Teacher Training Program - Inactive Courses

Organization

Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, Inc.

Credit Course Categories:

NOTE: During the period that the following credit recommendations were active, credit is recommended only after an individual has successfully completed the entire program.

Descriptions and credit recommendations for all evaluated learning experiences

Child Development - Birth Through Middle Childhood (160)

Length:

Version 1 and 2: 45 hours (15 weeks).

Dates:

Version 1: April 1996 - August 2008. Version 2: September 2008 - June 2021.

Objectives:

Version 1: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: define and recognize the landmarks of physical, social, cognitive, emotional, and linguistic development in the young child and use techniques of observation in tracking a child's development; identify major theorists and discuss their key ideas; compare the ideas of different theorists with those of Maria Montessori; discuss the ideas of theorists as they apply to classroom situations; select and provide the child with developmentally appropriate activities for each age and each stage of growth; identify developmental problems and provide appropriate activities for children with special needs; discuss the child's place in the family and the need to involve families in the child's healthy development; develop plans to create and furnish an an age appropriate space; and discuss articles on brain research in planning an interactive environment for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Version 2: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be to: define and recognize the landmarks of physical, social, cognitive, emotional, and linguistic development in young children and use techniques of observation in tracking children's development; identify major theorists and discuss their key ideas; compare the ideas of different theorists with those of Maria Montessori; discuss the ideas of theorists as they apply to classroom situations; discuss articles on brain research; select and provide children with developmentally appropriate activities for each age and each stage of growth; identify developmental problems and provide appropriate activities for children with special needs; and discuss children's place in the family and suggest ways to involve families in their healthy development.

Instruction:

Version 1: This course introduces students in early childhood programs to the various theorists whose ideas focus on the development of young children. The course covers physical/cognitive development from birth through preschool and on to middle childhood, social/emotional development, and moral development. Major theorists who are prominent in each area are compared with the Montessori method and philosophy. The final portion of the course concentrates on the creation of an interactive age appropriate environment. Reading assignments, child development assignments and video tapes, child development and infant/toddler albums of age appropriate work, and examination are requirements of the course. Version 2: This course introduces students in early childhood programs to the various theorists whose ideas focus on the development of young children. The course covers physical/cognitive development from conception through preschool and on to middle childhood, social/emotional development and moral development. Major theorists, who are prominent in each area, are compared with the Montessori method and philosophy. Reading assignments, child development assignments and video tapes, child development and a child development album and examination are requirements of the course.

Credit recommendation:

Version 1 and 2: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Montessori Education (6/00) (8/06 revalidation) (8/10 revalidation) (11/15 revalidation).

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Classroom Management

Length:

45 hours.

Dates:

April 1996 - June 2001.

Objectives:

Students will be able to organize and maintain a developmentally appropriate learning environment including all aspects of planning, record-keeping, observation, team building, and maintenance for the pre-school classroom.

Instruction:

Major topics include: starting the year; arrangement of the classroom; discipline/positive guidance techniques; health and safety procedures; program planning; record keeping; team building; and maintenance.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 1 semester hour in Early Childhood Education or Child Care (5/99).

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Curriculum and Resource Guide for Infants and Toddlers - Birth to Three Years (170)

Length:

45 hours (8 weeks).

Dates:

November 2008 - June 2021.

Objectives:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: demonstrate awareness of the importance of early care; train staff to provide that care, aid staff in understanding the changing needs of infants, mobile infants, and toddlers and to provide resources to maintain a high quality of care for these stages of growth; define and recognize the developmental landmarks of physical, social, cognitive, and linguistic development of children from birth to three; identify the goals and objectives for working with infants and toddlers and how these practices can influence development; prepare and furnish an appropriate infant/toddler learning environment; explore and define theories of child development from birth to three years of age and identify what to expect from children as they travel through the various stages of development; appreciate the importance of bonding, attachment, trust, routines, consistency, and flexibility when caring for infants and toddlers; observe and record observations; utilize a variety of observation tools and apply them to enhance the development of infants and toddlers through the environment and lesson planning; identify "red flags" (children at risk of not meeting age-appropriate milestones) and identify necessary steps to provide early intervention services for those children; identify, handle, and monitor safety concerns in an infant/toddler indoor and outdoor environment; and examine various health and nutrition guidelines and requirements of infants and toddlers.

Instruction:

This course serves as a manual of operation for caregivers and covers three areas: overview of the developmental needs of the infant and toddler as a guide for the caregiver; manual for design and preparation of the infant and toddler environments; and a resource for the requirements and recommendations for the health, safety, and nutrition of infants and toddlers. The course provides staff with interactive activities through group discussions and writings to build their own knowledge. Various topics include: effects of brain research in the improved understanding of physical development, cognition, and language; best practices in how to engage infants and toddlers in learning games of interactive parent/caregiver and child activities; safety issues of environmental design; principles of adaptation in providing practical life and sensorial materials for these age groups; dental health; toilet training; immunizations, illnesses of young children; nutrition; feeding skills; food preparation; allergies; obesity; toddler schedule (the journey to independence); classroom management; lesson plans; observation and recording skills; developmental guidelines and signs of disorders; developmental screenings; progress reports; parent communication; National Health and Safety Standards; Early Head Start Performance Standards and Day Care checklists. Exercises include: group work, quizzes, homework, design of infant and toddler environments, readings and discussions of articles, videos, and presentations of the Montessori Environment.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Montessori Early Childhood Education (8/10) (11/15 revalidation).

