ECE 495: Early Childhood Education Capstone

Course Description

This is the required Capstone course for students in the Early Childhood Education bachelor’s degree program. The course is taken in the student’s last semester. It is designed to allow students to share their professional practice experience with classmates in structured discussions and to prepare students for the Capstone Formal Presentation. Students will develop a project proposal and research plan, write a review of the literature and prepare their presentation based on what they learn in the literature. Students will also make connections to prior learning from courses taken within the major, evaluate and synthesize information and connect to their own professional work experiences. A grade of C is required for students to pass the Capstone course.

Prerequisites

Students must have completed most of their concentration courses and take this course in their last semester. Academic Counselor approval is required to register.
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)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Demonstrate reading and writing communication competence by effectively acquiring, developing and conveying ideas and information
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 iCONN and eJones.
Compare and contrast findings/ideas from literature review
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
Make recommendations for change (of personal practices) based on new findings

Course Activities and Grading

Make recommendations for change (of personal practices) based on new findings

Assignments	Weight
Capstone Project (Final Project)	100%
Total	100%

Grading Standards

The project will:

Express with clarity and precision the idea of the project
Demonstrate substantial knowledge of the content of the concentration
Evaluate critically the validity of the project within the concentration
Reflect proficiency in the terminology and language appropriate to the concentration
Exemplify effectively the methodology of the concentration
Reveal the personal thoughts and opinions of the student
Demonstrate the writing proficiencies of the senior level of college writing
Be a minimum of 35 pages. Typical projects are between 50-100 pages.

Grades

A = exemplary level of performance – effectively demonstrates all seven standards

B = high level of performance – demonstrates six of the seven standards

C = satisfactory level of performance – demonstrates five of the seven standards

F = unsatisfactory level of performance – demonstrates fewer than five of the seven standards

Required Text

There is no required textbook for this Capstone course.

Recommended Resource

Student should have an up-to-date reference guide for citation methods, appropriate word usage, grammar and punctuation. A Writer’s Reference, 6th edition is one such resource.

Course Schedule

Week	SLOs	Assignments
1	1,2	Review student learning outcomes of the concentration. Participate in Discussion Board - Introduce yourself to your Instructor and your peers. Include your background, academic goals, professional interests and anything else you’d like to share. Choose topic and select format for project. Engage in discussion with Instructor about project. Assignment:Submit draft proposal by Wednesday evening of week 1
2	2,7	Revise proposal if required and submit final by Wednesday evening of week 2. Assignment: Write research plan and submit by Wednesday evening of week 2. Begin literature review and research.
3	2,3,4,5	Continue with literature review and research Begin writing research paper based on literature review.
4	2,3,4,5	Continue writing research paper based on literature review. Participate in Discussion Board Engage in discussions with Instructor. Assignment: Submit progress report to instructor (4-6 statements; no template required)
5	1,2,3,4,5,7	Continue project work. Participate in Discussion Board Engage in discussion with Instructor about project (as needed). Write and Submit Project Draft #1 to the Instructor by Wednesday of week 5.
6	2,4,5,6	Begin project work. Engage in discussions with Instructor. Assignment: Submit progress report to the Instructor (4-6 statements; no template required)
7	2,4,5,6	Continue project work. Engage in discussion with Instructor about project (as needed). Assignment: Submit Project Draft #2 to the Instructor (weeks 6 & 7 work on project)
8	3	Participate in Discussion Board Complete Project Evaluation form Compile full project portfolio and submit for grading. Complete Course Evaluation.

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.