Early Childhood Education

Associate Degree

Program Outline

This outline covers all four semesters of your at-home degree program. You will receive credit for previous college coursework if you meet Penn Foster standards. If you wish to receive credit for previous coursework, contact the college you attended and ask that your transcripts be forwarded to Penn Foster for evaluation. All previous college work must have been completed with a grade of "C" or better, and as much as 75% of the required credits may be transferred. We will also credit your tuition for all the courses that are acceptable.

Computer Specifications
As you know this is an online academic program. This means you will need access to high-speed internet to begin your program. In addition, you will need access to a Microsoft® Windows® based computer running Windows 10® or later or an Apple® Mac® computer running macOS® or later, Microsoft® Office 2019 or Microsoft 365® and an email account to complete this program with Penn Foster.

Online Library and Librarian
Students at Penn Foster College have access to an online library during their college studies. Students can use the library to do the required course research or for general reference and links to valuable resources. The library contains helpful research assistance, articles, databases, books, and Web links. A librarian is available to answer questions on general research-related topics via email and will assist students in research activities.

Program Goal and Outcomes

Program Goal
To prepare graduates for employment, but also provide the foundation for entry into Bachelor of Science programs, and includes at least 30 semester credits in general education subjects.

Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to...

  • Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of child development and learning in an early childhood setting
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the development and execution of family and community relationships
  • Apply best practices, observation, and assessment to enhance learning and development
  • Plan, evaluate, and design curriculum appropriate for the education of young children
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of individuality and cultural diversity to assist in creating a meaningful curriculum
  • Demonstrate a commitment to and an awareness of the need for lifelong professional growth, learning, community involvement, and advocacy in regards to current early childhood research, practices, and issues
  • Demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of foundational concepts in the general education areas including science, mathematics, English composition, and the social sciences

 

Semester 1

Orientation to Early Childhood Education (1 credit)
Succeed by learning how to use your Penn Foster program, and learn how to be an effective child care professional.

Objectives:

  • Understand how to use your Student Portal.
  • Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
  • Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.
  • Understand the components of quality child care and the responsibilities of the caregiver.
  • Reflect and develop your own child care beliefs and principles.
  • Determine where you best fit in the child day care industry.

Information Literacy (1 credit)
Get better at finding and using information!

Objectives:

  • Search the Internet more effectively.
  • Get tips about search engines and reliable websites.
  • Learn how to search libraries and other information centers for important, useful information.

Health, Safety, and Nutrition for the Young Child (3 credits)
This course presents information on the importance of health, safety, and nutrition as crucial factors in the development of young children. It provides strategies for the monitoring of standards in the care environment and development of good habits in young children.

Objectives:

  • Identify the environmental and biological threats to children's health and safety and how to protect children from them.
  • List developmentally appropriate toys and materials.
  • Describe the importance of nutrition, physical activity, and mental and physical health education.
  • Identify the basic concepts of nutrition and food for children.
  • List the resources available for children with special health needs and facility design considerations.
  • Consider how a center director would ensure health, safety, and nutrition of children in a program.

Essentials of Psychology (3 credits)
This course covers the psychology of biology and behavior, consciousness, memory, thought and language, intelligence, personality and gender, stress, and community influences.

Objectives:

  • Describe the science of psychology, basic structure and function of the human nervous system, and basic structure and function of the sensory system.
  • Explain various states of consciousness, learning theories, and thought processes and development.
  • Summarize the nature of human motivation and development, the human development cycle, and approaches to understanding and assessing personality.
  • Prepare an essay on the topic of conditioning, memory, or motivation and emotion.
  • Recognize psychological disorders and available treatments.
  • Explain social psychology as it relates to attitudes, influences, behaviors, and stress.
  • Use critical thinking skills to determine the likely causes of behaviors of individuals and groups discussed in case studies.

