MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAM

Course Syllabus

ECE 141 Infant/Toddler Growth and Development (3 credit, 1129)

Spring 2007

Instructor

Dr. Yi Guan-Raczkowski

Course Prerequisites

None

Course Location and Meeting Time

This is a distance learning course, and you are required to log on at least three times weekly at your convenience to complete class assignments.

Office Location and Hours:

Chapman 632, Mon-Fri, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Office Phone: (860) – 343 -5783

Email: WebCT internal mail. Use yguan@mxcc.commnet.edu only when you are unable to access WebCT site.

Attendance Policy: You are required to log on at least three times weekly and perform tasks and assignments online according to course outline in the syllabus. All weekly assignments are due midnight of Sunday. Exams, paper, and all other assignments are due midnight of the date according to the course outline. Late submission will be penalized.

Text

Infant and Toddler Development. Kay Albrecht and Linda G. Miller. Gryphon House, 2001.

Scope of Course

This course is an introduction to the care and teaching of infants and toddlers, with emphasis on the interrelationship between social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and language development. Age appropriate curriculum strategies will be based on developmental theories. Components of high quality programs will be explored. The course is part of a student’s educational experience in early childhood education program. Students will gain insights of various learning theories used in infants and toddler growth by engaging in active learning and dialogs. Class activities including reading, discussions, group activities, research, and field observations will result in better understanding of major development theories and their implementations in infant/toddler educational settings. The learning objectives stated below specify detailed learning outcomes that students will acquire.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course students will be able to:

examine infant/toddler growth and development.
explore the theories that explain child growth and development.
explain and integrate the principles of developmental and interactional theories.
explore the Innovations Model in working with infants/toddlers.
Identify/explain the developmental tasks proposed by the Innovations Model.
examine the issues of prenatal and brain development.
identify developmentally appropriate curriculum options for infants and toddlers.
evaluate and design developmentally appropriate environments and programs for infants and toddlers.
examine the importance of partnering with parents and families of infants/toddlers.

Course Requirements/Grading Methods/Description

Grading

Discussion Assignments

75 points

Research Paper/Presentation

105 points

Field Observation/Participation (10 Hours)

100 points

Small Group Curriculum Activities

120 points

Midterm Exam

100 points

Final Exam

100 points

Total

600 Points

Grading Scheme

A 550 – 600

A- 530 – 549

B+ 500 - 529

B 470 – 499

B- 440 – 469

C+ 420 - 439

C 400 – 419

C- 370 - 399

D+ 350 - 369

D 330 – 349

D- 300 - 329

F 0 - 299

Discussion Assignments

You are assigned discussion questions to answer on the Discussion Board after reading each of the chapters. You need to first answer the questions, and respond to at least TWO messages from others by the midnight of due date specified in Course Outline.

Research Paper/Presentation

The purpose of this assignment is to provide students the opportunity to further explore other areas of interest in infant/toddler growth and development. You are expected to choose and research a topic and write the paper individually. The paper should have 1200 to 1500 words in length and use cover page and bibliography page. You need to use at least 4 references from each of the following - course bibliography, Internet sources, professional journals eg Young Children, Time magazine, Newsweek and Parenting magazine. The paper outline (5 points) should be posted on the Paper Outline area on the Discussion Board by the due date. Your research paper (100 points) should include the description of research topic, summary of research findings, significance of the research, and your personal views, feelings, or experiences relating to the research. The paper should be posted in the Research Paper area on the discussion board. You may comment on others’ papers to receive up to 10 bonus points.

Field Observation/Participation

This 10 hours of observation/participation must be in an infant/toddler setting. Each student is required to keep journal/reflections of his or her work, write or list all activities he or she observed and participated in observation sheet supplied by instructor. The observation sheets must be submitted with summary of the 10 hours observation based on your journal/reflection by the due day.

Small Group Curriculum Activities

This will be assigned and discussed bi-weekly. Each group will be responsible for curriculum Web and plan activities in the following areas – Dramatic, Sensory/Art, Curiosity, Literacy, Music, Movement, Outdoor, Project, and Parent Participation Possibilities.

Exams

There will be two exams, midterm and final, which will consist of all materials covered.

Note: All assignments must be written with 12-size font and double-spaced. All assignments must be submitted on due dates. Late submission of assignments will result penalty. Each group may creatively develop a portfolio for small group activity/project E above. The portfolio may be shared among the groups by posting them on the Discussion Board (Bonus, 10 points).

