Meghan Callahan, MetLife Fellow
Meghan Callahan teaches Head Start in an elementary school in Virginia.
She has been teaching Head Start for 6 years after earning a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies with a Minor in Early Childhood Education from James Madison University.
Meghan is currently working on a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education at George Mason University.
Her current focus is exploring the relationship between the Patterns of Thinking Method and student learning.
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 I elementary school explored developmentally appropriate practices during morning meetings. Students ranged in age from three to five-years-old. Two classrooms consisted of sixteen students and the third had seventeen. Students possessed a range of learning abilities as well as mastery of the English language and social emotional development. Modeling our daily schedules after the Office of Early Childhood’s “Day in a Life of a Head Start Student,” the research team implemented different strategies to increase the length of circle time while simultaneously decreasing the number of student interruptions. Strategies included adding more music and movement activities, maintaining the pace of instruction, stating expectations for student behavior and using visual cues.