Additional Course Material:
Texbook: Psychology and Your Life with Power Learning

Computer Applications (3 credits)
Microsoft® Office allows people to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases. This course will teach you how to use three popular tools from the Microsoft® Office Suite — Word™, Excel®, and PowerPoint®. In this course, you'll learn how to use Word™ to create and edit text documents, insert figures and tables, and format pages for a variety of uses. You'll then learn how to use Excel® to organize and format data, including charts, formulas, and more complex tables. Next, you'll learn how to use PowerPoint® to create and deliver slide shows. Finally, you'll complete a graded project, which will test the skills acquired in Word™, Excel®, and PowerPoint®.

Objectives:

  • Create various Microsoft® Word™ documents.
  • Produce a thorough Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet.
  • Identify the basic skills needed to use Microsoft® PowerPoint®.
  • Synthesize what you’ve learned by integrating Word™, Excel®, and PowerPoint®.

Early Childhood Education Site Selection 1
Each semester you’ll be in an early childhood education setting. Identify an appropriate site, obtain your official clearances, and submit the paperwork for approval. You can use the same site to fulfill this requirement each semester without having to resubmit the required paperwork.

Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education (3 credits)
This course is designed to teach you the importance and benefit of early childhood education.

Objectives:

  • Describe the philosophies of various types of early childhood education programs.
  • Equip and organize an effective early childhood classroom.
  • Participate in a webinar and complete an observation report project.

Additional Course Material:
Textbook: Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children

Proctored Examination
You will be required to complete a proctored exam on selected courses each semester. These assessments will evaluate the knowledge and skills that you learned during the semester. You choose the time, the location, and the qualified exam supervisor.

 

Semester 2

Early Childhood Education Site Selection 2
Each semester you’ll be in an early childhood education setting. Identify an appropriate site, obtain your official clearances, and submit the paperwork for approval. You can use the same site to fulfill this requirement each semester without having to resubmit the required paperwork.

Child Growth and Development (3 credits)
This course presents a variety of theoretical viewpoints to provide students with a well-balanced view of a child’s developmental process. Current studies and research provide students with an understanding of the principal topics of child psychology as well as recent trends in socially relevant problem areas.

Objectives:

  • Demonstrate effective written and interpersonal communication skills
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the liberal arts, natural sciences, and social sciences
  • Identify the important processes, time periods, and issues in development
  • Explain the elements of biological, physical, and perceptual development
  • Explain how the elements of cognition and language impact development
  • Analyze socioemotional development and how this relates to the self and identity
  • Analyze how social contexts impacts development and growth

Additional Course Material:
Textbook: Child Development

Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (3 credits)
This course defines and explores the fundamental components of the early childhood curriculum, including creativity, sensory experience, curiosity, exploration and discovery, growth in literacy, and concepts of mathematics, science, and social science.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the important elements in the structure of developmentally appropriate programs.
  • Identify the plannings and strategies made by a teacher to ensure an enriching environment.
  • Categorize the methods of teaching catering to aesthetic and effective domains.
  • Distinguish between the different teaching strategies catering to language, physical, and social domains.
  • Create a daily classroom schedule using developmentally appropriate activities.

Additional Course Materials:
Textbook: Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum in Action

Early Childhood Education Elective (3 credits)
(Choose one) ...

ECE213-Art, Music, and Movement
The role of art, music, and movement in a young child’s education. It explains how art and movement education address the physical, social/emotional, and cognitive development of young children. Students will recognize ways to develop creativity and promote self-expression among young children by enhancing the entire curriculum with experiences in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic creativity.

Objectives:

  • Explain developmental theories related to creative thinking, behavior, and play in children’s learning.
  • Explain best practices for fostering creative thinking through art, music, movement, dance, and drama in children’s learning.
  • Describe research-based methods for assessing children’s creative thinking using their processes and materials.
  • Describe learning environments and materials that promote creative thinking and the arts that meet the needs of each child among diverse populations.

