Course Syllabus

Fall 2026 | COM-1015-VO01 - Communication in the Early Childhood Education and Afterschool Workplace

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Heather Mattison
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Ashraf Alamatouri

General Education Requirements

Communication

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

In this course, students develop effective communication and relationship-building skills for early childhood education and afterschool workplace settings. The course focuses on building effective communication skills with parents, colleagues, children, youth, and community partners. Emphasis is on active listening, observation, reporting, and the use of clear language in interpersonal and small group situations. This course introduces concepts that are aligned with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Professional Standards for Early Childhood Educators: Standards 2, 4, & 6.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe and apply effective and professional communication skills with children and adults, including reflective listening, assertiveness, negotiation, and conflict resolution. [NAEYC Standard 6c]
2. Evaluate and practice communication strategies to support respectful, reciprocal relationships with families, colleagues, and community partners, including advocacy and confidentiality. [NAEYC Standard 2a, 6a, 6c]
3. Explore factors that influence communication patterns across diverse communities and families, including the impact of culture, personal and family values, language, race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic conditions, stress and trauma, religion, age, and abilities on communication. [NAEYC Standard 2a, 6c]
4. Describe and practice communication strategies to support diverse children and families, including those with diverse abilities and special needs. [NAEYC Standard 2a, 2c, 4c, 6c]
5. Examine and practice written and oral communication strategies to engage families and communities in children’s development and learning. [NAEYC Standard 2b, 6c]
6. Describe common roles for participants in team and small group activities and develop strategies for decision making. [NAEYC Standard 6c]
7. Demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication skills with varied and diverse audiences in the early childhood education workplace. [NAEYC Standard 6c]
8. Reflect on one’s own communication style and develop strategies for improved communication skills based on individual professional goals. [NAEYC Standard 6c, 6d, 6e]
9. Prepare a formal presentation that demonstrates proficiency using the CCV Oral Communication Rubric.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a low cost ($50 or less) textbook or resource class.
This class may require purchase of supplies or materials that are not available through the CCV bookstore. ***

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Fall 2026 textbook/book details will be available on 2026-05-18. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

COM-1015-VO01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

During our class, you may use AI support tools for grammatical support, such as Grammarly. Overall, the assignments in this course are reflective, and AI is not appropriate to use.

Methods

METHODS:

• In class discussions
• Short written assignments
• Presentations

Evaluation Criteria

1) Class participation (45%) allows students to demonstrate mastery of the course content through discussion, in-depth analysis, and expressing ideas about the material. Each of the 15 weeks is worth 3 points. Class participation is evaluated based on attendance criteria, preparation (staying up to date on assignments), and active engagement in discussions (expressing ideas, posing questions, demonstrating interest, listening to others in class, providing relevant comments, integrating ideas from different sources, and participating in scenario-based assessments).

2) The Communication Journal (20%) allows students to demonstrate reflection on class materials and how they can be applied in practice.

3) Self-Assessment of Communication (20%) enables the student to demonstrate learning in communication skills and outline a plan for further development. This assignment will be graded using the CCV Oral Communication Rubric.

4) Writing a Letter to a legislator (15%) allows the student to practice advocating on an important issue while using the communication and plain language skills practiced in class.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Any missed classes will affect your grade. The course is designed to enhance learning through participation and when you miss a class you will miss that learning opportunity. Three or more absences may result in failure of the class. Participation is graded based on active participation in class discussions.

Missing & Late Work Policy

It is expected that assignments will be handed in on time. You can expect your assignments to be returned to you on time, as well, one week after the due date. Assignments will be marked down to half of the points they would have been given if on time if handed in up to a week late. After a week the assignment will receive a zero. This is the policy regardless of the reason the assignment is late.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/student-support/accessibility-services/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.