Vision Statement
We develop educational leaders who create tomorrow's opportunities in a globally engaged society.
Mission Statement
The Yuma Branch Campus of Northern Arizona University provides opportunities in higher education for
the diverse and growing communities of the Lower Colorado River Region and other populations we serve. It
is the mission of the Education Department to prepare competent and committed professionals who will make
positive differences for children. We support the mission of NAU-Yuma by preparing citizens who
understand and value diversity, environmental sustainability, and global engagement
EDU 305 Early Childhood Growth & Development
Fall 2015
(3 credit hours)
Instructor: Susan Stutler, Ph.D.
Office: AC 229
Office Hours: T, W, Th 1:00 – 3:45 p.m.
.
I. Course prerequisites: Acceptance into BSED Elementary Education -Yuma, BAS Early Childhood, or
B Interdisciplinary Studies – Early Childhood
II. Course description:
This course will explore foundations in early growth, development, health, safety & nutrition; birth to age eight,
within the context of each of the cognitive, emotional, social, language, and physical domains of human
development. The multiple influences on early growth, development and learning, including diverse families
and communities, will be examined in order to create healthy, respectful, supportive partnerships, environments,
materials, and curricula in accordance with the learning characteristics and needs of young children to foster
autonomous, confident learners who are engaged, resilient, adaptable and successful. Aligned to NAEYC
standards, AZ Early Learning Standards and to InTASC.
III. Student Learning Expectations/Outcomes:
A. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the history, theory, & core principles of child growth and
development as the foundation of teaching and learning, specifically, how children learn.
B. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key figures in education, psychology, and child
development and their contributions to the field of early education and to our understandings of growth,
learning & development of young children.
C. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of development and learning in the cognitive, emotional,
physical, communicative, and adaptive domains of human awareness; the ways that children make
meaning in each of these domains in order to build and implement appropriate learning experiences for
young children.
D. Demonstrate knowledge, understanding of multiple influences on the development of such as heredity
and the environment including families, communities, socio-economic, and cultural influences, as well as
the learning characteristics and needs of young children in order to create opportunities for children to
use language, explore, inquire, experiment, make meaningful choices.
Effective Fall 2012
E. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of core principles of child development and the essential
concepts and tools of inquiry to design & integrate content, i.e.; math, science, language, social studies,
art, movement, and music to foster meaning and connection-making and to nurture positive attitudes
toward learning.
F. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the core principles of child development and the complex
nature of learning to effectively use multiple, appropriate differentiated approaches and instructional
strategies to match learning characteristics, needs and strengths of all children.
G. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of developmentally appropriate approaches, uses and benefits
of assessment, particularly observation and documentation, to implement instruction and build effective
learning environments, and create positive and productive partnerships with parents and families.
H. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding the core principles of child development to design safe,
healthy, respectful environments to foster autonomy, decision-making, initiative, industry, resilience, and
adaptability.
I. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding that young children grow in diverse families, cultures &
communities in order to engage and empower families through learning partnerships that are responsive,
respectful and inclusive.
J. Demonstrate the knowledge, dispositions and actions of continuous collaboration and learning, critical
reflection, professionalism and advocacy for the field of child development. Know, understand and use
the professional language of the field.
IV. Course structure/approach:
A variety of strategies will involve students in meaningful investigations of the history, theories and core
principles of child development. Lecture, discussion, collaborative inquiries and presentations, authentic
experiences, and class trips to the 5th Annual Early Childhood Fair in Flagstaff, AZ.
V. Textbook and required materials:
Puckett, M.B., Black, J.K., Wittmer, D.S. & Pertersen, S,H. (2009). The young child:
prebirth through age eight. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
Development from
Students are to download and print a copy of the AZ Early Learning Standards:
http://www.ade.state.az.us/earlychildhood/downloads/EarlyLearningStandards.pdf
VI. Course Outline:
Week 1: Introduction. Yesterday and Today – Historical views of child development. Core Principles of Child
Growth and development. Begin in-class construction of History of Child Development Timeline.
