ECED& 105 Introduction to Early Childhood Education (5 credits)

2. Describe the role of play in early childhood programs.

3. Compare early learning program models.

4. Explain the importance of developing culturally responsive partnerships with families.

5. Identify appropriate guidance techniques used in early care and education settings.

6. Describe the observation, assessment, and teaching cycle used to plan curriculum for all young children.

7. Apply the professional code of ethics for early care and education to resolve dilemmas.

8. Describe major historical figures, advocates, and events shaping today’s early childhood education.

9. Observe an early childhood environment and identify examples of best practice.

Degree Outcomes
Program Outcomes
STANDARD 1 Child Development and Learning in Context

Early childhood educators (a) are grounded in an understanding of the developmental period of early childhood from birth through age 8 across developmental domains. They (b) understand each child as an individual with unique developmental variations. Early childhood educators (c) understand that children learn and develop within relationships and within multiple contexts, including families, cultures, languages, communities, and society. They (d) use this multidimensional knowledge to make evidence-based decisions about how to carry out their responsibilities.

1a: Understand the developmental period of early childhood from birth through age 8 across physical, cognitive, social and emotional, and linguistic domains, including bilingual/multilingual development.

1b: Understand and value each child as an individual with unique developmental variations, experiences, strengths, interests, abilities, challenges, approaches to learning, and with the capacity to make choices.

 1c: Understand the ways that child development and the learning process occur in multiple contexts, including family, culture, language, community, and early learning setting, as well as in a larger societal context that includes structural inequities.

1d: Use this multidimensional knowledge—that is, knowledge about the developmental period of early childhood, about individual children, and about development and learning in cultural contexts—to make evidence-based decisions that support each child.

STANDARD 2 Family–Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections

Early childhood educators understand that successful early childhood education depends upon educators’ partnerships with the families of the young children they serve. They (a) know about, understand, and value the diversity in family characteristics. Early childhood educators (b) use this understanding to create respectful, responsive, reciprocal relationships with families and to engage with them as partners in their young children’s development and learning. They (c) use community resources to support young children’s learning and development and to support children’s families, and they build connections between early learning settings, schools, and community organizations and agencies.

2a: Know about, understand, and value the diversity of families.

2b: Collaborate as partners with families in young children’s development and learning through respectful, reciprocal relationships and engagement.

2c: Use community resources to support young children’s learning and development and to support families, and build partnerships between early learning settings, schools, and community organizations and agencies.

STANDARD 3 Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment

Early childhood educators (a) understand that the primary purpose of assessments is to inform instruction and planning in early learning settings. They (b) know how to use observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment approaches and tools. Early childhood educators (c) use screening and assessment tools in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, culturally, ability, and linguistically appropriate to document developmental progress and promote positive outcomes for each child. In partnership with families and professional colleagues, early childhood educators (d) use assessments to document individual children’s progress and, based on the findings, to plan learning experiences.

3a: Understand that assessments (formal and informal, formative and summative) are conducted to make informed choices about instruction and for planning in early learning settings.

3b: Know a wide range of types of assessments, their purposes, and their associated methods and tools.

 3c: Use screening and assessment tools in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, ability, culturally, and linguistically appropriate in order to document developmental progress and promote positive outcomes for each child. 3d: Build assessment partnerships with families and professional colleagues.

Fundamental Area of Knowledge
Social Science:  Graduates analyze and interpret social phenomena using social science theories and methods.

Core Abilities
Intercultural Engagement: Graduates demonstrate self-efficacy in intercultural engagement to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion through reflections and expressions of cultural humility, empathy, and social and civic engagement and action. Further, graduates examine how identities/positionalities such as races, social classes, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, and cultures impact perceptions, actions, and the distribution of power and privilege in communities, systems, and institutions.

Global Citizenship: Graduates will be able to critically examine the relationship between self, community, and/or environments, and to evaluate and articulate potential impacts of choices, actions, and contributions for the creation of sustainable and equitable systems.

Lecture Contact Hours 50
Lab Contact Hours 0
Clinical Contact Hours 0
Total Contact Hours 50

Potential Methods
A. Team presentation B. Written critique C. Observation critique D. Small group assessment E. Written quizzes and exams F. Peer evaluation G. Essay / Research paper H. Role play I. Self-assessment