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Early Childhood Higher-education Options (ECHO) Consortium II

ECHO Consortium collaboratively supports and enhances development and delivery of programs to meet the standards for the Kansas Early Childhood Unified License. ECHO Goals: Continue ECHO activities, refine coursework, replicate Great Plains model, develop distance education courses.

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Early Childhood Higher-education Options (ECHO) Consortium II

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  1. Early Childhood Higher-education Options (ECHO) Consortium II David P. Lindeman, Ph.D. University of Kansas Life Span Institute

  2. History of ECHO Consortium • Dec. 2001 - KSDE/SIG Grant hosted meeting of IHE Faculty at Washburn University • Spring 2002 - EC IHE Task Force Developed • Spring/Summer 2002 - EC Task Force focused on teacher licensure redesign • July 2002- KSBE approves unified B - Gr.3 license • Fall 2002 - SIG Supplement Proposal Submitted Funded (2/1/03-1/31/04) (no cost extension to 1/31/05) • Fall 2002 - ECHO Group Formalized • January 2003 - ECHO Phase I Awards to IHEs • March 2004 - ECHO Phase II Awards to IHEs • 2004-2005 - Course Development • 2005-2006 - Some Courses Offered • Summer 2006 ECHO II Grant Awards to continue activities

  3. ECHO Vision Statement • The Early Childhood Higher-education Options (ECHO) Consortium collaboratively supports and enhances development and delivery of programs to meet the standards for the Kansas Early Childhood Unified License

  4. ECHO Principles • Commit to the early education of all children from birth through 3rd grade and their families. • Respond to the needs of all higher education students. • Respect individual and institutional differences.

  5. ECHO Principles (continued) • Accept each other as equal partners. • Seek input from all interested stakeholders. • Maximize available resources.

  6. ECHO II Goals Continue ECHO Activities (Meetings, Dissemination, Faculty Training) Continue Refinement of Coursework (Courses Address Teacher Standards) Continue Efforts to Replicate Great Plains Model (Inter-university Collaboration)

  7. Distance Education Courses Developed by ECHO - Working Titles • Intro/Overview of Early Childhood • Diversity • Collaboration • Curriculum/Methods (Infant/Toddler) • Curriculum/Methods (PreK) • Social Competence/Social Development • Math/Science Methods • Literacy/Language Development • Creative Expressions • Assessment of Young Children

  8. Utility of ECHO Courses • Partner program may not offer particular course - but could utilize collaborative offering • Student may be able to fill plan of study in a better sequence or if their home program does not offer a course when needed • Faculty have opportunity to work together and learn from each other • Teachers in the field will have additional options for re-certification/licensure

  9. ECHO Accomplishments • Provide opportunity for IHE EC faculty to meet on an ongoing basis and exchange information and ideas • Supported university redesign of curriculum to address unified early childhood teacher licensure or standards based degree program (8 Programs - Phase I) • Completed a survey of faculty to identify potential course needs • Development of 10 courses by inter-institutional faculty teams to address core program needs (Phase II) • Partnered with FIPSE Grant for project replication • Courses developed under ECHO grant have be taught

  10. Distance Education Courses 2006 Status • Intro/Overview of Early Childhood (taught 2 times) • Diversity (to be taught Summer 06) • Collaboration (taught 1 time) • Curriculum/Methods (Infant/Toddler) (taught 1 time and offered Spring 06) • Curriculum/Methods (PreK) (modules used as components of other courses/full near completion) • Social Competence/Social Development (taught 2 times) • Math/Science Methods (1st draft completed/near completion) • Literacy/Language Development (offered 1 time/not taught low enrollment, to be taught Summer 06) • Creative Expressions (near completion/to be offered Fall 06) • Assessment of Young Children (taught two times)

  11. Current Activities ECHO members serving on Standards Committee for additional EC Licenses ECHO members requested review of Kansas Performance Assessment and relationship to Infant/Toddler and other non classroom based programs

  12. Universities/Colleges with Approved Unified EC Licensure Program Emporia State University Southwestern College University of Kansas Washburn University Wichita State University

  13. ECHO/University Partners • Emporia State University • Fort Hays State University • Kansas State University • Pittsburg State University • Southwestern College • University of Kansas • Washburn University • Wichita State University

  14. Acknowledgement • The ECHO II project is supported by the Kansas State Department of Education through IDEA State Improvement Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of those agencies and no official endorsement should be inferred.

  15. EXTRA SLIDES FOLLOW

  16. Forces That Converged to Create Atmosphere for Change • KSBE vision for the future • teachers should be skilled in teaching all children • A multitude of initiatives in early childhood • Head Start/Early Head Start, TEACH, WAGES, EC Apprenticeship Program,Title 1 Paraprofessionals, PAT, 4yr old at Risk, Universal Pre-K • Teacher redesign in the State of Kansas

  17. Focus of the EC Supplement to Kansas SIG Promote systems change at three levels • Course Level – redesign courses to incorporate the fields of early childhood and early childhood special education • College/University Level – support alliance of regular and special education, support collaboration of infant/toddler/preschool/early elementary faculty, support alliances of multiple departments • State Level – support development of inter-university collaboration in offering course work through distance education efforts

  18. Specific Activities • Make comparisons of course content to new teaching standards– identifying strengths and areas of need • Identify specific courses that can/will be delivered through e-learning opportunities • Identify potentials for common courses/common syllabi to enhance inter-university courses and transfer • Establish collaborative e-learning opportunities

  19. Specific Activities (continued) • Evaluate for possible replication the Great Plains Model • Develop RFP for college/universities to address system change at course and college/university level • Host retreat for College Administration and KSDE

  20. Features of Great Plains Model • Shared courses - names and numbers at home institution • Courses receive full institutional review by each program • Student enroll at home institution (no need for transfer) • Course development/delivery and faculty workload are home institution responsibilities • Income share between institutions

  21. Proposed Activities of the EC Supplement to the Kansas SIG • Overall Goal – Improve the ability of graduates of personnel preparation programs to more effectively meet the needs of all students, including those with disabilities • Specific Objective – To enable KS-SIG partners to augment and complement the successes of Goal 3 of the SIG – Early Childhood • increase early student success • reduce frequency of referrals to special education • show improved conditions for young children and families

  22. Proposed Activities of the EC Supplement to the Kansas SIG (continued) • Specific Objective – Address personnel supply and demand • ensure adequate supply of diverse, well qualified personnel • Specific Objective – Address staff development • expand personnel development systems to prepare all to align their work with school improvement initiatives

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