Date Published: 01/31/2012

Professional Development and Inclusion eNews
An email update from the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion and CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge.

Announcements: New NPDCI Resource: Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Childhood | CONNECT Pre-Institute Workshop at the National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute | Register now for the 2012 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute

Current Online Discussions:  CONNECT Modules

Resources: Upcoming and Recent Presentations | CONNECT Modules

 

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Announcements

New NPDCI Resource on Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Childhood

In a matter of a few short years, RTI has become a familiar phrase in the early childhood field. Because RTI is an emerging practice, it is critical that the early childhood field has a reliable source of information as programs begin to define and implement these practices. NPDCI facilitated a process from September 2009 to December 2011 for gathering national input on RTI from multiple sources (through listening sessions, national experts, work groups). Representatives from three national organizations (The Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the National Head Start Association (NHSA)) were among the participants. NPDCI developed a concept paper, Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Childhood: Building Consensus on the Defining Features, which summarizes what was learned. The paper lists key components of an RTI framework for linking assessment with instruction, and offers considerations for implementation and future directions.
The URL for the concept paper  also links to a collection of related resources on RTI.

Read More: Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Childhood: Building Consensus on the Defining Features

CONNECT Pre-Institute Workshop at the National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute

Join us for a hands-on workshop to learn how you can apply CONNECT Modules into your upcoming courses, seminars and PD events. Content on specific practices such as embedded interventions, transition practices, communication for collaboration, family-professional partnerships, dialogic reading, and tiered instruction will be covered. This interactive workshop will be presented by CONNECT staff as well as faculty and PD provider leaders.

Read more and Register

 

Register now for the 2012 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute in Chapel Hill, NC, May 14-16

For the past decade, the Inclusion Institute has been the “don’t miss” event for individuals to learn and problem solve about early childhood inclusion.  Pre-Institute Workshops with size limits are available for early bird registrants. For more information on the preliminary program, speakers, logistics, and registration, go to http://inclusioninstitute.fpg.unc.edu/

 

 

Current Online Discussions

Your comments are invited!

CONNECT Modules

Using CONNECT Module 5: Assistive Technology Interventions in an Online Course
By Kathy Allen

How have you engaged students to learn about effective practices in an online environment? Kathy Allen from Blue Ridge Community College shares her experience on using CONNECT Module 5 with her students. Read about what she did and share your examples.  Read More and Comment

CONNECT Modules Workshop Discussion Board
by The CONNECT Team

The CONNECT team enjoyed meeting everyone and hearing from people who have used the modules. What steps have you taken since our recent workshops to put your plans into action? Let’s keep the conversation going! Read More and Comment

CONNECTED

CONNECT Module Updates and Tips for Early Childhood Faculty and PD providers

Have you checked out the newly redesigned instructor dashboards?

We hear you and have reorganized and redesigned the instructor dashboards for each module to help you find the resources you need for your teaching. The learner dashboards have also undergone a similar facelift. Come check out the instructor dashboards now.  Read More

 

Like us on Facebook  Get CONNECT Module updates and more via your Facebook account.

 

Resources

Upcoming Presentations

  • CONNECT Modules Workshop at the NC B-K Consortium Meeting, February 3, 2012, 10 am – 12 pm.
  • CONNECT Modules Instructor Introductory Webinar, February 17, 2012.
    This webinar is co-sponsored by ACCESS, NAEYC and the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals.  Look out for registration details in early February.
  • 2012 National Smart Start Conference, April 30 – May 3
    -Addressing Inclusion within Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
    Presenters: Pam Winton, Elena Soukakou, Tracey West
    -Exploring the Professional Development Landscape: Summary from Four States
    Presenters: Megan Cox, Heidi Hollingsworth, Virginia Buysse
    -The Right Stuff: Evidence-based Resources at Your Fingertips
    Presenter: Camille Catlett

Recent Presentations

27th Annual International Conference on Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families, Nov. 17-19, 2011 in National Harbor Maryland: http://www.dec-sped.org/Conference

Zero to Three National Training Institute, Washington, DC, Dec. 10, 2011
http://www.zttnticonference.org/

South Carolina Early Childhood Association Conference
http://www.sceca.org/

CONNECT Modules

  • Module 1: Embedded Interventions:  Instructor Dashboard | Learner Module
    Learn about the practice of embedded interventions to help children participate in a variety of early learning opportunities and environments promoting high quality inclusion.
  • Module 2: Transition: Instructor Dashboard  | Learner Module
    Learn about practices to help support children and families as they transition among programs in the early care and education system.
  • Module 3: Communication for Collaboration: Instructor Dashboard | Learner Module
    Learn about effective communication practices that can be used to promote collaboration with professionals and families in early care and education, and intervention settings.
  • Module 4: Family-Professional Partnerships: Instructor Dashboard | Learner Module
    Learn about building trusting family-professional partnerships when working with families of young children.
  • Module 5: Assistive Technology Interventions: Instructor Dashboard | Learner Module
    Learn about the purpose, use and potential benefits of assistive technology interventions when working with young children.
  • Module 6: Dialogic Reading Practices: Instructor Dashboard | Learner Module
  • Learn about the purpose, use and potential benefits of dialogic reading practices when working with young children.

Upcoming CONNECT Modules

  • Module 7: Tiered Instruction (Spring 2012)

This newsletter is an initiative of the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion,
CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge at the FPG Child Development Institute. Project funding is provided by the Office of Special Education Programs.