Early Development, Principles, and Practices - EDC-X724U

Course Description

Credit Validation for San Diego County Office of Education's TK Pathway for Credentialed Teachers Participants Only

Influenced by The California Early Childhood Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP), and in consideration of credentialed teachers working with children in Transitional Kindergarten (TK), this course will examine the progression of development in the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains and will support students to identify developmental milestones for children from conception through early childhood. Students will gain knowledge about the architecture of the young child’s developing brain and how this brain development sets a foundation for all learning and behavior. Throughout this course there will be an emphasis on interactions between biological processes and environmental factors. Students will observe young children and analyze characteristics of development at various stages according to developmental theories.

As students deepen their understanding of the stages of development, they will then learn about the historical contexts and theoretical perspectives of developmentally appropriate practices in early learning and care settings for young children.  This course will also introduce best practices for developmentally appropriate learning environments, curriculum, and effective pedagogy for young children, with an emphasis on relationships and how play is crucial to children's learning, growth, and development.

Learner Outcomes

• Explain how brain development, the stages of development and early childhood pedagogy are foundational knowledge for understanding child development
• Demonstrate an understanding that teacher child interactions and building relationships are essential to a rich learning environment
• Explain how play is a crucial, instrumental focus in early childhood education and is at the root of all learning and development in young children
• Demonstrate an understanding that play is central to designing developmentally, culturally, and linguistically responsive learning experiences for young children

Course Details

Number of Units:  3.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours

Who Should Attend:  This course provides continuing education for invited educators in San Diego County, that have a current California multiple subject teaching credential, and who are currently teaching or intend to teach Transitional Kindergarten. Those who are currently teaching or intend to teach Transitional Kindergarten, but do not have knowledge, experience, and/or enough coursework to meet the newly established requirements to teach Transitional Kindergarten, would benefit most from this course.  The ideal student for this course would have [1] knowledge of education and pedagogy, [2] experience in the K-12 sector, and [3] need additional coursework in child development and/or early childhood education.

Enrollment Requirement:  Be prepared to provide the 5-digit code sent with your SDCOE invitation during enrollment. If you feel that you are eligible for this program and did not receive the code, please contact the San Diego County Office of Education at sdcoetkpathway@sdcoe.net to proceed with your enrollment. Participants that are not eligible for enrollment, will be dropped from the course and refunded, less a $25 processing fee.

Third Party Payments:  USD will accept purchase orders or district credit card payments at the time of enrollment, please contact program coordinator at pce-cv@sandiego.edu to set up third party payment of an individual enrollment or group enrollments.