Courses
C&T 4080 Child Development & Intersectional Identities
A first course examining child development, pre-birth through age 8, within a critical childhoods framework. Primary focus is on the social, cultural, and political contexts and factors that impact the well-being of families and children. The confluence of race, class, gender, language, disability will be central to discussions on well-being and resilience. The course reframes notions that children are "at-risk" by addressing inequitable structures and policies that place young children and families at risk.
C&T 4083 Home/School/Community Partnerships
This course offers current and historical perspectives on the role of families within historically marginalized communities, including but not limited to families that are multilingual, multiethnic/multiracial, non-traditional, refugees/immigrants, and/or identify as disabled. Students will consider how to facilitate collaborative partnerships between families and professionals that support the developmental and educational capacities of young children across the spectrum of intersection identities.
C&T 4112 Integrated Curriculum in Early Childhood Education: Curricular Inquiry and Design
This course focuses on integrated theories and methods in early childhood education and brings together content areas (e.g. social studies, science, math) with developmental skills (e.g. reading, writing, communication) relevant to diverse early childhood contexts. The course interrogates curriculum from historical, sociocultural, and political perspectives while emphasizing the material, interpersonal, and environmental factors that extend knowledge and curriculum-making. Students will construct and design curriculum that centers play and critical inquiry, bearing in mind the range of perspectives, cultures, and learners within classrooms. C&T 4112 and C&T 4114 are recommended as a sequence.
C&T 4114 Integrated Curriculum in Early Childhood Education: Diversity, Equity, and Technologies
This course extends curricular design from a play-based, inquiry stance. The course specifically addresses equity and representation in the selection of curricular material, implementation of multimodal teaching and learning through integration of media and low/high technology, and research-based design of classroom environments. Students will learn to construct, adapt, and reimagine curricula that are inclusive of multicultural identities and experiences. Emphasis will be placed on addressing issues of equity related to race, gender, language, disability, class, etc. with young children.
C&T 4131 Play, Language, and Early Childhood Curriculum
This course examines multilingualism, language variations, language/literacy theories, and linguistic diversity, with an emphasis on birth-age 5. Encompassing the utilitarian and social purpose of language/literacy use, the course explores the intersection of play and early language development. In examining the nature and scope of language arts, we will attend to the role of the early childhood teacher, specifically how teachers can create meaningful curricular experiences that encompass children’s interests and culture through inquiry and observations. Students will facilitate and design literacy experiences, resources, and assessments that build on a sociocultural literacy framework that honors and builds from children’s linguistic repertoires (3 credits toward State literacy requirements).
C&T 4132 Language and teaching in the primary reading/writing classroom
Examines principles of literacy learning in young children and introduces theories, practices, and materials for teaching reading/writing in primary grades in diverse settings.
C&T 4302 Design and implementation of educational assessment for young children with exceptionalities
Permission required. The course approaches assessments from a social, historical, and political approach, taking time to consider for whom, how, when, and why tests and evaluations are utilized. Approaching assessments with critical theories, students will interrogate the utility of assessments in addressing the capacities of diverse learners, particularly children who are neurodiverse and/or labeled with disabilities/exceptionalities. With an introduction to formal and informal assessment strategies, students will implement, adapt, and redesign equitable and strengths-based assessments. Analysis of observational and test data will be used to design culturally sustaining educational interventions.
C&T 4308 Introduction to Diverse Early Childhood Classrooms
This course is an introductory practicum for students in the Early Childhood initial certification program. Field experiences will relate to work in other courses and be paired with an ongoing seminar designed to respond directly to issues as they arise in classrooms. The course will provide students with observation hours and guided field experiences in a range of PK to Grade 2 early childhood settings, encouraging a critical examination of the underlying assumptions about teaching and learning in each.
C&T 4708 Student Teaching in an Early Childhood Setting
Permission required. This intensive student teaching experience includes 4 full-days in an educational setting coupled with a weekly seminar on campus. The course aims to support students’ abilities to articulate the theoretical basis for their pedagogical and curricular decisions. Emphasis is on developing and implementing learning experiences that build on children’s assets and address the range of learners in the setting. As the semester progresses, students are expected to gradually assume full teaching responsibilities at their site.
C&T 5118 Infant and Toddler Development and Practice
This practicum course includes 2 days of hands-on practice in an infant or toddler classroom, alongside a weekly seminar on campus. The course covers topics related to child development, theories of care and early learning, as well as curriculum and environmental design. Classroom discussions connect theory and current research on infants/toddlers/families to hands-on experiences in infant/toddler classrooms. Practicum learning focuses on relational caregiving and environmental design as key components of infant/toddler curriculum.