Course Outline

Weeks

Topics

Assignments

Week 1, 1/22-1/28

Orientation and Introduction

Purchase textbook

Small group formation

Orientation

- Get familiar with WebCT interface

Discussions
- Introduction (5 pts)

- Week 1 Discussions (5 pts)

Week 2, 1/29 – 2/4

Chapter 1 Innovations: Infant and Toddler Development

Read Chapter 1
Discussions-Chapter 1

Due 2/4

Week 3, 2/5 – 2/11

Week 4, 2/12 – 2/18

Chapter 2 Separating from Parents and Transitioning to School

Read Chapter 2
Discussions – Due 2/11

Group activities – Due 2/18

Week 5, 2/19 – 2/25

Week 6, 2/26 – 3/4

Chapter 3 Connecting with School and Teacher and Making Friends

Read Chapter 3
Discussions – Due 2/25

Group activities – Due 3/4

Week 7, 3/5 – 3/11

Week 8, 3/12 – 3/18

Chapter 4 Relating to Self and Others and Exploring Roles

Read Chapter 4
Discussions – Due 3/11

Group activities – Due 3/18

Week 9, 3/19 – 3/25

Spring Break

No Assignment

Week 10, 3/26 – 4/1

Week 11, 4/2 – 4/8

Chapter 5 Communicating with Parents, Teachers, and Friends

Midterm Exam (Ch1 - Ch4) – Due 4/1

Read Chapter 5
Discussions – Due 4/1

Group activities – Due 4/8

Week 12, 4/9 – 4/15

Week 13, 4/16 – 4/22

Chapter 6 Moving Around and Problem Solving

Read Chapter 6

Discussions – Due 4/15

Paper outline – Due 4/15

Group activities – Due 4/22

Week 14, 4/23 – 4/29

Week 15, 4/30 – 5/6

Chapter 7 Expressing Feelings with Parents, Teachers, and Friends

Read Chapter 7

Discussions – Due 4/29

Group activities – Due 5/6

Week 16, 5/7 – 5/13

Semester Wrap-up

Research Paper Due 5/8

Field Observation Due 5/10

Week 17, 5/14 – 5/20

Final exam

Final Exam (Ch5-Ch7) – Due 5/18

Note

The content of this syllabus is TENTATIVE and are subject to change by the professor.

ADA Statement

"Student's with physical or learning disabilities who may require

accommodations are encouraged to contact the Counseling Office. After

disclosing the nature of the disability, students are urged to discuss their

needs with individual instructors. This should be done at the beginning of

each semester. Instructors, in conjunction with appropriate college officials,

will provide assistance and/or accommodations only to those students who

have completed this process."

Academic Standards

At Middlesex Community-Technical College we expect the highest

standards of academic honesty. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in

accordance with the Board of Trustees' Proscribed Conduct Policy in

Section 5.2.1 of the Board of Trustees' Policy Manual. This policy prohibits

cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration on assignments,

unauthorized access to examinations or course materials, plagiarism, and

other proscribed activities. Plagiarism is defined as the use of another's

idea(s) or phrase(s) and representing that/those idea(s) as your own, either

intentionally or unintentionally." (Board of Trustees' Policy 5.2.1)

Bibliography

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Ainsworth, M.D.S., S.M. Bell, & D. Stayton. (1974). Infant-mother attachment and social

development. In The introduction of the child in a social world, ed. M.P. Richards, 197-213. London: Cambridge University Press.

Albrecht, K. (1997). Conferencing with parents of infants and toddlers. Child Care Information Exchange. 116, 51-53.

Albrecht, K. (1997). Welcome to Learning: More babies and toddlers. KinderCare Learning Centers.

Alien, K.E., & L.R. Marotz. (1999). Developmental profiles: Pre-birth through eight.

New York: Delmar.

Aronson, S.S. (1998). Breastfed babies in child care. Child Care Information Exchange, 120, 22-23.

Ball, J, & A. Pence. (1999). Beyond Developmentally appropriate practice: Developing

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Bailey, Becky. (1998). 10 principles of positive discipline. Oviedo, FL: Loving Guidance.

Bailey, Becky. (1997). I love you rituals. Oviedo, FL: Loving Guidance.

Bellis, M. (1999). Look before you loop. Young Children, 54 (3), 80-83.

Blecher-Sass, H. (1997). Good-byes can build trust. Young Children, 52(7), 12-15.

Cataldo, C. (1983). Infant and toddler programs. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Catlin, C. (1996). More toddlers together: The complete planning guide for a toddler curriculum, volume II. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House.

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University of New York Press.

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Miller, K. (2000). Ages and stages. West Palm Beach, FL: TelShare.

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