Course Essentials

• This course provides historical context and theoretical perspectives of developmentally appropriate practices in early care and education for children from birth to age eight. The course emphasizes best practices for developmentally appropriate learning environments, curriculum, and effective pedagogy for young children including how play contributes to children’s learning, growth, and development.  Topics include professional ethics, career pathways, professional standards, and the typical roles and expectations of early childhood educators. Students are required to observe children in a group setting.  

  • Advisory: ENGL C101 & LIBR C101 

Below is a list of specific skills this course is designed to guide you towards obtaining. Each learning activity and assignment you complete in this course will contribute to your growth towards meeting these goals. Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Compare and contrast historical and current early childhood education settings, issues, and perspectives.

• Identify the roles, requirements, and responsibilities of early childhood teachers as professional educators.

• Explain how the foundational knowledge of child development and learning theories inform environments, pedagogy, and interactions in early care and education settings. 

This is a zero textbook cost course, meaning no book purchases are required! We are using a free OER (Open Educational Resource) textbook.   

• Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children (Stephens et al.). (2021, February 16). 

  • Links to each chapter will be provided in the course.  I'll also provide a download option if you'd like to save it to read offline.  

  • You do not need to purchase a book!  If prefer to have a printed version, you may purchase one through LibraText. 

• There will also be a few readings found in PDF form and available through the course’s Canvas shell and/or links to them on the internet. Be sure to read these as well, as they will contain useful information not always discussed in the textbook chapters. They are free of cost for you, too! 

• Read: Chapter 1 (1.1-1.10): The History of Early Childhood Education 

• Become familiar with APA citation format

• Prepare for the Setting Goals Assignment by considering the following: 

  • Online classes require discipline and attention to detail. We are all busy, and the week can get away from us. Scheduling a specific time when you'll be "in" class is an effective strategy for success. To that end, please identify which days of the week and times you are planning to be "in" class completing readings, posting to the discussion, working on assignments, etc?

  • What are your learning goals for this class? What specific concepts or ideas are you hoping to learn, related to teaching young children (principles and practices)?

  • What specific steps will you take to meet the goals you identified above? (Think about study habits, learning behaviors, etc.)