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:

• describe historical and current issues in early care and education, as well as global approaches to early care and education.
• differentiate between various types of early childhood education settings in relation to the ages served, regulations, career pathways, and teacher requirements.
• identify the roles and responsibilities of an early childhood educator for curriculum and teaching, family engagement, ethical practice, and professional interactions with others in the learning environment.
• identify and compare the developmental stages and needs of children from birth through age eight.
• describe culturally affirming and developmentally appropriate practices.
• explain the role and value of play.
• compare and contrast principles of positive guidance and interactions.
• explain how theories of learning and development guide early childhood environment design, curriculum, and teaching strategies.
• explain the ongoing curriculum cycle of observation, planning, implementation, and assessment.
• identify supports for first, dual, and multi-language learners in developing English language and literacy skills including support for the home language.
• develop an initial personal philosophy of early childhood teaching.

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.
• differentiate between characteristics of children with typical development, their individual differences, children with atypical development and children with disabilities.
• analyze the impact of multiple factors on development and wellbeing, including those related to biology, environment, social interactions, culture, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and family structure.
• apply objective and ethical techniques and skills when observing, interviewing, describing, and evaluating behavior in children.

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:

• explore various early childhood curriculum models, approaches, culturally appropriate curriculum, anti-bias education, and professional practices to inform and evaluate curriculum and environments.
• explain how the culturally appropriate curriculum and anti-bias education is integrated across all developmental domains and content areas.
• observe and evaluate teaching strategies, curriculum, and environmental designs.
• observe children as a basis for planning curriculum and environments.
• apply knowledge of academic discipline content, children’s growth, development, and individual characteristics to plan developmentally and linguistically appropriate, engaging, and supportive learning experiences for infants and toddlers through the early primary years.
• develop plans for physical environments that are appropriate for children’s individual ages and stages, skills and abilities, needs, and learning goals.
• explain how different teaching strategies could be used for a variety of curriculum goals.
• describe guidance and interaction approaches to support social relationships and learning.
• explain how the principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are applied in various situations and how specific learning experiences could be adapted to address individual children’s learning and development needs.
• describe various strategies for engaging and partnering with families to support children's development and learning.

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

• apply current research and theories on learning and development to plan experiences for young children.
• demonstrate developmentally and culturally appropriate, anti-bias education, professional, and ethical practices.
• plan and evaluate curriculum based on the needs and interests of young children.
• incorporate principles of the Universal Design for Learning into a variety of curriculum experiences.
• demonstrate how to provide a supportive learning environment for children's first- and dual-language acquisition, development and learning.
• use documentation and assessment to monitor children’s progress and to adjust learning experiences.
• analyze the impact of the learning environment and daily routines on children’s behavior as a basis for planning.
• demonstrate how to adjust culturally appropriate curriculum, anti-bias education, environments, routines, and teaching strategies to meet the individualized needs of infants, toddlers, and preschool children.
• identify strategies to prevent and/or address young children’s challenging behaviors and to help children learn to resolve conflicts.
• practice strategies for communication and collaboration with families and other adults to support young children’s development and learning.
• reflect on student teaching experiences to guide future teaching and collaborative practices.
• assess, in collaborative reflection and discussion with colleagues, one's teaching competence in order to guide and inform practice.

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

• understand how child development theories intersect with guidance practices, culture, and social-emotional development in young children.
• identify developmental, biological and environmental factors (e.g. trauma, disability, language, temperament, culture) that impact behavior.
• examine how personal values and practices, including explicit and implicit biases, impact adults' perception of child behavior and which behaviors they find challenging.
• understand culturally responsive and inclusive teaching and parenting practices that foster positive social-emotional skills.
• describe effective strategies to engage families as they locate resources and collaborate on behavioral plans that take into account the culture and values of the family.
• identify factors that can impact child behavior, as well as strategies for building resilience in children and families.
• analyze how the physical environments, schedules, routines and transitions, materials, social climate, activities, and daily practices in early childhood care and educational settings can influence children's behavior.
• observe and assess children's behavior in-person or through recordings, and describe effective guidance practices that support emotional regulation and build positive peer relationships, including creating a positive behavioral action plan if needed.
• recognize the mental and physical impact of working with families and children with challenging behaviors and children in crisis along with the importance of self-care.

