COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is designed to equip educators with the knowledge, strategies, and skills necessary to support the holistic development of children across various age groups. This course encompasses a wide range of topics essential for fostering a positive learning environment and promoting children's growth and well-being.

In Section A, participants will delve into the requirements of the National Quality Standard and related regulations and laws governing early childhood education. They will explore how childhood development aligns with the learning framework used in educational services, drawing from authoritative and credible sources of information. The importance of fostering curiosity and discovery as positive learning dispositions will be emphasised, along with child development theories, early brain development, major developmental milestones, and the interrelation of developmental domains. Participants will also learn about influences on development, variations in development, inclusive practices, other theories of early childhood learning, literacy development principles, aspects and impacts of curriculum planning cycles, and strategies to support children's development across domains while adhering to service standards, policies, and procedures.

Section B focuses on practical strategies and approaches for promoting children's development across various domains. Participants will learn to identify and support emerging physical skills, use daily routines for skill acquisition, encourage physically active play, promote social interactions, foster responsibility for health and well-being, model care and empathy, facilitate effective communication and collaboration, encourage problem-solving and exploration, value linguistic heritage, promote language and literacy development, foster resilience, acknowledge achievements, support emotional regulation, and encourage meaningful interactions between children.

In addition, participants will learn how to support the holistic learning and development of children of different ages by creating and implementing experiences that collectively provide opportunities for physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and communication development. The focus will be on creating a nurturing and stimulating environment that fosters growth, curiosity, and learning across multiple domains.

By the end of this course, participants will be well-equipped to promote children's holistic development and create enriching learning experiences that support their growth, well-being, and success in early childhood education.

This course is designed to align with the content outlined in the Nationally Recognised Unit of Competency CHCECE035.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand the following topics:

Section A: Knowledge

·       Requirements of the National Quality Standard and related regulations and laws

·       How childhood development links to the learning framework used in the service

·       Authoritative and credible sources of information about childhood development

·       Importance of curiosity and discovery as positive learning dispositions

·       Child development theory

·       Early brain development and importance for future educational success

·       Major developmental milestones from birth to 6 years

·       How the different developmental domains are interrelated and how this informs a holistic approach

·       Influences on development

·       Variations in development

·       Development in the context of inclusive practice

·       Other theories of early childhood learning

·       Physiological responses experienced by children when responding to situations

·       Principles of literacy development

·       Aspects and impacts of the following in early childhood development

·       Curriculum Planning Cycle

·       Strategies to Support Children's Development Across Domains

·       Symbol systems

·       Service standards, policies and procedures

Section B: Performance Tasks

·       Identify and use opportunities to support the emerging physical skills of individual children.

·       Use daily routines as opportunities to support children to acquire and practise skills.

·       Select and arrange equipment that will develop fundamental movement skills, fine and gross motor skills.

·       Encourage challenge, choice and spontaneity in physically active play.

·       Support children to take increasing responsibility for their own health and wellbeing through positive communication and information sharing.

·       Encourage children to engage in play and social experiences with other children.

·       Provide developmentally appropriate support and information that helps children understand and accept responsibility for their own actions.

·       Provide opportunities for one-to-one and large and small group interactions.

·       Model care, empathy and respect for children, educators and families.

·       Support children when they are having difficulty understanding or communicating with each other.

·       Model language that children can use to express ideas, negotiate roles and collaborate to achieve goals.

·       Use communication and modelling that encourages children to respect and value each other’s individual differences.

·       Provide children with strategies to make informed choices about their behaviours appropriate to their level of understanding.

·       Assist and encourage children to experience pride and confidence in their achievements.

·       Provide acknowledgement and support if a child experiences frustration and encourage children to see mistakes as an opportunity to learn.

·       Assist children to identify physiological responses to situations and express and regulate feelings appropriately through modelling and guidance.

·       Assist children to develop empathy through identifying and responding to emotions in other people.

·       Support and encourage children to persevere with challenges to assist in building resilience.

·       Share children’s successes with families in informal and formal ways.

·       Select materials, resources, technologies and experiences that support exploration and problem-solving.

·       Provide opportunities that encourage exploration of children’s concepts and ideas.

·       Extend children’s thinking by engaging them in sustained shared conversations.

·       Value the child’s linguistic heritage and encourage the use and acquisition of home languages.

·       Select, read and tell developmentally appropriate stories.

·       Use props to stimulate children’s enjoyment of language and literature.

·       Ask and answer questions during the reading and discussion of books or other text.

·       Provide meaningful opportunities for children to develop pre-writing skills.

·       Model and encourage two-way communication through questions and careful listening.

·       Draw children’s attention to symbols and patterns in their environment and talk about patterns and relationships, including the relationship between letters and sounds.

·       Provide opportunities for group discussions and exchange of views between children.

·       Model language and encourage children to express themselves through language in different contexts and for different purposes.

·       Recognise and promote opportunities for development in multiple areas.

·       Intentionally scaffold children’s learning to foster development.

·       Select and use resources and materials that offer integrated opportunities for challenge, curiosity and discovery.

·       Arrange the environment to encourage interactions between children, as well as accommodating the child’s need for privacy, solitude or quiet.

·       Respond to spontaneous teachable moments as they occur and use them to enhance children’s learning.

·       Support collaboration with colleagues through sharing and seeking of information.

·       Support the holistic learning and development of two children of different ages by creating and implementing experiences that collectively provide opportunities for development in the following areas:

o   physical

o   social

o   emotional

o   cognitive

o   communication

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.

COURSE DELIVERY:

Purchase and download course content.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.