CHLD 156: Practicum in Early Childhood Education

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2022
Credits: 2
Total Contact Hours: 36
Lecture Hours : 36
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 72
Prerequisite: CHLD 112, CHLD 114, CHLD 116 and CHLD 154; CHLD 110 or PSY 206.
Corequisite: CHLD 156L.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

This course is designed to provide the student with opportunities to plan and implement developmentally appropriate activities in an early childhood setting. Emphasis is placed on developing professional relationships, planning and implementation of curriculum, environment design. A variety of programs and philosophies will be examined. Students will use practical classroom experiences to make connections between theory and practice and are required to be registered in CHLD 156L concurrently. 36 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • Develop and implement lesson plans for use with young children based on observation and assessment of children
  • Develop a curriculum for the healthy development of young children that will be respectful, supportive, and engaging for all children.
  • Examine and analyze a variety of developmental evaluation instruments and methods of record-keeping for use with the 2-5 year old child
  • Identify current teaching strategies, environments, curriculum, and issues in early childhood education in order to evaluate the effectiveness of programs in serving children and their families.
  • Develop as a professional in the field of early childhood education by critically assessing one's own teaching experiences.

Major Course Content

  1. Developmentally appropriate practice in action
    1. Cultural responsive
    2. Lesson development
    3. Goals and objectives
  2. Curriculum Development
    1. Daily Schedule
    2. Lessons and units of instruction
    3. Assessment
    4. Adaptations for multiple reasons such as children with diverse abilities, learning styles, and temperaments, and teachable moments
  3. Evaluation and documentation of growth
    1. Authentic assessment of children's learning
    2. State standards and tools
    3. Methods of documentation
  4. Curriculum Content
    1. Safety and nutrition
    2. Physical competence 
    3. Perceptual -motor activities
    4. Dramatic play/language  stimulation
    5. Verbal fluency
    6. Logic and sequence
    7. Integration across curriculum
    8. Typical and non-typical activities   
  5. Involving Families
    1. Parent involvement philosophy and strategies
    2. Parent/teacher conference
    3. Cultural diversity and value-differences
    4. Culturally Inclusive Learning Environments
  6. Professional Conduct
    1. Working as part of the "teaching team"
    2. Ethical behaviors
    3. State qualifications
    4. Career 
  7. Self-Evaluation
    1. Needed competencies for teaching young children
    2. Criteria for evaluation
    3. Definition of self as a " teaching professional"

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

California Department of Education, Sacramento, 2011, California Early Childhood Educator Competencies
The reading for this course is:
PRIMARILY COLLEGE LEVEL

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Students will develop, teach and evaluate lesson plans for young children which promote cognitive, physical, social, and emotional growth. Student progress may be documented by the instructor and student self-reflection in a journal.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Students will participate in and demonstrate appropriate supervision of children and teaching skills in an early childhood educational setting. The performance will be assessed by the master teacher and college instructor.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture