Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. Child growth,
development, and learning: Foundations for all learning are established during
early childhood. Biological-physical, social, cultural, emotional, cognitive,
and language domains are inherently intertwined in growth and development.
Early childhood professionals must understand this process of development and
the adult's role in supporting each child's growth, development, and learning.
(1) Incorporate understanding of
developmental stages, processes, and theories of growth, development, and
learning into developmentally appropriate practice.
(2) Demonstrate knowledge of the interaction
between maturation and environmental factors that influence physical, social,
emotional, cognitive, and cultural domains in the healthy development of each
child.
(3) Demonstrate knowledge of
the significance of individual differences in development and learning.
Demonstrate knowledge of how certain differences may be associated with rate of
development and developmental patterns associated with developmental delays or
specific disabilities.
(4)
Demonstrate knowledge of the similarities between children who are developing
typically and those with diverse abilities.
(5) Provide a variety of activities that
facilitate development of the whole child in the following areas:
physical/motor, social/emotional, language/cognitive and adaptive/living
skills.
(6) Apply knowledge of
cultural and linguistic diversity and the significance of socio-cultural and
political contexts for development and learning and recognize that children are
best understood in the contexts of family, culture, and society.
(7) Demonstrate knowledge of the many
functions that language serves in the cognitive, social, and emotional aspects
of development in the formative years.
(8) Demonstrate knowledge of the
developmental sequence of language and literacy, including the influence of
culture and home factors.
(9)
Demonstrate knowledge of how children acquire and use verbal, non-verbal, and
alternative means of communication.
(10) Demonstrate knowledge of the
relationship among emotions, behaviors, and communication skills to assist
children in identifying and expressing their feelings in appropriate
ways.
(11) Use appropriate guidance
to support the development of self-regulatory capacities in young
children.
B. Health,
safety and nutrition: Early childhood professionals promote physical and mental
health and appropriate nutrition and provide an emotionally and physically safe
environment for young children in partnership with their families. Sound
health, safety, and nutritional practices provide the foundation for
development and learning. Good nutrition is critical to the overall development
of young children. Meals and snacks encourage good nutrition and eating habits.
A safe environment prevents and reduces injuries for young children who are
only beginning to recognize dangerous situations.
(1) Recognize and respond to each child's
physical health, intellectual and emotional well-being, and nutritional and
safety needs.
(2) Articulate an
understanding of indoor and outdoor learning environments that provide
opportunities for children to put into practice healthy behaviors (physically,
socially, and emotionally).
(3) Use
appropriate health appraisal and management procedures and makes referrals when
necessary.
(4) Recognize signs of
emotional distress, child abuse, and neglect in young children and use
procedures appropriate to the situation, such as initiating discussions with
families, referring to appropriate professionals, and, in cases of suspected
abuse or neglect, reporting to designated authorities.
(5) Establish an environment that provides
opportunities and reinforcement for children's practice of healthy behaviors
that promote appropriate nutrition and physical and psychological
well-being.
(6) Provide and assure
a consistent daily schedule for meals, rest, and sleep, as developmentally
appropriate.
(7) Implement health
care and educational activities for children and families based on health and
nutritional information that is responsive to diverse cultures.
(8) Assist young children and their families,
as individually appropriate, in developing decision-making and interpersonal
skills that enable them to make healthy choices and establish health-promoting
behaviors.
C. Family and
community collaboration: Early childhood professionals are committed to
family-centered practices. They maintain an open, friendly, and collaborative
relationship with each child's family, encouraging family involvement, and
supporting the child's relationship with their family. The diverse cultures and
languages representative of families in New Mexico's communities are honored.
(1) Demonstrate knowledge and skill in
building positive, reciprocal relationships with families.
(2) Articulate an understanding of a safe and
welcoming environment for families and community members.
(3) Develop and maintain ongoing contact with
families through a variety of communication strategies.
(4) Demonstrate knowledge of and respect for
variations across cultures, in terms of family strengths, expectations, values,
and child-rearing practices.
(5)
Articulate understanding of the complexity and dynamics of family
systems.
(6) Demonstrate
understanding of the importance of families as the primary educator of their
child.
