Academic Learning Compact
Consistent with its mission and guiding principles, Florida Gulf Coast University
is committed to academic excellence and continuous quality improvement, as supported
by a sound teaching-learning process. Within this process, students and instructors
share responsibility for learning that is a movement from the simple to the complex,
the concrete to the abstract, and the dependent to the independent. The Academic Learning
Compact (ALC) initiative supports the teaching-learning process by clearly identifying
expected core student learning outcomes in the areas of content/discipline knowledge
and skills, communication skills, and critical thinking skills; aligning curricula
with expectations; and using assessment to guide continuous improvement.
Content/Discipline Knowledge and Skills
Candidates will be able to:
- Use their knowledge of academic disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate experiences
that promote positive development and meaningful learning experiences for each and
every young child.
- Use their understanding in child development knowledge to create environments that
are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for each child.
- Understand that successful early childhood education depends upon partnerships with
children’s families and communities and use their understanding to create respectful,
reciprocal relationships that support and empower families and to involve all families
in their children’s development and learning.
Content/discipline knowledge and skills are assessed at the program level through
pre- and post-tests, papers, self-evaluations and/or targeted professional reflections,
courses critical tasks, and internship experiences in the following: EEC 4307 Cognitive
Experience for Young Children, EEC 4940 Internship Assessment for Continuous Professional
Improvement, TSL 3080 Foundations of ESOL Analysis of Student and Family Learning
Environment, EEC 4307 Cognitive Experiences, EDF 3253 Learning Management in Inclusive
Classrooms Classroom Management Plan, EEC 4940 Internship Early Childhood.
Communication Skills
Candidates will be able to:
- Understand that positive relationships and supportive interactions are the foundations
of their work with all children and families.
- Understand the need for a repertoire of effective strategies and understand the importance
of the use of technology as a resource to support informed practice and decision making.
Communication skills are assessed at the program level through pre- and post-tests,
papers, self-evaluations and/or targeted professional reflections, courses critical
tasks, and internship experiences in the following: RED 4310 Early Learning Literacy
Field Experience Log, EEC 3268 Play, Development and Assessment Individual Child
Case Study, TSL 4520 Second Language Acquisition, Community and Culture/ESOL Field
Experience, EEC 4307 Cognitive Experience for Young Children Assessment Paper, EEC
4307- Cognitive Experience for Young Children Project Plan Young Investigators.
Critical Thinking Skills
Candidates will be able to:
- Understand that teaching and learning with young children is a complex enterprise,
and its details vary depending on children’s ages, characteristics, and the settings
within which teaching and learning occur.
- Identify and conduct themselves as members of the early childhood profession. They
seek continuous improvement and are collaborative learners who demonstrate knowledgeable,
reflective, and critical perspectives on their work, making informed decisions that
integrate knowledge from a variety of sources.
Critical thinking skills are assessed at the program level through pre- and post-tests,
papers, self-evaluations and/or targeted professional reflections, courses critical
tasks, and internship experiences in the following: EEC 4940 Internship Evaluation/
Observations of the Learning Environment/Instructional Facilitation/Continuous Professional
Development, EEC 4942 Integrated Field/Internship Experience and Non Final Internship
Evaluation, EEC 4307 Cognitive Experience for Young Children Assessment Paper.
The B.A. in Early Childhood Education is designed to prepare students for certification
from the Florida Department of Education for Prekindergarten/Primary (age 3 to grade
3), as well as Prekindergarten/Disability endorsement, ESOL endorsement, and Reading
Endorsement. Coursework and extensive field experiences enable students to dynamically
integrate theory and teaching practices. Competencies include content-specific knowledge
applicable to the unique developmental needs of this age population including a thorough
understanding of cultural diversity, individual differences, and skills to work with
children in individual ways, particularly English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL) students; and an emphasis on capabilities of teachers to work with children
with atypical abilities and special needs.