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Early Childhood Curriculum OR Principles and Practices of Montessori Education

Length:

Minimum 240 hours.

Dates:

April 1996 - June 2001.

Objectives:

Students will be able to: discuss the theoretical foundations of early childhood curriculum development and their implementation in the early childhood classroom in a developmentally appropriate manner; organize and integrate the following curriculum areas into classroom practice: art, music, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science; and determine when to present appropriate manipulative materials to support each of the curriculum areas.

Instruction:

The curriculum addresses how to engage children in developmentally appropriate ways with individual, small group, and whole group instruction and emphasizes how to manage the transition between activities. Art: materials and media, i.e., crayon, pencil drawing, clay, water color, sculpture, etc.; Music: listening, following directions, appreciation, recognition, group participation in songs, movement games, instrument making, etc.; Math: 0 to 10 materials, teens and tens, decimal system, and addition; Language Arts: pre-writing exercises, language patterning sequence, visual discrimination, initial sounds, phonetic sounds, phonograms, grammar games, literature and poetry for pre-schoolers; Social Studies: sensorial perception of the concept of time, basic human needs, and vastness of history, sensorial age appropriate experience with maps, flags, landforms, habitats and cultures, child's body awareness and relationship to the world; Science: health, nutrition, human body, solar system, rocks, plants, and animals; Manipulatives: helping the child to function in his/her own environment, increase attention span, develop self-discipline, and refine gross and fine motor skills through practical life activities; developmentally appropriate sensorial materials involving matching, sorting, and discrimination.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Early Childhood Education or Child Care (5/99).

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Early Childhood Development - Birth Through Age 5

Length:

75 hours.

Dates:

April 1996 - June 2001.

Objectives:

Students will be able to: recognize landmarks of development in the birth to 3 year old child and use techniques of observation in tracking a child's development; recognize the different developmental stages of the older toddler and the preschooler in the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional areas; select and provide the child with developmentally appropriate activities for each age and each stage of growth; identify developmental problems and provide appropriate activities for children with special needs; and discuss the child's place in the family and the need to involve families in the child's healthy development.

Instruction:

Major topics include: infant and toddler development; emotional, physical, cognitive, and social landmarks; milestones of development; observation techniques; suggested materials for developmentally appropriate activities; theories of development; the child in the family; exceptional children; toddlerhood: physical, cognitive and emotional development; preschoolers: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development; play; moral development; self-identify and sex roles; Montessori philosophy and method.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Early Childhood Education or Child Care (5/99).

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Family and Community (360)

Length:

48 hours.

Dates:

September 2005 - June 2021.

Objectives:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: discuss and participate in the various elements in the intake and orientation process with parents, including home visits; evaluate the process and be able to offer ideas and suggestions for improvement; discuss the requirements of the Child Abuse laws, and the referral process for disabilities; conduct the developmental assessment on new children; discuss and use the integrated process of observation, recording and reporting children's progress and relating positively with parents in the exchange of necessary information regarding their children; convey correct information about the Montessori curriculum and correctly answer questions that parents might ask; use both a traditional process for dealing with challenging behavior and a process that goes beyond behavior management to the development of life skills; use community profiles and community resources in creating workshops and programs that serve the needs of families and children; use the appropriate processes to participate in a family's transition from the Head Start/day care program into the public school environment; and plan and create workshops which are both informative and inviting.

Instruction:

In the intern year, students attend eight workshops (six hours each) that focus on Family and Community. Also included is twelve hours of work with children with challenging behaviors. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to identify the primary components of the Family and Community Partnership that federally funded early childhood programs are expected and mandated to maintain. Each workshop explores and defines one or several elements of this partnership from parent orientation through transition of children into public school. Students identify the various instruments used, complete the documentation, critique the application in their own program, evaluate and reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses, and propose ways in which their own program could be improved.

Credit recommendation:

In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Montessori Education (8/06) (11/11 revalidation) (11/16 revalidation).

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Maria Montessori: Topics and Readings Related to Her Life and Work (380)

Length:

45 hours (20 weeks); includes 2.5 hours per week of supervised structured independent study. In addition, supervisors meet twice monthly with participants to assess and guide progress and assimilation.

Dates:

January 2001 - August 2005.

Objectives:

Students will be able to: discuss Montessori's approach to life and human development; discuss how current research validates Montessori's basic philosophy that education is not what the teacher gives, but is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual and acquired not by listening to the words, but by experiences upon the environment; plan, design, document educational experiences for each child that incorporate Montessori's philosophy, as well as current research, and provide movement activities that fit into the developmental sequence.

