Early Childhood Education

This course offers an introduction to the needs and best practice in health, safety, and nutrition for young children. Nutrition and policy considerations about medication administration, infectious disease control, sick childcare, universal precautions and liability, and health record keeping will be discussed. Students will be able to develop menus for meals and snacks which are nutritious, appealing and age appropriate. Recognition and treatment of child abuse victims, emergency preparedness, infectious disease prevention and control, administering medication and safe environments including safe sleep will be addressed.

It should be noted that CPR and First Aid are NOT part of the course.

Practicum I is the first of two practicum experiences where the students conduct an in-depth child study that includes documenting, interpreting, and assessing child observations. Students create, manage, and use portfolio documentation to generate invitations that support a child’s individual goals (set by the student, mentor teacher, and family of the child). Students summarize, in narrative form, a child’s growth in developmental domains. All of this is used to plan out two parent conferences. Students will complete 60 Practicum hours at a college approved Early Childhood program and may not be able to complete hours at their worksite.

The emphasis of this course is on the role of positive child guidance in supporting young children’s healthy social and emotional development. The pyramid model will serve as the conceptual framework for evidence-based practices and intervention approaches. The course will focus on the three main overarching themes: promotion of all children’s social and emotional development, prevention strategies for at risk children, and individual & intensive interventions for children with persistent challenges. Access to an Early Childhood program is required in order to complete an ongoing and in-depth case study.

This course presents theory and strategies for effective integration of technology resources and technology-based methods of instruction to enhance and extend student learning. The role of technology in the classroom with regard to student use, teacher productivity, and communication will be explored, including assistive technology designed for students with disabilities, to discover ways in which technology supports differentiated instruction. State and National technology standards will be addressed with respect to planning curricula and technology-based activities.

The course will focus on the unique characteristics of young children and families with disabilities, delays, and/or risks, including communication disorders, sensory impairments, physical and health related disabilities, child abuse, stress, and trauma. Students learn how to develop curriculum modification/accommodation strategies in all domains of development in an inclusive classroom setting or other natural environment including the use of appropriate assistive technologies. Create a supportive environment for children learning to use assistive technologies. Screening, assessment, early intervention, individual education plans, inclusive education, community resources and family issues will also be presented and discussed.

This course will focus on designing, implementing, and evaluating appropriate activities and environments for children infant to age 8 with a focus on blocks, math, science, woodworking, and technology with literacy and art concepts integrated into each area. Emphasis will be on the concrete, practical application of different philosophies, theories, and current research that is manifested in various curriculum models in early childhood education. Students will dialogue and reflect together as they explore the cycle Emphasis will be on planning stimulating, age-appropriate classroom and outdoor learning environments that encourage child-initiated discovery and act as a tool in behavior management. These environments will be child and family friendly, barrier free, inclusionary, and meet state regulatory requirements. Students will learn about and apply successful attributes of documentation that make their learning and children's learning visible.

The development of language and literacy, components of a language rich environment, language arts Curriculum, and approaches to reading and writing instruction will also be explored. This course is designed to provide an overview of developmentally and interest appropriate literature and language arts curriculum for young children. It will afford an opportunity to: explore the various genres, recognize the value of literature to children’s development, become familiar with exemplary authors and illustrators of children’s literature, and learn ways to extend and enhance literature for young children.

Practicum II is the second of two Practicum experiences where students assume teacher responsibilities in a different Early Childhood setting (i.e. infant/toddler; preschool; Head Start, Special Education, kindergarten or school-age program) than ECE165, under guided supervision with a qualified mentoring teacher. Students will practice intentional teaching in their work with young children by planning and implementing activities and preparing an environment for their classroom. Students will complete 130 Practicum hours at a college approved Early Childhood program and may not be able to complete hours at their worksite.