My Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

I believe that learning is a lifelong journey, and that each of us benefits when our colleagues and others share from their own experiences.  Our diversity enriches all of us, and our experiences are so varied that we would never be able to personally experience them all.

I love sharing my own experiences and knowledge along this journey, and I also value each student’s contributions of experience and knowledge. 

When I am preparing a course for an online experience, I try to create learning experiences that replicate what students experience in a class on campus.  That means posting to each other, as the discussions that would happen more naturally in a campus class.  It means that I give small weekly assignments to help you reflect on your learning, through journals where you choose the topic that is important to you, or through the discussions that are created to deepen your understanding of the topics presented in each module. 

I try to honor the diversity in the ways in which students learn by presenting material in a variety of modes – website links, text book learning, written material, and videos all are offered in each class. 

I offer opportunities to review the content of each module through practice quizzes that are not graded, but help you to assure that you have understood the content of each module.

I provide opportunities for hands on experiences through observations and assessments of those observations, always with the goal of applying your knowledge to your real world of experiences.

And finally, your Group Project always you to work collaboratively in your groups to demonstrate to me and to the others in your group that you have mastered the information presented to you during the class.

I hope you will enjoy taking this journey with me.

Textbook and Required Activities

C205 offers an Open Educational Resource textbook, provided within Campus at no cost to the student.

There are two optional supplemental resources offered:  

Scientist in the Crib, Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/27667 ;  Concepts for Care https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED493627 , J. Ron Lally, Peter Mangione, Deborah Greenwald 

Assignments include a weekly Journal or Discussion.  Four observations  - one of the relationship between and adult caregiver and an infant observation, and three of the different ages of infancy are required.

The different ages of infancy are:  

Young Infants:  Birth to about 6 months of age.  These are the new human beings and are learning EVERYTHING about the people and objects in their world.  Trust is important, as well as learning about the world through their senses.  Security is the main issue for Young Infants.

Mobile Infants:  Approximately 6 months to 18 months of age.  As children become able to move, Exploration is their primary focus.

Older Infants:  Approximately 16 to 36 months of age.  This is the age where they are developing their identify. 

For all of the ages of Infancy, Security, Exploration, and Identity are all happening.  But, depending on the age, the focus changes.