Early Childhood Education

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Examine current topics in Early Childhood Education
• Illustrate best practices with young children based on child development theories and research
• Generalize different levels of professionalism

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• relate current perspectives on childhood, the care of children, and early childhood education to historical and cultural contexts.
• identify career paths, certification options, professional associations, and dispositions for working within the early childhood field.
• discriminate among philosophies of early childhood education in regards to assumptions about how young children learn and how early childhood teachers should teach.
• describe principles and practices that guide teaching when working with young children, to include the development of play-based learning environments, routines that involve children in applying emerging skills, and strategies that support young children’s social competence.
• identify the role of observation, documentation, and interpretation of children’s play as a tool for planning curriculum for young children and assessing their learning.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify the components of a successful, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate licensed family child care home.
• develop a plan for a licensed family child care facility, including philosophy, curriculum, policies, routines, guidance practices, communication and marketing.
• interpret and reference the legal regulations of family child care homes in California (Title 22), fire code, and other health and safety requirements.
• examine anti-bias and culturally responsive strategies for engaging and supporting diverse families.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe the main characteristics of physical, cognitive, and social emotional development from birth through adolescence
• identify the roles of genetic and environmental influence on development
• identify the characteristics that exemplify typical and atypical development from birth through adolescence
• describe current and prominent theories of child development
• compare and contrast diverse parenting approaches and educational experiences in reference to developmental outcomes throughout childhood and adolescence
• apply theories to teaching and child-rearing practices with a focus on current topics in education for children from diverse backgrounds
• identify typical behavior of children and their individual differences and special needs (physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development)
• analyze the influence of culture, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family and society structure on a developing child from birth through adolescence

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• examine historical and current theoretical frameworks of socialization, with specific reference to Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory.
• identify how the child develops within a system and is influenced by multiple factors of socialization including the educational, political, and socioeconomic impacts on children and families.
• compare and contrast diverse family characteristics and perspectives of children and families.
• evaluate the impact of one’s own experiences on their relationships with children, families, and the community.
• describe the legal requirements and ethical responsibilities of professionals working with all children and families, including the role of teacher activism.
• compare and contrast educational systems and practices, including strategies for family engagement and building partnerships between early learning settings, schools, and community organizations and agencies.
• describe contemporary social issues and their effects on children and families.
• identify community resources to support young children’s learning and development and to support families’ needs.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• apply developmentally appropriate principles and practices to support young children’s optimal development and learning within healthy, safe, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments.
• assess one’s own teaching with respect to the teacher’s role in providing best and promising practices in early childhood education.
• design, develop, and evaluate play-based learning environments for young children, routines that involve young children in applying emerging ideas and skills, and developmentally appropriate and inclusive learning activities for young children.
• plan, implement, and evaluate experiences that support young children in building a foundation for language and literacy, math and science, social sciences, and the arts.
• plan for children's learning using observation, documentation, and interpretation of their actions, ideas, and feelings.
• develop respectful and reciprocal relationships with families, with particular attention paid to those whose children have special needs, and supporting families whose home language is other than English.
• demonstrate communication and guidance strategies that support the development of young children’s social competence.
• analyze possibilities for children’s learning within play-based curriculum that supports children’s cognitive, language, creative, physical, and social/emotional development.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• create a statement of philosophy and a list of guiding principles and practices for early childhood teaching, using current research and theory in child development.
• design, arrange, observe, and evaluate a complete classroom environment wherein children construct knowledge within a context of play.
• plan, implement, observe, and evaluate the overall and ongoing curriculum and learning encounters, verifying opportunities to apply emerging skills in the areas of language and literacy; math and science; the arts; physical development; and social sciences.
• demonstrate the use of observation, documentation, and interpretation for curriculum planning, assessment of children’s learning, and advocacy in regards to making visible children’s learning.
• organize communication systems within a classroom that involve families in the process of curriculum and program design.
• support the development of a climate of care and respect among children, teachers, and families by applying strategies for negotiating disputes, fostering caring relations, sharing responsibility, and cultural competency.
• assess one's own teaching experiences to guide practice.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• examine child development theories and research in regard to positive guidance strategies.
• summarize key practices from dominant guidance theories.
• analyze early childhood care and education physical environments, schedules, materials, activities, and practices for the effects on children's behavior.
• assess children's behavior and apply effective guidance practices in daily interactions.
• identify teaching and parenting practices that foster social-emotional skills.
• identify factors which have both positive and negative impacts on brain development and how these variables influence the development of executive functioning.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• compare the purpose, value, and use of formal and informal assessments, including ethical and legal concerns.
• evaluate the strengths and limitations of common assessment tools with respect to children’s diverse cultures, home languages, and developmental capabilities.
• recommend changes to play environments, guidance strategies, curriculum activities, and care routines based on systematically recorded observational data that documents children's actions, ideas, and feelings.
