SCHOOL OF Education 
Virtual Campus 
Mission:  Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learning-focused, and distinctively Christian environment for professional success and service to God and humankind.

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: ECHD 2301 Early Childhood Curriculum and Planning
TERM AND DATES:  Fall 2017 (August 21, 2017 – November 4, 2017)
INSTRUCTOR’S NAME:   Sharon Kern McCall, PhD
OFFICE ADDRESS:  2201 San Pedro NE – Albuquerque, NM 87110        
PHONE   505-323-9282                           
E-MAIL ADDRESS: mccalls@wbu.edu           
OFFICE HOURS: Please contact through Blackboard “Message the Instructor” at any time
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides the theoretical framework, current developmental research, and the background knowledge needed for planning and implementing curriculum.  This includes the creation of activity plans, lesson plans, assessment forms, curriculum webs, room arrangements, puppet usage, and outdoor play.
REQUIRED RESOURCE MATERIALS:  
A.	Beaver, N. (2018). Early Childhood Curriculum: A Child’s Connection to the World (7th Ed).  Cengage Learning. ISBN. 9781337515146
 ~and~
B.	Access to WBU Learning Resources www.wbu.edu/lrc

SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCE MATERIALS:  

Herr, J. (2013). Creative activities for the early childhood classroom (6th Ed). Florence, KY: Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781111831028

COURSE OUTLINE:
•	MODULE ONE: PREPARING FOR LEARNING THROUGH ASSESSMENT, CURRICULUM, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
•	MODULE TWO:  DISCOVERING AND EXPANDING THE EARLY EDUCATION CURRICULUM
•	MODULE THREE:  MOTOR SKILLS, ASSESSMENT, AND DOCUMENTATION
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 
1.	The university student will participate in weekly class sessions (weekly discussions and assignments), read all assigned materials, participate in class activities, and demonstrate professionalism.
2.	The university student will complete and submit all assignments at the appropriate time.
3.	The university student will complete a midterm and a final exam. 
4.	The university student will complete a curriculum study including all required components.
5.	All assigned work must be word-processed (12-point font and double spaced).

COMPETENCIES FOR THIS COURSE (Based on the National Association of Young Children [NAEYC] Standards for Initial Early Childhood Professional Preparation):
1.	STANDARD 1. Promoting Child Development and Learning
2.	STANDARD 2. Building Family and Community Relationships
3.	STANDARD 3. Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support  Young Children and Families
4.	STANDARD 4. Using Developmentally Effective Approaches to Connect with Children and Families 
5.	STANDARD 5. Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum 
6.	STANDARD 6. Becoming a Professional 
Student Learning Outcomes:  
The university student will:
1.	Demonstrate understanding of the young child’s characteristics, needs, and the multiple interacting influences on children’s development and learning when creating environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for each child.
2.	Value the importance and complex characteristics of children’s families and communities. They will demonstrate understanding of the necessity to create respectful, reciprocal relationships that support and empower families, and to involve all families in their children’s development and learning. 
3.	Demonstrate understanding of the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment; the use of systematic observations, documentation, and other effective assessment strategies; the responsive and responsible use of assessments; and the use of assessments in partnership with families and other professionals to positively influence the development of every child. 
4.	Demonstrate understanding of the use of positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation for working with young children and families and the use of a wide array of developmentally appropriate approaches, instructional strategies, and tools to connect with children and families to positively influence each child’s development and learning.  
5.	Demonstrate understanding of the importance of developmental domains and academic (or content) disciplines in early childhood curriculum. Demonstrate knowledge of the essential concepts, inquiry tools, and structure of content areas, identify resources to deepen understanding, and use knowledge and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curriculum that promotes comprehensive developmental and learning outcomes for every young child.
6.	Demonstrate understanding of the use of ethical guidelines and other professional standards related to early childhood practice; develop skills for as a continuous, collaborative learner who demonstrates knowledgeable, reflective, and critical perspectives; make informed decisions that integrate knowledge from a variety of sources; and become informed as an advocate for sound educational practices and policies.
MEANS FOR ASSESSING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OF THE LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Students should login at the beginning of each week to review assignments for the week.  All assignments are due as noted on course calendar unless otherwise announced by the instructor through Blackboard. All assigned work must be word processed and submitted by the due date in order to receive credit.  
 
