ECE 494: Early Childhood Education Major - Early Childhood Teacher Credential Capstone

Course Description

This course is for students pursing the Early Childhood Teacher Credential (ECTC) focus of the ECE Major. This course will focus on both the culminating practicum and capstone project/paper. The fieldwork component of the course consists of an on-ground practicum of 200 hours of supervised field work, an ongoing field journal, three video tapings of classroom performance and a Capstone project and a phone conference.  Within the field work practicum students will demonstrate: a) their ability to apply their knowledge of child development theory and approaches; b) their ability to engage in classroom management; c) their ability to plan, organize, and implement daily routine and learning activities independently; and d) their ability to work as part of a team. For the Capstone component of this course the student will design and carry out a project of their own interest in consultation with the course instructor. Each student will complete the capstone project to demonstrate that the student understands clearly his or her subject of choice as it relates to early childhood education, has mastered the content of the selected field of study, and can synthesize and apply what he or she has learned. The capstone project may take one of several formats: an applied research project, scholarly essay, portfolio, case study, PowerPoint presentation or any other mode appropriate to the student's interest and experience. A minimum grade of "C" must be earned on this project to meet the requirements of the concentration. Students must have completed most of their concentration courses and take this course in their last semester. (6 credits)

Prerequisites

• ECE 101: Introduction to Early Childhood Education
• ECE 176: Health, Safety and Nutrition: Birth to Eight
• ECE 205: Diversity and Ethics in Early Childhood Education
• ECE 210: Observation and Assessment in ECE Program
• ECE 217: The Exceptional Learner
• ECE 231: Early Language and Literacy Development
• ECE 247: Child Development: Birth to Eight
• ENG 101: English Composition 1
• ENG 102: English Composition 2
• PSY 301: Psychology of Play
• SOC 350: Children, School and the Community

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

For the practicum component of this course, students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Write (journal) about how they apply their knowledge concerning typical and atypical development in children to create positive learning environments;
2. Discuss in their final conference the ways in which they apply their knowledge concerning typical and atypical development in children to create positive learning environments;
3. Write about the diverse and complex characteristics of families and communities that establish respectful, reciprocal relationships that help to empower families;
4. Discuss in their final conference the ways in which their understanding of working with families has been and will be applied to their classroom setting;
5. Write about the value of observing children as a means of assessing their development;
6. Discuss in their final conference how they use observing children as a means of assessing their development;
7. Demonstrate through videotaped sessions their ability to select and design developmentally appropriate curriculum and activities to promote positive development and learning for children;
8. Discuss in their final conference the ways they select and design developmentally appropriate curriculum and activities to promote positive development and learning for children;
9. Discuss in their final conference the ways in which they currently or intend to engage in ongoing continuous professional development.

For the capstone component of this course, students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

10. Demonstrate reading and writing communication competence by effectively acquiring, developing and conveying ideas and information;
11. Perform, analyze and synthesize an organized and systematic review of current literature related to selected topic (literature includes current research [within 10 years], some of which may be accessed through Charter Oak's virtual library resources);
12. Compare and contrast findings/ideas from literature review;
13. Integrate ideas and findings from literature review with current developmentally appropriate practices (using NAEYC as the standard) for typically and atypically developing children ages birth through 8 years old;
14. Apply the reviewed literature to the focus of the capstone project designed and carried out within the semester;
15. Make recommendations for change (of personal practices) based on new findings.

Course Activities and Grading

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak State College's online bookstore

• Friedman, Susan. (2022). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8, 4th edition. ISBN-13: 978-1-938113-95-6
• Brillante, Pamela. (2023). Casebook: Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8. Consortium Book Sales & Disrtibution. ISBN-13: 978-1-952331-12-1
  
  

Course Schedule

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.