Before you begin teaching EarlyEdU courses, do the following things:

Familiarize yourself with course content

Review lecture content, assignments, and activities

Reviewing materials in advance will help you prepare to guide discussions, fill in state-specific information, bring relevant supplementary material, and adjust activities to suit your specific group’s needs.

Prepare handouts

Many sessions come with handouts for learning activities and assignments. Depending on class size and program policies, you may choose to print and bring these to in-person classes, distribute them via email, or upload them to a class website. Participants can access these handouts directly in the learning management system for online courses.

Prepare course technology

Check links

EarlyEdU courses should include the most up-to-date information and resources available. You will find links to helpful websites and information in the in-person or online presentation, presenter notes, handouts, and assignments. While the links were current at the time of publishing, the location of web resources can change quickly. If a link is outdated, you may need to find updated links before teaching. You often can find new links by searching for the title of the resource or article. Also, notify EarlyEdU about any discrepancies.

Check your technology

Courses rely on Internet connectivity to view websites and watch selected videos. If you are teaching in-person, make sure the classroom has the appropriate audio-visual equipment, including a projector and power supply.

Due to the media-rich nature of our presentations, you may have difficulty opening in-person presentations or showing videos if you are using an older version of PowerPoint. You will have the most success if you install the most current version.

Set up Coaching Companion assignments

You can become familiar with this platform by studying the Instructor and Student Help Pages in Coaching Companion. You will find step-by-step instructions, as well as video guides, on the Coaching Companion website. Access the Coaching Companion help pages.

Get to know what video recording equipment is available to course participants

The courses come with a handout to help participants learn how to record and edit video. Please note that participants will likely need a camera with a quality microphone so that viewers can hear what is happening in the early learning setting. Encourage participants to practice with their cameras before recording. Cell phone cameras will work if they have enough memory, battery life, and a quality built-in microphone.

Review accessibility and privacy statements

EarlyEdU uses a variety of technology in online courses. Review the accessibility and privacy information for the technology and tools that may be used in online Canvas courses.

Customize the course syllabus

Adjust the course schedule as needed and add dates

You will need to customize the course schedule on the syllabus with specific class session dates and due dates for assignments.

EarlyEdU courses are designed to fit into a typical college or university semester system. Most courses are 15 sessions. If your university or college uses a quarter system, you may meet more frequently or hold longer class sessions to cover all the material over a shorter time period. You may need to adapt session material to fit your circumstances, such as by reducing or rearranging content.

REVIEW AND CUSTOMIZE COURSE EXPECTATIONS

You can consult the syllabus for participant expectations and update as desired.

Customize time estimations

You will need to customize the time estimations section of the syllabus according to your institution’s course delivery schedule and add any pertinent details.

The estimated time commitment for each session is 5 to 8 hours. Participants likely will spend about 3 hours in class and an additional 2 to 5 hours on readings and assignments. Some sessions may include assignments that require more than 5 hours out of class (e.g., completing the planning, video recording, reflecting, and feedback cycles), while others may take less. Additionally, some participants may complete assignments more quickly than others. Some participants may review readings and videos multiple times and spend more time on their assignments. Encourage participants to communicate with you about questions on due dates, extensions, and workload.

Help participants arrange practicum sites

EarlyEdU courses are for participants studying early childhood education and aim to help them apply course content and teaching practices in early learning programs. Many assignments and discussions focus on current experiences in the early learning environment.

Participants should take EarlyEdU courses while concurrently working in an early childhood setting or while they are already enrolled in another course that requires practicum experience. Successful implementation of the Intentional Teaching Framework requires that participants have the opportunity to practice newly learned skills in early learning settings. Practicum requirements may depend on university or college policies, but you should require that, during this course, participants are in an early learning setting at least once a week. Many colleges and universities can help participants arrange practicum experiences.

When arranging practicum experiences, consider these points:

• When possible, participants should arrange permission to be in an early learning setting before the course starts.
• The staff at the early learning setting should be aware that some course assignments require video recording. Ask participants to establish relationships with practicum sites before class starts to agree on parameters related to the use of video.
• Participants should collect child and educator permission forms for video recording in the early learning setting and, if suggested for an assignment, from individual parents or guardians. Sample permission forms are available (see below) but may need adapting to fit the requirements of particular institutions and early learning settings.

Review assignment submission guidelines

Many assignments provide learners with multiple options for how they can complete and submit their work. Options may include audio podcasts, written responses, videos, or pictorial storyboards. Allowing participants to show their understanding in a way that works best for them is part of Universal Design for Learning.

You can encourage participants to take advantage of the different ways of submitting assignments by choosing options that showcase their strengths. At the end of the course, they will have work they are proud to include in a professional portfolio that represents who they are as an early learning educator. For example, participants could consider publishing their written essays on a blog or creating a podcast about Early Childhood Education.

Prepare assignment rubrics

Rubrics provide detailed information about the level and quality of work required for participants to demonstrate skills (either accomplished, satisfactory, developing, or beginning) related to each assignment. You may use the suggested percentages for each graded element of a course or assign point or letter values in alignment with your institution’s grading policies.

You may also adapt the rubrics to align with your expectations of your students’ work. When creating rubrics, consider the following tips:

• Focus on core competencies and avoid the temptation to provide feedback on every teachable moment outside the focus of the lesson.
• Include both quantitative and qualitative parameters.
  • Examples of quantitative parameters include the desired video length (provide a minimum and maximum) or the number of times a practice is demonstrated. Qualitative parameters include items such as markers of quality interactions or maintaining a professional tone in written work.
• Assign point values to low, middle, and high-performance descriptors on the rubric. This makes it easier to be consistent and justify points that students gain or lose.
• Complete the rubric with comments you might give for low, middle, and high-performance work. Use these as templates that can be cut, pasted, and customized as needed for individual participants.