Lesson 1: What is my Role?


Attention


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able

  • Describe their responsibilities as a practicum student
  • Discuss the importance of teaming in early childhood education
  • Create and deliver a letter to the families of the children in the practicum site

Teaching

Part One – A summary of Participation

Welcome to practicum II!  In practicum one you learned the basics of being present and how to connect with the children.  For practicum two, you will refine those skills and participate in several opportunities to learn about partnerships with professionals.  In the early childhood education field, it is never the responsibility of one to educate a child.  For many reasons, (including ratios, best practices, IFSP, etc.) it is a team that takes care of young children.  It takes more than one to notice the capabilities of a child, more than one to plan, more than one to implement and more than one to make a difference.  By joining planning/curriculum meetings, parent teacher conferences and other important engagements, you will learn how to understand, communicate, respect and support others for the best interest of the children.
For this class you WILL:

Continue expectations from practicum one:

  • Be present with the children
  • Master the art of purposeful connections with children, staff and families
  • Ask questions related to your experiences
  • Observing staff and try new techniques
  • Be friendly and useful
  • Be open and honest
  • Communicate with your mentor and instructor
  • Be reflective in your practice through journaling and weekly mentoring
  • Dress appropriately
  • Respect confidentiality
  • Create and share goals for professional development
  • Create and implement lesson plans
  • Explore your own professional philosophy
  • Communicate with families your role in their child’s learning environment

Participate in the following for practicum two:

  • Attend a planning or curriculum meeting
  • Attend a parent teacher conference or home visit
  • Attend an IEP/IFSP/504 meeting – if this is not possible than attend a meeting for a child with needing a behavior plan or another kind of special service requiring an individualized meeting
  • Create a professional development outline and organize your professional portfolio

You MIGHT

  • Be asked to feed an infant
  • Put a child to sleep
  • Participate in emergency procedures or be the one to soothe a child after a fall
  • Run an activity that was not planned by you
  • Relay important information to staff from other staff or parents

You WILL NOT

  • Be left alone with the children
  • Diaper children
  • Transport children

Part 2 – A Letter to the Families

Picture this:

You are a parent of a young child and have been searching tirelessly for just the right early childhood setting so that you can go back to work.

One woman you met said that she runs the business but is barely ever there.  She would introduce you to the staff but there are so many part timers that she doubts you would meet them all before your start date.  You would have to trust her that she hires quality caregivers.

Another woman you met is the ONLY one taking care of five children under the age of 18 months.  You question ratio and how she diapers, bottle feeds, rocks and stimulate five babies a day.  She reassures you she is in ratio because two are hers and they don’t count.

The third place you go to has three staff to care for 8 children under the age of 3.  They all have degrees and are a number 4 on the quality rating scale (the best there is!).  You see happy children, artwork and pictures on the wall that shows the children learning and engaged.  You decide this is the place for you.  For two weeks you work on transitioning your child into the classroom who has a bit of stranger anxiety.  You are starting to feel like your child is comfortable there and you can trust the caregivers.

Then….one Monday afternoon you go to pick up your child and there is a stranger sitting there holding your fussy baby while another staff is in changing a diaper.  You put a lot of emotion into leaving your children in the hands of reliable caregivers and you have no idea who this person is or if they are even a caregiver.

How do we make parents feel more comfortable with who is in their child’s learning environment?  How do you inform families about why you are there with their child and what you are doing?

Ideally, you would be able to meet all of the families but we all know that reality does not allow us to do this.  However, at the very least you can write a letter. Developmentally Appropriate Practice tells us, “Excellent teachers are intentional in all aspects of their role.” Let’s be intentional about connecting with families!

Part 3 – Partnerships with Professionals

Being an educator is more than just playing with children and home-school connections.  Who has heard, “It takes a village to raise a child.”? There is a reason that this ancient proverb has circulated for centuries.  While the parent is the child’s most important and valued educator, it is the responsibility of an education team to support the child and family.  For infants and toddlers this may mean several in-classroom staff working together to plan and implement, for preschoolers this could mean, classroom staff support staff and volunteers, for school staff this could mean the classroom teacher, special educator and a one on one.  No matter what age or setting, it takes a village and skill to partner with other professionals.

When reading Partnerships with professionals take notes about what skills are needed to be an effective partner and who you believe effective partners are.


Assessment

Lesson 1 Assignment

Letter to Families

Upon starting your practicum you are required to craft a letter to the families.  This letter should include:

  • Who you are and something personal (hobbies, interests, pets, etc.)
  • What class you are in and what is the purpose of the class and what are your goals while in this placement (you do not need to be specific here.  Just give them a generic broad goal so that they don’t think your goal is to corrupt their child and make them uncomfortable).
  • When you will be there (times, days and when it ends)
  • Any assignment you have to do that their child may be involved with

This letter should be crafted BEFORE your first meeting with your site placement so that it can be reviewed by the instructor and cooperating teacher. 

Lesson 1 Discussion A

In your own words, write how this practicum experience will be different than the last.  What did you learn in the last practicum that will help you with your second?  What are you most excited about for this new placement?

Lesson 1 Discussion B

Look at the image below and take note of how many people have influence on the individual aspiring towards their career.  Research shows that early childhood professionals have the MOST impact during the first five years.  What kind of people would you put in the boxes that have the most impact on young children?  List off 15 people and pick the top three that you believe are the most influential and why.

 

For full credit in the graded discussions you need to post at least ONE response to the prompt in the Lesson and reply to at leaset TWO other students' posts. Your reply posts must be substantive. Please see the grading rubric in the Syllabus for this course for more details.

These instrucitons apply to all the graded discussions in this course and will not be repeated.