(7) Demonstrate the ability
to incorporate the families' desires and goals for their children into
classroom or intervention strategies.
(8) Develop partnerships with family members
to promote early literacy in the home.
(9) Involve families and community members in
contributing to the learning environment.
(10) Establish partnerships with community
members in promoting literacy.
(11)
Demonstrate ability to communicate to families the program's policies,
procedures, and those procedural safeguards that are mandated by state and
federal regulations.
(12) Apply
knowledge of family theory and research to understand family and community
characteristics including socioeconomic conditions, family structures,
relationships, stressors, and supports (including the impact of having a child
with diverse abilities), home language and ethnicity.
(13) Demonstrate knowledge of and skill to
access community resources that assist families and contribute directly or
indirectly to children's positive development such as mental health services,
health care, adult education, native and English language instruction, and
economic assistance.
D.
Developmentally appropriate content: Early childhood professionals demonstrate
knowledge of child development and learning, as well as content knowledge, both
in terms of academic disciplines and in terms of interdisciplinary integration.
Their approach to curriculum content emerges from multiple sources, such as
play and exploration, and is appropriate for the ages and developmental levels
of the children with whom they work. Content includes, but is not limited to,
the arts, literacy, mathematics, physical education, health, social studies,
science, and technology. Children's initial experiences with these content
areas form the foundation for later understanding and success.
(1) Demonstrate knowledge of relevant content
for young children and developmentally appropriate ways of integrating content
into teaching and learning experiences for children from birth to four years of
age.
(2) Demonstrate the
integration of knowledge of how young children develop and learn with knowledge
of the concepts, inquiry tools, and structure of content areas appropriate for
different developmental levels.
(3)
Demonstrate knowledge of what is important in each content area, why it is of
value, and how it links with earlier and later understandings within and across
areas.
(4) Demonstrate knowledge of
the language, reading and writing components of emergent literacy at each
developmental level.
(5) Develop,
implement, and evaluate an integrated curriculum that focuses on children's
development and interests, using their language, home experiences, and cultural
values.
(6) Adapt content to meet
the needs of each child, including the development of individualized family
service plans (IFSP) or individualized education plans (IEP) for children with
diverse abilities through the team process with families and other team
members.
(7) Provides and uses
anti-bias materials and literature, and experiences in all content areas of the
curriculum.
E. Learning
environment and curriculum implementation: Teaching and learning with young
children is a complex process embedded in relationships. These teaching and
learning relationships provide the scaffold for jointly constructing meanings
about self, others, and the world. Early childhood professionals use their
child development knowledge, their knowledge of developmentally appropriate
practices, and their content knowledge to design, implement, and evaluate
experiences that promote optimal learning and development for all children from
birth to eight years of age. In addition, their use of observations is grounded
in a thorough understanding of children's families, cultures, and communities.
Early childhood professionals encourage young children's problem solving,
critical thinking, and academic and social competence within a supportive and
challenging learning environment. These challenging teaching and learning
experiences build children's confidence in themselves as competent learners.
(1) Demonstrate knowledge of varying program
models and learning environments that meet the individual needs of all young
children, including those with diverse abilities.
(2) Create environments that encourage active
involvement, initiative, responsibility, and a growing sense of autonomy
through the selection and use of materials and equipment that are suitable to
individual learning, developmental levels, diverse abilities, and the language
and cultures in New Mexico.
(3)
Demonstrate knowledge and skill in the use of developmentally appropriate
guidance techniques and strategies that provide opportunities to assist
children in developing positive thoughts and feelings about themselves and
others through cooperative interaction with peers and adults.
(4) Create and manage inclusive learning
environments that provide individual and cooperative opportunities for children
to construct their own knowledge through various strategies that include
decision-making, problem solving, and inquiry experiences.
(5) Demonstrate understanding that each
child's creative expression is unique and can be encouraged through diverse
ways, including creative play.
(6)
Plan blocks of uninterrupted time for children to persist at self-chosen
activities, both indoors and outdoors.
(7) Demonstrate understanding of the
influence of the physical setting, schedule, routines, and transitions on
children and use these experiences to promote children's development and
learning.
