Whether you’re preparing your students to earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) Certification or you simply want to incorporate more real-world learning experiences into your child care education curriculum, one thing is for certain: you’ll need a teaching tool that will grab your Generation Z students’ attention and help them make lasting connections with the material. Immersive scenarios, such as the ones offered in our CDA Scenario Kit, is one way to achieve this.
Scenario-based learning works for today’s students for several reasons. It encourages participation, which helps students internalize information. It helps explain “why,” letting students connect what they are learning to the larger context. Scenarios engage students with interaction, multiple feedback opportunities, the use of soft skills… the list goes on.
So how can you use our CDA Scenario Kit to incorporate scenario-based learning in your classroom? Here are our favorite ideas.
Idea #1: Use the scenarios as an introductory activity
Choose which competency area you’d like to focus on in your lesson and kick off the topic with an infant, toddler- or preschool-based inquiry. These are flexible and may be used as a whole group activity, small group activity or think-pair-share activity.
Teaching remotely? Conduct the same activity using your preferred videoconferencing tool. You could also post the scenarios ahead of time, then have students submit written or recorded solutions.
Idea #2: Use the key questions to incorporate Common Core Standards into your lessons
Whether you’re teaching online or in person, you can integrate core language arts into your child care lessons by using the key questions and extension activities found on the scenario cards and in the workbook. Any time you can infuse Common Core Standards with Common Career Technical Core content, it is a win-win.
Idea #3: Use the scenarios as an assessment tool
Choose the level (infant, toddler or preschool) and the competency area you’d like to assess. Choose one of the 6 scenarios from the program to use as the assessment scenario at the end of the lesson. The real-world scenario provides an excellent means of assessing the practical application of the content learned in the lesson.
For those teaching in remote or blended learning environments, this idea works for you, too! Simply share your chosen scenario via LMS or email, and discuss with your students via webcam.
Ready to learn more?
Consider attending our November 18th webinar, “Child Development Associate (CDA) Scenario Kit for Certification Readiness.” Learn more and register here.
Bonus: Learn what makes our CDA Scenario Kit unique – directly from the educator who wrote the content:
