Course Competencies

Document children's behavior

Documentation is important because it can solve problems, allow you to
learn more about your students, and figure out ways to implement new
ideas. If you can document that children fight over the same two toys every
day, you know that its the toy causing the problem, not the environment,
and documenting what happens before and after will help figure out a way to
end the fight. You must be objective when observing, because opinions arent
always factual. You may think that a child pushed another because they were
in the way, but the child may just be getting revenge for a previous offense
you didnt see.

Explore the standards for quality early childhood education.

Having a quality early childhood system requires strict and careful following
of licensing policies. These are set in place to protect from most foreseeable
dangers or situations. These can be applied in deciding how many teachers
to staff next year, based on how many students are enrolled, and also in
planning and teaching about tornado or fire drills. They give you the
guidelines by which to build/reconstruct/remodel the center, the safest way
to prepare their food, the pets that are okay to expose them to, and the
products or food best avoided all together. Refusing, neglecting of forgetting
to follow any of these standards could result in injury, death, revocation of a
license and legal action. They were put into effect because they are heavily
regarded as the manual of safety for childcare centers.

Explore strategies that support diversity and anti-bias perspectives.

With an anti-bias approach, you want to avoid books, movies, puzzles, dolls,
and games that are heavily based on one race, gender, or capability. Some
elements of an anti-bias approach include celebrating and learning about
holidays from a variety of religions, providing books that include many

diverse non-stereotypical characters, and having a variety of genders, races

and handicaps with the dolls provided. The inclusion of such things provides
children with a more understanding and familiar attitude towards people who
are different from them. They will grow up being accepting of those who
dont look exactly the same, or those who talk differently or cant physically
do everything the rest of the children can.

Implement activities developed by the co-op

teacher/instructor/student.
Learning activities help the teacher keep a timeline going with the plan, so
nothing is skipped over. They are also used to keep track of food groups
covered, how often certain meals are served, which social emotional
guidance practices are being used, and whether you need to base more
activities off science, reading, colors, numbers, etc. Doing this is important in
making sure children are getting the most quality education, the right
portions in meals, and their comfort needs are being met. Its also important
because it establishes a routine and children can get sleep patterns to
regulate, leading to better behavior and appetites.

Demonstrate professional behaviors.

Being professional can mean many things, but some of the most important
include being respectful of children and parents, communicating effectively,
and being open to learning new things. Having a good relationship with the
child will create trust and a better environment for speaking openly. Having a
good relationship with the parents is equally as important, especially when it
comes to issues of abuse, challenging behavior and everyday things like
asking for winter clothing or different shoes or more clothes.

Practice caregiving routines as curriculum.

Having and following a daily routine is extremely important for a childs
wellbeing. Children need a good sleep pattern, consistent mealtimes, and

nap times to be as regular as possible. Doing this is just as important as what

youre teaching them in you activities or stories.

Practice positive interpersonal skills with children and adults.

Children always deserve to be treated with respect, patience and
understanding. They will not always follow activity plans, often need to be
told things multiple times (a day) and are clumsy or unaware of the
repercussions of many of their actions. Constant reminders of this, as well as
a natural ability to keep your cool when plans dont work out will help get
past any obstacles.

Analyze the guiding principles and the five developmental domains

related to the WI Early Learning Standards.
you reflect on how the nine guiding principles are the foundation of the
WMELS
you delineate the health and physical development domain in terms of
domain, rationale, performance and program standards, and developmental
continuum
you delineate the social emotional domain in terms of domain, rationale,
performance, and program standards, and developmental continuum
you delineate the language development and communication domain in
terms of domain, rationale, performance, and program standards, and
developmental continuum.
you delineate the approaches to learning domain in terms of domain,
rationale, performance, and program standards
you delineate the cognitive domain in terms of domain, rationale,
performance, and program standards
you include specific examples of developmental skills and tasks in each of
the domains

Integrate the WI Early Learning Standards into the program's

teaching cycle (ongoing assessment, planning and curriculum goals,
and implementation)

Identify assessment, planning and implementation as the steps of the

teaching cycle
Recognize the principles of developmentally appropriate practice
Examine intentionality as a core element of developmentally appropriate
practice
Incorporate observation as an essential element of the teaching cycle
Differentiate between objective and subjective observation records
Recognize ongoing assessment as a "snapshot" of a child's developmental
skills that when put together, form a "movie" of the child's development
Practice documenting child behavior and progress with objective observation
techniques

Evaluate learning and assessment activities using the early learning

standards for each individual child
Identify the steps in the teaching cycle
Practice the steps in the teaching cycle
Observe and record behavior and skills
Relate the WMELS to the establishment of learning goals
Relate the WMELS to the planning of appropriate curriculum and activities
Relate the WMELS to the measurement of progress toward learning goals