• demonstrate children's developmental progress using observational documentation of children's ideas and behavior.
• analyze the effectiveness of photo documentation in conveying how young children learn within quality early childhood settings.
• integrate observed documentation of children's ideas, feelings, and actions to engage children's families and others as active partners in developing early childhood curriculum and programs.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• evaluate biological and environmental factors that influence pre-conception and prenatal health, development, and early parenting.
• outline the major developmental milestones, characteristics, and growth patterns of children from conception through 36 months.
• demonstrate developmentally appropriate observation skills in the areas of physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive development of infants and toddlers.
• analyze the multiple contextual influences on infant and toddler development, including the influence of culture, diverse family practices, and interrelationships between heredity and environment.
• use current research to explain a variety of developmental issues in the first three years including the impact of birth practices on the newborn and family.
• relate developmental theory to infant and toddler development, interactions, and relationships.
• compare and contrast caregiving practices and environments that support optimal development.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• summarize the essential policies and practices of quality infant and toddler programs, including primary caregiving, quality indicators, and practices that support the unique abilities of children from birth through 36 months of age.
• demonstrate an understanding of strategies to promote healthy relationships in the care and education of infants and toddlers, including reciprocal communication techniques and respectful practices with diverse families served.
• evaluate and design appropriate infant and toddler curriculum and environments based on observation, documentation, and reflection.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify inquiry skills and concepts children are building in early childhood and provide meaningful opportunities for children to apply and master these skills and concepts.
• define and implement effective approaches to teaching and learning science and mathematics in early childhood education.
• demonstrate teaching techniques that encourage and support children in actively developing understandings of the processes involved in mathematical and scientific knowledge.
• develop and evaluate important elements of a science-rich and math-rich learning environment.
• design and evaluate curriculum in math and science using an inquiry-based approach.
• generalize knowledge of the constructivist/inquiry approach to design curriculum that is culturally respectful and inclusive as well as considerate of children's prior experiences gaining knowledge about the world.
• analyze mathematic and science curriculum concepts based on the knowledge of relevant research and knowledge of child development.
• critique the important concepts in children's construction of knowledge in mathematics and science in comparison to product-driven repetition and drill practices.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe developmental patterns in early literacy learning and research-based teaching practices that help children build a foundation for rich vocabularies and language fluency for reading and writing.
• design and define developmentally appropriate goals and expectations for young children’s achievement in reading and in writing.
• incorporate developmentally appropriate teaching practices that support children’s language and literacy knowledge from birth through age five.
• evaluate and define program policies (staff development, curricular resources, and assessment) that support early childhood language and literacy teaching and learning.
• analyze practices and assess issues that support young children learning a second language while simultaneously maintaining competence in the home language.
• evaluate and demonstrate strategies of collaboration with children’s families to implement projects that support children’s literacy experiences both at school and at home.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify academic requirements and experiences needed to become a credentialed elementary school teacher.
• evaluate attitudes, actions, behaviors, and responsibilities that define the role of a professional educator in a public school setting.
• demonstrate objective, descriptive, and interpretative observation skills.
• analyze learning theory through planning, teaching, and interaction with elementary students.
• examine and assess the benefits and challenges of diversity in elementary student backgrounds, interests, experiences, and abilities.
• identify school and community resources that support the needs of a diverse student population.
• develop a personal preliminary philosophy of teaching, examining personal characteristics, assumptions and beliefs, and experiences which could affect development as a teacher.
• apply course content to fieldwork experience through structured assignments, observations, and reflections.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• evaluate and observe the developmental progression of children's exploration and use of the tools and media of drawing, painting, sculpting, and construction.
• demonstrate the attributes, selection, and use of expressive media and tools commonly used with young children.
• create interest areas within an early childhood classroom that provide developmentally and culturally appropriate media, tools, and settings for young children's independent exploration and use of a variety of expressive media.
• design encounters with expressive arts media and tools that present challenges and problems appropriate to children's developmental interests and abilities for each phase of development from infancy through eight years of age.
• evaluate early childhood classroom environments for their capacity to promote young children's comfort and competence in using expressive media to represent impressions, feelings, and experiences.
• summarize anecdotal observations of children's encounters with the tools and media of expressive art and make visible children's learning through developmental portfolios and displays.
• design documentation that supports reflective examination among teachers, families, and children of the aesthetic and cognitive dimensions of children's work.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe how music and movement supports a young child's growth in all developmental domains.
• plan music and movement experiences and environments for young children, including children with special needs.
• analyze using music and movement as a strategy for forming a classroom community of learners, and for managing behaviors, routines, and transitions.
• create a repertoire of songs, finger plays, rhymes, chants, and movement activities to support children's development.
