Explanation Paragraph

Explanation Paragraph: Being that my intended goal is to become a university professor, this activity was especially helpful in my understanding of the nuts and bolts of putting together a college course syllabus. I had a lot of fun with this activity and wish that there had been more opportunities to do this kind of activity.

Course Data

Course Title Early Childhood Learning Strategies

Course Number TECA 1364

Carnegie Units 4 credit hours

Course description Early Childhood Learning Strategies is a course that involves the study of research and methodology associated with effective curriculum design reflective of developmentally appropriate practice for children ages 0 through age 6.

Course Prerequisite Successful completion of TECA 1301 Introduction to Child Development and

Enrollment in the Child Development Associate Credential Program and

GPA of 3.0 or higher and

Successful completion of CIS 1101 Computer Basics or a demonstration of proficiency in the use of email, data bases, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint Or clearance from an academic advisor in the department of Early Childhood Education, College of Education, Central Texas College

Delivery Method Distance Education/ web based

Additional Component 30 clock hour practicum component, location must be cleared by instructor.

Computing

Environment Blackboard platform

Term and Spring Minimester 2004

Dates Jan12 2004-March 14th 2004

Instructor Information

Deborah McDonough Decker Ed. D.

National Director, Short Term Asian Ed. Programs

Nacel Open Door

http://www.oocities.org/msperception_2000/NOD/html

Administrator, Academy of Smaller Scholars

Website information

http://www.oocities.org/msperception_2000/smallscholar/html

Mother and "Lifetime learner"

Certifications

Montessori Instruction K-12

Texas State Board of Education

Teacher Certification EC-4

Contact information

Communication Hierarchy

Webboard
http://www.oocities.org/1364ELS/html

Email
Email Address ddecker1@hot.rr.com

Fax

Fax number254-542-6743

Phone and Voice Mail

Phone number 800-874-7042

Office hours 2:00-4:00 M-Th

Homephone

Number: 254-542-4828

Purpose of the Course

With the current issues inherent to learning for children of the early and emergent stages, and the national initiatives focused on elevating standards for educators in Early Childhood Education, this course provides the means by which early childhood professionals can study learning strategies by utilizing them in practical application situations. Successful completion of the objectives and practicum will enable the student to meet the requirements of Effective Curriculum Development as is targeted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children ( NAEYC) as essential preparation in conjunction with their credential program. This course will serve a dual purpose of fulfilling one of the required courses for the Central Texas College Associate degree and the National Child Development Associate Credential. http://www.nncc.org/Evaluation/cdasu.html

Course and Unit Objectives

This course will enable the learner to:

Study the research relevant to effective learning
Observe and document the effects of strategies in action
Research the current philosophies of learning theorists
Delineate between the behaviorist, cognitivist and constructivist approaches to learning
Assess the efficacy of appropriate strategies relevant to a child’s developmental capabilities
Observe effects incongruent strategies have on learners
Utilize anecdotal records and observation techniques
Report findings congruent and incongruent with the research
Create an effective learning plan for emergent and early learners

Learning Resources

Texts

Bredenkamp, S. (1990) Developmentally appropriate practice. Washington D.C: NAEYC

Wong, H. & Wong R.T. (2001) The First Days of School. Sunnyvale CA: Wong Publishing.

Computer requirements

Pentium II or higher 200 Mhz with 32 MB RAM

Email capability and Internet access. America Online, Prodigy, MSN, Yahoo, for examples

Windows media player, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp

Real Audio http://www.real.com/

Adobe Acrobat Reader http://www.adobe.com/

Learning Links

NAEYC

Montessori Unlimited

Whole Language

Pat Cunningham's Four Blocks

Developmentally Appropriate and Culturally Responsive Education

Understanding the Learning Process

Principles of Teaching and Learning

Constuctivist Teaching and Learning Models

Early Literacy

If you cannot hyperlink from these links the web addresses are provided within the weekly course assignments

Course Calendar of Readings, Assignments, Activities, And Practicum Schedule and suggested Study Plan

