Texas Pre-K Guidelines and Technology Applications; Scaffolding Curriculum

The Revised Pre-K Guidelines are organized into 10 Domains. These domains are: Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Emergent Literacy Reading, Emergent Literacy Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, P.E., and Technology.



Each domain contains skill areas. The domain skill areas include the following columns: By around 48 months of age, End of Pre-K outcomes, Examples of child behaviors, and Examples of instructional strategies.



The Pre-K Technology Applications Domain is organized into 5 Pre-K outcomes for the child. These outcomes are: opening and navigating through software programs, using and naming computer input devices, operating voice/sound recorders and touch screens, using software to create and express ideas, and recognizing that information is accessible through technology tools.



All the Pre-K TEKS are important, but at this young stage of development research is showing that the Social and Emotional Development Domain is absolutely critical for children to acquire. An article the September 25, 2009 issue of The New York Times Magazine by Paul Tough put it this way, "The ability of young children to control their emotional and cognitive impulses, it turns out, is a remarkably strong indicator of both short-term and long-term success, academic and otherwise. In some studies, self-regulation skills have been shown to predict academic achievement more reliably than I.Q. tests."

I'm pleased to see that Texas educators acknowledge that Social and Emotional Development is the top priority for teachers, students, and parents in this age group. However, I believe it is imperative that ALL Texas children be enrolled in a Pre-K program. The funding must be directed in this area so that all children are better prepared for future grades.

Learning about Technology Tools results in more than a mastery of basic skills. The Technology Applications TEKS is a spiralling curriculum that equips students with a concise and powerful means of communication.

For instance, in the area of Information Acquisition, K-2 students begin to apply keyboard searches for information. In grades 3-5, students demonstrate they can apply appropriate strategies in the acquisition of information including keyboard and Boolean searches. Next, in grades 6-8, students use strategies to locate and acquire information on LANs and WANs. Last, in high school, students are expected to use Lans and WANs in research and resource sharing.