Literacy for Early Childhood Directors

During this course, early childhood center directors learn about best literacy practices for early childhood readers and writers as they support teachers with practical and enduring frameworks and strategies (The Five Early Reading Writing Talking Processes and The Four Lenses of Learning.) Directors are also introduced to coaching strategies that provide them with ongoing instructional problem solving approaches. This course integrates instructional leadership strategies that provide common language and directors gain a deep understanding of developmentally appropriate practice based on engaged and reflective teaching and learning. Participants are asked to bring a children’s book used in their center to each class to create/adapt a demonstration lesson for one of their own classrooms.

Directors try out their favorite strategies in their centers between classes so that they can reflect on the impact of this type of practical implementation in their classrooms. Directors are also introduced to professional readings that are discussed in class. They write up their try-outs in the form of ongoing reflective journals and a final project (an action plan) to share with educators at their centers. Coursework includes on the job learning competencies focused on the implementation of active learning for young children. The PLN frameworks, The Five Early Reading, Writing and Talking Processes and The Four Lenses of Learning, are integrated into these learning experiences. Participants also gather evidence-based artifacts of student learning that are generated from lesson try-outs based on course content. Online Schoology class sessions are part of the required coursework in addition to face-to-face sessions.