COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECCD 101
COURSE TITLE: Child Development: Birth through Eight-Years-Old
YEAR: 1
SEMESTER: 1
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: College Matriculation
INTRODUCTION
Developmentally appropriate practice in the socialization and education of young children derive from principles of child growth and development that are firmly grounded in theoretical concepts and empirical research. Such knowledge includes the nature of developmental and behavioral characteristics at different ages and stages of the growth and maturation process.
This course places emphasis on the inter-relatedness of developmental domains to enable student-teachers to see the child, including the child with special needs, as a “whole” person and to understand how holistic growth can be fostered in the early childhood classroom. Play is promoted as an inherently natural childhood activity that stimulates growing and learning. The course also introduces key research and emerging issues relevant to the Eastern Caribbean context, and encourages student-teachers to reflect on their own experiences of childhood, as well as to relate theoretical concepts to real-life situations.
RATIONALE
The appropriate training and education of early childhood teachers can make a significant contribution to children’s growth, development, and learning. If teachers are to be effective in their roles as facilitators of the total development and learning of young children, they must understand the normal milestones and processes of development and thus be able to detect and act on early signs of possible emerging developmental challenges in children.
Teachers must also understand the important features of the environmental contexts that surround the developing child, e.g., physical, socio-cultural, economical, and moral, and how these contexts inter-act in shaping the emerging personality of the child. Teachers must be constantly award of how their own attitudes and behavior can impact the learning outcomes of each with whom they come in contact. Each teacher will be better able to relate and respond appropriately to the needs and sensitivities of each child by honing this knowledge and reflecting on personal experiences. This course provides the teacher with adequate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to demonstrate the necessary competencies for promoting and advancing young children’s holistic growth.
ECLA 101 Revised July 2013
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECLA 101
COURSE TITLE: Early Language Acquisition and Literacy Development
YEAR: 1
SEMESTER: 1
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: College Matriculation
INTRODUCTION:
This course focuses on theories of language and early literacy development and how these theories inform practice in early childhood education, particularly as they apply to children birth through age 8. The acquisition of the sounds, syntax, and meanings of language (both lexical and pragmatic) as well as the relation between oral language development and concepts of print, emergent literacy, family and community contexts are examined along with issues stemming from language diversity. Also covered is the body of research in basic science and pedagogy, which undergirds both the knowledge of early childhood development as well as designing effective curriculum and instruction in a variety of early childhood and primary classroom settings. We will focus on several theories of language development and early literacy and how these theories inform practice in early childhood education for children birth through age 8.
Specifically, we will study the acquisition of the sounds of language, the syntax and meanings of language (both lexical and pragmatic), the relation between oral language growth, and concepts of print and emergent literacy within the contexts of home, family, community and school. Additionally, we will examine issues of the relationship between language and literacy and characteristics of effective curriculum and instruction based on current educational research and teachers’ action research in various early childhood and classroom settings.
RATIONALE:
The purpose of this course is to provide student teachers with the knowledge and skills to explore and understand different aspects of language development, emergent literacy, developmentally appropriate assessment practices, and research-based design principles that guide curriculum development and instruction.
ECPF 101 Revised July 2013
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Education (Early Childhood Education)
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECPF 101
COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Philosophical and Historical Foundations of Early
Childhood Education
YEAR: 1
SEMESTER: 1
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: College Matriculation
INTRODUCTION:
This course aims to help student teachers acquire the knowledge and skills to become sensitive and competent classroom practitioners, capable of creating appropriate and effective learning environments for young children. Student teachers will acquire knowledge and understanding of the early foundations of early childhood education and contemporary trends in early childhood curriculum practice. Key theories and perspectives of teaching and learning with particular emphasis on childhood studies, constructivist and developmentally appropriate approaches and strategies for teaching at the early childhood level will be carefully studied. Student teachers will be expected to reflect on the theories and their own beliefs and experiences of teaching and learning, with a view to developing a personal philosophy that is consistent with appropriate and best practices in early childhood education in Eastern Caribbean and global contexts.