ECE216-Language and Literacy Development in Young Children
This course is designed to provide early childhood education professionals with a new approach to teaching early literacy skills with a multicultural perspective. The multicultural approach to literacy presented in this course provides an understanding of how children develop literacy skills and cultural awareness. The four major components of communication — speaking, listening, writing, and reading — are fully explored with each age group.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the multicultural approach to literacy and how it can promote early literacy skills.
  • Point out how music and art help in developing early literacy.
  • Show how speaking and listening skills are foundational for early literacy development.
  • Analyze how children become writers and readers in preschool and kindergarten years.
  • Categorize the importance of family literacy and the transition phase from preschool to kindergarten.
  • Prepare a storytelling board for toddlers and preschoolers.

ECE217-Developing Math and Science Skills in Young Children
Learn how to integrate math and science with other content areas for young children from preschool through the primary grades.

Objective:

  • Study the guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

ECE160-Cultural Diversity in the Early Childhood Program
This course will challenge you to examine the cultural influences on your attitudes and behaviors and how those cultural influences affect your professional judgment and practice.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the cultural influences and differences in family childrearing practices, young children's social skills and behavior, and communication skills and styles.
  • Describe how culture influences emergent literacy.
  • Understand the importance of developing cultural competence.

ECE221-Administration of an Early Childhood Education Center
This course offers a comprehensive view of the procedures involved in establishing and administering a child care education program.

Objectives:

  • Learn how to staff and budget for day-to-day administration.
  • Learn about parent involvement and equipment acquisition.

ECE225-Family Child Care
This course includes the practical consideration of issues and responsibilities in providing family child care for infants and young children. Topics include developmental domains, developmentally appropriate practices, curriculum and creating a successful environment.

Objectives:

  • Identify typical milestones and recommended practices for promoting development across all developmental domains (physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth) in young children.
  • Identify activities that conform to DAP principles to meet the needs of a specific age level in early childhood education.
  • Define the needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
  • Identify recommended practices for managing a multiage environment.
  • Identify the components of an effective, developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum.
  • Describe the caregiver's role in arranging the environment.
  • Identify the purpose of a daily schedule.
  • Describe strategies for guiding children's behavior.
  • Identify basic methods of assessment in the early childhood setting.
  • Identify strategies for promoting early literacy, creativity, and play.
  • Describe recommended policies and practices for transporting children.

Prerequisites:
ECE100 Orientation to Early Childhood Education
ECE220 Child Growth and Development
ECE240-Assessment in Early Childhood Education

The current emphasis on producing high-quality, comprehensive programming for young children requires early-learning professionals to develop excellent observation and assessment skills. To do your best work on behalf of children, you must be able to accurately determine the skill level of each child. As early-learning programs and elementary schools begin to work cooperatively to provide seamless transitions for children, your observations and assessments will follow them throughout their school years. The first two chapters of the textbook describe the purpose of observation and assessment in the early childhood classroom and the process of collecting and recording these observations in the Child Development Checklist. Chapters 3 through 11 cover the specific sections of the checklist and provide practical suggestions for fostering children’s development in each learning area. The final chapter discusses how you can share your observations with the children’s family members.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the importance of observation and understanding the development of self-esteem related to assessment.
  • Categorize the assessment methods of social and emotional skills and motor development.
  • Distinguish between the teaching processes related to cognitive development, language, and emerging literacy.
  • Point out the importance of developing creativity and sharing assessment data with families.
  • Evaluate the findings of a Child Development Checklist to create learning prescriptions.

English Composition (3 credits)
This course teaches the skills and techniques of effectively developing, drafting, and revising college-level essays toward a specific purpose and audience: active reading, prewriting strategies, sentence and paragraph structure, thesis statements, varied patterns of development (e.g., illustration, comparison and contrast, classification), critical reading toward revision of structure and organization, editing for standard written conventions, use and documentation of outside sources. Students submit two prewriting assignments, and three essays (process analysis, classification and division, argumentation).

