Bachelors Degree - Early Care & Education

2024 Fall Course Info
Child Development - Birth To 3 (Infant/Toddler)Professional DevelopmentPracticum II - Curriculum Development and ImplementationTechnology and Young ChildrenUnderstanding and Adapting for Developmental DifferencesDevelopment of Curriculum for Children Ages Birth to 3Assessing Young Children and their Environments to Enhance DevelopmentPracticum III - Capstone Experience
2024 Summer Course Info
Health, Safety, and NutritionWorking with Families
Course Planner
Information is subject to change.
Please revisit this page again before the semester starts to make sure you have all the current information.
Drops and Refunds:
Students adhere to the drop and refund policies and deadlines of their home university.
Course Information
Practicum I - Child Observations in Classroom Environments
Course Description
Practicum I is an opportunity for university students to have a guided learning experience in a professional agency that provides services to children and families. Experiences and projects at the practicum site provide practicum students with opportunity to use and implement theories and practices learned in other ECEMS classes. Topics of this practicum include professionalism, development of the classroom environment, use of observation and assessment strategies, communication with respect for children, confidentiality for children and families, and guidance strategies for social and emotional development. NOTE: This course can only be taken after the successful completion of pre-Practicum I courses. Students enroll in Practicum I through their home university. This course has 120 contact hours, or approximately 8-10 hours of work per week. OPTION: Practicum I Waiver A Practicum I waiver is available for consideration for paid lead teachers, instructional assistants, and paraprofessionals who have had one or more years of experience in an early childhood setting in the last three years. A student completes the Great Plains IDEA ECEMS Petition to Waive Practicum I and returns it to the GP IDEA Practicum Coordinator at least eight weeks prior to the semester in which Practicum I is to be completed. The decision regarding each request is based on the supporting documentation and is made by a committee of faculty members and must have the approval of the home university academic advisor. If the Practicum I waiver is approved, the student will need to substitute 3 credit hours or transfer in an additional 3 hours of course work.
Contacts
Instructor

Michelle Mathews
Office: 573-884-6800
MathewsM@missouri.edu

Campus Coordinator

For course access questions, contact the teaching university’s campus coordinator. For enrollment questions, contact your home university campus coordinator.
View the Campus Coordinator Directory >>

Disability Support Services

To request accommodations for this course, contact the disability support office at your home university. You must register each semester and for each course. Read more about the Great Plains IDEA process for requesting accommodations.

Textbooks

Not Required

Course Access

Approximately two weeks before the first day of class at MU, the MU Campus Coordinator will email course access information to students for courses taught by MU. Using the instructions and information in the email, students will be able to activate their Canvas at Mizzou and MU email account. Instructors may restrict course access until the first day of class.

Students needing assistance with setting up their account should contact the MU IT Help Desk at 573-882-5000. If students haven’t received the course access information email, please reach out to the MU Campus Coordinator at mumzonidea@umsystem.edu.

Exam Proctor

This course does not require an exam proctor.

Synchronous Components

This course does not include synchronous components.

Faculty
University Members
Members of the Great Plains IDEA are universities accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Member universities recruit, admit and graduate students, teach in an academic program and contribute to the leadership and maintenance of the alliance. Membership in the alliance is a selective process that engages institutional leadership at all levels.
More about our members »

Reuel Drilon is a student in the gerontology and aging studies program.As a non-traditional college student in my early 50s, living and working in the Pacific Island of Guam, choosing the right program for graduate studies was very important to me. The process of selecting the right program was intentional – it had to offer a diverse student population, professors with real-life experiences, a safe space to share cultural perspectives, and a curriculum that offered classes that were aligned with students’ educational and professional goals. The Great Plains IDEA program met and exceeded all my expectations. Concepts from every course have been applied in my profession to the extent that it has aided in the expansion of our services and the population we serve. As I reflect on these successes, I attribute much of it to the genuine care of the GP IDEA professors who were as passionate about the success of each student as they were in the subjects they taught. GP IDEA was definitely the right program for me!

– – Reuel C. Drilon, Gerontology and Aging Studies Graduate Student,
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