Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | COM-1015-VO01 - Communication in the Early Childhood Education & 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

CCV 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 placed on active listening, observation, reporting, and the use of clear language in interpersonal and small group situations.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe and apply effective and professional communication skills with children and adults, including reflective listening, assertiveness, negotiation, and conflict resolution.
2. Evaluate and practice communication strategies to support respectful, reciprocal relationships with families, colleagues, and community partners, including advocacy and confidentiality.
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.
4. Describe and practice communication strategies to support diverse children and families, including those with diverse abilities and special needs.
5. Examine and practice written and oral communication strategies to engage families and communities in children’s development and learning.
6. Describe common roles for participants in team and small group activities and develop strategies for decision making.
7. Demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication skills with varied and diverse audiences in the early childhood education workplace.
8. Reflect on one’s own communication style and develop strategies for improved communication skills based on individual professional goals.
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 IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

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

Spring 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2023-11-06. 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.

Methods

METHODS:

• In class discussions
• Short written assignments
• Presentations

Evaluation Criteria

Accomplishment of course objectives will be evaluated on the basis of:

1) Class participation (45%) gives the student opportunities to demonstrate mastery of the course content through discussion, in-depth analysis of the content and expression of ideas about the material. Each of the 15 weeks is worth 3 points. Class participation is judged on criteria of attendance, preparation (being up to date on assignments), active participation in discussions (expressing ideas, questioning, showing interest, listening to others, relevant comments, integrating ideas from different sources and scenario-based assessments).

2) Communication Journal (20%) gives the student the opportunity to demonstrate reflection of class materials and how it would be applied in practice.

3) Self-Assessment of Communication (10%) gives the student the opportunity to demonstrate learning in communication skills, and a plan to learn more. This assignment will be graded using the CCV Oral Communication Rubric.

4) Presentation on a Communication Strategy (15%) gives the student an opportunity to explore a little deeper into a communication strategy that they are interested in, or that they want to gain more skill in. This assignment will be graded using the CCV Oral Communication Rubric.

5) Letter to a legislator (10%) gives the student an opportunity to practice how to advocate on an issue important to them, while using the communication skills 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/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
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