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Featured Program: Child Development Learning Lab Success Story

Yuma, Arizona (March 21, 2011) - The Dr. Kathryn A Watson Child Development Learning Lab (CDLL) on the campus of Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona is a teaching institution that provides state-of-the-art learning opportunities for two unique populations: enrolled children (ages 6 weeks - 5 years old) of college faculty, staff and students; and college students studying Early Childhood Education.

A pioneer in the field

The program opened in 1967 and was a pioneer in both the institutional child-care field and the accreditation process. Many of the college students who come through the program go to work in the field, in areas like Head Start classes, elementary schools, and kindergarten programs.

Small & big students working together
One thing that makes the AWC CDLL unique is the interaction between children, early childhood education college students and the greater college community. Both teachers and parents feel like the interaction enriches programs for students big and small. The examples are plentiful:

• Children plant seeds with college Agriculture students, and return with same students to pick the food they planted
• Instructors from the college Wellness program teach kids "Simon Says Aerobics"
• Children visit the campus post office to mail Valentines home to parents
• Cultural performers, like Native American Hoop Dancers, often make the CDLL their first campus stop with their visiting presentations
• ESL (English as a Second Language) students learn to pick appropriate books, practice reading out loud, then visit with and read to the children
• The Humanities department organizes a book drive to gather donations for the CDLL library

Kim Hill-Olsen, the parent of twins who attend the CDLL agrees. "Our daughters are exposed to a lot of different types of volunteers. They get to meet new people, like nursing students who observe the kids, ESL (English as a Second Language) students who practice their English by reading stories...."

That interaction goes both ways. The AWC CDLL extends their unique learning environment to assist other college programs. Olsen remembers that her twins have visited with college Biology students to talk about the genetics of twins, and to demonstrate in person how the children are similar, but have unique personalities. "In a book you read it, but the feedback from college students is that it helps them to be able to talk about the differences with the teachers. Interaction is very positive," Olsen says.

A place to play and learn

Another thing that makes the AWC CDLL special is the state-of-the art facility, which was part of a bond measure in 2004, and was completed and went into use in the fall of 2008. "It's a very stimulating center. It's very conducive to learning," says center Director Alison Keough, M.Ed. The facility has classrooms and offices on three sides surrounding an interactive courtyard that encourages play through features like shade, grass, sand, water, and ramps. The center also includes a classroom for adult learners, with a separate entrance and glass walls to observe the children at play. The favorite feature of the facility? External child-level windows appropriate for each age-group's room. Windows in the infant room are at the right level for crawlers. At the other end of the spectrum, windows in the 4-5 year old room are at their size-appropriate eye-level.

The modern facility has caught the eye of other institutions. According to Keough, requests for information and visitors have arrived from locations near and far, including facilities from other locations in Arizona, California, and architects who work with independent child-care facilities.

Attention to detail The AWC CDLL offers children the opportunity to develop physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally through active learning. Because the AWC CDLL is a teaching facility, the student-to-teacher ratio is small; maybe as small as 2:1 or 3:1, in addition to center volunteers who are observing for class projects or helping to fulfill requirements in other programs. According to Olsen, the staff designs a curriculum for each child. "Every semester we have parent-teacher conference, even when they were infants. I thought 'you've got to be kidding me' but you would be amazed at the attention to detail they had for each child."

NAEYC Accreditation

The CDLL has been committed to quality from its beginning in 1967, and has been actively involved in NAEYC both locally and nationally over the years. The program was initially accredited in the early 1980's as the system was instituted by NAEYC, and has maintained their accreditation consistently through the years. The CDLL successfully completed the revised accreditation process in May of 2010, and was reaccredited for the next 5 years in July 2010, according to center Director Keough. "We used the On-line Portfolio system through School Chapters for the Program Portfolio and 2 of our classroom Portfolios. The on-line system was easy to use and kept us organized and aware of where we were in the process. The ability to upload documents and photos and insert them into the portfolio saved us both time and money in printing costs and cutting and mounting items in the traditional format. We are moving to the On-line system for all of our Portfolios for our next renewal."

For more information: Director Alison Keough, M.Ed. (928)344-7734 Alison.keough@azwestern.edu Watson Child Development Learning Lab at Arizona Western College