Early Childhood Educators Institute 2020

Institute Information

The Early Childhood Educators Annual Institute is fully online this summer. If you are an early childhood or primary teacher, a special educator, home visitor, or related service/CIS personnel, then this Institute is for you!

The Institute consists of thirteen sessions. For those who wish to attend the institute only, you will receive a certificate of completion for professional development hours. For those who wish to extend their learning, there are thirteen courses aligned with those sessions. The courses are designed to deepen practice, meet child care professional development requirements, and contribute to early childhood or elementary educator licensing competencies and/or renewal of educator licenses and endorsements. These 3-credit courses are a component of the Vermont Early Childhood Educators Institute, developed by the Vermont Higher-Education- Early Childhood Consortium. All courses are aligned with the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) and the Vermont Guiding Principles for Full Participation of Each and Every Child. Both are central to a shared vision for young children in Vermont in the years from birth through Grade 3. Courses may be taken for graduate or undergraduate credit or count toward required professional development hours. Participants looking to add the credit option must attend all four days of the session they choose and complete additional assignments.

The Institute takes place online and is fully interactive using Zoom webinars and Zoom videoconferencing on July 21, 23, 28 & 30 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm each day. Some sessions taken for credit require work before and after the Institute ends. Full course syllabi will be available soon under session descriptions below. Required texts are not included in the course tuition.

Pricing

Pricing for the Institute is as follows:

Schedule

Questions?

For more information on the Institute, please contact Ric Reardon. 

For more information on the credit courses, please contact the instructor or Tara Lidstone.

For questions about registration, please contact Bethany Sprague.

Session Information

Select a session title to read the description. You will be asked to make a session selection when registering.

Augmentative Communication and Play Strategies for Enhancing Participation and Access for Young Children with Complex Needs in their Early Childhood Settings

Session Description: 

This course will focus on exploring, identifying, and implementing evidence-based communication and play supports for young children with complex needs. This course will provide participants skills and knowledge regarding increasing participation, access, and social interaction for young children with special needs in the inclusive early childhood classroom and within daily routines within the home setting. A specific emphasis will be placed on building a comprehensive understanding, and practical application, of the Augmentative Communication process for children ages 2 through 8 years of age.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Building Blocks for Literacy®

Session Description: 

Building Blocks for Literacy^® is a foundational course to understand the development of early literacy skills as they relate to later reading and writing skills. Originally designed as a course for early care/education providers and kindergarten teachers, this course also provides classroom elementary teachers with the knowledge to apply effective intervention for struggling Grade 1-3 readers. Building Blocks provides a conceptual understanding of the research-based components necessary to deliver effective language learning opportunities in early care and education/Pre-K settings to assure later literacy success. Participants will learn how language acquisition, phonological awareness, shared book reading and the speech to print connection help children acquire early literacy skills. The course emphasizes the specifics of phonemic awareness and matching speech sounds to the varied letter representations to support early elementary students who struggle learning to read and write. Building Blocks is aligned with the Vermont Early Learning Standards, integrating play-based strategies to demonstrate scaffolding skills within each key concept. Participants will become familiar with ongoing evidence-based practices that integrate current research with family and professional wisdom and values. They will also learn how to deliver these developmentally appropriate learning opportunities in a variety of settings, including individual (1:1), small group/large group, and teacher or child-directed free play.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Early Childhood Special Education: Behavior Management Strategies

Session Description: 

This course will provide Early Childhood Educators with the skills necessary to address the behavioral needs of young children. By exploring the function and communicative intent of behavior and practicing data collection procedures, educators will be able to implement positive behavior support strategies in homes and in their classrooms that demonstrate an awareness of culturally and age appropriate behavioral expectations and rules. Emphasis will be on collaboration with students, families, and staff to determine proactive strategies for supporting positive behavior at home and in the classroom. Specific attention will be placed on the following Recommended Practices of the Division for Early Childhood as related to assessment, environment, family, instruction, and interaction.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Forest and Nature-Based Education Approaches for Early Childhood

Session Description:

Forest and nature-based early childhood programs are holistic, interdisciplinary, and sensory-based approaches to learning. These philosophies aim to foster students’ independence and initial understandings of their interconnectedness with the whole world. Forest and nature-based approaches create a space for children to cultivate their natural sense of awe and wonder. Children come away with a deep level of comfort with and love for the land they play and learn on. This class includes natural history content for early childhood, integrating nature-based activities into existing curricula, sense of place and sustainable practices, family and community connections, healthy risk-taking and risk management, and the benefits of nature-based play for social-emotional health and learning outcomes.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Leadership, Mentoring, and Supervision for Early Childhood Practitioners

Session Description: 

This course focuses on the development of leadership and mentoring by practitioners in early education and afterschool settings. It provides a basic understanding of leadership and group dynamics theory including goal setting, decision making, problem solving, delegation, motivation, hiring and evaluating staff, and performance evaluation. Students will develop a personal philosophy of leadership and become familiar with strategies for mentoring early childhood and afterschool professionals.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Legal and Financial Issues in Early Childhood

Session Description: 

Financial section: Participants will be introduced to the basic understanding of financial management for child care and afterschool programs. Participants will examine accounting concepts and develop skills, but not limited to, in budgeting, cash flow, staffing analysis, balance statements and other financial management systems. The legal section: Participants will be introduced to the understanding of the American legal system as well as specific laws applicable in Vermont to childcare and afterschool programs.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Social Emotional Learning: Supporting Foundations of Language, Learning & Social Communication Through Play and Active Co-Regulation

Session Description: This course focusing on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) will engage you with an introduction to supporting language and social relatedness through play, peer mediated interventions, increasing social awareness, perspective-taking and other areas of social learning which facilitates the development of core competences of SEL. The four modules are designed for parents, teachers, educational support staff, related services providers (speech language pathologists, occupational therapists) and administrators interested in supporting the development of children’s engagement, communication, symbolic language, and social emotional regulation through play. Overviews of the foundational skills underlying play, types of play, and active strategies for supporting play will be stimulated through lecture, discussion and hands-on play. Opportunities for supporting play between peers, which provides children with repeated exposure to language, symbolic play and social negotiation, will be targeted by reviewing Peer Mediated Instruction and Interventions (PMII) and then through the development and implementation of  PMII programming, supports, and strategies. Through a socio-cognitive lens, underlying concepts and descriptions of theory of mind (ToM) and SEL will be discussed with a focus on guiding young children to acknowledge, identify, receive support, and engage in learning opportunities which foster effective communication. Several take-home strategies and supports will be developed.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings

Therapeutic Work with Young Children in Classroom Settings

Session Description: 

This course will explore ways of providing nurturing, therapeutic and/or healing opportunities in classroom settings for young children who, for either internal or environmental reasons, struggle in their relationships with the people in their world.

Register now!

Back to Institute information • Back to top of session listings