Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Getting It Right From The Start: A Retrospective And Current Examination Of Infant-Toddler Care In Jamaica, Zoyah Kinkead-Clark, Kerry-Ann Escayg

Occasional Paper Series

Despite acknowledging that early childhood spans from birth to eight years, in Jamaica, similar to many other developing countries, predominant interest in early childhood care and education has typically been centred on the education children three to six years receive rather than the care of infants and toddlers. With the current thrust towards improving access to childcare in Jamaica it warrants an examination of the sector and the issues affecting infants/toddlers and the persons who care for them.

Guided by the findings of the ground breaking 1993 UNICEF funded report which evaluated the state of nursery care in Jamaica, this …

Preparing Infant-Toddler Professionals: A Community College’S Perspective, Jennifer M. Longley, Jennifer M. Gilken

Occasional Paper Series

Preparing professionals to work with infants/ toddlers is complex and unique because of the age group. Community colleges have an integral role in the preparation of infant/ toddler professionals, The Borough of Manhattan Community College infant/ toddler preservice program identified the following four elements to prepare professionals to deliver high-quality, relationship-based practices: (1) relationship-based program, (2) fieldwork opportunities, (3) curriculum, and (4) faculty.

Including Autism: Confronting Inequitable Practices In A Toddler Classroom, Emmanuelle N. Fincham, Amanda R. Fellner

Occasional Paper Series

As co-teachers in a toddler room, we share a personal narrative about our experiences working with a child diagnosed with autism while in our care. Framed within the competing discourses of the medicalized perspective on disability and the individual, child-centered philosophies of early childhood education, we investigate the inequities we felt in the classroom and make connections to the field of early childhood inclusive education at large.

Relationship-Based Infant Care As A Framework For Authentic Practice: How Eun Mi Rediscovered Her Teaching Soul, Susan L. Recchia, Seung Eun Mcdevitt

Occasional Paper Series

In this paper, we explore the complex nature of preparing diverse professionals for authentic, relationship-based care for infants and toddlers in child care. Looking through the eyes of one student caregiver, we travel with her through a semester-long course introducing her to infant care as an integral part of early childhood teacher preparation. We draw on her descriptions of her weekly experiences in an infant room focusing on a key child, her formal reflections in written assignments, and her responses to a series of interview questions once the course was completed to construct a theory of authentic practice through relationship-based …

Enhancing Pedagogy Through Acue Certification, Janelle Espling

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

As instructors, there is an incredible responsibility to deliver content that is true to the standards of which the institution requires. But not only is it necessary to deliver content, it is necessary to deliver content in a way that promotes student learning, promotes student success, and an engages higher levels of thinking. The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Course in Effective teaching practices provides instructors evidence based strategies that do just that. As the reflections display, applying these strategies achieves the University goal to support students towards learning, success, and higher levels of thinking.

The Guardian Interviews Maryam Ahranjani: When Kids Are Threats: The Assessments Unfairly Targeting Students With Disabilities, Maryam Ahranjani, Ike Swetlitz

Faculty Scholarship

His story should motivate district officials to re-evaluate their use of threat assessments, said Maryam Ahranjani, a law professor at the University of New Mexico. As currently practiced, she said, the assessment process can unfairly ensnare many students. “It’s treating them as if they are criminals without them actually engaging in criminal activity.”

Learning Practice Guide, Jen Jackson, Kate Noble, Jeanne Marie Iorio, Dan Cloney, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

The first section of this Learning Practice Guide reminds early childhood professionals of the theory and pedagogy that underpins day-to-day practice, and helps them find ways to recognise children’s confidence and involvement in learning as a key component of their professional practice. The second section describes eight scenarios to prompt professional reflection, and illustrate ways in which early childhood professionals can improve their practice in relation to the VEYLDF Learning and Development Outcome: Children are confident and involved learners.

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

New York State Birth Through Five (Nysb5) Preschool Development Grant Needs Assessment Executive Summary, Center For Human Services Research, University At Albany

Education & Early Childhood Development Reports and Research Briefs

New York was pleased to be awarded the NYS Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (NYSB5), which supported a Statewide Birth through Five Needs Assessment to analyze the current landscape of the NYS ECCE system. This Needs Assessment was conducted by the Center for Human Services Research (CHSR) at the University of Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), in partnership with the NYSB5 grantee, the NYS Council on Children and Families, the ECAC, and the State’s child-serving agencies and stakeholders. Conducted from January 2019 until September 2019, this NYSB5 Needs Assessment used a methodical approach to comprehensively analyze the …

Girl Empowerment Club, Tori Pedersen, Murphy Glen

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

Girl Empowerment Club teaches girls about self-reflection and communicating effectively in hope of inspiring confidence. The goal of the club is to encourage girls to strengthen their interpersonal skills while learning more about themselves.