Instruction:

This course explores topics and readings of Maria Montessori's original works emphasizing her philosophy and methodology related especially to the importance of movement in education. Course participants compare recent studies of the developing brain in infants and toddlers showing the correlation to what Dr. Montessori observed and described and upon which the learning approach is based, submit a final essay, quoting from and citing Montessori's original works, and comparing and contrasting her philosophy with other developmental approaches.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Montessori Education (11/00).

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Math and Language: Materials and Methods for the Pre-School Montessori Classroom (260)

Now listed as: Language: Materials and Methods for the Montessori Classroom (261) AND
Math: Materials and Methods for the Montessori Classroom (262)

Length:

48 hours.

Dates:

September 2005 - April 2023.

Objectives:

Math: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: introduce and present math manipulatives in a manner that best supports the development of age-appropriate concepts for preschool children; classify and sequence math skills presented in each area in order to build upon knowledge and strengths that children have already gained; present and adapt materials for children with disabilities; recognize and incorporate relevant ideas and applications for materials when they are created through discovery by children; observe and record children's outcomes in mastery of materials; individualize planning to meet the diverse levels of understanding within the class; create a supportive environment for the discovery and appreciation of mathematical ideas. Language: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: introduce and present language development materials in five areas of language: early writing development, language patterning skills, phonetic analysis, grammar development and age-appropriate literature/drama /poetry; create language materials for individual work in all five areas; develop resources of quality children's literature in both fiction and non-fiction areas; adapt materials to provide a print-rich age-appropriate environment for children with all levels of English language proficiency; involve children in grammar games that illustrate the structure of language; recognize the importance of self-expression in spoken and written language; and observe and record children's work mastery that is used in curriculum planning.

Instruction:

This course prepares students to teach preschool Math and Language using the Montessori method and materials. Students are introduced to math manipulatives and though practice and familiarity with the materials, students become increasingly aware of the value of math manipulatives in developing the age appropriate math foundation in young children. Emphasis is placed upon the sequence and order of materials and the importance of how different areas of math skills are integrated to build concepts. Language games introduce many of the concepts of grammar in a simple and age appropriate manner. Students experience work in five different areas of language: writing, language patterning, phonetic analysis, and literature/drama/poetry and grammar and demonstrate proficiency by presenting materials in math and language to the group and in creating classroom materials. Along with a written essay in each subject area, students create a drawing for each work that illustrates the manner in which it is presented. Emphasis is placed on student participation.

Credit recommendation:

In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Montessori Education (8/06) (11/11 revalidation) (11/16 revalidation). NOTE: See separate exhibits for Language: Materials and Methods for the Montessori Classroom (261) AND Math: Materials and Methods for the Montessori Classroom(262).

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Principles and Practices of Montessori Education

Length:

Minimum 90 hours.

Dates:

April 1996 - August 2005.*

Objectives:

Students will be able to discuss the theoretical and philosophical foundations of early childhood curriculum development and their implementation in the early childhood classroom in a developmentally appropriate manner; organize and integrate the following curriculum areas into classroom practice: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Art, and Music and Movement.

Instruction:

The curriculum addresses how to engage children in developmentally appropriate ways with individual, small group, and whole group instruction and emphasizes how to manage the transition between activities. Language Arts: pre-writing exercises, language patterning sequence, visual discrimination, initial sounds, phonetic sounds, phonograms, grammar games, literature and poetry for young children; Math: 0 to 10 materials, teens, tens, and hundreds, decimal system, operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and introduction to fractions; Science: health, nutrition, human body, solar system, rocks, plants, and animals; Social Studies: sensorial perception of the concept of time, basic human needs, vastness of history, sensorial age appropriate experience with maps, flags, landforms, habitats and cultures, child's body awareness and relationship to the world; Art: materials and media, i.e., crayon, pencil drawing, clay, water color, sculpture, etc.; Music and Movement: listening, following directions, appreciation, recognition, group participation in songs, movement games, instrument making, etc.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 6 semester hours (3 in Mathematics/Language Arts, 1 in Science, 1 in Art/Music, and 1 in Social Studies) in Montessori Education (6/00) (11/11 revalidation). *NOTE: This course has been divided into two separate courses. Please refer to the exhibits for Math and Language for the Montessori Classroom and Cultural Studies for the Montessori Classroom.

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Supervised Practicum/Field Experience

Length:

Minimum 90 hours of supervised practicum/field experience.

Dates:

April 1996 - June 2001.

Objectives:

Students will be able to carry out developmentally appropriate activities in an actual classroom setting based on the concepts, philosophy, and approach presented in the lecture; write and implement appropriate lesson plans for each curriculum area.

Instruction:

Under the direct observation and supervision of a head teacher, the students observe children and write assignments relating their observations to class discussion, engage children in developmentally appropriate activities, read articles and textual materials, keep a journal, and view videos to support the concepts, philosophy, and approach presented in the lecture.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours as a supervised field experience or internship in Early Childhood Education or Child Care (5/99).

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