Online Resources
CC&F has developed a range of online services and resources, including online courses and project websites, many of which provide searchable databases and supporting materials such as PowerPoint presentations, research reports, and professional development handouts.
Websites
The features of one of our websites is described below:
The Healthy Child Care Consultant Network Support Center (NSC) supports state leaders by strengthening statewide networks of Child Care Health Consultants (CCHCs). The NSC website includes a National CCHC Registry which serves to link child care providers and CCHCs, State CCHC Profiles that describe CCHC initiatives nationwide, and online resources for child care health professionals, early care and education providers, and state stakeholders. The site features a powerful search wizard that enables users to search the State CCHC Profiles and generate tables that compare features of CCHC systems across states.
Online Courses
Currently, CC&F offers the online course Foundations of Supervision for Early Childhood Managers.
Foundations of Supervision for Early Childhood Managers is a two-credit course designed for child care, Head Start, and prekindergarten program directors and education/managers. The course offers training in effective supervisory techniques that will improve early education in their programs. Undergraduate or graduate credit is granted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
If you're interested in the Foundations of Supervision for Early Childhood Managers course, contact us.
- Course Description
- Prerequisites
- Technical Requirements
- Format
- Schedule
- Cancellation Policy
- Questions?
Course Description
Course participants will learn effective supervisory techniques that will improve early education in their programs.
Topics include:
- The supervisor’s role and supervision systems
- Staff recruitment, hiring, and orientation
- Leadership through communication
- Staff meetings
- Observation and feedback and goal-setting with teachers
- Training and staff development
- Performance appraisal
Participants will:
- Establish personal learning goals related to the course content
- Learn and discuss the underlying principles and tenets of supervision
- Develop a working definition of the role of a supervisor
- Explore the developmental stages of supervisors
- Examine and/or reexamine their own stages of development as supervisors
- Discuss and analyze the developmental stages of the staff they supervise
- Evaluate their supervisory practice and set goals in relation to those they supervise
- Identify ways to use supervision to enhance staff performance
- Learn strategies to support new and experienced employees
- Examine and assess their programs’ supervision systems
Prerequisites
Applicants must meet the following prerequisites:
- Current employment in early education as an education supervisor/manager or center director
- A high school diploma or GED plus college courses in early childhood education
Technical Requirements
- PC or Mac computer
- Printer
- Internet access
- A web browser, such as Netscape or IE. Certain features will be lost if the software is not of a recent version.
- Microsoft Office Products: PowerPoint and Word
- Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the free Acrobat Reader.
Format
Course structure includes:
- Seven sessions, each running from Monday-Sunday
- 3 hours of work per session, totaling 21 hours of instruction
- 1 hour online practice session before the course begins
- 6 hour practicum
- A final assignment package
Learning activities include:
- Web cast/conference call lectures and discussions
- Asynchronous online discussions moderated by the instructor
- Readings
- Individual and partner activities (e.g., case analysis, problem solving)
The course instructor will match partners before the course begins based on job role, years of experience, and child care work setting. Each pair of partners will work on joint activities via e-mail and/or phone, and will share the results of their work in the online discussion area.
Schedule
Practice Session
In this session, participants will:
- Follow instructions to familiarize themselves with the course Web site
- Participate in an online discussion based on the "Finding Common Ground" exercise
Session I: Defining Supervision
- Myths of Supervision
- The Supervisor's Role: Developing a working definition of supervision
- Supervision Systems that Support High Quality Services: Examining eight ways that supervisors influence staff skills, practices, and professionalism
Session II: Recruiting, Hiring, and Orienting New Staff
- Recruiting and Hiring: Revisiting program hiring practices to attract staff with appropriate attitudes, skills, and beliefs
- Orienting New Staff: Using the orientation process to successfully integrate staff into programs
Session III: Communication and Modeling
- Exercising Leadership Through Communication: Exploring ways that supervisors exercise leadership through communicating clearly, treating others with respect, and modeling professional appearance
- One-on-One Meetings: Examining the importance of individual meetings that focus on observation and feedback and goal-setting with teachers
Session IV: Written Communication
- Written Documents: Using written documents to share information and build staff knowledge
Session V: Observation and Feedback
- Supervision Conference: Building knowledge and skill in observing teachers' practice and providing constructive feedback
1 week break for students to complete practicum
Session VI: Professional Development
- Staff Meetings: Using staff meetings as communication and training vehicles
- Performance Appraisal: Exploring the connection between performance appraisal and good supervision and identifying effective appraisal strategies
Session VII: Supervision in Your Workplace
- Supervision in Your Workplace: Learning how to apply a situational model of supervision which analyzes stages of development and corresponding supervisory techniques
- Final Assignment due after Session VII
Cancellation Policy
EDC reserves the right to cancel any course that is underenrolled. If EDC cancels a course, registrants’ payments will be refunded in full.
Participants who need to cancel their registrations must inform us in writing two weeks prior to the course start date, and their payments less a $25 processing fee will be refunded. Participants who do not cancel prior to this cancellation deadline, or who do not participate in the course, may be liable for the entire cost of the course.
Questions?
If you still have questions about the Foundations of Supervision for Early Childhood Managers Online Course, contact us.
