{"id":452,"date":"2019-10-23T14:38:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T14:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-canton-echd250\/?post_type=chapter&p=452"},"modified":"2019-10-23T14:39:02","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T14:39:02","slug":"organizing-the-learning-environment","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-canton-echd250\/chapter\/organizing-the-learning-environment\/","title":{"raw":"Organizing the Learning Environment","rendered":"Organizing the Learning Environment"},"content":{"raw":"

As mentioned during the introduction, children need a physical setting\u2014both inside and outdoors\u2014where they can play, explore, and learn safely. The learning environment needs to include engaging and developmentally appropriate materials and be arranged to promote independence and exploration based on children\u2019s different stages of development and various abilities. For example, infants need to interact with their environment in a very physical way, examining cause and effect relationships by touching and feeling objects. The environment should therefore include toys made of different materials that are small enough to be picked up by an infant.<\/p>\r\n

Toddlers and preschoolers use objects in more complex combinations and engage in socio-dramatic play with one another. Their environment needs toys that spark the imagination, such as play kitchens, and that can engage them in problem solving such as puzzles. Learning centers\u2014clearly defined areas set aside in a learning environment where children can have easy access to materials and engage in independent and self-directed learning activities\u2014can be an effective way to organize and support developing abilities, encourage interactions, create opportunities for role playing, and promote literacy skills.<\/p>\r\n

In addition to the indoor learning environment, children need access to outdoor space where they can move and engage with the natural world. Outdoor play has positive impacts on health and has been shown to combat childhood obesity and help develop stronger immune systems.Research also shows that children who play outdoors regularly have more active imaginations,\u00a0lower stress levels, and have greater respect for themselves and others.<\/p>\r\nWhile there is no single definition of high quality and therefore no single measurement tool to determine and compare early childhood program quality across the United States,\u00a0there are a number of tools that are widely used to assess and report the quality of early childhood programs.\r\n

\u00a0Environment Rating Scales<\/h4>\r\nThe Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, or ECERS for children ages 3\u20135, the Infant\/Toddler Environment Rating Scale, or ITERS, and the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale, or FCCERS, are standardized tools used to measure process quality at the classroom level. The measures contain multiple items on which programs are rated, organized into seven subscales. These subscales include ratings of the space and furnishing, personal care routines, the activities and interactions that take place in the classroom, and how the program engages with families. Ultimately, these tools are designed to assess the various interactions that occur in the learning environment\u2014for example, between staff and children and among children themselves, the interactions children have with materials and activities, and the structures that support these interactions such as the space and the schedule.\r\n\r\nIn addition, the environmental rating scales measure environment accessibility\u00a0for both, children and adults with special needs, and adds notes for clarification to be read and to guide the evaluator when conducting the classroom assessment.\r\n\r\nSome of the elements included on the scale assess that:\r\n