Objectives:

  • Use writing skills to construct well-written sentences and active reading skills to understand and analyze text.
  • Develop paragraphs using topic sentences, adequate detail, supporting evidence, and transitions.
  • Describe the revision, editing, and proofreading steps of the writing process.
  • Distinguish between different patterns of development.
  • Use prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing to write a formal, college-level essay.
  • Recognize how to determine the reliability of secondary sources and to give proper credit to sources referenced in an essay.
  • Use techniques of drafting, evaluating, and creating a sound written argument.

Arts and Humanities Elective (3 credits)
(Choose one) ...

HUM102-Art Appreciation
In this course, you will gain an understanding of artistic media, historical periods and artistic movements, the roles of the artist and the viewer, and the principles of art criticism.

Objectives:

  • Define the language, visual elements, and principles of design of art.
  • Identify two-dimensional media.
  • Identify three-dimensional media.
  • Explain the evolution of art from ancient Mediterranean cultures through eighteenth century Europe.
  • Identify features and popular examples of art throughout the history of African, Asian, Pacific, and American cultures.
  • Compare the genres of the Modern and Postmodern eras of art from around the world.

Additional Course Materials:
Textbook: Living with Art

HUM104-Music Appreciation
In this course, you'll practice the skill of active listening. Learning to listen differently will allow you to experience all kinds of music in a new way. Most listeners are familiar with how music makes them feel, and we often say we like a particular piece of music because it has a "good beat" or a beautiful melody. This course will allow you to go deeper. You'll identify what the composer might have been trying to convey and listen for the way elements of musical composition and performance make each piece unique.

Objective:

  • Identify the building blocks of music a composer can use to create a piece, such as rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, form, and timbre
  • Differentiate between the music of the baroque era and the musical styles of previous time periods
  • List the major characteristics of classical music, including form, melody, and instrumentation
  • Describe the musical trends and innovations that occurred during the romantic era
  • Relate musical styles of the early twentieth century to comparable movements in art and literature
  • Explain the evolution of American popular music in the twentieth century
  • Describe the influence of world music on modern western composition
  • Synthesize research comparing composers' influence in their respective genres

Additional Course Materials:

Textbook: Experience Music

Proctored Examination
You will be required to complete a proctored exam on selected courses each semester. These assessments will evaluate the knowledge and skills that you learned during the semester. You choose the time, the location, and the qualified exam supervisor.

 

Semester 3

Early Childhood Education Site Selection 3
Each semester you’ll be in an early childhood education setting. Identify an appropriate site, obtain your official clearances, and submit the paperwork for approval. You can use the same site to fulfill this requirement each semester without having to resubmit the required paperwork.

Working with Preschoolers (3 credits)
The preschool years are a special time in the life of young children. In many instances, it’s the first time a child is away from immediate family. You, as an early childhood professional, have a huge responsibility in ensuring the safety and learning of each child, implementing developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and differentiation depending on the abilities and developmental levels of the children in your care. It’s essential that teachers learn about and provide the types of activities and experiences preschool children need.

This is an exciting course, packed with ideas that will help you to establish an effective and developmentally appropriate learning environment, built with interest centers that allow for individualization. While you move through each lesson, take notice of the nongraded activities that are provided. These activities will help you with teaching ideas and ways to help children, building relationships with families, and growing a community of learners.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the importance of the child care environment.
  • Point out the role of the teachers in developing classroom environment.
  • Categorize the ways in developing effective curriculum plans that incorporate play-based activities.
  • Analyze how various types of learning centers enhances a child's learning ability.
  • Prepare your assignment by observing five developmental categories of the preschool children.
  • Create a learning center design.

Infant and Toddler Care (3 credits)
Trust and mutual respect are the basic building blocks of all future development. Infants who can trust that they’ll be changed when they’re wet, fed when they’re hungry, cared for when they’re sick, cuddled when they’re in need of comfort, and treated with respect and love when they’re awake develop into healthy, curious, affectionate toddlers. Teachers who help to foster these relationships are constantly measuring their own performance by asking, “Am I acting in the best interests of this child, as defined by the standards of developmentally appropriate practice?” This course is your reference book for those standards. As you progress through this course, you’ll have many opportunities to examine what you do every day and to gradually adjust your teaching to reflect your emerging identity as a professional early childhood educator.