RATIONALE
Early Childhood Education in the Eastern Caribbean has been influenced by a variety of philosophical orientations. An understanding of these beginnings can help inform current practices. This course therefore aims to encourage student teachers to become reflective practitioners as they continually seek to identify and apply principles which can positively impact their teaching.
ECCP 101 Revised December 2013 R
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECCP 101
COURES TITLE: Classroom Processes and Instruction in the Early Childhood Classroom
YEAR: I
SEMESTER: II
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
This course provides an introduction to the cognitive and behavioural processes associated with meeting the needs of young children and their families. The course content is organized around four major strands: (1) observing in classrooms; (2) child guidance and classroom management; (3) differentiated instructional strategies–developmentally appropriate practices and approaches; and (4) planning. Student teachers will be able to display comprehensive knowledge of thedifferent ways children learn (e.g., learning styles, learning modalities) relevant to learning and
planning goals. The four strands are integrated into each of the units.
RATIONALE:
The overall purpose of this course is to enable student teachers to know and be able to use the best practices of the profession. Additionally, student teachers will gain in-depth knowledge and planning strategies necessary to recognize and anticipate classroom dilemmas and problems and construct adequate solutions to these problems.
ECEA 101 REVISED DECEMBER 2013
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
MODULE: Methods of Educational Assessment in the Early Childhood Classroom
COURSE NUMBER: JBTE/ECEA 101
YEAR: I
SEMESTER: II
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
This course is designed to investigate the theoretical concepts of assessment in early childhood education (birth through age 8) and to apply this knowledge to the practical use of early childhood assessment methods.
RATIONALE:
Good teaching in any setting requires that the instructor follow an instructional model (Oaksford, I., & Jones, L., 2001) that begins and ends with assessment and integrates assessment throughout the instructional process. At the beginning of a unit, assessment provides the teacher with an inventory of students’ prior knowledge, zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978), and interests. This enables the teacher to plan learning experiences and environments that address specific learning needs of individual children. Integrating assessment throughout the instructional process provides teachers with the opportunity to review and refine their learning goals and instructional strategies based on children’s progress and needs. Assessing at the end of the unit helps teachers determine what was learned by
students as well as what was not. These findings help the teacher prepare the next unit as well as afford
her/him an opportunity to reflect on her/his own practices.
ECMT 101 Revised Jan 2014
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECMT 101
COURSE TITLE: Teaching Mathematics to Young Children
YEAR: I
SEMESTER: II
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
This course will cover the following elements of mathematics: number concepts, patterns, spatial sense, measurement, data collection, and data representation. Student teachers will learn how to plan and execute developmentally appropriate math lessons that integrate into other areas of the curriculum. Inquiry-based, hands-on learning will be emphasized as will research-based teaching strategies.
RATIONALE:
The goal of this course is to give student teachers developmentally appropriate methods for teaching mathematics to young children. This is accomplished by exploring how children in ECE grades make sense of mathematic concepts through experiential and integrated learning opportunities. Student teachers should leave this course with an understanding of the development of young children’s mathematical thinking, and a repertoire of ideas about how to nurture and promote the growth of the natural curiosity that young children have for mathematical ideas.
ECRD 101 Under Revision (Jan 2014)
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECRD 101
COURSE TITLE: Language Arts and Reading in ECE Classrooms
YEAR: I
SEMESTER: II
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
Introduction:
This course begins by reviewing the development of oral and written language in young children and moves toward helping student teachers apply this knowledge to the exploration of teaching and learning reading as children develop. Attention will be given to both culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate approaches for young children. Through the use of current research, emphasis is placed on process oriented, contextualized, and integrated ways of teaching the language arts.
RATIONALE:
Teachers of young children must understand the development of the language arts throughout early childhood. Their understandings, coupled with current research-based, appropriate methods and approaches, ensure that young children will become competent, critical readers who can decode and also make sense of the written word.