(8) Use and explain the
rationale for developmentally appropriate methods that include play, small
group projects, open-ended questioning, group discussion, problem solving,
cooperative learning, and inquiry experiences to help young children develop
intellectual curiosity, solve problems, and make decisions.
(9) Create and manage a literacy-rich
environment that is responsive to each child's unique path of
development.
(10) Use a variety of
language strategies during adult-child and child-child interactions and
facilitate communication and dialogue of expressive language and
thought.
(11) Demonstrate a variety
of developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that facilitate the
development of emergent literacy skills.
(12) Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally
appropriate uses of technology, including assistive technology.
(13) Demonstrate the ability to work
collaboratively with educational assistants, volunteers, and others to
individualize the curriculum and to meet program goals.
(14) Demonstrate effective written and oral
communication skills when working with children, families, and early care,
education, and family support professionals.
F. Assessment of children and evaluation of
programs: Early childhood professionals must develop knowledge of diverse
assessment approaches, including observational skills. They use appropriate
ongoing documentation and report information to families and professionals.
Appropriate early childhood assessment is responsive to cultural and linguistic
differences. It includes information from multiple sources, e.g., observations,
checklists, interviews, and both formal and informal standardized measures in
diverse settings for making educational decisions about children. The
assessment data gathered from multiple sources that has a major impact on
children should be made by a team of family members, teachers, and other
professionals. In addition, early childhood professionals engage in systematic,
ongoing evaluation of their programs.
(1)
Demonstrate ability to choose valid tools that are developmentally, culturally,
and linguistically appropriate; use the tools correctly; make appropriate
referrals; and interpret assessment results, with the goal of obtaining valid,
useful information to inform practice and decision-making.
(2) Demonstrate knowledge of maintaining
appropriate records of children's development and behavior that safeguard
confidentiality and privacy.
(3)
Demonstrate knowledge of the educator's role as a participating member of the
assessment process as described and mandated by state and federal regulations
for Individual family service plans (IFSP) and individual education plans
(IEP).
(4) Demonstrate an
understanding of the influences of environmental factors, cultural/linguistic
differences, and diverse ways of learning on assessment outcomes.
(5) Involve the family and, as appropriate,
other team members in accessing the child's development, strengths, and needs
tin order to set goals for the child.
(6) Articulate an understanding of the
distinctions and definitions of assessment concepts (e.g. authentic, screening,
diagnostic assessment, standardized, testing, accountability,
assessment).
(7) Apply
understanding of assessment concepts toward selection of appropriate formal
assessment measures, critiquing the limitations of inappropriate measures, and
discussing assessment issues as part of interdisciplinary teams.
(8) Articulate an understanding that
responsible assessment is legally and ethically grounded and guided by sound
professional standards. It is collaborative and open with the goal of
supporting diverse children and families.
(9) Demonstrate knowledge of assessment
techniques, interpretation of assessment information in the application of this
data to curriculum development or intervention planning.
(10) Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of
techniques and procedures to evaluate and modify program goals for young
children and their families.
(11)
Demonstrate knowledge and use of program evaluation to ensure comprehensive
quality of the total environment for children, families, and the
community.
(12) Use both self and
collaborative evaluations as part of ongoing program evaluations.
G. Professionalism:
Professionalism is built upon individual integrity, responsibility, and ethical
practices that demonstrate a profound respect for all children and their
families. Early childhood professionals embrace a multicultural perspective
that is responsive to individuals in culturally diverse communities in New
Mexico. Professionals make decisions based upon knowledge of early childhood
theories and practices that recognize diversity of ability, developmental
level, and family characteristics. Early childhood professionals advocate for
excellence in early childhood programs and participate in ongoing professional
development to enhance their knowledge and skills.
(1) Adhere to early childhood professional
codes of ethical conduct and issues of confidentiality.
(2) Demonstrate knowledge of federal, state,
and local regulations and public policies regarding programs and services for
children birth to eight years of age.
(3) Demonstrate understanding of conditions
of children, families, and professionals; the historical and current issues and
trends; legal issues; and legislation and other public policies affecting
children, families, and programs for young children and the early childhood
profession.
(4) Demonstrate
critical reflection of one's own professional and educational practices from
community, state, national, and global perspectives.
