Sped 410/510 An Introduction to Infant/Toddler Mental Health (3 credits)
Learn the basics of infant/toddler mental health (ITMH) from an interdisciplinary perspective. Gain knowledge about current research and interventions from the field of infant mental health. Special attention is placed on infant/toddler development, risk factors, assessment methods, prevention/intervention, and collaboration in the field. Also emphasized is the history of ITMH as a field and incorporating ITMH into policies and systems.

CI 410/510 Bilingual Children: Program Models, Assessment, and Classroom Methods (3 credits)
Ages: 2-5
The rapid diversification of our nation brings with it great promise as well as challenges. For early childhood educators, it is imperative that programs be developed that effectively serve all students. This course is an introductory course on culturally and linguistically appropriate instruction, assessment, and development, framed within the context of linking the program to the families. Specific topics include first and second language acquisition, culture and acculturation, culturally appropriate curriculum and assessment, engaging families, and program models that build on the strengths that preschool children, ages 2-5, bring with them from home into the classroom.

CI 510:  Constructivist Curriculum: Big Ideas in ECE,  Ages 3-8
(3 Credits)
In this course you will consider the possibilities of taking a big idea, such as "balance" or "light", and exploring it deeply over time and across the curriculum with preschool and primary age children.  Informed by Chaille's new book, Constructivism across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms: Big Ideas as Inspiration, participants will examine the ways that integrated curriculum and project work support children's learning and foster the connections necessary for them to construct knowledge.  You will have the opportunity to develop resources and design activities related to a particular big idea, and to consider the challenges and rewards of bringing what you learn into your work with young children.

CI 410/510 Early Childhood Classroom Methods: Develop Appropriate Practice That Lends to Measurable Outcomes mentally (3 credits)
Ages: 3 - 5
This course enables teachers to identify and implement components of developmentally appropriate practice. Learn how to plan activities for the individual child, a small group of children, and the class as a whole. Understand how student assessment plays an important part in all aspects of the classroom, including scheduling, curriculum planning, room arrangement, classroom management, and outcome measurement.

CI 410/510 Early Language and Literacy (3 credits)
Ages: 2 - 7
This course introduces students to the issues, ideas, and practices that help young children learn literacy. Examine how literacy grows out of children's experiences with and use of language. Look closely at the role of play in literacy development and how early childhood teachers and caregivers support and influence young children's literacy, share, and create activities that are grounded in current knowledge about children's literacy development.

CI 410/510 Emotional Life of Toddlers and Tweens (3 credits)
Ages: 15 - 36 months
This course explores caregiving practices designed to support learning during this critical period of social and emotional development. Links are made between brain development research and theories to the things that teachers and caregivers do everyday with toddlers. Topics include observation, establishing nurturing relationships, planning secure environments, activities designed to engage very young children, and positive guidance strategies.

CI 410/510 Numeracy Development in Young Children (3 credits)
Ages: focus 3-7
Learn the importance of helping children becoming numerate, which is as vital to success as being literate in the 21st century. Learn how to overcome math anxiety, understand math concepts, and teach for understanding. Know how to facilitate developmentally appropriate activities in the areas of number sense and operations (yes, 4-year-olds can and should learn the basics of algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis, problem solving, communication, and connections). This course is oriented toward teachers of children who are 3-5 years old, but it will be of interest to those who teach slightly younger children as well as kindergartners and first graders. Participants in the course need to have access to children to try out numeracy activities.

CI 410/510 Planning for Children with Challenging Behavior in the Classroom (3 credits)
Ages: 3-5
This course focuses on how to assess challenging behavior and implement effective interventions in the classroom to reduce and/or prevent challenging behavior displayed by young children. This is an introductory course designed to provide students with knowledge on how to analyze a behavior situation from a variety of viewpoints. Students will also learn how to conduct an informal functional behavioral assessment, design a behavioral support plan, and implement various procedures to help children manage their behavior.

CI 410/510 The Young Child as Scientist (3 credits)
Ages: 3-8
In this course developmentally appropriate science for preschool and primary age children is explored. Activities focus on experimentation and problem solving. Using the book by Chaille and Britain, “The Young Child as Scientist,” participants experience and design activities for young children around three questions that derive from traditional science content. They are: Can I make it move?, Can I make it change?, and How does it fit? In the process, they learn more about constructivist teaching and curriculum, particularly as applied to science education.