Quick And Easy Notes: Practical Strategies For Busy Teachers, C. C. Bates, Stephanie Madison Schenck, Hayley J. Hoover

Publications

Teachers’ knowledge of each child helps them to plan appropriately challenging environments and activities that are tailored to the children’s strengths and needs. Assessing children regularly is essential to build that individualized knowledge—and to identify children who may benefit from more specialized supports. This article offers practical tips for you to engage in systematic, observation-based assessment by keeping anecdotal records on each child.

Preschool For All: Plyler V. Doe In The Context Of Early Childhood Education, Shiva Kooragayala

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In its 1982 opinion in Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that a state could not deny undocumented children living within its borders a public and free K-12 education. This Note argues that Plyler’s protections extend to publicly-funded early childhood education programs that serve children between the ages of three and five. Due to the broad support of researchers, educators, and the general public, early childhood education programs funded by local, state, and the federal governments have become an integral part of a comprehensive public education today. While these early childhood education programs are nominally open to all students …

Preschool Students Learning From Play Based Learning And Small Group Instruction, Molly Nicholson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to use two different types or learning and see which one is more effective for preschool students. It seeks to answer this question: Do preschool students learn more effectively from small group instruction or from play-based learning? Preschool is where learning really begins, it is important to have a solid foundation for an educational career, this foundation is built in the preschool setting. Students learn in a variety of ways, hopefully this study helps determine the most effective way for the majority of the students to learn. Play-based learning is a relatively newer concept …

Nebline, October 2019

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Groundwater Protection: It’s Up to Everyone

The Nutritional Power of Pumpkins

Recipe of the Month

Sulfur Deficiency in Corn

Planting Garlic in the Fall Vegetable Garden

Composting Demonstrations

I Spy a Spider: Common Spiders Around the Home

Invasive Species: American Bullfrog

Plant Spring Bulbs for Pollinators

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Become a Master Gardener

Chatting With Babies Helps Brain Development

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Kelsey Ebke

4-H Golf Tournament Fundraiser, Sept. 29

4-H Specialty Clubs Invite New Members

4-H Announcements for 4-H'ers and Volunteers

State Fair 4-H Top Results

Lancaster County 4-H Quilt of Valor Presented …

Geo-Baloo: Teaching Geometry Through Physical Activities, Mi Sun Park, Young Rae Kim, Eunhye Kwon

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Hello, My Name Is Octicorn, Victoria Glaubitz

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.

The Prevalence And Importance Of Ethnic Diversity In Children’S Literature, Rose Schewe

Senior Honors Theses

Despite the complicated past of ethnic censorship, ethnic diversity has a prominent role in children’s literature published in the United States because diversity is accurately representative of the culture in which today’s young readers live. Children’s literature has advanced in terms of ethnic diversity in recent decades, but obstacles that prevent the stories of various minority groups from being told continue to exist. In order for all children to feel properly included in the literary world, children must be given the opportunity to see both people who are different from them as well as people who bear similarities to themselves …

Informing Joyality 4 Kids: Ecopsychology Education To Support Upper Primary Children’S Well-Being Through Environmental And Social Crisis, Cambry Baker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Responding to climate change and the state of the world demands psychological resilience and a transformative shift towards sustainable behavior. Children inheriting our uncertain future require psychological support and tools of well-being to fuel emotionally sustainable activism. In this paper I investigate how best to support upper primary aged children through environmental and social issues with Joyality 4 Kids, an educational ecopsychology program.

During November of 2019 I completed the Joyality Program processes independently, then conducted two focus group interviews with five individuals experienced in the Joyality Program and/or environmental education to develop the processes for an eight-hour Joyality 4 …

Language Nests On The Move: The Case Of Võro Pre-Primary Education In Estonia, Kara D. Brown, Mariko Faster

Faculty Publications

This article considers the circuitous route of knowledge exchange from South (New Zealand)-to North (Finland)-to regional South (Estonia) by examining the development of Võro language nests (keelepesä) in Estonia. Language nests reflect the global nature of educational knowledge exchange as well as the importance of networks of languageresearchers and activists in this policy inspiration. Estonia is a fascinating case for understanding the international spread and local development of the language-nest approach in a post-Socialist context. The authors draw on concepts of policy borrowing and diffusion and the “grammar of schooling” to explore the spread of the language nest approach and …

Use Of Formative Assessment To Structure Flexible Differentiated Learning Groups: A Pathway To Equity, Deanna M. Westedt

Theses and Dissertations

The action research contained in this study seeks to identify the impact of formative assessment in the structuring of flexible differentiation in order to provided equity within the self-contained classroom for all intersectionalities amongst elementary students. Grounded in community of practice theory, the research explores structures within flexible differentiation and small group learning that provide students of varied and overlapping identities with access and equity within the four walls of the self-contained classroom. Additionally, the influence of flexible differentiation on the affective nature of students was explored. The teacher-researcher utilized a mixed-methods approach in order to provide a holistic picture. …