I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Careers and Business Strategies in Early Childhood

2. Course Prefix & Number:
CDEV 2206

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

This course provides students with information regarding possible careers/roles within early childhood professions such as paraprofessional’s role in a school setting, center director/teacher and home-based child care providers. Business strategies to support a successful and professional business will also be covered.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

No placement tests required

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Early Childhood Education A.A.S.
Early Childhood Education Diploma

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate written communication skills	Research and interpret business strategies utilized in early childhood programs.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Compare and contrast state-licensing standards and procedures as they relate to home, center, and school based programs.
Apply ethical principles in decision-making	Describe the professional role, duties, and responsibilities of the paraprofessional in school settings.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Describe the professional role and duties of the paraprofessional in school settings including job duties, professionalism, ethics, teamwork, effective communication with students and fellow professionals, laws, regulations and chain of command;
• Research and examine effective teaching and behavior management strategies utilized by paraprofessionals to support children with an Individualized Education Plan;
• Examine how to support student learning in a school setting as a paraprofessional;
• Describe the professional roles and duties within a child care center, Head Start, and other Early Childhood programs of interest;
• Describe the professional role and duties of a home based child care provider/teacher;
• Examine state-licensing standards as they relate to home, center, and school based programs;
• Examine business strategies utilized in a center-based child care program;
• Examine business strategies utilized in a home-based child care program; AND
• Examine business strategies utilized in Head Start and other early childhood programs of interest.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. What is a paraprofessional?
• Professional attributes
• Nature of the work
• What is instructional supervision and who is the paraprofessional’s supervisor?
2. Effective instruction for paraprofessionals
• Instruction, curriculum, and student abilities
• How do you know if students are learning?
• Instructional cycle
3. Monitoring effectiveness
• Relationship between teacher behavior and student outcomes
• Monitoring learning? Or monitoring teaching?
• Making progress towards student goals
• Appropriate feedback to students
4. Organization and management of the learning environment
• The teacher’s role as classroom manager
• How curriculum requirement impact classroom organization
• The teacher’s role in selecting curriculum
• How achievement standards and testing impact classroom organization
5. Learner characteristics
• Cognition
• Metacognition and learning styles
• Early childhood
• Degrees of intelligence or exceptionalities
• Culture, ethnicity, and diversity
• Social influence
6. Student behavior and classroom management
• Influencing behavior
• Setting, teaching, and adhering to classroom rules
• Classroom routines and procedures
7. Recognition, praise, and sanctions
• Recognizing and rewarding appropriate behaviors
• Praise
• Dealing with inappropriate behaviors
• Student self-management
8. Time as a behavior management tool
• Increasing academic learning time
• Transition time
• Monitoring student use of time
• Methods for observation and assessment
• Educator use of time
9. Laws and regulations affecting paraprofessionals’ roles
• Education at the national level
• Role definition and restrictions at federal levels
• State regulations for paraprofessionals
• School-district level regulations
• Classroom level
10. Professional and ethical behavior
• Ethics
• Situations requiring professionalism
• Communication and conflict resolution
11. Reflection and self-evaluation
• Evaluation of students and adults
• The reflective practitioner
• Making improvements and setting goals
12. Professional roles, responsibilities and job duties in early childhood programs
• Child care center director, teacher, and teacher assistant responsibilities, expectations, job duties, and state licensing standards
• Home-based child care provider responsibilities, expectations, job duties, and state licensing standards
• Head Start and program of choice responsibilities, expectations, job duties, and state licensing standards
13. Business strategies across early childhood programs
• Professional goals
• Supporting and advocating for early childhood as a professional
• Professional communication methods, talking with parents and community members
• Contracts and policies
• Rates, fees, and collection
• Break even analysis
• Expense work sheet
• Effective record keeping systems
• Income and expense ledger
• Cash flow and income
• Marketing strategies
• Business plans and grant sources/writing
• Poor coordination, unaware of physical surrounds, prone to accidents