ECED 275 Early Childhood Student Teaching (6 credits)

1. Apply child development principles to create developmentally effective materials and select equipment for children from birth through age 8 to explore, discover, and learn in context.

2. Develop and sustain the habit of reflective and intentional practice.

3. Engage in continuous, collaborative, and intercultural learning to inform professional practice.

4. Develop a professional identity in order to engage in professional communication, advocate for children, and ethically participate as members of the early childhood profession.

5. Implement and evaluate meaningful, developmentally effective, and integrated learning experiences in all academic content areas.

6. Apply developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate teaching and guidance practices that are responsive to learning trajectory of young children and to the needs of each child.

7. Communicate and build relationships with families and communities that are respectful, inclusive, and reflect cultural humility.

Degree Outcomes
Child Development and Learning in Context – Students use their understanding of the child development period of early childhood, from birth through age 8, across developmental domains to design learning experiences that address the individual child–including each child as an individual with unique developmental variations, children’s learning and development within relationships and within multiple contexts, families, cultures, languages, communities, and society. Using this multidimensional knowledge, students make evidence-based decisions about how to carry out their responsibilities.

Family-Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections - Students develop partnerships with the families of the young children they serve to ensure successful early childhood education. Describing the value of diversity in family characteristics. Students use their understanding to create respectful, responsive, reciprocal relationships with families and to engage with them as partners in their young children’s development and learning. Students 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.

Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment- Students use assessments to inform instruction and planning in early learning settings. Students will use observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment approaches and tools. Students will 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. Early childhood educators (d) build assessment partnerships with families and professional colleagues

Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices- Design teaching and learning experiences with young children that recognize the complexity of learning that varies depending on children’s ages and characteristics and on the settings in which teaching and learning occur. Students demonstrate positive, caring, supportive relationships and interactions as the foundation for their work with young children. Students use teaching skills that are responsive to the learning trajectories of young children and to the needs of each child. Students use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate and culturally and linguistically relevant, anti-bias, and evidence-based teaching approaches that reflect the principles of universal design for learning.

Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum- Use the content of academic disciplines (e.g., language and literacy, the arts, mathematics, social studies, science, technology and engineering, physical education) and of the pedagogical methods for teaching each discipline. Use understanding the central concepts, the methods and tools of inquiry, and the structures in each academic discipline. Students use understanding pedagogy, including how young children learn and process information in each discipline, the learning trajectories for each discipline, and how teachers use this knowledge to inform their practice Student apply this knowledge using early learning standards and other resources to make decisions about spontaneous and planned learning experiences and about curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation to ensure that learning will be stimulating, challenging, and meaningful to each child.

Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator- Students will identify and participate as members of the early childhood profession. They serve as informed advocates for young children, for the families of the children in their care, and for the early childhood profession. Use ethical guidelines and other early childhood professional guidelines. Demonstrate professional communication skills that effectively support their relationships and work with young children, families, and colleagues. Describe strategies as collaborative learners who develop and sustain the habit of reflective and intentional practice in their daily work with young children and as members of the early childhood profession. 

Early Childhood Field Experience- Students apply their field experiences and clinical practice to develop the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions necessary to promote the development and learning of young children in a variety of early childhood settings and with multiple age groups.

Lecture Contact Hours 30
Lab Contact Hours 60
Clinical Contact Hours 0
Total Contact Hours 90

Potential Methods
A. Lead teaching plans
B. Weekly lesson plans
C. Individualized lesson plans
D. Small group lesson plans
E. Seminar discussion
F. Instructor evaluation
G. Self-evaluation
H. Peer evaluation
I. Video evaluation