This lesson is about exploring advocacy to deepen our understanding of the early childhood system, and to deepen our roles as early childhood professionals. Find out about the variety of advocacy roles and multiple resources that help to prepare you for, and learn about, advocacy. (1 hour)
Early care and education (ECE) professionals working toward antiracism use culturally responsive competencies like recognizing and addressing biases in systems and building partnerships with families to create equitable programs. This course explains how racism can hide in program policies and how bias can influence practices. Creating a program culture where educators’ and families’ voices are included in the reworking of program structures to address racism and bias’s unfair impact is an essential step toward becoming an antiracist program. (2 hours)
Studies show that well-educated, skilled caregivers are the basis for quality care and learning programs. The CDA (Child Development Associate) Credential is one of many ways to build knowledge and expertise as an early childhood professional. This lesson provides an introduction to understanding the CDA Credential, the CDA process, and its possible fit as a professional development path for the early educator. (2 hours)
Have you finished the 120 hours of CDA coursework, yet still need guidance in finishing the CDA process? This course will help you to clearly understand and complete the final phases toward earning your CDA Credential. Explore strategies to wrap up and refine your CDA Professional Portfolio. Gain access to useful tools and explore professional practices that will help you to confidently prepare for and complete your CDA application and Verification Visit (observation and exam). (3 hours)
Coaching is increasingly used in early childhood education (ECE) programs as an opportunity to support professional development and cultivate optimal teacher reflection, practice, and effectiveness. Through the lens of the teacher, this module explores teacher voice and its importance in preparing for coaching experiences that lead to quality coaching outcomes. The module shares comprehensive strategies to build knowledge of the coaching process and coaching collaborations. (3 hours)
Las personas que cuidan niños en sus hogares les proporcionan un importante servicio a los padres y a la comunidad. (2 hours)
This lesson provides steps in beginning a professional path. Explore the many meanings of professionalism and distinguish how to represent a professional image. Find out what is expected and required of you as an early childhood professional. (1 hour)
This lesson takes a deeper look at professionalism and prepares you for professional growth by describing important early childhood professional terms, planning for quality professional development, reviewing the role of mentorship, and generating written professional development plans. (1 hour)
Each individual who works in the field of early childhood care and education has responsibilities and moral obligations toward children, families, colleagues, and the community. Learn how the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct can be applied to work with young children and their families and how it provides a common framework for the moral, ethical commitments of educators. (2 hours)
Those who care for children in their homes provide an important service to parents and to the community. Learn how to establish, operate, and maintain a successful child care business. Also, discover important information about understanding and supporting the developmental needs of each child in your care. (2 hours)
This lesson covers ways to advocate for and support children with disabilities. As an advocate for children you need to be knowledgeable about the rights, responsibilities, and resources available to children. Discover ways to connect parents and families of children with disabilities to services and empower them to be advocates for their children. (2 hours)
"New Staff Orientation – Working with School-Age Youth" is a seven-hour lesson consisting of twelve chapters. The chapters are designed to guide you as you work with your program director, children, families, and co-workers to learn about new job responsibilities and ways to provide high quality care to school-age youth. (7 hours)
Consists of twelve chapters. The chapters are designed to guide you as you work with your program director, children and families, and co-workers to learn about new job responsibilities and ways to provide high quality care to infants and toddlers. (7 hours)
“New Staff Orientation – Working with Preschoolers” is a seven-hour module consisting of twelve chapters. The chapters are designed to guide you as you work with your program director, children and families, and co-workers to learn about new job responsibilities and ways to provide high quality care to preschoolers. (7 Hours)
All adults working in early childhood and school-age education settings need to know how to support a developmentally appropriate environment for the children in their care. This includes non-instructional staff such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers, maintenance staff, office staff, and volunteers. They should understand the stages of child development, and be responsive to individual and cultural differences. They should know how to interact appropriately with children, co-workers, and families. They need to know program safety procedures, and be prepared for emergencies. (2 hours)
How can early learning professionals extend and continue their online professional development learning? As use of online learning for professional development training and course work increases, there is a need to carefully cultivate and maximize best practices to support online learning. This module explores intentional, effective, and research-informed strategies to maximize online learning experiences for early learning and school-age professionals. (2 hours)
Positive youth development – this should be the goal of every interaction with youth in after-school programs. But what is “positive youth development”? What are the indicators of a quality youth development program? What competencies are important for adults working with youth to have or develop? This distance education lesson focuses on the features of after-school/youth development programs that promote positive development in the youth they serve. (2 hours)
Developing a professional philosophy statement helps to communicate your professional views and values toward early education, teaching, and learning. During your professional career this can be valuable, such as when applying for a position of work, applying for the CDA Credential or other academic positions. A professional philosophy statement can also serve as a tool in reaffirming what important professional roles and responsibilities you want to embrace in your teaching. (1 hour)
This mastery module is for current program administrators in out-of-school programs serving 5- to 18-year-olds, and for those who wish to advance into an administrative role. Administrators will explore how to model ethical standards of behavior; how to practice and train staff in continuous learning; how to identify potential staff leaders and provide leadership development opportunities; and how to advocate for resources to sustain high quality programs for children, youth, and families. (2 hours)
Explore the merits of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and lifelong learning. Name a variety of out-of-school time (OST) program and youth assessments. Reflect on your own OST program components using online tools. Investigate site-specific quality expectations. Identify areas for action toward greater quality or a next step in professional learning. (2 hours)