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

• appraise the purpose, value, types, and use of formative and summative assessments, including ethical and legal responsibilities, and demonstrate a basic understanding of techniques used in these assessments.
• evaluate the strengths and limitations of common assessment tools and the interpretation of results with respect to anti-bias principles, children’s diverse cultures, home languages, and developmental capabilities.
• use standardized assessments and systematically recorded observational data to evaluate quality and recommend changes to play environments, guidance strategies, curriculum activities, and care routines.
• interpret observations and assessments using a developmental lens and understanding of influencing factors.
• assess biases (implicit and explicit), logistical challenges, and preconceptions about children and families that emerge through observation, documentation, assessment and collaborative inquiry, and reflective practice.
• develop documentation of children's ideas, feelings, and actions that help others see how they learn and to engage families and other professionals as active partners in developing early childhood curricula and programs.
• integrate assessments and observed documentation of children's ideas, feelings, and actions to engage children's families as active partners in understanding and supporting their child’s development.

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:

• analyze and implement effective approaches to teaching and learning science and mathematics and sharing this knowledge with families.
• demonstrate teaching techniques that encourage and support children in actively developing knowledge related to numerical cognition, mathematical reasoning, geometry, measurement, data, classification and patterns.
• develop and evaluate important elements of a science-rich and math-rich learning environment using culturally responsive, inclusive and anti-racist teaching strategies.
• demonstrate teaching techniques that encourage and support children in actively developing understanding of the physical, life and earth sciences.
• discuss stereotypes and self-concepts related to math and science education and participation.

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

• describe developmental patterns in early literacy learning, including those for children with delays/disabilities and children learning English as an additional language.
• implement research-based practices that support language and literacy development.
• design and define developmentally appropriate goals and expectations for young children’s achievement in language and literacy development.
• incorporate developmentally appropriate teaching practices that support children’s language and literacy development from birth through age five.
• evaluate and explain program policies (staff development, curricular resources, and assessment measures) that support early childhood language and literacy instruction.
• assess challenges for children learning English as an additional language and describe supportive practices that simultaneously maintain support of their heritage language.
• evaluate and demonstrate strategies of collaboration with children’s families to implement practices that support children’s language and literacy experiences both at school and at home.

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

• describe the history and philosophies that are the basis of contemporary U.S. education.
• define the academic requirements and experiences needed to become a credentialed elementary school teacher.
• identify the role and function of the teacher in the public school setting as in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) and the state adopted Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs).
• develop a personal preliminary philosophy of teaching by: 1) examining experiences with and beliefs and assumptions about teachers and teaching, and 2) evaluating attitudes, actions, behaviors, and responsibilities of a professional educator in a public school setting.
• interpret theories of child and adolescent development and learning and integrate them with instructional practices and teaching.
• use research and personal observations to identify instructional needs of students and provide differentiated instruction and support for student success in state adopted academic content and performance standards.
• analyze current educational research, equitable and inclusive instruction practices, and behavior management and guidance strategies to make appropriate decisions for instruction, assessment, homework, and classroom management policies.
• demonstrate awareness of current social forces and issues in education impacting public schools and the effect of these on children with diverse needs in order to effectively demonstrate cultural competency in relationships with students, families, and other teachers in an educational setting.
• identify and explain the diversity of the student population and how this diversity relates to issues in education as well as recognize and describe individual differences among students and identify strategies and accommodations used to address these differences.
• demonstrate objective, descriptive, and interpretative observation skills and relate observations to course content.

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:

• identify laws and regulations related to health, safety, and nutrition in early childhood settings.
• identify health and safety risks and prevention strategies in care and education settings and evaluate assessment tools, policies, and practices that protect the health and safety of children in childcare settings.
• describe an early childhood educator or caregiver's role and responsibility in modeling good health, safety, and nutrition habits.
• analyze culturally responsive strategies for partnering with families and the community to support a healthy and safe environment for children.
• identify community resources and develop a variety of collaboration methods with families and teachers that promote children's health, safety, and nutrition.
• identify nutrient needs during fetal development, infancy, and childhood, and evaluate and plan economic, safe, and nutritional meals and snacks for children that meet current nutrition standards.
• design and develop developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive learning experiences and environments that support the topics of health, safety, and nutrition.
• identify and explain the major nutrients and their food sources and evaluate the child's nutrient intake by comparing it with current nutrition standards and recommendations.
• define the broad concepts and practices of health, safety, and nutrition and their interrelationships as they relate to the well-being of children.

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, an 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.