Students are required to log 24 hours of observation in a school setting as an integral part of this practicum. 

To complete this course, you must be registered with the Family Care Safety Registry. Failure to register by Wednesday of the first week of class will result in your removal from the course.

Any field experience with children younger than school age requires the observer to complete the TB questionnaire (Found in myCMU under Student Help>Digital Forms>Admissions) and possibly have an actual TB test depending on the outcome of the questionnaire. If it is determined that you need a TB test, you can get a test at your personal physician's office, or any county health office. 

If you have questions regarding this requirement, please contact Jane Bethel, jbethel@centralmethodist.edu. ONLY contact Jane Bethel with questions about the Family Care Safety Registry or TB Testing.  You must contact the instructor of this course if you have any other questions, including questions about your practicum placement.  Contact information for your instructor is located on the Faculty Information portion of this course. 

Laboratory (24 clock hours) experience in screening young children. Each student observes a child enrolled in an accredited or public school early childhood program for a semester and suggests developmentally appropriate goals for the child based on observation, assessments, and constructivist principles. Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollments in ED332 and ED337. 1 hour.

Upon successful completion of the course, each participant should be able to:

1. Explain the role of the early childhood educator in assessing children's development and developing appropriate education programs.*(CMU 3.a, 3.b, 3.c) (ECEC 4.1, 4.3, 6.4) (DESE Teacher Standards 7C1, 7C2, 7C3, 7C4, 7C5, 7C6)

2. Explain recommended state guidelines for screening, assessment, and educational programming. (CMU 3.a, 3.b, 3.c, 3.d, 5.a, 5.c, 5.d) (ECEC 7.1) (DESE Teacher Standards 1C1, 1C4, 1C5, 3C1, 7C1, 7C2, 7C3, 7C4, 7C5, 7C6)

3. Implement informal child study techniques to identify children's abilities in the areas of cognition, perceptual motor development, language (receptive and expressive), sociomoral development, etc.(CMU 1.a, 1.b, 1.c, 3.a) (ECEC 4.1, 4.3) (DESE Teacher Standards 1C3, 2C3, 4C2, 7C1, 7C2, 7C3)

4. Utilize a constructivist approach in observation, assessment and planning. (CMU 1.b, 1.c, 2.b, 3.a., 3.b., 3.c, 3.d) (ECEC 1.3, 4.1, 4.3, 6.4, 6.8) (DESE Teacher Standards 1C2, 1C3, 2C1, 2C5, 4C1, 4C2, 4C3, 7C1, 7C2, 7C3, 7C4, 7C5, 7C6)

5. Identify and critique several formal assessment instruments most commonly used in early childhood education.(CMU 1.b) (ECEC 4.1, 4.3) (DESE Teacher Standards 4C2)

6. Develop educational programming founded on the integration of typical child development knowledge, child study techniques, and screening/assessment information.(CMU 1.b, 1.c, 3.a, 3.c, 3.d) (ECEC 1.4, 2.3, 4.1, 4.3, 6.4, 6.8) (DESE Teacher Standards 1C3, 2C1, 2C5, 4C2, 7C1, 7C2)

7. Communicate orally and in writing informal and formal observations of children's development and recommendations for programming to parents and other professionals. (CMU 4.a, 4.b, 4.c) (ECEC 3.2, 3.5, 4.2, 6.4) (DESE Teacher Standards 6C1, 6C2, 6C4)

*CMU – Alignment with CMU Conceptual Framework and Professional Education Division Standards and Indicators

ECEC – Alignment with DESE Early Childhood Education Competencies

DESE Teacher Standards – Alignment with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Teacher Standards