Educating and Caring for Very Young Children

                              ECED 2030

                           3 Semester Hours

Course Information

 

Course Description:

 

The study of this course includes curriculum and developmentally appropriate practices for young children.  Cases studies of young children and curriculum appropriate for young children are used to reiterate the concepts that are discussed.  Hands on experiences are included in the course content.

 

Course Goals:

 

To introduce appropriate curriculum guidelines for young children.

To develop an understanding of developmentally appropriate practices for young children.

 

Course Objectives:

 

  1. Analyze and evaluate child care facility environments inside and recognizing the positives and negatives of early childhood playgrounds.
  2. Demonstrating an understanding of early childhood curriculum.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of play within a child care facility.
  4. Create developmentally appropriate activities and demonstrate the activity to young children.
  5. Develop evaluation skills of developmentally appropriate activities and be able to understand what is correct practice.
  6. Express grammatically correct written expression in all assignments.

 

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

 

None

 

Course Topics:

 

The course has been designed into ten modules on these particular topics

Play as the Medium for Curriculum

Designing Play-Based Curriculum Environments

Individual Developmental Factors Influencing Infant and Toddler Curriculum

Case Studies and Learning Activities

-         4-6wks.

-         3-4mos.

-         6-7mos.

-         9-10 mos.

-         12 -14 mos.

-         18-21 mos.

-         23-24 mos.

-         29-32 mos.

Ecological Factors Influencing Infant and Toddler Curriculum

 

Specific Course Requirements:

 

Skilled in sending and receiving e-mails with attachments. Skilled in using a web browser in connect to websites ( such as Internet Explorer, Netscape etc.)

 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

 

Required Textbook:

 

80ucating and Caring for Very Young Children, The Infant/Toddler Curriculum

Doris Bergen, Rebecca Reid, Louis Torelli, 2001, Teachers College Press,

ISBN 0-8077-4010-1

 

Supplementary Materials:

 

None

 

Hardware Requirements:

 

PC Users – A minimum computer system to successfully access all the tools in this course is a Pentium 166 or better with 32 Megabytes of RAM or better and Windows 95 or higher. A modem, 56K or better.

MAC users- Minimum system requirements are a 604 Power PC processor, preferably a G3(iMacs are included ) or G4 processor computer running Mac OS 8.5 or above. A minimum of 64 megabytes of RAM, preferable 128 with at aleast 25 Megabytes assigned to your browser. A modem, 56K or better.

 

Software Requirements:

 

PC users- Communications software: Internet Explorer version 5 or Netscape version 4.58 or later. Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat

software.

MAC users- Communications software: Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape 4.75 Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat software.

 

Instructor Information:

 

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

 

Assessment and Grading

 

Testing Procedures:

 

All testing will take place within the course materials. You will  be allowed to take your tests at a time and place convenient to you.

 

Grading Scale:

 

Students will be graded on the following items that will reflect on their competencies of the ten course modules.

Each module will be presented in this format and will be worth 100 points:

Learning Outcomes

Online Reading Assignments and/or textbook reading assignments

Written assignments

Activities

Reflection

Test

Total points= 1300 pts.

 

1300 – 1209 (A)

1208 -- 1079 (B)

1070 -   949  (C)

  948 -   819  (D)

818- Below   (F)

 

Assignments and Participation

 

Assignments and Projects:

 

Students will complete ten learning modules.

Module One: Play as the Medium for Curriculum

Module Two: Evaluating The Child Care Facility

Module Three: Play Development 4-6wks

Module Four: Curriculum Development 3-4 mos.

Module Five: Curriculum Development 6-7 mos.

Module Six: Curriculum Development 9-10 mos.

Module Seven: Curriculum Development 12 -14 mos.

Module Eight: Curriculum Development 18-21 mos.

Module Nine: Curriculum Development 23 -24 mos.

Module Ten: Curriculum Development 29 – 32 mos.

 

Class Participation:

 

You are expected to participate in all interactive aspects of the course. For example, you must communicate with other students via emails and discussion board exchanges. You are expected to communicate with your instructor on a regular basis and check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements. If you are experiencing difficulties completing the assignments, you must contact your teacher immediately. You must actively participate in the threaded discussion events.  Students are expected to work at a pace conducive to collaborative learning, that is, don’t work too far ahead or too far behind the group.  The class is designed to support student interaction.

 

Punctuality:

 

You are encouraged to work at your own pace, however, deadlines are placed on class activities, assignments, quizzes. You should become familiar wit the Class Calendar to determine when materials are due and adjust your study schedule accordingly. Once a deadline has passed you will be “locked out” of the material.

 

 

 

 

Course Ground Rules

 

Assignments will be presented as noted in the course Calendar. You will have until the due date on the calendar to complete each assignment.

 

You should use your assigned WebCT email addresses for all communication.

 

You should address any technical problems immediately.

 

You should observe netiquette at all times. Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited and will result in failure of the course.

 

Attendance

 

Students are expected to check their e-mail at least once or twice daily and to work on their assignments regularly.  It will be impossible to complete the course work if you do not.

 

Guidelines for Communications

 

Email

 

  • Always include a subject line
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts
  • Do not send large attachments without permission
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

 

Discussion Groups:

 

  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a looker then a discussant
  • Try to maintain threads by using the “Reply” button rather starting a new topic
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

 

Chat:

 

  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.

 

 

 

Web Resources:

 

See the appendix in the Study Hall for lists of web resources.

 

Library

 

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled int Regents Degree Program.

 

Students With Disabilities

 

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student’s eligibility for specific accommodations for the disability services staff at the home institution.  It is he student’s responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution’s disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

 

Syllabus Changes

 

The instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

 

Technical Support

 

If you are having technical problems logging into your course, timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the RODP Help Desk by calling 1-800-550-7637 (toll free) or go to their website at: http://askrodp.custhelp.com