• identify strategies for using culturally diverse music and movement experiences to promote understanding and support appreciation of differences.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• synthesize characteristics and behaviors of students with disabilities in terms of program and developmental needs and the role of the classroom educators.
• identify strategies to promote student growth in social, academic, motor, and self-help domains.
• discuss the importance of working collaboratively with professionals from multiple disciplines in meeting educational needs of students with disabilities.
• communicate with other professionals, paraprofessionals, and families.
• work with students with disabilities from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, as well as their families.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• synthesize biological, genetic, and environmental factors that impact typical development during the prenatal and infancy periods of development.
• describe early intervention services that are provided to infants and toddlers.
• explore effective approaches needed to work with diverse families and the infant with atypical development.
• utilize screening assessments and demonstrate and understanding of how to use these tools develop appropriate intervention techniques.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• evaluate the role of history and society in shaping current policies related to best practices of inclusion and serving children and adolescents with disabilities.
• analyze how the needs of children and adolescents with disabilities are similar to and different from those children without disabilities, and identify culturally supportive strategies for full inclusion of all children.
• examine and identify the prenatal, genetic and environmental conditions that influence developmental disabilities.
• demonstrate a strength-based approach when assessing the strengths and challenges of various developmental disabilities and when working with children and their families.
• identify recommended practices for collaboration, open communication and confidentiality between families, teachers and the IEP team in supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities; identify community resources and summarize the referral timeline and process.
• explore appropriate pedagogical strategies, curriculum and modifications using Universal Design Principles (UDL) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to help children and adolescents with disabilities and those considered to be gifted and talented, access appropriate learning experiences.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• analyze the interrelationship between health, safety, and nutrition as it relates to the well-being of children.
• develop various methods of collaboration with families and teachers that promote the health, safety, and nutrition of children.
• identify community resources that promote the health, safety, and nutrition of children.
• evaluate assessment tools and policies that protect the health, safety, and nutrition of children in child care settings.
• employ safe food handling techniques for preventing food-borne illnesses.
• assess the general symptoms and management of common infectious diseases that may occur in childhood.
• identify potential hazards in children's environments and describe how to make them safer.
• identify nutrient needs during fetal development, infancy, and childhood.
• identify and explain the major nutrients and their food sources.
• evaluate a child's nutrient intake by comparing it with current nutrition standards and recommendations.
• compare nutrition, health, and safety practices from the perspective of culturally diverse communities.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe the role and responsibilities of the early childhood education administrator, including the application of a professional code of ethics, and their role in advancing equity for children.
• articulate a personal philosophy of working with children, families, and staff in an early childhood education environment.
• identify strategies to ensure equity and respect for children, families, staff, and colleagues.
• demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of program planning: budgets, reports, personnel management, equipping program, enrollment, staffing, and evaluation.
• reference and interpret the legal regulations of California child care centers (Title 22), and publicly funded child development programs (Title 5).
• develop policies based on best practices for developmentally and culturally appropriate early childhood education programs.
• develop strategies to create and sustain program structures that support anti-bias values, including philosophy statements, admissions priorities, budget allocations, and hiring procedures.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify and demonstrate key aspects of early childhood education program leadership and core attributes of effective program leaders.
• identify effective practices for managing and administering early care and education programs.
• articulate strategies for establishing and facilitating professional relationships, collaboration, and communication between colleagues, families, and community stakeholders.
• identify and evaluate cultural and organizational characteristics that support a diverse and inclusive early childhood education program.
• articulate components of equitable hiring practices, observation, and evaluation of staff.
• formulate strategies for professional growth and development opportunities, based on evaluation of staff and program needs.
• examine the administrator's legal and ethical responsibilities related to the rights of employees, children, and families.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify characteristics of effective leaders and mentors.
• examine and apply individualized mentoring and supervision strategies based on the roles and developmental stages of diverse adult learners.
• demonstrate competency in communication, interactions, and reflective practices when working with diverse adult populations.
• demonstrate reflective practice, cultural competency, and ethical conduct.
• critique and practice strategies to support adult learners.
• evaluate and use a variety of personnel, program, and environmental assessment tools to inform leadership decisions.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe historical and current perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• identify and differentiate between various forms of diversity.
• discuss how stereotypes, bias, discrimination, systemic oppression, and internalized privilege impact children’s learning, development, and school experiences.
• examine your own values and implicit and explicit biases and the ways in which these may positively and negatively affect teaching and learning.
• evaluate classroom environments, materials, and curriculum approaches for developmental, cultural, and linguistic appropriateness for infants and toddlers through the early primary years.
• describe appropriate teaching strategies and potential curriculum and pedagogical modifications to help all young children access the curriculum.
• describe strategies to promote an inclusive and anti-racist classroom community.
• identify approaches to help children negotiate and resolve conflict related to social injustice and bias.
• describe strategies to build collaborative, respectful partnerships with families.