"Whether you're an architect, interior designer, landscape architect, or facilities manager, this guide will help you create spaces - in the home, in schools, in daycare centers, in medical facilities, and in playgrounds - that meet children's physical needs, thereby stimulating cognitive and social development during their critical, growing years."--BOOK JACKET.

The best-selling source of inspiration for early childhood professionals designing learning environments; updated with all new photographs and fresh content

You likely have dreams for your early childhood environment that are greater than rating scales, regulations, and room arrangements. Designs for Living and Learning has been a favorite resource among educators and caregivers for more than a decade, and this new edition is packed with even more ideas that can be used as you create captivating environments that nurture children, families, and staff while supporting children's learning. With hundreds of all-new colorful photographs of real early learning settings and a multitude of simple and practical concepts for creative indoor and outdoor spaces and learning materials, this book truly is a source of inspiration as you learn how to shape welcoming spaces where children can learn and grow. Expanded chapters include new information reflecting current trends and concerns in early childhood, such as the use of repurposed and nontraditional materials, children in the outdoors, alternative ways to think about providing for learning outcomes, facing and overcoming barriers and negotiating change, and the impact of environmental rating scales in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). Two new chapters are included, one highlighting the transformations of environments with before and after photos and outlines of the process, and the other with examples of soliciting children's ideas about the environment. Deb Curtis and Margie Carter are internationally acclaimed experts in early childhood. They host three-day institutes and professional development seminars for early childhood professionals; consult with early childhood programs across North America, Australia, and New Zealand; and have written many books together.

"Children deserve to spend their days in well-designed environments that support their needs and stimulate their learning. Adults who spend their days teaching and caring for young children deserve environments that maximize their skills. Caring Spaces, Learning Places is a book of ideas, observations, problems, solutions, examples, resources, photographs, and poetry. Here you will find best of current thinking about children's environments - 360 pages to challenge you, stimulate you, inspire you." - product description.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

A-Z's for designing superior day care facilities Virtually unknown 30 years ago, daycare has become a growth industry. Child Care Design Guide helps architects and designers plan, design, and renovate functional, developmentally rich, pleasing centers. Author Anita Rui Olds brings to this work over 25 years of design experience with children's facilities. She gives you step-by-step explanations of interior and exterior layout and design principles fleshed out in clarifying case studies. You learn about licensing and code requirements, operational standards and strategies, and get helpful checklists, charts and graphs for optimum facility design within time, space, and budgetary constraints. This highly visual work features over 300 floor plans for infant and toddler, preschool, and afterschool spaces, plus areas for outdoor play and more.

An in-depth, evidence-based design approach to the design of elementary and secondary schools The contemporary school must be a vibrant, living extension of its community. Evidence-Based Design of Elementary and Secondary Schools instructs design professionals on how to successfully achieve this goal. With assistance from research-intensive principles grounded in theories, concepts, and research methodologies—and with roots in the behavioral sciences—this book examines and provides strategies for pooling streams of information to establish a holistic design approach that is responsive to the changing needs of educators and their students. This book: Delivers an overview of the current research and learning theories in education, and how they apply to contemporary school design Explores the history of school design in the United States Examines the role of information technology in education Includes case studies of more than twenty exemplary school designs, based on research of the best physical environments for learning and education Considers what learning environments may be in the near future Evidence-Based Design of Elementary and Secondary Schools analyzes the current shift toward a modern architectural paradigm that balances physical beauty, and social awareness, and building technologies with functionality to create buildings that optimize the educational experience for all learners. Enlightening as well as informative, this forward-thinking guide provides educational facility planners, designers, and architects with the tools they need to confidently approach their next school building project. In addition, this guide provides administrators, educators, and researchers with design options for rethinking and creating innovative learning environments.

First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.

An illustrated, essential guide to engaging children and youth in the process of urban design From a history of children’s rights to case studies discussing international initiatives that aim to create child-friendly cities, Placemaking with Children and Youth offers comprehensive guidance in how to engage children and youth in the planning and design of local environments. It explains the importance of children’s active participation in their societies and presents ways to bring all generations together to plan cities with a high quality of life for people of all ages. Not only does it delineate best practices in establishing programs and partnerships, it also provides principles for working ethically with children, youth, and families, paying particular attention to the inclusion of marginalized populations. Drawing on case studies from around the world—in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the United States—Placemaking with Children and Youth showcases children’s global participation in community design and illustrates how a variety of methods can be combined in initiatives to achieve meaningful change. The book features more than 200 visuals and detailed, thoughtful guidelines for facilitating a multiplicity of participatory processes that include drawing, photography, interviews, surveys, discussion groups, role playing, mapping, murals, model making, city tours, and much more. Whether seeking information on individual methods and project planning, interpreting and analyzing results, or establishing and evaluating a sustained program, readers can find practical ideas and inspiration from six continents to connect learning to the realities of students’ lives and to create better cities for all ages.