EDUC 490: Special Topics in Education

(Aim4Excellence Modules 7, 8, and 9)

After completing Module Seven: Supporting Children’s Development and Learning, you will be able to:

• Explain pedagogical leadership and its relationship to your program’s goals
• Identify elements of high-quality early childhood teaching
• Describe integration of child development with learning
• Evaluate elements of observation, documentation, screening, and assessment
• Implement social-emotional learning and understand its impacts
• Provide oversight, feedback, and training to strengthen teacher competencies

After completing Module Eight: Facilitating Responsive Family Engagement, you will be able to:

• Describe the rationale and benefits of family‐centered programming
• Identify the values, principles, and defining characteristics of family‐centered programming
• Design and implement family welcoming strategies
• Implement shared decision making and effective communication strategies with families
• Implement family‐centered practices that meet the needs of diverse families
• Evaluate the effectiveness of family‐centered programming

After completing Module Nine: Evaluating Program Quality, you will be able to:

• Describe program evaluation purposes, types, and ethical responsibilities
• Select appropriate program evaluation tools
• Utilize evaluation tools to assess program needs and support continuous quality improvement (CQI)
• Identify desired outcomes for program improvement
• Plan program improvement strategically through cycles of inquiry
• Establish norms of continuous quality improvement (CQI) by engaging families and staff in collaborative program evaluation