Volume 13, Number 3, 2005
With more than 200 infants and children enrolled in its model child-care programs, there’s always a lot of learning going on at the University’s Early Learning Center (ELC).
Every weekday at the ELC, babies are discovering the wonders of their new world, while toddlers are bravely letting go to take their first shaky steps and speaking their first words. In other rooms at the center, preschoolers explore an exciting array of activities, toys, books and games, and older kids enjoy a stimulating and fun school-age program.
Children, though, aren’t the only learners at the center, director Karen Rucker says. On a given day, there may be as many as 50 UD students from a variety of majors observing, interacting and benefiting from on-site experience with the children and their teachers. Faculty members are learners as well, as they observe and study the children for research projects.
The center, which opened last summer and is part of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP), provides top-quality day care to children from age 6 weeks to 12 years. Among the University students at the ELC are many who are majoring in early childhood development and education in CHEP.
These students are right in the thick of things. In the infant and toddler rooms, which are baby-proofed with wide open spaces for little ones to explore, shoes off is the rule, and the students sit on the carpeted floor and interact with the children. The rooms are furnished with rocking chairs for cuddling, cribs for napping and toys for fun and stimulation.
Sarah Pittman, CHEP ’06 and Katey Allis, CHEP ’07, spent time at the ELC during spring semester as part of an early childhood education methods class. They worked in one of the center’s infant care rooms, getting firsthand experience with babies.
Both students say that observing and interacting with children is quite different from studying theory in classrooms and textbooks.
“It’s an eye opener,” Pittman says. “Babies have such different personalities.”
Allis notes that plans sometimes go out the window when working with such young children. “They aren’t scripted. Babies do different things at different times,” she says.
Melissa Schumann, CHEP ’07, says interacting with the infants, feeding and holding them, has taught her how to talk to her charges, as well as how to look for clues as to what is pleasing or troubling a particular baby.
Students also learn how to handle a variety of situations that might arise. For example, they learn that parents should not sneak out when they bring their babies to the center for the day because it causes mistrust. Even if babies are distressed for a little while after a mother or father leaves, they soon learn that parents will return.
Cynthia Paris, assistant professor of individual and family studies, brought students from her class in early childhood curriculum to the ELC during spring semester. The group was working on designing a classroom environment for an empty room that will be put to use in the future.
Paris’ students first observed the children from state-of-the-art booths in the ELC—equipped with video cameras and microphones linked to the classroom—to see how they used the space. Using blueprints, the students then developed plans and furnishings to organize the room, keeping part of the floor carpeted and part uncarpeted, based on the children’s needs and how they play and learn.
“The center offers opportunities for real work and is very student-teaching oriented,” Paris says. “It’s an amazing place with a receptive staff.”
Students from CHEP’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) also are involved in the center, getting behind-the-scenes experience in planning, preparing and serving food in an institutional setting.
Pam Cummings, associate professor of HRIM, says students in her “Introduction to Hospitality Management” course are required to complete 20 hours of community service. For these freshmen, many of whom do not have cars, the ELC is a convenient, as well as an educational, site.
“When we found out about the Early Learning Center, it sounded like a winning opportunity for our students to get involved with the food service there,” Cummings says. Students gain practical experience in such areas as food preparation, sanitation, portion control, inventory and purchasing, she says.
In addition to CHEP students, students in fields such as psychology, physical therapy, nursing and health, nutrition and exercise sciences also use the ELC to gain practical experience that supplements their courses.
“The teachers at the center have good rapport with the University students and welcome them into the classrooms,” Rucker says. “It’s a win-win situation, where the teachers share their knowledge with the students and where students can observe children firsthand and get hands-on classroom experience. They also provide the teachers with help and an extra pair of hands, so that the children benefit from added attention.”
—Sue Moncure