Rookie Teacher Survival Guide

New teachers in the world of early childhood education can easily become overwhelmed by lesson plans, behavior management, and children's individual needs. This course provides an overview of proper reflective teaching practices, tools to reflect on lesson plan activities, and suggestions for monitoring and encouraging student achievement. Having the right tools as a new teacher provides valuable insight into the world of early education and its many challenges and rewards!

After completing this course, you should be able to:

• Identify proper reflective teaching practices
• Identify age-appropriate development
• Define age-appropriate lesson plan activities
• Recognize steps for student success
• Recognize personal teaching strengths and weaknesses

Module 1 - Reflective Teaching

Module 2 - Child Development and Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Module 3 - Creating the Classroom Environment

Module 4 - Family Engagement and Involvement

Rookie Teacher Survival Guide Module 1

Reflective Teaching

Module one focuses on personal reflection practices by identifying strengths and weaknesses in your teaching style. Setting goals for student learning and recognizing the best way to interact with parents, co-workers and children is vital for a successful career in education. Module one will cover lesson plans, what works and what doesn’t and the best professional development opportunities for your student age group.

• Setting Goals for Learning
• Professional Development
• Lesson Plan Reflection
• Interaction With Parents, Co-Workers and Children
• Personal Reflection: Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Rookie Teacher Survival Guide Module 2

Child Development and Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Module two provides an in-depth look at Erikson's model of childhood development from birth through five years old, as well as ways to recognize correct techniques for dealing with defiance and sharing refusal. Strategies for creating engaging individualized learning opportunities to increase student achievement and appropriate developmental practices will also be covered.

• Birth to Age One: Trust vs. Mistrust
• Age One to Age Three: Autonomy vs. Shame
• Age Three to Age Five: Initiative vs. Guilt
• Defiance, Sharing and Cooperative Play
• Strategies for Individualizing Learning

Rookie Teacher Survival Guide Module 3

Creating the Classroom Environment

Module three discusses building a community environment that provides students with rich and age appropriate experiences and materials by identifying the proper ways for structuring and organizing your classroom. Engaging children in age appropriate curriculum by providing them with a rich learning environment is key to development. We will also discuss navigating conflicts and techniques for negotiating play.

• Developing Learning Spaces
• Scheduling and Transitions
• Curriculum Units
• Building a Community
• Strategies for Resolving Conflict: Language Development

Rookie Teacher Survival Guide Module 4

Family Engagement and Involvement

Module four defines the importance of building trust and a network with both the child and family. We will cover the difficulties of separation anxiety and techniques for dealing with potentially challenging family members. We will also discuss ideas for family engagement in the classroom to foster positive relationships.

• Building Trust With Families
• Separation Anxiety
• Sharing Difficult/Negative Information
• Communication is Key
• Family Engagement Activities

No prerequisites required.

All materials included in course.

Internet Connection

• Broadband or High-Speed - DSL, Cable, and Wireless Connections

*Dial-Up internet connections will result in a diminished online experience. Classroom pages may load slowly and viewing large audio and video files may not be possible.

Hardware Requirements

• Processor - 2GHz Processor or Higher
• Memory - 1 GB RAM Minimum Recommended

PC Software Requirements

• Operating Systems - Windows 10 or higher
• Microsoft Office 2019 or higher. Also, you could use a general Word Processing application to save and open Microsoft Office formats (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx)
• Internet Browsers - Google Chrome is highly recommended
• Cookies MUST be enabled
• Pop-ups MUST be allowed (Pop-up Blocker disabled)
• The Kindle Reader App or VitalSource Bookshelf App are needed for many of our courses (No special equipment needed. This can be downloaded for FREE onto your computer.)
• PowerPoint Viewer (if you do not have PowerPoint)
• Adobe PDF Reader
• QuickTime, Windows Media Player &/or Real Player

MAC Software Requirements

• Operating Systems - Mac OS version 11 or higher
• Mac office programs or a Word Processing application to save and open Microsoft Office formats (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx)
• Internet Browsers - Google Chrome is highly recommended
• Cookies MUST be enabled
• Pop-ups MUST be allowed (Pop-up Blocker disabled)
• The Amazon Kindle Reader App or VitalSource Bookshelf App are needed for many of our courses (No special equipment needed. This can be downloaded for FREE onto your computer.)
• PowerPoint Viewer (if you do not have PowerPoint)
• Adobe PDF Reader
• Apple QuickTime Media Player