(5) Demonstrate understanding of the early
childhood profession, its multiple, historical, philosophical and social
foundations, and how these foundations influence current thought and
practice.
(6) Demonstrate a
commitment to leadership and advocacy for excellence in programs and services
for young children and their families.
(7) Demonstrate knowledge in technology
resources to engage in ongoing professional development.
H. Advanced child development knowledge.
(1) Demonstrate and facilitate conceptual
understanding of family roles in the development of their infant and toddler,
including support for family acquisition of knowledge concerning infant and
toddler's growth, learning, and development and cultural and linguistic
diversity represented within the home setting.
(2) Apply theoretical knowledge of and
ability to provide screening and assessment unique for infants and
toddlers.
(3) Demonstrate ability
to work collaboratively as an advocate with families and IFSP and IEP team
members to provide developmentally supportive environment.
(4) Demonstrate conceptual understanding of
curriculum development and implementation for children birth to four years of
age and the ability to articulate theoretically-based rationale for differences
between infant/toddler curriculum and learning environments, and for children
older than four.
(5) Articulate and
demonstrate conceptual understanding of respectful, responsive, and reciprocal
interactions that serve as basis for infant/toddler curriculum and learning
environments.
(6) Articulate and
apply coherent theoretical knowledge and understanding of young children's
characteristics and needs as encompassing multiple, interrelated areas of
children's development and learning - including physical, cognitive, social,
emotional, language, and aesthetic domains, play, activity, and learning
processes, and motivation to learn.
(7) Apply a conceptual understanding of the
multiple influences on development and learning to working with children,
including cultural and linguistic contexts for development, children's close
relationships with adults and peers, economic conditions of children and
families, health status and disabilities, children's individual developmental
variations and learning styles, opportunities to play and learn, technology and
the media, and family and community characteristics.
I. Curriculum and content knowledge.
(1) Demonstrate content knowledge (e.g., art,
music, movement, science, math, literacy, social studies, and technology) and
familiarity with a wide variety of resource in academic disciplines and apply
that knowledge in the development, implementation, and evaluation of
curriculum.
(2) Demonstrate skill
in collaboration with professionals from other disciplines (e.g., mental
health, psychology, speech and language, occupational therapy) when planning
curriculum and teaching strategies for young children in diverse
abilities.
(3) Demonstrate an
understanding and application of flexible teaching approaches that span a
continuum from child-initiated to adult-directed and from free exploration to
scaffolded support or teacher modeling.
(4) Apply understanding of young children's
need for balance, order, depth, variety, and challenge through curriculum
planning, routines, and scheduling (e.g., daily, weekly, and
longer-term).
(5) Link child
characteristics, needs, and interests with informal opportunities to build
children's language, concept development, and skills.
(6) Apply knowledge to create environments
that enrich and extent children's play including intervention strategies (i.e.,
questioning), respect of cultural diversity and gender equity.
(7) Support a position of the fundamental
importance of play in young children's learning and development from birth to
four years of age.
(8) Demonstrate
sound knowledge and skills in using technology as a teaching and learning
tool.
(9) Demonstrate the ability
to promote positive social interactions and engage children in learning
activities while actively working to increase social and emotional competence
of all children.
(10) Demonstrate
the ability to analyze and critique early childhood curriculum experiences in
terms of the relationship of the experiences to the research base and
professional standards.
(11)
Establish priorities for high-quality and meaningful language and pre-literacy
experiences across the developmental continuum, using language, pre-reading and
pre-writing to facilitate skill development while strengthening children's
cultural identity.
(12) Demonstrate
knowledge of second-language acquisition and bilingualism including the
diversity of home language environments.
(13) Facilitate family involvement so that
families are engaged with curriculum planning, assessing of children's
learning, and planning for children's transitions to new programs.
(14) Establish integrated experiences (art,
music, movement, science, math, literacy, social studies, and technology)
across a developmental continuum.
(15) Demonstrate conceptual knowledge of the
principles and standards derived from professional organizations (Zero to
Three, NAEYC, DEC) for curriculum-decision making.
(16) Demonstrate the use of reflective
practice.