ECSH 101 UNDER REVISION (Jan 2014)
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
MODULE: Early Childhood Science and Health
COURSE NUMBER: JBTE/ECSH 101
YEAR: I
SEMESTER: II
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
This course will give student teachers the knowledge to encourage young children’s natural curiosity about how the world works. Student teachers will be given opportunities to explore concepts first as learners. Subsequently, they will take the knowledge and concepts they learn in the university classroom and apply them in early childhood settings to offer children developmentally appropriate, hands-on science and health curricula. Student teachers will learn current research-based strategies that promote young children’s inquiry and learning. Activities culturally relevant to the Eastern Caribbean environment will be stressed.
RATIONALE:
In order for teacher education students to implement developmentally appropriate, inquiry-based curricula, they need to experience what they are asked to teach. The experiential nature of science must be emphasized. This is done best through doing. By promoting the natural inquiry of educators and young children, science can become relevant and meaningful in and outside of the classroom. The thirst for knowledge is further quenched by exploring our Eastern Caribbean environments — what the children see and touch on a day-to-day basis. Science can become a life-long pursuit, by creating a positive learning environment where inquiry is supported and encouraged.
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECCA 101
COURSE TITLE: Creative Arts for the Young Child
YEAR: II
SEMESTER: I
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this course is to familiarize student teachers with approaches to the creative arts as they may be applied in early childhood settings. Student teachers will learn about visual arts, drama, music, and movement activities for young children. Additionally they will learn how the creative arts foster total development. The teacher’s role in planning developmentally appropriate creative arts curriculum is emphasized throughout the course. Student teachers will have opportunities to design, implement, and participate in various creative arts projects. While the primary focus of the course is learning to foster creativity in young children, the secondary focus is demonstrating of the integration of the arts with all of the content specific areas.
RATIONALE:
Artistic expression in early childhood is important for a number of reasons. Developmentally, artistic expression is the precursor for many skills; from drawing emerges writing, and from “reading” pictures, comes reading words. Drama teaches children how to solve problems and work together, while music has a direct correlation to math concepts. Dance and movement allow children to discover spatial relationships. Most importantly, art is a way for young children to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas they may not be able to express in any other way. Art also offers young children ways to represent their learning.
ECCL 101 Reformatted August 2014
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECCL 101
COURSE TITLE: Children’s Literature in the Early Childhood Classroom
YEAR: II
SEMESTER: I
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
The primary intent of this course is to explore international literature for young children. This is a survey course of children’s literature and the resource materials related to that literature. We will closely examine visual images, as they convey meaning to young children. We will read and respond in various ways to many children’s books, with a primary focus on picture books. We will engage in dialogue and hands on activities in small groups as we think about reading. There will be many opportunities for informal interactions including sharing literature through small group and whole class experiences.
Literature will be critiqued from multicultural and global perspectives in order to expand pre-service teachers’ understandings of the cultural pluralism in children’s lives and throughout the world. Pre-service teachers will practice using children’s books to teach reading and writing as well as critical thinking skills to young children.
RATIONALE:
The purpose of this course is to give participants an opportunity to explore:
- the many excellent books available throughout the world for young children
- the authors, illustrators, and poets who write for young children and
- the resources available on children’s literature.
These experiences will provide a foundation for using children’s literature in early childhood settings as a way to teach early reading and writing, integrate other content areas, and as a vehicle for teaching young children about the larger world.
ECSN 101 Reformatted August 2014
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/ECSN 101
COURSE TITLE: Inclusion of children with special needs in the early childhood classroom
YEAR: II
SEMESTER: I
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this course is to provide early childhood educators with a foundation of best educational practices for including children with diverse abilities in the early childhood classroom. Student teachers taking this course will gain an understanding of the characteristics of children with diverse learning needs, including children who are developing typically and those with varying developmental, sensory, physical, and/or behavioral challenges. This course presents specific information, techniques, and methods for developing age-appropriate and meaningful programming within typical early childhood settings for students who have varying exceptionalities such as autism, multiple disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders.
