The Early Childhood Personnel Center

The projects or assignments require learners to apply the practices/skills related to Standard 7: Professional and Ethical Practice. Since these are application activities, they most align with the evidence-based practices for adult learners of authentic learning, reflection, guidance, performance feedback, and follow-up activities.  The sample learning activities are organized by the four components for Standard 7.

Issues in the EI/ECSE Profession:  Select one issue or trend in the EI/ECSE profession. Search the recommended peer-reviewed journals and locate three research-based articles and two practitioner-based articles that discuss the selected issue/trend. Create an annotated bibliography for each selected source. Each annotation should include the main points of the source and a reflection on how the source fits with your thoughts about the selected issue/trend. Use APA formatting for your references.

EI/ECSE Professional Association/Technical Assistance Websites:  Visit the websites below for professional organizations and technical assistance centers specific to EI/ECSE.  Each is included in the list of websites in the syllabus.  Review each website and the links that are relevant to you as a current or future professional in EI/ECSE.

• Council for Exceptional Children
• Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children
• Early Childhood Personnel Center
• Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Zero to Three

Respond to the following:

• Identify two of the websites that seem to be most relevant to you currently.
• Identify 2-3 links from each website that would be most helpful to you now.
• For each of the two websites, provide a brief paragraph explaining how you would use the information from the website and the selected links now.

Self-Reflection and Professional Growth Plan: Plan a small group activity in which you will use naturalistic and systematic instructional practices. Record yourself implementing the activity. Watch the video and complete both the Naturalistic Instructional Practices Checklist and the Systematic Instructional Practices Checklist.

Review the results and identify one practice from each checklist that you want to improve. Develop a Professional Growth Plan (PGP) using the two practices you identified. Include the following in your PGP:

• One goal and one objective per practice
• An activity or activities in which you will engage to improve each practice
• The person(s) responsible (i.e., you and anyone else that you may ask to assist in some way such as an observer)
• Resources needed (e.g., video vignettes demonstrating the practice)
• One or two outcome/s per practice (e.g., what will happen because of improved practice)

Advocacy Journal: Create an advocacy journal and document your advocacy journey during the course. Seek out experiences that expand on course topics, support the use of evidence-based and recommended practices, and involve advocating for improved outcomes for young children, families, and the EI/ECSE profession.

Legislation and the Impact on Children and Families: Describe legislation that impacts young children and their families. Choose three different pieces of federal legislation.  For each, include the title, a brief description, required services, and the impact on young children and their families. In addition, think about what you need to know and be able to do as an EI/ECSE professional to implement services described within the laws/legislation you choose for the assignment.

The websites below provide information for two federal laws.

• The U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) website brings together IDEA information and resources. Parent rights are described in IDEA also. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination based on disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations (Title III), commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. Title III regulations impact childcare and preschool programs. Learn more at the ADA website: https://www.ada.gov/index.html

EI/ECSE Ethical Dilemmas:  You will be assigned two vignettes from Focus on Ethics, a NAEYC resource that reflects the best thinking anchored by the question “What should an ethical early childhood educator do?”

Read the two vignettes. For each ethical dilemma, respond in writing to the following:

• Describe the ethical dilemma for each vignette.
• Identify theDEC Code of Ethics position statement/s that you might use in addressing each ethical dilemma.
• From the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment, identify the ideal and principle that you might use in addressing this ethical dilemma.
• Write a two to three (2-3) paragraph rationale for each ethical dilemma as to why you chose the DEC Code of Ethics statement and the NAEYC ideal and principle.

EI/ECSE Ethical Dilemmas: Assignment description: You will be assigned two vignettes from Focus on Ethics, a NAEYC resource that reflects the best thinking anchored by the question “What should an ethical early childhood educator do?”

Read the two vignettes. For each ethical dilemma, respond in writing to the following:

• Describe the ethical dilemma for each vignette.
• Identify the DEC Code of Ethics position statement/s that you might use in addressing each ethical dilemma.
• From the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment, identify the ideal and principle that you might use in addressing this ethical dilemma.
• Write a two to three (2-3) paragraph rationale for each ethical dilemma as to why you chose the DEC Code of Ethics’ statement/s and the NAEYC ideal and principle.

The Practicum Applications are examples of learning experiences designed to promote knowledge and skill development for each component of each standard. They are intended to be idea prompts for field-based assignments for preservice and professional development, and adapted as needed.

The Practicum Applications:

• Should be incorporated across the curriculum and within each standard,
• Represent the age range from birth through five,
• Are sequenced from observation and reflection to implementation of practices with supervision,
• Should be implemented across home, school, and community settings.  

Supporting Knowledge and Skill Development

Knowledge: Attend a local or state professional meeting or event and reflect on what you learned at that meeting/event and how it relates to your EI/ECSE coursework.

Knowledge: Attend a local or state interagency coordinating council meeting and reflect on what you learned by attending the meeting and how it relates to your EI/ECSE coursework.

Knowledge: Observe, with permission, a family support group meeting and reflect on how the meeting relates to what you are learning about family-centered services.

Knowledge: Interview an early interventionist or preschool teacher to identify the professional organization(s) in which they are a member, how they are involved in the organization, and what the benefits are for them as an EI/ECSE professional.

Skill: Assist in planning and implementing a presentation for a local or state professional meeting.

Skill: Assist in planning and implementing a group session or workshop for families (e.g., family literacy night, preparing for the transition to kindergarten).

Skill: Assist with a local event designed to support children with developmental delays and their families (e.g., Special Olympics; walks, runs, bike rides, etc. fundraisers).

Supporting Knowledge and Skill Development

Knowledge: Interview an early interventionist to identify what resources they use to learn about evidence-based practices that support partnerships with families, review those resources, and reflect on ones to use in the future.

Knowledge: Observe an early intervention session and identify how the evidence-based practices are discussed with the family member and what resources and supports are jointly identified to assist the family member to implement those practices.

Knowledge: Observe implementation of a formal assessment, identify the evidence-based practices employed to conduct the assessment, and reflect on how and why you will use those practices in the future.

Skill: Report and reflect on professional experiences and growth during a field placement through ongoing documentation and journaling.

Skill: Complete a self-assessment based on the EI/ECSE Standards and components, reflect on the results, develop a professional growth plan based on those results, implement the plan, and reflect on the outcomes.

Skill: Video implementation of activity in a toddler, preschool, or kindergarten classroom and reflect on your use of evidence-based practices and what might be done differently the next time those practices are employed.

Skill: Video implementation of an early intervention session and reflect on your use of evidence-based practices to engage the child and adult and what might be done differently the next time those practices are employed.

Supporting Knowledge and Skill Development

Knowledge: Attend, observe, and reflect on a local or state advocacy event focusing on the purpose of the event, how it was organized, who was involved, the response of the local or state leader(s), and what the next step will or could be.

Knowledge: Observe and reflect on a team meeting to plan a meeting with the principal or program director to advocate for use of a “new” evidence-based practice in that program.

Knowledge: Observe and reflect on a home visit in which an evidence-based practice being used in the toddler or preschool classroom is described and/or demonstrated as to how the family could implement the practice for generalization of skills.

Skill: Plan for and meet with a local or state leader to discuss an EI/ECSE issue or proposed legislation, and follow up with an email or note.

Skill: Identify one to two key points about an EI/ECSE issue or proposed legislation, phone a local, state, or federal leader identifying who you are, and share the key points.

Skill: Use the CEC Legislative Action Center to send a message to your U.S. Representative and/or Senator about one of the issues at that site, adding content to the message body to personalize it based on your role and interest in the issue.

Skill: Research, plan for, and present an evidence-based practice during a team meeting.