Early Childhood Education (B.A.)

Candidates will be able to:

1. 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. 

2. Use their understanding in child development knowledge to create environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for each child. 
3. 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.

Candidates will be able to:

1. Understand that positive relationships and supportive interactions are the foundations of their work with all children and families.
2. 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.

Candidates will be able to:

1. 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.
2. 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.