Lesson 1: What is my role?

 

graphic "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" Winston Churchill

Learning Outcomes

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

  • Understand their responsibilities as a practicum student
  • Discuss the importance of families in early childhood education
  • Discuss the importance of professionalism
  • 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 and two:

  • 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 every week via email
  • 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
  • Communicate with families your role in their child’s learning environment

Participate in the following for practicum two:

  • Complete three full consecutive days at your practicum site
  • Complete a family services project
  • Participate in a mock interview
  • Present your final portfolio
  • Finalize your personal philosophy

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

At this point in your student career you should be feeling more comfortable in your interactions with families.  For this practicum you will be working with families on a more intense level than before.  You are still required to write a letter but you will want to consider the level of the message you send.  How will you make this letter more meaningful?  This practicum is mostly about families and partnering with them in the best interest of their child.  It is an expectation that you reach out to families in a meaningful way so treat this letter as setting the stage for practicum success. 

This letter will be more than a simple introduction and statement of assignments.  You will need dig into it a little deeper so that you can go back and reference the letter later on.  For example, in your letter you might have a paragraph that states:

This practicum is highly focused on partnerships with families.  I will be creating activities and projects to bridge the home school connection.  For these activities I will need your expertise on your child.  I strongly believe that the parent is the child’s first and most important teacher and I am looking forward to partnering with you on these projects for my practicum class. 
Then, three weeks into the practicum you meet one of the fathers of a child.  You can say, “Hi Joey!  I’m Jessica.  I am the one that sent home a letter at the beginning of the school year saying I was going to be completing family projects here in little Joey’s classroom.  Next week I am going to be starting the family wall project.  Don’t forget to bring in some pictures. J” Or maybe, you will be sending out a notice that says, “Dear families in classroom three at Little Hands Childcare.  As mentioned in the letter I sent home in the beginning of the year, I will be completing a project.  Right now I am working on gathering some family photos………” 

When you write your letter, be sure to provide specifics that you are focusing on family activities and/or projects but do not be so specific that you can’t change your activity or project ideas.  You will be providing specifics as the practicum goes on.

Part 3 – Professionalism preparation

This practicum is the last stop before getting your degree and becoming a professional in the field.  As part of this process, you will further define your professional stance in early childhood.  I cannot stress the importance of these assignments and the level of professionalism that is needed.  You will be completing your professional portfolio and making final edits to your philosophy.  These two items are crucial to showcasing your strengths and taking a stance about who you are.  You must be mindful about everything you do and what it could mean to other professionals that are looking in your portfolio and reading your philosophy.  How do you want to appear?

Assessment

Lesson 1 Assignment

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)
  • An in-depth explanation of the family focus in this practicum that sets the stage for later communication

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. 

Submit a final copy of this letter to the Lesson 1 Assignment Drop Box

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

What does being a professional in early childhood education mean to you?

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.