Objectives:

  • Describe how the caregiver impacts infants and toddlers through care, curriculum, individualization, and play.
  • Define the effects of infant and toddler attachment, their cues, developmental processes, and cognition.
  • Explain how language, emotion, and socialization affects infants and toddlers.
  • Describe the best environment for professionals while interacting with children and families.
  • Evaluate a scenario involving a parent dropping off a child at a child care center.
  • Evaluate books intended for young children.

Science Elective (3 credits)
(Choose one) ...

SCI120-Introduction to Biology
An introductory course that explains the origin of life and the relationships between all living things. It describes how a significant number of organisms are structured and how they work, in order to enable students to discuss intelligently the various forms of life and their processes.

Objectives:

  • Analyze cells and their processes for obtaining energy and reproducing.
  • Explain how traits are passed on from one generation to the next.
  • Explain how different species of living things have evolved and are classified.
  • Write responses to fundamental biology essay prompts.
  • Identify the characteristics and behavior of plants and animals.
  • Diagram the anatomy and physiology of the human body.
  • Describe the ecology of living things.

SCI110-Earth Science
Survey a broad range of topics.

Objective:

  • Examine topics within the fields of geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy.

SCI140 - Nutrition
Nutrition is the science that investigates how the body takes in, breaks down, and uses foods. The course will provide you with basic information on how these processes take place, including information about nutrients and how they contribute to the way the body functions. This will help you to have a better understanding of your decisions about food and diet. You’ll also learn about physical activities that can contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Because a central focus of nutrition studies is on health promotion, suggestions for individual nutrition choice will be discussed, as well as tactics for maintaining a healthy weight and keeping food supplies safe.

Objectives:

  • Describe how nutrition supports a body's wellness
  • Recognize the body's use of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
  • Identify the body's use of water, minerals, and micronutrients
  • Discuss what nutritional needs are for a healthy weight and for an athletic lifestyle
  • Define food safety and the nutritional needs of humans over a lifetime
  • Prepare a research paper on a nutritional topic

Digital Textbook: Nutrition for Healthy Living

Interpersonal Communication (1 credit)
This course is designed to help you develop professional relationships in the workplace.

Objectives:

  • Understand and explain the components of communication, both verbal and nonverbal.
  • Develop effective listening and observation skills.
  • Recognize prejudice in interpersonal relations.
  • Describe personal traits essential for successful interpersonal relations.

Play in the Lives of Young Children (3 credits)
This course offers an exciting exploration of the power of play in early childhood development and the early childhood curriculum.

Objectives:

  • Recognize the underpinning role of play in children’s early learning and development.
  • Understand how to use the power of play to meet established early childhood curriculum goals.
  • Integrate and enhance children’s academic development with children’s social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development.

Additional Course Material:
Textbook: An Integrated Play-based Curriculum for Young Children

Working with Children with Special Needs (3 credits)
For an early childhood educator, there’s nothing more rewarding than working with young children with special needs.

Objectives:

  • Describe the typical development of a child and how certain disabilities affect a child’s development.
  • Create an inclusive environment for children with special needs in a regular classroom.
  • Identify legal implication of including student with special needs.

Additional Course Material:
Textbook: The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education

Proctored Examination
You will be required to complete a proctored exam on selected courses each semester. These assessments will evaluate the knowledge and skills that you learned during the semester. You choose the time, the location, and the qualified exam supervisor.

 

Semester 4

Early Childhood Education Site Selection 4
Each semester you’ll be in an early childhood education setting. Identify an appropriate site, obtain your official clearances, and submit the paperwork for approval. You can use the same site to fulfill this requirement each semester without having to resubmit the required paperwork.

