NSU Libraries - Instruction - ECED4313-Developing Early Childhood Programs

Library Resources and Instruction for College of Education

Curriculum and Instruction

ECED4313

ECED4313-Developing Early Childhood Programs

General Information for Students

Resources 1- Catalogs for finding books and teaching materials
Search Tips
Resources 2- Library Databases & Internet Sites
Evaluating Websites
Following APA style rules

Resources Part 1

If you are unfamiliar with the terminology you encounter while searching article databases (or while reading articles in journals) you may wish to refer to sources such as textbooks, dictionaries, and other reference resources in the field of study.

Reference Materials

Broken Arrow Library

The Educator's Desk Reference : A Sourcebook of Educational Iinformation and Research (EDR) Call # BA Ref LB1028.26 .F74 1989

Encyclopedia of Education, Second Ed. Vol 1 – 8. Call # BA Ref. LB15 .E47 2003

The Giant Encyclopedia of Art & Craft Activities for children 3 to 6: More than 500 art & craft activities written by teachers for teachers.Call # BA Ref. LB1139.35 .A37 G52 2000

John Vaughan Library (Tahlequah)

A Critical Dictionary of Educational Concepts Call # Ref. LB 15.B29

Encyclopedia of Learning & Memory Call # Ref. BF 318.E53

The Language of Learning: A Guide to Education Terms Call # Ref. LB 15.M32

Books (BA campus)

The Instant Curriculum: 750 developmentally appropriate learning activities for busy teachers of young children . Call # LB1139.35.A37 S36 2005

Bright Beginnings : an effective literacy-focused PreK program for educationally disadvantaged four-year-old children Call # LB1139.5 L35 S65 2003

(Catalogs for finding)

Search the NSU Libraries' Online Catalog: http://library2.nsuok.edu/

Here are some of the subject headings used in the catalog: early childhood education; education, preschool; education, primary; kindergarten; early childhood activity programs

Also, you can limit your search to curriculum materials in the catalog. Follow these steps:

1. Find and click on Advanced Keyword
2. On the Advanced Keyword search screen, use the pull-down menu to change the LOCATION from ANY to John Vaughan, Curriculum Materials

Curriculum Materials are housed in the Curriculum Materials Room on the second floor of the JV Library, and some are located in the BA Library stacks. http://library.nsuok.edu/admin/jvlcurmt.html

Search for E-Books using EBSCO e-books collection: http://library.nsuok.edu/Refdesk/vrdbks.html

If you need an item that NSU doesn't own, you can order it through our ILLiad system.

Search Tips

1. Be prepared with synonyms in case your original search produces no results. Use a thesaurus if the database is equipped with one.

2. Pay attention to search tips or help screens provided by each database. Even experienced researchers (like professors and librarians!) can have trouble when dealing with a new interface. Take the time to learn how to use the tool - it will help you to avoid frustration!

3. Remember that most databases allow for Boolean Searching. Use and to narrow, or to expand, not to exlude. Truncation is also useful for bringing back all relevant results. For example, type counsel* to bring back documents containing the words counsel, counseling, counselor...

Click here for a search string generator that will help you develop an effective search query!

4. Take advantage of the following sources of help:

- NSU Library Tutorials

- Reference On Call at JVL is staffed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday - Thursday & 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday by reference librarians or other experienced library staff members.

Resources Part 2

Journal and Magazine Article Databases

Academic Search Premier - This is a general database, which means it contains article citations and full text articles covering many academic subjects. It is one of the twenty-five databases produced by EbscoHost for which NSU has a subscription. It is probably our most widely used database and is sometimes referred to simply as "Ebsco."

ERIC - This is another database produced by EbscoHost. ERIC stands for the Educational Resource Information Center. It contains more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and education-related journals. ERIC contains a thesaurus, which can be very helpful in figuring out which search terms to use when looking for information.

Professional Development Collection - Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of more than 550 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This databasealso contains more than 200 educational reports.

Education Full Text - Once a part of Wilson's Omnifile Full Text, EFT is now a part of EBSCOhost and provides comprehensive coverage of an international range of English-language periodicals, monographs and yearbooks. Coverage includes 79 journals (37 with full text) not covered by ERIC's Current Index to Journals in Education. Index coverage goes back to 1983. Full text articles from 1996 to the present. Contains a thesaurus

Go to all EbscoHost databases

Internet Sites

General

Sites for Teachers: http://www.sitesforteachers.com/

United States Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml?src=a

NSU Library List of Search Engines: http://library.nsuok.edu/internet/index.html

The Internet Public Library: http://www.ipl.org/

American Library Association, Great Websites for Kids - Literature & Languages: http://gws.ala.org/category/literature-languages

Internet Sites relating to topics in early childhood education

Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc

National Center for Early Development and Learning : http://fpg.unc.edu/projects/national-center-early-development-learning

Reading to Kids: http://readingtokids.org/Home/main.php

ReadyWeb: A Resource for Parents and Educators: http://readyweb.crc.uiuc.edu/

Evaluating Websites

It's important to remember that publishing on the web is very easy - almost anyone can do it! The problem with that is knowing what's credible (worth your time) and what's not.

Here are some of the thing you want to look at or for:

the URL (.gov, .mil, .us, .edu are usually pretty credible);
links to information about the author or sponsoring organization;
links to other sites that are credible;
how current it is

Ultimately the researcher must be the one to determine whether or not to use information found on a web site. The following information from Cornell University provides some excellent guidelines for evaluating sites:

http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html

NSU Library Tutorial on Evaluating Websites

Following APA style rules

The American Psychological Association originally created a publication manual to provide a common structure for all journal manuscripts in the area of the social sciences.

Many other disciplines (including psychology, the behavioral sciences, nursing, personnel administration and many areas within education) have adopted this as their professional writing standard as well.

In an academic environment, you will often be expected to conform to this standard when writing. At this point, you should be mostly concerned with creating an accurate reference list using proper format and providing citations within the text to give credit for an idea or concept to the source from which you got it.

Print:

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

The library owns several copies of the style guide; however, only the 5th edition circulates (can be checked out). The NSU libraries have seven copies of the 6th edition in reference and two on reserve. ( BF76.7 .P83 2010)

Websites:

www.apastyle.org

Using APA format (Purdue University) - this comprehensive guide summarizes the print version of the book. Click on Your Reference List to find examples of the proper format to use when listing sources you used.

APA Style.org's Frequently Asked Questions