The focus of the course includes understanding and utilizing collaborative service delivery as a means for addressing children’s varying exceptionalities. Functional assessment strategies will be taught and paired with practical assignments such as task analysis and ecological inventories. Student teachers will apply strategies for on-site practical experiences.
RATIONALE:
Children with developmental delays, sensory, physical, and/or behavioral challenges may need specific interventions to enhance their cognitive development. In a child’s youngest years, it is critically important for teachers and caregivers to know how to meet the needs of diverse learners and to recognize when a child may require an evaluation by experts to determine a child’s specific needs. The earlier an intervention is applied, the more likely the child’s academic success.
ECSS 101 Reformatted August 2014
PROGRAMME: Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
COURSE CODE: JBTE/SSEC
COURSE TITLE: Social Studies Methods in the Early Childhood Classroom
YEAR: II
SEMESTER: I
CREDITS: 3
DURATION: 45 hours
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE
INTRODUCTION:
This course will provide pre-service teachers with the developmentally appropriate strategies, content knowledge, and skills for basic social studies concepts required to teach children from birth through 8-years-old. Student teachers will learn how to plan and integrate social studies concepts throughout the early childhood curriculum using inquiry-based, hands-on activities.
RATIONALE:
The purpose of this course is to provide student teachers s with the knowledge and skills to plan and implement culturally and developmentally appropriate social studies curriculum to young children.
General Requirements
Applicants applying to the Division of Teacher Education must submit the following documents below.
1. 500 words essay entitled, “Why I would like to become a train teacher” concluding with a teacher education philosophy.
2. Certified copies of certificates and awards obtained in the informal sector (eg. on the job training/ courses).
3. Two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from professional educators or supervisors if you are a current teacher.
4. Police Record.
Entry Requirements
The following represents the minimum entry requirements for admission to the Associate Degree in Teacher Education Programme.
ENTRY REQUIREMENT FOR TEACHERS PURSUING THE EARLY CHILDHOOD & PRIMARY PROGRAMME:
Entry requirements for the Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education
A minimum of five (5) CSEC subjects at General Proficiency Grades I, II or III; or five (5) GCE
Ordinary level passes. These subjects should include:
(i) English A
(ii) Mathematics
(iii) Social Studies or History or Geography
(iv) Science – Integrated Science or Human & Social Biology or Agricultural Science or Pure Science
(v) One (1) additional subject.
General Education 6
- English for Communication I 3
- English for Communication II 3
Education Foundations (9 CREDITS) 54
- Child development 3
- Philosophical foundations 3
- Introduction to Social & Cultural
- Foundations of Education 3
Curriculum & Instruction (45 CREDITS)
- Area of Focus (ECE) (8 courses) 24
- Instruction & Assessment (2 courses) 6
- Inclusion in ECE classrooms 3
- Classroom Investigation 3
- Teaching Practicum 9
Electives 6
Two (2) electives
Selected from, for example:
- Physical Education 3
- Health and Family Life Education 3
- Facilitating Democracy in the Classrooms 3
- Drama and Theatre Education 3
- Guidance and Counselling 3
- Matriculation French 3
- Matriculation Spanish 3
TOTAL NUMBER OF CREDITS 66
Division of Teacher Education Fees
Year One Semester One
Registration Fee $430 EC
UWI Exam Fees $300.00 EC
Year One Semester Two
Registration Fee $395 EC
UWI Exam Fees $300.00 EC
Year One Summer Semester
Registration Fee $395 EC
TED Summer Class $163 EC
Year Two Semester One
Registration Fee $395EC
UWI Exam Fees $300.00 EC
Year Two Semester Two
Registration Fee $395 EC
UWI Exam Fees $300.00 EC