Professional Development for Your Staff
In this section you will find information that can be useful when considering professional development for your teachers, assistant teachers and other center staff.
- EIP Scholarships for the Individualized Training Program
- Graduate Course in Early Childhood Offered in Italy: 10 Pacini Scholarships are available
- High Speed Life-Long Learning
- Teaching Math with Music
EIP Scholarships for the Individualized Training Program
The Individualized Training Program (ITP) can be used for any individual who works with children to get high quality technical assistance/training. If developed appropriately, it can provide subjects with great comprehension and can result in high quality care.
The ITP is a type of noncredit-bearing training that the Educational Incentive Program (EIP) will consider for scholarship purposes and must contain the following components:
- Self-assessment by the child care provider and pre and post observation by the trainer AND
- One-on-one training of the child care provider at the provider’s child care work site AND
- Program evaluation
Any organization wishing to offer an Individualized Training Program to child care providers, thereby allowing the provider a higher level of scholarship through EIP must comply with the following requirements:
- Use a validated assessment tool (for example: Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale- ECERS, Harms and Clifford). The participant will use it as a self-assessment tool and the trainer will use it as an observation tool before individualized training begins. This will become the basis of discussion and training to improve competence by the end of the Individualized Training Program. The trainer will do a final observation at the end of the program using the same tool to determine relative improvement. For providers who do not read or write English, the bi-lingual field trainer will be the only participant in the pre and post observation process. There can be no self-assessment (if ECERS is used.) The trainer must provide documentation that training on the use of the tool was received.
- Specified documentation must be submitted to EIP for pre-approval from each organization wanting to offer an Individualized Training Program that accepts EIP scholarships from its participants as a funding source.
- 20% of the total training hours may be used in group care settings . This training may happen during non-child care hours to assist with discussion of confidential information. A maximum of three ITP participants from the same room/group may be trained together. An individual may also use up to 20% of his/her time to obtain training in non-child care hours for the same purpose.
If you are interested in taking advantage of the ITP scholarships offered by the EIP, you can visit the SUNY Training Strategies Group website and download the “EIP Individualized Training Program Pre-Approval Packet and Directions”
The EIP has also made available a Technical Assistance Paper 
for those organizations interested in the Individualized Training Program Development.
For more information please contact Patricia Wilson or Colleen O'Grady at 518-443-5940 .
Graduate Course in Early Childhood Offered in Italy: 10 Pacini Scholarships Available
The School of Education at St. John´s University is again offering the three credit graduate program in Early Childhood Education in Italy this summer. 10 Pacini scholarships are being offered. The program gives graduate students the opportunity to explore the relationships between italian culture, history, art and their influence on early childhood education.
All early childhood teachers and administrators are eligible to apply. Applicants must have a bachelor´s degree in Education or related field. Get More Information
High Speed Life-Long Learning
Laure McNelles in an Exchange Every Day article on February 21, 2006 talks about how life-long learning is valued in many organizations. She mentions that at times our ability to participate in learning opportunities is hampered by our commitment to direct services. This is especially true in the early childhood field, where there is always a priority ahead of professional development.
However, there are many online learning opportunities for adults that are available 24/7. For individuals who want to learn about supported inclusion for children with special needs Ms McNelles recommends registering.
The site offers three comprehensive modules on Positive Behavior Supports, Communication and Adaptations and Accommodations. The website also has tip sheets, tools and interactive workshops... Resources that will support you in the work that you do, the information disseminated to parents and the professional development of the teachers in your center.
Teaching Math with Music
On a free article at www.ChildCareExchange.com, Karen Sawyers and Janet Hutson-Brandhagen, provide some practical suggestions for teachers on how to improve children's math skills through music. Introducing this idea they observe....
"As research reacquaints us with the many benefits of music, we need to be careful not to take music instruction too far with preschoolers. As early childhood educators we know how important it is to meet the children where they are and support them through age-appropriate learning experiences. We should avoid teaching children the fundamentals of music in an overly formal way. Instead, we should provide opportunities for children to explore the world of music in their own way and in their own time. It's important to keep this principle in mind as we set up our classrooms and plan for music activities in the daily routine."
"To set the stage for music learning, each classroom needs a music area where there are rhythm instruments such as tambourines, jingle bells, drums and maracas, and melodic instruments during times of day when they initiate their own activities (such as work time, choice time or play time) as well as during teacher-planned small-and-large-group times. As we work with children throughout the day there are many music activities that we can provide to develop the music-math connection in very natural ways."
Contributed by William Butler-Yeats from Exchange Every Day on February 22,2006.
10 Ways to Foster Parent and Community Involvement
An article on www.earlychildhoodnews.com by Carolyn R. Tomlin emphasizes the importance of family involvement in high quality early childhood programs.Tomlin invites educators, including teachers and directors, to involve everyone in the early learning process by providing 10 wonderful ideas that you can put in practice.
Trying one of these tips can create collaborative relationships between family members, center staff and the entire community that can only benefit young children.
Email: mhayes@fpwa.org