Week 2: Importance of research in child development. Main theories and research methods, designs &
challenges. Why study children? What and how we investigate in early child development. Biological
development. Heredity, the environment and individual differences. Begin in-class construction of
professional “Word Wall”
Week 3: Theories of learning and motivation. Piaget, Vygotsky, Bandura, Ericson, Dabrowski,
Bronfenbrenner. Constructivism, Social Constructivism, Emotional Development, Positive Disintegration
and Ecological Systems Theory. Jigsaw: NAEYC Position Statement on Early Child Development.
Continue timeline. Schedule a 2 ½ hour observational visit to the Arizona Western College CDC &
Learning Lab during week 3, 4, or 5.
Effective Fall 2012
Week 4: Images of child development. Understanding child development through case studies: The early lives
of Ted Kaczynski, Maya Angelou. Read and tell activities. Narrative research and the stories of our lives.
Continue Word Wall.
Week 5: Ages & stages, important periods, patterns, processes & issues of development. Film: “Babies”.
Week 6: Guest lecturer: Professor Judith Watkinson. “Brain” research and learning theory. “Children’s Brains
are Built for Language Learning, Questioning, & Big Ideas”. The nature of brain physiology and the
characteristics of brain development in early childhood. Word Wall.
Week 7: No class. Schedule a 2 ½ hour visit to the Child Development Center and Learning Lab at Arizona
Western College for sometime during week 7, 8, or 9. Observe and document children interacting with a)
materials, b) other children, and c) adults. Use at least two methods of observation and documentation.
Week 8: A focus on Piaget’s theory of development. Sensorimotor period and 6 substages: Preoperational stage
and the symbolic function substage: Concrete operational stage, centration and conservation; and Formal
operations and abstract, idealistic, and logical thinking. Schema, Assimilation and accommodation,
organization and equilibrium. In-class Conservation Activities.
Week 9: A focus on Vygotsky’s theory of development. The Zone of Proximal Development; Scaffolding;
Language and Thought; Cultural Contexts; teaching strategies that align to Vygotsky’s Social
Constructivist Theory of Development. In-class practice and “Teach-backs” using ZPD and scaffolding.
Week 10: Language and literacy development. Defining language – phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics,
pragmatics. From babbling to complex speaking. How do we learn to talk? Emergent reading & writing.
The alphabetic principle. Students will share “Alphabet Books”. Phonics, Whole Language, and
Developmentally Appropriate Instruction.
Week 11: Information processing, attention, memory, thinking & metacognition. Thinking: Critical thinking,
scientific thinking (children are naturals!) reasoning & problem-solving. TOM or Theory of Mind.
Charting the thinking processes.
Week 12: Intelligence & multiple intelligences. Creativity. The content areas (science, math, art, music,
movement, language) and multiple intelligences, creativity. Integrating content. What is Inquiry?
Authentic learning? Constructivist classrooms. First draft of Position Statement on DAP in Pre-K through
3 classrooms. Continue adding to Timeline, Word Wall.
Week 13: No class. Travel to Flagstaff Early Childhood Fair.
Week 14: How do we engage, include and empower parents, families, and the community in the education of
young children. On-line communication, parent-teacher conferences, continuous communication.
Welcoming events that involve parents in the learning community. In collaborative groups, create
bulletin boards that will illustrate that the classroom environment and the learning experience is targeting
each of the domains of learning, matches and meets the needs of diverse learners, utilizes multiple
intelligences, and is made up of Developmentally Appropriate instructional experiences.
Week 15: What does it mean to be a professional in the field of early child development? What are our
responsibilities? Creating a personal plan for continued professional development. What do we want to
learn? What do we need to learn? Opportunities to continue learning….
Effective Fall 2012
Week 16: Final Exam – Newsletters to parents and families.
VII. Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Students will:
A. Participate in all class discussions, activities, field experiences.
60 pts.
B. Develop and maintain a professional reflective journal. Journal will be turned in
four times over the semester.
40 pts.
C. Along with the development of the “Professional Word Wall” in class, create
a personal dictionary, “The Language of Early Child Development”, that will
hold important terms and vocabulary that you will need to know as an early
child professional.
