Criteria for Coursework or Material Inclusion on Early Educator Central

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Early Educator Central is an online portal developed to support infant toddler educators. The site is a jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care, and Office of Head Start. Early Educator Central promotes infant-toddler educators gaining degrees and credentials using existing federally funded resources. This site provides an index of coursework to support infant-toddler educators, including center- and home-based/family child care teachers. The coursework offered on the site is at low or no cost. To build on the site’s links to professional development offerings, links to professional development providers offering additional coursework or material that meets the criteria listed below will be added to the site.by offering direct links to the PD provider’s learning management system.

Overarching principle for inclusion on Early Educator Central:

For coursework or training to be included on the EEC Website, the subject matter should be:

  1. Relevant, developmentally appropriate, and follow best practice for the delivery mode of the session
  2. Session module(s) should support professionals along on their individual career pathways by offering continuing education credits, college course credit, or training hours in content aligned with state or nationally awarded credentials.

Step One: Review and check off the characteristics below that your professional development meets:

If your professional development meets each of the criteria above, please proceed to Step Two.

Step Two: Complete the following by checking yes or no in the last column of the Decision Making Matrix below. Add any additional comments in the same space.

Component Criteria Scoring & Comments
Approvals Required* Has the course or material been developed with federal partners (ACF, DOD, DOE etc.) to ensure that content is of high quality and has gone through some level of federal vetting process, OR Has been created at the national, state, or regional level, OR Has been reviewed by national, state, regional, or another recognized entity? Are the vetted materials available as public domain?
Do courses/materials support an element of the infant toddler or early childhood career and support the workforce to meet state or national standards? (10 points)
Has the course been accepted for national or state credential or state quality standards and supports progress along a career pathway? (10 points)
Content Required* Is the course content or material designed for one of the four EEC audiences: Teacher, Director, Trainer/Coach, State Leaders including PD System Directors and Higher Education Faculty and Curriculum Developers? If so, check the required box and proceed to the next question. (Required)
Does the course content follow adult learning theory principles; material written to be accessible for intended audience? (10 points)
Required* Does the course or material reference evidence or research-base as its foundation? If so, check the required box to the right and attach an explanation of the research or evidence-base. (Required)
Files must be less than 2 MB.
Allowed file types: txt rtf pdf doc docx.
Does the course content follow the Know-See-Do-Review format with the “Do” portion of the course available through use of appropriate video clips, practice time, and/or other skill-building experiences? (10 point) Is the material user-friendly, providing summaries, bullet points, case studies or scenarios, real-life examples or other content-to-practice applications? (10 points).
Delivery Does the course utilize evidence or research-based practices specific to the delivery mode of the presentation? For example, material is visually appealing and provided in an organized way (e.g., includes an introduction, content, and summary). (20 points)
Does the content or material include strength-based, people-first, and family-friendly language and terminology? (10 points)
Required* Is the course or material accessible and user-friendly? For example, meet disability requirements/guidelines for users; materials organized to meet reader accessibility while maintaining Section 508 compliance? (Required)
Outcomes/Career Pathways Does the course or material move professionals along a career pathway by providing CEUs, helping a participant achieve a credential or earn college course credit? (10 points)
Does the course include a competency based approach to assessment of learning with material that provides an explanation around professional practice or skills-building? (10 points)
Is the language used in materials inclusive of the full range of care situations (e.g., family child care, different types of programs) unless the content has a specific target audience? (20 points)
Material Appropriateness Is the course or material content bias-free? Does it reflect inclusion unless content is written for a specific cultural or linguistic group? (10 points)
Does the course content or materials identify or discuss disabilities or developmental delay? If so, does the content use people-first, strength-based language? 20 points)
Is the term “family” is used in the broadest definition so that kinship care or alternate family patterns are not excluded? (5 points)
Is material provided in multiple languages with directions for use of the site available for each language or comparable materials? (20 points)
Hosting Do course or resource developers agree to share materials and serve as the host site for the content, providing technical assistance for site-related concerns? (Required)
Are courses available on a no-fee or low-cost basis, with any fees primarily for site access or hosting costs; all materials are available in the public domain? (Required)

* The term "material" is used for resource materials and includes documents, journal articles, charts, briefs, etc.

**Course must meet all required fields and score at least 100/175 points to be accepted for inclusion on EEC.

Step Three: Course Information:

Name and Email Address of the Agency or Institution Representative

Please allow up to 60 days for a final decision.

 
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