Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | COM-1015-VO02 - 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

Stephannie Peters
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.

Spring 2024 textbook 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-VO02 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

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/Content

• small and large group discussions
• scenario-based assignments
• peer presentations
• reflection/application papers

Evaluation Criteria

Completion Requirements

· completes all reading assignments

· participates in class discussions and scenario-based experiences

· completes all written and discussion assignments

· successfully completes mid-term project

· successfully completes final assignments

This is a “fully online course” which requires you to log in multiple times each week in order to meet deadlines. Attendance in this course requires timely Discussion board postings and participation in class activities. To be considered “present” and attending the class you must participate fully in the online discussions. If you do not participate in a week’s discussion board(s), you will be marked “absent”.

o More than 3 absences (20% of classes), you will NOT pass the course.

Criteria for Evaluation:

· 40% Class Engagement/Participation – includes all group/class discussion boards

• The “week” for the class is Monday (12:01am) – Sunday (11:59pm).
• Assignments are due by Sunday (11:59pm)
• All initial posts are due Thursday (11:59pm) with response posts due Sunday (11:59pm).
• See each discussion board for specific expectations, but typically will require 1 initial post and at least 2 responses to peers. Posts should be significant (several sentences each and where appropriate, include references to relevant materials).
• Most weeks will have 2 - 3 required discussion boards

o Engagement Grade (discussion posts) – 4 possible points each week:

§ 4 = completed all assigned initial & response posts. All met specifics assigned/were significant (several sentences each and where appropriate, included references to relevant materials).

§ 3 = completed all assigned initial & response posts. A few were missing some specifics assigned/not significant

§ 2 = missing several posts and/or many posts not significant/missing specifics

§ 1 = missing many posts and/or not significant

§ 0 = very minimal or no participation

• 25% Reflection/Application Papers (see rubric)

· 15% Formal presentation that demonstrates proficiency using the CCV Oral Communication Rubric. This will be a posted video presentation with a visual (powerpoint, prezi, etc.) (see specific assignment handout & CCV rubric). Topic will be assigned.

· 10% Mid Term (scenarios)

· 10% Final Assignment (reflect on learning)

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

· Attendance & Participation

o This is a “fully online course” which requires you to log in multiple times each week in order to meet deadlines. Attendance in this course requires timely Discussion Board postings and participation in class activities. To be considered “present” and attending the class you must participate fully in the online discussions. If you do not participate in a week’s discussion board(s), you will be marked “absent” and received a “0” for the week’s discussion grade

o More than 3 absences, you will NOT pass the course.

o Engagement Grade (discussion board posts) – 4 possible points each week:

§ 4 = completed all assigned initial & response posts. All met specifics assigned/were significant (several sentences each and where appropriate, included references to relevant materials).

§ 3 = completed all assigned initial & response posts. A few were missing some specifics assigned/not significant

§ 2 = missing several posts and/or many posts not significant/missing specifics

§ 1 = missing many posts and/or not significant

§ 0 = very minimal or no participation

o The “week” for the class is Monday (12:01am) – Sunday (11:59pm).

o Assignments are due by Sunday (11:59pm) unless otherwise noted

o All initial posts are due Thursday (11:59pm) with response posts due Sunday (11:59pm) unless otherwise noted

§ See each discussion board for specific expectations, but typically will require 1 initial post and at least 2 responses to peers. Posts should be significant (several sentences each and where appropriate, include references to relevant materials).

Missing & Late Work Policy

· Class discussions are due that week. After 11:59pm on Sunday, discussion board posts will not be accepted or counted.

· Work submitted is due by 11:59pm on Sunday. It is expected that work will be submitted on time. Work turned in after the due date will lose 25% of possible points and will not be accepted more than 1 week after the due date. As semesters go quickly, it is difficult to keep up when you’re also catching up, so please keep current with your assignments.

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