Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Education Teacher 

Early Childhood Education Pathway Sequence

Early Childhood Education I

The Early Childhood Education I class is the foundation for the remainder of the pathway.  In this class, students learn about being a professional in the workforce, particularly in education.  Students are introduced to a variety of careers in education as well as professional information, such as the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s Code of Ethics.  As the course progresses, topics such as learning theories and child development are discussed, giving students an overview of working with children both in and outside educational settings.  Learning theories discussed include Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development.  In discussions of child development, students learn about factors affecting children’s development before birth through eight years of age.  The knowledge gained in this course prepares students to view information discussed in Early Childhood Education II and III through the lens of how child development impacts further educational topics concerning young children.  Students in this course also refill Little Free Libraries in the area with appropriate children’s books, create and install bulletin boards for the Gilmer Schools Prekindergarten, and have guest speakers in the classroom to help them better understand their futures and community as well as to apply the knowledge gained in this course.

Early Childhood Education II

In Early Childhood Education II, students visit the Gilmer Schools Prekindergarten two class periods a week to gain knowledge of authentic teaching experience and support classroom teachers.  Professionalism in the educational environment is revisited, and concepts are further developed.  In the second course, students are trained in CPR–adult and infant, Stop the Bleed, Epi-Pen administration, universal precautions, and the Heimlich maneuver for infants, children, and adults.  This training prepares them to be professionals in any early childhood situation where emergencies may occur.  In addition, students learn about such issues as types and symptoms of child abuse, neglect, and communicable disease.  They also learn how to design and equip a safe, developmentally appropriate classroom and playground space to encourage learning and ways to observe learning in both situations.  In addition, they gain knowledge of accommodations for children with exceptionalities and how to incorporate those accommodations into lesson planning.  Guest speakers come to the classroom to help students better understand the practical application of the knowledge gained in the course, both in education and in their community.  All these topics continue to build on their knowledge base and prepare them to become educational professionals.

Early Childhood Education III

In Early Childhood Education III, students are off-campus at least three days a week as teachers and participants in various teaching and learning experiences. In a small-group rotation, students spend one day a week providing a mobile preschool experience for children who would otherwise not receive early childhood education services.  Seventy-seven percent of eligible Gilmer County preschoolers still need early childhood education.  The “purple bus,” or mobile preschool, was designed in response to this need.  Students welcome children and their guardians to the bus for educational experiences and prepare lessons and activities based on the five domains of the Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS).  On Tuesdays through Thursdays of each week, if students are not participating in the mobile preschool program, they go to fourth and fifth-grade classrooms at Ellijay Elementary School and provide education support.  On Mondays and Fridays of each week, students gain more knowledge of observational techniques, language and communication development, child-directed play, and the effects of stress on children.  The knowledge gained through these discussions helps them plan for the coming week and reflect on what they are learning in various educational settings.  As students reach the end of their third class in the pathway, they take the End of Pathway Assessment (EOPA).  Students who pass the course and the EOPA are eligible for college credit in early childhood education at colleges and universities throughout Georgia.  Students have reported that all of these opportunities have helped them make knowledgeable decisions about their future career goals both in and outside the field of education.