Assignment	Student
Learning  Outcome(s)	Possible Points	Points Earned	
Weekly Discussions (10 @ 10 points each)	1-6 	100		
Weekly Assignments(10 @ 10 points each)	1-6	100		
Curriculum Study 
•	Curriculum Web                                                   
•	Five Activity/Lesson Plans (20 points each)
•	Presentation of Curriculum Study	1-6	
20
100
30  		
Midterm	1-6	 50		
Final Exam	1-6	100		
                                              Total		500		

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students are expected to participate in all required instructional activities in their courses. Online courses are no different in this regard; however, participation must be defined in a different manner. Student “attendance” in an online course is defined as active participation in the course as described in the course syllabus. Instructors in online courses are responsible for providing students with clear instructions for how they are required to participate in the course. Additionally, instructors are responsible for incorporating specific instructional activities within the course and will, at a minimum, have weekly mechanisms for documenting student participation. These mechanisms may include, but are not limited to, participating in a weekly discussion board, submitting/completing assignments in Blackboard, or communicating with the instructor. Students aware of necessary absences must inform the professor with as much advance notice as possible in order to make appropriate arrangements. Any student absent 25 percent or more of the online course, i.e., non-participatory during 3 or more weeks of an 11-week term, may receive an F for that course. Instructors may also file a Report of unsatisfactory Progress for students with excessive non-participation. Any student who has not actively participated in an online class prior to the census date for any given term is considered a “no-show” and will be administratively withdrawn from the class without record. To be counted as actively participating, it is not sufficient to log in and view the course. The student must be submitting work as described in the course syllabus. Additional attendance and participation policies for each course, as defined by the instructor in the course syllabus, are considered a part of the university’s attendance policy.

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES:  In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is the policy of Wayland Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity in the university.  The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as the coordinator of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation requests at (806) 291-3765. Documentation of a disability must accompany any request for accommodations.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: Through reading of the text and current publications, discussion, and instructor/student demonstrations and presentations, students will develop a better understanding of how to foster children’s development by planning and implementing curriculum.  Virtual class time will be interactive, effective instructional practices will be interwoven with explicit teaching of content by the instructor, and students will be active participants throughout the course.

University Grading System:
A	90-100%		Cr	For Credit*	
B	80-89%		NCR	No Credit	
C	70-79%		I	Incomplete**	
D	60-69%		W	Withdrawal	
F	below 60%		X	No grade given	
			IP	In Progress	
	
*A grade of incomplete is changed if the work required is completed prior to the date indicated in the official University calendar of the next long term, unless the instructor designates an earlier date for completion.  If the work is not completed by the appropriate date, the “I” is converted to the grade of “F”.  An incomplete notation cannot remain on the student’s permanent record and must be replaced by the qualitative grade (A-F) by the date specified in the official University calendar of the next regular term.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Wayland Baptist University places great value on professionalism. Professionalism is a key component to being an effective early childhood teacher, and this semester is your opportunity to demonstrate professionalism. Professionalism will be expected during class time on campus and especially during your experience in an early childhood setting. Additionally, because it is so important for early childhood teachers to communicate ideas effectively to colleagues, parents/families, and administrators writing clear and error-free English is a priority for students in the Wayland School of Education. Therefore, your ability to express your knowledge of educational concepts and theories within the conventions of academic discourse will be assessed through written assignments. Criteria for evaluation will be based on both content and mechanics.  Integration of information from lectures, readings, discussions, and other experiences will be taken into consideration as will correct and appropriate format and construction.

450 – 500 = A		400 – 449 = B		350 – 399 = C		300 – 349 = D		< 300 = F

Students shall have protection through orderly procedures against prejudices or capricious academic evaluation. A student who believes that he or she has not been held to realistic academic standards, just evaluation procedures, or appropriate grading, may appeal the final grade given in the course by using the student grade appeal process described in the Academic Catalog. Appeals may not be made for advanced placement examinations or course bypass examinations. Appeals are limited to the final course grade, which may be upheld, raised, or lowered at any stage of the appeal process. Any recommendation to lower a course grade must be submitted through the Executive Vice President/Provost to the Faculty Assembly Grade Appeals Committee for review and approval. The Faculty Assembly Grade Appeals Committee may instruct that the course grade be upheld, raised, or lowered to a more proper evaluation.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:  Wayland Baptist University students are expected to conduct themselves according to the highest standards of academic honesty. Academic misconduct for which a student is subject to penalty includes all forms of cheating, such as illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, forgery, or plagiarism. (Plagiarism is the presentation of the work of another as one's own work.)  
Disciplinary action for academic misconduct is the responsibility of the faculty member assigned to the course. The faculty member is charged with assessing the gravity of any case of academic dishonesty and with giving sanctions to any student involved. Penalties that may be applied to individual cases of academic dishonesty include one or more of the following:
1. Written reprimand.
2. Requirement to redo work in question.
3. Requirement to submit additional work.
4. Lowering of grade on work in question.
5. Assigning the grade of F to work in question.
6. Assigning the grade of F for course.
7. Recommendation for more severe punishment (See WBU Academic Catalog for further information).

