EDEC 430

EDEC 430: Practicum in Preschool in Virginia Public School Setting

Prerequisites: EDEC 322 and 2.5 GPA

Credit Hours: (3) lecture and practicum

This course is a clinical practicum providing experience and opportunity for application of skills working with young children in inclusive settings under direct supervision for a minimum of 20 hours a week for 7 weeks of the semester. Students are expected to abide by their cooperating teacher's schedule. Students begin the experience in observation and assistance roles, and work toward assuming full teaching responsibilities. Weekly seminars focus on development of children's conflict-resolution skills while facilitating self-reflection and professionalism.

Note(s): Applied Learning designated course. 

This course is graded A-F.  A fee of $110 will be charged to students taking EDEC 430.

 

Detailed Description of Content of Course

This is a clinical experience that provides pedagogical experience for teacher candidates working with young children under the direct supervision of an appropriately licensed educator. Candidates are expected to abide by their cooperating teacher’s required schedule. Candidates begin the experience in the placement by engaging in observations and assistance roles, and gradually work toward assuming full teaching responsibilities. Candidates develop knowledge and skills in providing optimal environments for learning, including health and nutritional practices, implementing age-appropriate assessments, interpreting the assessment data, facilitating reciprocal relationships with children and families, planning and implementing learning activities, and guiding children’s behavior. Weekly seminars are designed to facilitate the development of knowledgeable, skillful, thoughtful, and committed professionals.

  

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

Candidates will attend the field placement working closely with their cooperating teachers each week.

Candidates will attend weekly seminars. Seminars are designed to facilitate the development of knowledgeable, skillful, thoughtful, and committed professionals through discussions and reflection.

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) Field Experience Handbook provides more detailed information regarding practicum experiences.

 

Goals and Objectives of the Course

Goals, objectives, and assignments address the Virginia Department of Education regulations for preparing educators, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), and National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards.

 Having successfully completed this course, the teacher candidates will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics and developmental needs of Pre-K age children.
2. Provide appropriate support for individual children’s development and learning.
3. Demonstrate health assessment, prevention of the spread of communicable disease, oral hygiene, reduction of environmental hazards, protection from toxic stress injury prevention, and emergency preparedness.
4. Communicate with families and/or other professionals regarding dietary restrictions, dietary concerns, and other health concerns including child abuse or neglect.
5. Understand and communicate with families about community resources that support child and family health and well-being.
6. Utilize practices that allow children to become independent and knowledgeable about healthy living.
7. Demonstrate understanding of formal and informal assessment procedures for documenting children’s development and learning.
8. Demonstrate reciprocal relationship building with children, families, other professionals, and community.
9. Utilize learning strategies that stimulate curiosity, promote thinking, and encourage participation in exploration and play.
10. Provide curriculum that facilitates learning goals in content areas of Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards, Birth to Five.
11. Provide opportunities to acquire concepts and skills that are precursors to academic content taught in elementary school.
12. Adapt tasks and interactions to maximize language development, conceptual understanding, and skill competence within each child’s zone of proximal development.
13. Provide firsthand experiences and opportunities to explore, examine, and investigate real materials in authentic contexts for children.
14. Select materials and equipment, arrange physical space, and plan schedules and routines to stimulate and facilitate development.
15. Collaborate with families, colleagues, and/or community members to construct proper learning environments.
16. Demonstrate positive and nurturing relationship building with each child based on respect, trust, and acceptance of individual differences. 

 

Assessment Measures

Assessment of teaching in the field placement is both formative and summative and is collaboratively completed by the cooperating teacher and university supervisor. Evaluation is based upon the INTASC Standards for Beginning Teachers, which are embedded in the Early Field Experience Evaluation forms. Assessment measures include but not limited to the following:

Teacher candidates will:

•Attend placement and weekly seminar

•Keep logs of field placement activities

•Conduct assigned field experience activities as described in CEHD Field Experience Handbook

•Write reflections on instruction

•Discuss self-analyses

•Implement feedback from cooperating teachers in field sites and university supervisor

•Key Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Performance Assessment: “Early Field Experience Evaluation”

•Key CAEP Performance Assessment: “Professional Characteristics and Dispositions Evaluation”

•Key CAEP Performance Assessment: “Lesson Plan Assessment”

 

Other Course Information

This course is for Virginia Teaching Licensure track IDS major Early Childhood Special Education program students.

Bibliography of readings include but not limited to the following:

The CEHD Field Experience Handbook
Virginia's Early Learning Development Standards, Birth to Five Learning Guidelines
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Concentration

 

Review and Approval

Revised April, 2009 

March 01, 2021

November 29, 2023