40 pts.
D. Develop, write & support a DAP Position Statement. Base your position on
what we know about how children learn. Consider the ways that the growth and
development of children should impact the design and implementation of
learning experiences, instruction & curriculum, the teaching of content,
assessment of learning, & the environment. Demonstrate an understanding of
the importance of engaging, empowering and including parents with a description
of the means you will use to ensure that parents are a powerful and productive
partner in their child’s learning. This is the signature assignment for this course. 100 pts.
E. Create an “ABC” book that fosters understanding of the Alphabetic Principle
and that meets characteristic and/or learning needs in at least one other
developmental domains.
80 pts.
F. Develop and write your own Plan for Professional Growth. Opportunties
for you to continue learning in the field of early childhood include the
courses in your degree program and beyond, opportunities for you to share
your knowledge and expertise at professional and/or community forums;
opportunities to collaborate with peers and colleagues to build and/or improve
lessons & curriculum; the creation and maintenance of a professional
reflective journal; and opportunities to engage in teacher research such as
case studies and action research.
priate differences for Pre-K, Kindergarten,
and Early Elementary teachers.
80 pts
G. Final exam. Classroom newsletters to parents & families.
100 pts.
Total Points
VIII. Grading System:
Points
450 – 500
400-449
350-399
300-349
Percentage
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
500 pts.
Grade
A
B
C
D
National Association for the Education of Young Children
Professional Standards
STANDARD 1. PROMOTING CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING
1a: Knowing and understanding young children’s characteristics and needs, from birth - age 8.
1b: Knowing and understanding the multiple influences on early development and learning
1c: Using developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning
environments for young children
Effective Fall 2012
STANDARD 2. BUILDING FAMILY AND COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS
2a: Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics
2b: Supporting & engaging families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships
2c: Involving families and communities in young children’s development and learning.
STANDARD 3. OBSERVING, DOCUMENTING, AND ASSESSING TO SUPPORT YOUNG
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
3a: Understanding the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment – including its use in development of appropriate
goals, curriculum, and teaching strategies for young children
3b: Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and
approaches, including the use of technology in documentation, assessment & data collection.
3c: Understanding and practicing responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each child, including
the use of assistive technology for children with disabilities.
3d: Knowing about assessment partnerships with families and with professional colleagues to build effective
learning environments.
STANDARD 4. USING DEVELOPMENTALLY EFFECTIVE APPROACHES
4a: Understanding positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation of their work with young
children
4b: Knowing and understanding effective strategies and tools for early education, including appropriate uses of
technology
4c: Using a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching /learning approaches
4d: Reflecting on own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child
STANDARD 5. USING CONTENT KNOWLEDGE TO BUILD MEANINGFUL CURRICULUM
5a: Understanding content knowledge and resources in academic disciplines: language and literacy; the arts –
music, creative movement, dance, drama, visual arts; mathematics; science, physical activity, physical
education, health and safety; and social studies.
5b: Knowing and using the central concepts, inquiry tools, and structures of content areas or academic
disciplines
5c: Using own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design, implement, and
evaluate developmentally meaningful and challenging curriculum for each child.
STANDARD 6. BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL
6a: Identifying and involving oneself with the early childhood field
6b: Knowing about and upholding ethical standards and early childhood professional guidelines
6c: Engaging in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice; using technology effectively with young
children, with peers, and as a professional resource.
6d: Integrating knowledgeable, reflective, and critical perspectives on early education
6e: Engaging in informed advocacy for young children and the early childhood profession
STANDARD 7. EARLY CHILDHOOD FIELD EXPERIENCES
7a. Opportunities to observe and practice in at least two of the three early childhood age groups (birth – age 3,
3-5, 5-8)
7b. Opportunities to observe and practice in at least two of the three main types of early education settings
(early school grades, child care centers and homes, Head Start prog
Northern Arizona University Policy Statements
http://nau.edu/OCLDAA/_Forms/UCC/SyllabusPolicyStmts2-2014/
Effective Fall 2012