUSICAND
MOVEMENT AREA
 Shack-shack
 Steelpan
 Guitar
 Drum
 Toy microphone

60. MATERIALS IN THE COOKING AREA
 Plastic utensils such as bowls, plates, knives, forks ,
chopping board etc.
 Real fruits and vegetables in preparing food.
 Non-real food, fruits and vegetables through pretend
play

61. MATERIALSIN COMPUTERPLAY
 Computer
 Educational electronic games
 Online educational games (age
appropriate)
 Television
 DVD player

62. MATERIALS IN OUTDOOR GAMES
 Slides
 Swings
 Balls
 Hula hoops
 Water and sand table

63. GUIDELINES FOR SPACE
 Establish traffic patterns
 Clearly defined areas that needs protection
 Locate interest areas that are relatively quiet
 Decide which areas need tables
 Think about the activity that are affected by the floor
 Place interest areas near needed resources
 Reserved areas with lots of light
 Organize the classroom so you can see as much as possible

64. THE CLASSROOM LAYOUT
Each classroom is set up for
exploration and learning.
Children have many opportunities
to make choices, experiment, and
interact with others.

65. THE CLASSROOM LAYOUT
 Materials are on low shelves, in
containers and on hooks so children can
get them independently and put them
away.
 Shelves are neat and uncluttered so
materials are easy to see, remove and
replace.
 Picture and word labels are on
containers and shelves so children know
where materials belong and learn to use
print.

66. THE CLASSROOM LAYOUT PICTURE

67. ESTABLISHING A STRUCTURE FOR EACH DAY
(SCHEDULES AND ROUTINES)

68. PARENT/FAMILY/COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS

69. CREATING A CLASSROOM COMMUNITY
 Children from different ethnics.

70. PARENT/FAMILY/COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS
Parents and Family:
 Classroom volunteers
 School project , celebrations,
 Parent information area
 Parents having daily communications
with teachers
 Scheduled conferences (workshop, PTA
meeting)

71. PARENT/FAMILY/COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS
Community Partnership:
Head start programs:
 Home based program
 Home visit
 Have community services visits such as
fire fighter, police officers etc.
 Visit to a farm.
 Include different religious leaders visit the
school for celebration