Assignment:
(1) Supporting and Supervising Staff
Choose one of the following questions that were asked of Ria Palet, from the National School District, of your textbook.
a. How might you support and mentor a staff member who was struggling to meet the expectations of the job? What would you do to support him/her? Address at least two different issues in your post. (Examples: issues with time management, maintaining confidentiality, and/or handling misbehavior. You may use these or your own choices.)
b. How might you challenge a staff member to continue to grow if she has been in the position successfully for a long time? What would you do to support him/her? Address at least two different issues in your post. (Example: teaching in the same classroom/ same age for a number of years, has not explored the idea of varying curriculum, and/or has not explored professional development opportunities.)
Based on the question you choose, create a four-week plan to support your staff member. The following must be included in your four-week plan:
a. At least one resource and an explanation of why you included this resource to benefit your staff member.
b. A reflection focus/question piece. What is your end goal?
c. Two face-to-face meetings with a predetermined focus question for both meetings.
d. An evaluation component for the final meeting that will prove that this intervention was successful. How will you know that your plan was successful?
e. Complete your plan in a Word document to include the days you plan on meeting.
(2) Collaborating with Families
According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), in the position statement on developmentally appropriate practice (2009), "Practitioners work in collaborative partnerships with families, establishing and maintaining regular, frequent two-way communication with them" (p. 23). Trust between home and school is built over time, starting with the very first phone call or visit to the program. It is crucial to begin a positive relationship with your students' families in order to best support your students.
For this discussion, you will outline a program that you can implement at your center and with your teachers to foster a strong home-school relationship throughout the school year.
Include the following:
a. One detailed strategy that you can implement the first week of school.
b. A monthly strategy/theme from September to June (10 months/10 strategies)
c. One benefit you expect to see from your focus
Required Text
Gadzikowski, A. (2013). Administration of early childhood education programs.
· Chapter: Supporting and Supervising Staff
o This chapter provides strategies that focus on recruiting and retaining high-quality workers and on creating a work environment where early childhood professionals can grow and thrive.
· Chapter: Collaborating With Families
o This chapter will present plans, strategies, and practices that administrators develop and implement regarding communication, parent participation, and staff training.
Article
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2018). Early learning program accreditation standards and assessment items.
· NAEYC standards.
(3) Planning and the Domains of Development
Prior to beginning work on this discussion, review the ECE203 Case Studies and select one that looks interesting to you. To be an effective early childhood educator in the United States today, it is imperative that you are able to adapt curriculum and instruction to meet each and every child's varied needs across each developmental domain, regardless of the age of the children. This discussion builds on the discussion about creating trust with students, and further prepares you to design for each and every child's success in your classroom, which is a component of the Final Project.
For your discussion, you will create a developmentally appropriate activity that enhances one domain of development (cognitive, physical, effective, or language) for one of the children in the case study examples. An example activity for this discussion is located in the Week Instructor Guidance.
To prepare for this discussion,
· Read the article The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play: A Developing Story and the Where We Stand on Professional Preparation Standards.
· Review the Weekly Guidance.
· Choose one child from the case study examples you reviewed.
For your initial post,
· Design an activity for your selected case study child. Your post should include the following:
o The name and age of the child as indicated in the case study you chose.
o A description of the setting the instruction will take place in (e.g., childcare center, classroom).
o The goal of the activity, including which domain it is geared towards.
o The materials necessary to support student learning for the activity.
o The procedure for how the activity will be implemented. This section of your response must be at least one full paragraph and provide a substantial description of the procedure.
o A description of specifically how your activity aligns with NAEYC's article The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play: A Developing Story and the importance of play in the early childhood learning environment.
Required Text
Jaruszewicz, C. (2019). Curriculum and methods for early childhood educators [Electronic version].
· Chapter: Curriculum and Development
· Chapter: What Are My Responsibilities as a Planner?
· Chapter: Approaches to Learning: Exploratory Play and Creative Arts
Articles
Hassinger-Das, B., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2017). The case of brain science and guided play: A developing story.
· This resource provides information about play in early childhood and is required for your Planning for Domains of Development discussion this week.
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on professional preparation standards
· This article summarizes each of the six of NAEYC professional preparation standards. This resource will help you complete the Planning for Domains of Development discussion.