Barbara Cicala, MetLife Fellow
Barbara Cicala is in her 16th year of teaching in northern Virginia.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary School Education from Bridgewater College, and is certified in NK-3 education.
Barbara earned a Master of Education in Early Childhood special Education (Birth to age 8).
She taught for 12 years in Early Childhood Special Education, and now teaches Head Start.
Previous Research Includes:
Research Title: Standards vs. Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum? Research Year: 2009 Research Classification: Curriculum Development Research Summary: In an effort to integrate benchmarks and indicators found in Fairfax County Public School’s PreKindergarten Program of Study (POS), three Head Start teachers created nine week organizers which broke the indicators down into quarters. These indicators were then integrated into topic organizers where they were infused into developmentally appropriate activities related to various topics covered throughout the year. Student learning and understanding were documented through various forms of intentional assessment, which were also outlined in the topic organizers. As a result, students gained a deeper understanding of content as well as were able to continue to participate in active, hands-on learning.
Research Title: Successful Morning Meetings with 3,4,and 5 year olds Research Year: 2008 Research Classification: Professional Development Research Summary: A research team of three head start teachers in a title one elementary school explored developmentally appropriate practices during morning meetings. Students ranged in age from 3 to 5 years old. Two classrooms consisted of 16 students and the third had 17. Students possessed a range of learning abilities as well as mastery of English Language and social emotional development. Modeling the daily schedule after the Office OF Early Childhood “Day in the Life of a Head Start Student.” The research team implemented different strategies to increase the length of circle time whilc simultaneously decreasing the number of student interruptions. Strategies included adding more music and movement activities, maintaining pace of instruction, stating expectations of student behavior and using visual cues.