Guidance in Early Childhood Education (3 credits)
Guidance is the use of positive strategies to teach children the skills they need to succeed by helping them solve problems and handle confusing emotions as well as teaching them developmentally appropriate expectations. As the National Association for the Education of Young Children says, guidance differs from discipline; guidance gives children the tools to solve problems rather than disciplining children after the fact. This course will explore the many ways that teachers can work with children and families, using effective guidance strategies in a variety of settings.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the various roles, theories and elements associated with guiding young children.
  • Point out the importance of supportive physical environments, discipline strategies and assessment in child guidance structure.
  • Categorize the various developmental stages and guidance stages related to early childhood.
  • Analyze the ways of implementing guidance strategies and the decision-making model of child guidance.
  • Prepare an essay on the case scenario by using the decision making model.

Additional Course Material:
Textbook: Guidance of Young Children

Mathematics for Business and Finance (3 credits)
This course will provide a foundation in basic mathematical operations. You'll learn about percentages, discounts, interest, present worth, sinking funds, installment buying, pricing, depreciation, investments, insurance, the use of symbols and their applications, equations and formulas, and the importance of statistics.

Objectives:

  • Analyze functions of whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents
  • Show calculations involved in simple interest, compound interest, and time value of money
  • Prepare various business math applications involving financial reports, installment buying, and depreciation
  • Analyze various financial concepts related to taxes, insurance, financial investments, and basic business statistics
  • Describe other HRM functions including collective bargaining, labor relations, global HRM, and building a high-performance organization
  • Prepare for the final exam

Textbook: Practical Business Math Procedures

Child, Family, and Community (3 credits)
In this course, you’ll learn the family-centered approach along with the current research for early childhood education. It contains practical examples for interactions between families, schools, and communities.

Objectives:

  • Analyze family-centered approach with the related issues of attachment, trust, and autonomy.
  • Point out the various approach of teaching in dealing with socialization and cultural influences.
  • Categorize the ways in dealing with personal and social issues related to families.
  • Analyze the use of various educational and community resources available to families.
  • Prepare a newsletter for your childhood education program.
  • Prepare a summary of your findings after completing the Child Care Center Checklist.

Additional Course Material:
Textbook: Child, Family, and Community: Family-Centered Early Care and Education

Early Childhood Education Elective (3 credits)
(Choose one) ...

ECE213-Art, Music, and Movement
The role of art, music, and movement in a young child’s education. It explains how art and movement education address the physical, social/emotional, and cognitive development of young children. Students will recognize ways to develop creativity and promote self-expression among young children by enhancing the entire curriculum with experiences in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic creativity.

Objectives:

  • Explain developmental theories related to creative thinking, behavior, and play in children’s learning.
  • Explain best practices for fostering creative thinking through art, music, movement, dance, and drama in children’s learning.
  • Describe research-based methods for assessing children’s creative thinking using their processes and materials.
  • Describe learning environments and materials that promote creative thinking and the arts that meet the needs of each child among diverse populations.

ECE216-Language and Literacy Development in Young Children
This course is designed to provide early childhood education professionals with a new approach to teaching early literacy skills with a multicultural perspective. The multicultural approach to literacy presented in this course provides an understanding of how children develop literacy skills and cultural awareness. The four major components of communication — speaking, listening, writing, and reading — are fully explored with each age group.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the multicultural approach to literacy and how it can promote early literacy skills.
  • Point out how music and art help in developing early literacy.
  • Show how speaking and listening skills are foundational for early literacy development.
  • Analyze how children become writers and readers in preschool and kindergarten years.
  • Categorize the importance of family literacy and the transition phase from preschool to kindergarten.
  • Prepare a storytelling board for toddlers and preschoolers.

ECE217-Developing Math and Science Skills in Young Children
Learn how to integrate math and science with other content areas for young children from preschool through the primary grades.

