If you listen hard enough as you walk by Dwight Bentel Hall, you can hear the high-pitched laughter of toddlers as you’re rushing to your next class at San José State University.
Unless you’re a part of the Lurie College of Education Department of Child and Adolescent Development, you might’ve wondered why there is a fenced-off yard with children's toys across from your college classes.
The yard is a part of SJSU’s Child Development Laboratory Preschool.
The preschool features two classrooms — A toddler lab for two-year-old children, and a multi-age lab for children 3 to 5 years old, according to SJSU’s Child and Adolescent Development webpage.
Child care centers on campuses are referred to as lab schools, designed to develop new educational models and allows for college students to train in a classroom, according to a 2022 article by U.S. News.
The director of the child development laboratory, Joy Foster has been with the program since 1995 when she joined as a student, and later became a lab instructor for SJSU’s multi-age preschool laboratory in 2007.
“(The) multi-age group is awesome,” Foster said. “There’s a lot of benefits (to a multi-age classroom) there’s the older one’s teaching the younger ones.”
Foster also said that there is a rich use of language among the multi-age lab students.
“Children who are a little bit older have a lot more speech (and) a lot more thoughts,” Foster said “The younger ones are learning all that.”
The classroom features an observation room with mirrored windows that are available for both students and parents to watch the children engage in their environment.
The observation room is utilized for child and adolescent development students to watch children's behavior for educational purposes, according to SJSU’s Child and Adolescent Development webpage.
Foster said students of all majors can come into the observation room for course assignments.
She said practicum is a requirement for those studying in the childhood and adolescent department who have a focus on early childhood.
Practicum is a practical section of a course, according to a webpage from the Oxford Dictionary
Maria Fusaro, associate professor of child and adolescent development said practice-based experiences are critical for students, and to have these experiences is central to the preparation process for becoming a teacher.
“(Child and adolescent development) is a great major in terms of being broad in its focus on understanding children's development to inform how (researchers and educators) work with children, youth and families in a variety of settings,” Fusaro said.
Child development senior Marisol Martinez said she has always been interested in working in the field of education.
She said having previously worked at a preschool, she gets to compare the different programs and the children.
“It’s really fun to experience different ages, different environments and different philosophies in the way they run the school program,” Martinez said.
Foster said the curriculum in the multi-age lab is play-based learning.
Play-based learning is when children learn by playing in their environment and making sense of their surroundings, according to an infographic by the University of New Hampshire.
The multi-age lab curriculum includes a daily art or science-based activity followed by a math or literacy activity then “community time” where children read stories, said Foster.
The children benefit in that they get a high-quality early learning experience (at the lab school),” Fusaro said.
Early childhood care and education refers to the period from birth to 8 years old that capitalizes on a period of rich brain development for children, according to a webpage by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
This growth period, when of good quality, can help children achieve their full potential, according to the same website.
Research has shown that early childhood education helps children later earn higher grades, improves their attention span and helps them develop social and emotional skills, according to an article by Point Loma Nazarene University.
“Watching (the kids) enjoy little things you do on a daily basis that’s like nothing to you, but to them, it’s very fun,” Martinez said.
