As we have learned this week, there are many different aspects to development that we need to know when working with children from birth to age 8. We must ensure that our classrooms help to stimulate the physical, cognitive, and affective development for all students. For this assignment, you will bring together your knowledge of theories, developmental domains, and learning environments to design a learning environment. The steps for the assignment are: 

Step 1: Create your learning environment 

a.         Choose an age group (birth to age 2, ages 2 to 5, or ages 6 to 8) to design a learning environment for.

b.        Go to the Classroom Architect website.You will use this website to design the layout for the learning environment. When designing your layout, consider how the design you have created will support the developmental needs of your students based on the age group you chose.

c.         After creating your learning environment, take a screenshot of your design. Then, copy and paste your screenshot into a Word document. If you need help taking a screenshot, please view this tutorial.

Step 2: Written support for your learning environment design

a.         Introduction (one paragraph) 

o    Describe the learning environment that you have designed including the setting of your learning environment (school, home daycare, center, etc.) along with the age of children with whom you will be working.

b.        Physical Domain 

o    Explain how your learning environment design supports the physical development of the children with whom you are working. 

o    Include at least two specific examples from your design.

c.         Cognitive Domain 

o    Explain how your learning environment design supports the cognitive development of the children with whom you are working.  

o    Include at least two specific examples from your design.

d.        Affective Domain 

o    Explain how your learning environment design supports the cognitive development of the children with whom you are working. 

o    Include at least two specific examples from your design.

e.         Developmental Theories 

o    Discuss which of the developmental theories discussed this week are represented in the learning environment you created. 

o    Include at least two specific examples from your design. 

f.          Conclusion (one paragraph) 

o    Summarize the main points of your learning environment design and how it will support the developmental needs of your students.

Step 3: Assignment Submission

a.         Submit your assignment as a two to three page Word document, not including the title and reference page. 

o    Your document should include a screenshot of your classroom along with the written support for your classroom design (answering all questions from Step 2 above). 

b.        Along with the textbook, you will need to include at least two additional scholarly sources. 

o    Be sure to mention your sources in the paper as well as including them on a reference page. 

o    If you need assistance with making sure that your paper or references are properly formatted in APA, please utilize the APA Guidance link that is located within the Learning Resources tab on the left hand side of the course or visit the Ashford Writing Center.

o    If you need assistance using the Ashford University Library to find scholarly sources for this assignment, please watch the Quick & dirty: The Ashford University Library video tutorial below. 

If you are unable to utilize the features on the Classroom Architect website for accessibility reasons, please reach out to your instructor. 

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.