Objective:

  • Study the guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

ECE160-Cultural Diversity in the Early Childhood Program
This course will challenge you to examine the cultural influences on your attitudes and behaviors and how those cultural influences affect your professional judgment and practice.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the cultural influences and differences in family childrearing practices, young children's social skills and behavior, and communication skills and styles.
  • Describe how culture influences emergent literacy.
  • Understand the importance of developing cultural competence.

ECE221-Administration of an Early Childhood Education Center
This course offers a comprehensive view of the procedures involved in establishing and administering a child care education program.

Objectives:

  • Learn how to staff and budget for day-to-day administration.
  • Learn about parent involvement and equipment acquisition.

ECE225-Family Child Care
This course includes the practical consideration of issues and responsibilities in providing family child care for infants and young children. Topics include developmental domains, developmentally appropriate practices, curriculum and creating a successful environment.

Objectives:

  • Identify typical milestones and recommended practices for promoting development across all developmental domains (physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth) in young children.
  • Identify activities that conform to DAP principles to meet the needs of a specific age level in early childhood education.
  • Define the needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
  • Identify recommended practices for managing a multiage environment.
  • Identify the components of an effective, developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum.
  • Describe the caregiver's role in arranging the environment.
  • Identify the purpose of a daily schedule.
  • Describe strategies for guiding children's behavior.
  • Identify basic methods of assessment in the early childhood setting.
  • Identify strategies for promoting early literacy, creativity, and play.
  • Describe recommended policies and practices for transporting children.

Prerequisites:
ECE100 Orientation to Early Childhood Education
ECE220 Child Growth and Development
ECE240-Assessment in Early Childhood Education

The current emphasis on producing high-quality, comprehensive programming for young children requires early-learning professionals to develop excellent observation and assessment skills. To do your best work on behalf of children, you must be able to accurately determine the skill level of each child. As early-learning programs and elementary schools begin to work cooperatively to provide seamless transitions for children, your observations and assessments will follow them throughout their school years. The first two chapters of the textbook describe the purpose of observation and assessment in the early childhood classroom and the process of collecting and recording these observations in the Child Development Checklist. Chapters 3 through 11 cover the specific sections of the checklist and provide practical suggestions for fostering children’s development in each learning area. The final chapter discusses how you can share your observations with the children’s family members.

Objectives:

  • Analyze the importance of observation and understanding the development of self-esteem related to assessment.
  • Categorize the assessment methods of social and emotional skills and motor development.
  • Distinguish between the teaching processes related to cognitive development, language, and emerging literacy.
  • Point out the importance of developing creativity and sharing assessment data with families.
  • Evaluate the findings of a Child Development Checklist to create learning prescriptions.

Field Experience (6 credits)
The goal of this field experience is to provide you with the hands-on experience necessary to develop the skills needed by Early Childhood Education professionals. Practice these skills under the direct supervision of a certified teacher or credentialed Early Childhood Education professional. This field experience encompasses a minimum of 300 hours of observation and activities in an Early Childhood Education Center. Although we recommend that you complete your field experience in 12 weeks, you have a maximum of six months to finish. It is the responsibility of the student to secure a site for his/her field experience.

Proctored Examination
You will be required to complete a proctored exam on selected courses each semester. These assessments will evaluate the knowledge and skills that you learned during the semester. You choose the time, the location, and the qualified exam supervisor.

Graduation Requirements

  • Complete all 4 semesters.
  • Pass all courses.
  • Achieve a cumulative Quality Point Average (QPA) of 2.0 or higher.

 

CDA Credential Education Requirement
Penn Foster College's Early Childhood Education Associate Degree program fulfills the 120 hour educational requirement for those interested in earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential. For more information about CDA Credential requirements, click here.

 

NOTE: Advanced standing student shipments may vary from the above schedule.

A High School Diploma or GED is required to enroll in this degree program. Although this outline covers all four semesters of the Early Childhood Education Degree Program, you receive lesson materials for each semester as you enroll.

Because state education requirements vary for Early Childhood Education professionals, we recommend you check with the licensing agency in your state to find out what requirements you'll need to fulfill to obtain your license.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.

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