Plagiarism – “The attempt to represent the work of another, as it may relate to written or oral works, computer-based work, mode of creative expression (i.e. music, media or the visual arts), as the product of one's own thought, whether the other's work is published or unpublished, or simply the work of a fellow student.  When a student submits oral or written work for credit that includes the words, ideas, or data of others, the source of that information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific references, and, if verbatim statements are included, through use of quotation marks as well. By placing one’s name on work submitted for credit, the student certifies the originality of all work not otherwise identified by appropriate acknowledgements. A student will avoid being charged with plagiarism if there is an acknowledgement of indebtedness.” 
Source: http://www.spjc.cc.fl.us/webcentral/admit/honesty.htm#plag  

IMPORTANT DATES:
Course Begins:  August 21, 2017  
Last day to drop or withdraw without record/Census Date: September 6, 2017
Last day to ofﬁcially drop or withdraw with “W”:  October 13, 2017
Last day to ofﬁcially drop or withdraw with “WP/WF”:  October 20, 2017
Term Ends: November 4, 2017 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE/COURSE OUTLINE:
The instructor reserves the right to amend the course outline as needed during the course.
Session/
Date	Content	Chapter Readings	Assignments Due	
MODULE ONE: PREPARING FOR LEARNING THROUGH ASSESSMENT, CURRICULUM, AND THE ENVIRONMENT	
(1)
August 21-27 	Review Syllabus, Assignments, and Rubrics; Introductions; 
		Due Sunday,  August 21
Weekly Assignment #1
Discussion #1	
(2)
August 28- September 3	Chapter 1. Starting the Process
	Chapter
1 	Due Sunday,  September 3
Weekly Assignment #2
Discussion #2	
(3)
September 
4-10 	Chapter 2.  Observation & Assessment	Chapter 2
   	Due Sunday, September 10
Weekly Assignment #3
Discussion #3
Curriculum Web	
(4)
September 11-17	Chapter 3.  Creating Curriculum

Chapter 4.  The Learning Environment	Chapters 
3 and 4	Due Sunday, September 17
Weekly Assignment #4
Discussion #4
Activity Plan #1	
MODULE TWO:  DISCOVERING AND EXPANDING THE EARLY EDUCATION CURRICULUM	
(5)
September
18-24	Chapter 5. Language and Literacy
	Chapter 5 	Due Sunday, September 24
Weekly Assignment #5
Discussion #5
Activity Plan #2	
(6)
September 25 – October 1	Chapter 6. Creativity: Art and Music
Chapter 7. The Child’s World: Social Studies and Dramatic Play
	Chapters 
6 and 7	Due Sunday, October 1
Weekly Assignment #6
Discussion #6
Midterm: Chapters 1-6	
(7)
October 2-8-     	Chapter 8. Sensory Play
	Chapter 8 	Due Sunday, October 8
Weekly Assignment #7
Discussion #7
Activity Plan #3	
(8)
October 9-15	Chapter 9.  Science
Chapter 10. Math	Chapters  9 and 10   	Due Sunday, October 15
Weekly Assignment #8
Discussion #8
Activity Plan #4	
MODULE THREE:  MOTOR SKILLS, ASSESSMENT, AND DOCUMENTATION	
(9)
October 
16-22	Chapter 11. Fine Motor and Manipulatives
Chapter 12. Large Motor and Outdoor Play	Chapter 11	Course Evaluation
Due Sunday,  October 22
Weekly Assignment #9
Discussion #9
Activity Plan #5	
(10)
October 
23-29	Chapter 13. Construction: Blocks and Woodworking
Chapter 14. Putting It All Together: Evaluation  and Documentation	Chapter 12	Due Sunday, October 29
Weekly Assignment #10
Discussion #10
Curriculum Study Presentation 	
(11)
October 30 – 
November 4	 
FINAL EXAM		Due Thursday, November 2

FINAL EXAM  	
Thank you in advance for your commitment to the content for this course and the development of skills for enhanced skills for the early childhood curriculum and planning!