J A N U A R Y

Mon 12 Startdate Reading Chapter 1 Bredenkamp (Bred)	Tues 13 Discussion Board Introductions	W 14 Read Chapter 2 An In Depth Look Bred. Active Learning 1.1, 1.2, 1.3	T 15 Read Chapter 3 Behaviorist Bred.	F 16 Practicum	S 17	Sun 18 All weeks assignments due every Sunday by 12 Midnight CST
Monday 19 Reading Chapter 4	Tues 20 Discussion board Compare and Constrast views	W 21 Active Learning 2.1 3.1 3.2	T 22 Websearch for an article relevant to one of these theories	F-23 Practicum	S-24 Review	Sun 25 Unit One Exam
Mon 26 Active Learning 4.1 4.2 4.3	Tue 27 Read Chapter 5 Effects of strategies on instruction Construct a time line of theories Discussion Board Use of Anecdotal records	W 28 Anecdotal Records Submit a sample from first two weeks practicum	T29 Active Learning 5.1 5.2	F-30 Practicum	S-31 Read Unit A Wong Introduction Basic Understandings	Sun Feb 1 Catch your breath
F	E	B	R	U	A R	Y
Mon 2 Reading Unit A Cont	Tues 3 Discussion board What are you learning?	Wed 4 Active Learning 1.a 1.b 1.c	Thurs 5 Research Topic Dev.generalization and the child	Fri 6 Practicum	Sat 7 Review	Sun 8 Unit 2 Exam
M-9 Websearch of sites related to DAP	T-10 Discussion board Reflect on your readings	W-11 Read Wong Unit B Positive Expectations	Th-12 Write Procedures for your current setting	F-13 Practicum	S-14 Work on Research Project due at end of semester	Sun-15 Post Assignments
Monday 16 Review Websites and compile a pamphlet on strategies used in your school	Tues 17 Discussion Board Post your pamphlet	W 18 Active Learning 2a.b c	T 19 Search the Web for an article relevant to one of the theories	F-20 Practicum	S-21 Review	Sun 22 Unit Three Exam
Mon 23 Construct a Powerpoint presentation for use as a Prof. Dev Unit on strategies Due 2 weeks	Tue 24 Discussion Board Reflection on Wong	W 25 Anecdotal Records	T26 Work on Research Assignment	F-27 Practicum	S-28 Read Unit C-D Wong Classroom Management	Sun Mar 1 Work on Research Project
M	A	R	C	H
M –2 Complete Resource Notebook	T-3 Work on Research Report	W-4 Websearch of sites related to Activities to use in the classroom reflecting strategies studied	Th-5 Active Learning 4 a. b. c.	F-6 Final Week of Practicum Anecdotal records , reflection and Mentor sign in sheet due at end of Semester	S-7 Review	S-8 Unit 4 Exam
M-9 Time for the remainder of the week to complete projects and study for the final exam.	T-10	W-11	Th-12	F-13 Final Exam	All assignments due. Research folder must be postmarked NLT 3/16

Course Requirements

Because this is not a face to face classroom setting, communication and building a community of learners is most critical. It is the hope of this instructor that you will participate more frequently than the 3 required postings to the discussion board. You must check the discussion board once daily to see if any communication has been sent by the instructor. Posts by the instructor will be made no later than 4:00 pm. You are required to answer questions from your peers and in turn ask questions of everyone on your learning team at some point during the semester. It is your responsibility to keep current with your assignments. Non-completion of any of the requirements will constitute a low grade and possible dismissal from the course. Few circumstances will extend the deadlines on the assignments. However if you have a conflict please communicate that to the instructor with documentation. It is important that you understand the rules of plagiarism and that any material from the Internet, research materials or any other printed source with out standard APA citation will be considered an act of plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in an automatic failure of the course and dismissal from the CDA program. Re-admission to the program can only be granted by the Dean of the Department of Early Childhood Education. Academic honesty is expected. Tests are timed so there will be no time to review the material while taking the test. It is your responsibility to know the material before you come to the testing session. Any computer failures while taking a test must be reported to the instructor as soon as it occurs. After a test is submitted and scored there will be no changes to the grade. In the event of error on the test, please notify the instructor via email immediately.

Evaluation System

Activities 25% of your grade- Active Learning activities, the research assignment, and all other assignments as are delineated on the Course Calendar

Participation 25% of your grade-Discussion boards, and communication with peers and other educators will make up this part of your grade.

Practicum 25% of your grade- A fully documented 30 hours of classroom work complete with anecdotal records and a reflection paper from your observations in the classroom. Interaction between you and the mentor teacher who will offer input to questions asked about how the strategies apply to her students will be contained within your reflective paper. A reflective journal will also be required as an informal source of note keeping. This must be submitted NLT 3/16.

Assessments 25% of your grade 4 Unit tests and the Final Exam All tests will carry the same weight for your final average. The final exam is comprehensive and will be

more of a thinking exam than one that you can prepare for. If you have true understanding of the concepts of the lessons presented and completed all of the work, you should be able to apply them to the final examination.

Kudos Points In any part of this course when the instructor recognizes that you have gone above and beyond expectations Kudos Points will be assigned to add to your final grade.

Professional

Points One discretionary point remains that can be given for professional behavior in your community of learners, or professionally looking information sent in written form. I will or will not assign a 1 to 2 plus or minus point or points to your final grade depending upon the degree of professionalism that you exhibit.

All late work without prior authorization from the instructor will not be counted toward your final grade

Grading Procedure

Grades will be calculated using the following scale

90%-100%
80%-89%
70%-79%
60%-69%

below 60%

Grades will be assessed weekly and posted in your grading folder with an explanation of the grade. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate with the instructor if having difficulty with a particular unit or accomplishing any of the objectives of the course. Alternately, the instructor will monitor grades and request a conference with the student if objectives are not being met. This is a partnership and we will be working together to ensure your success.

Good Luck in the upcoming semester

Dr. Decker

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