Top Five Professional Development Course Topics for Preschool Teachers

ByCrystal @ Surviving a Teacher's Salary

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These last few months of Summer are the perfect time to square away your continuing education classes! Preschool is a fun group to plan activities for. In the midst of your planning, there are five specific course topics for preschool teachers that are really important to invest in when it comes to professional development courses.

I highly recommend you try ChildCare Education Institute, the industry leader for online professional development, and their recommended course topics for the summer. They have over 150 English and Spanish course options! More than 13,000 early childhood professionals have graduated from CCEI’s CDA and other certificate programs with a 99% satisfaction and recommendation rate. 

Based on the two courses that I have taken, Launching Learning Centers in Your Classroom (CCEI450A) and Exploring Visual & Spatial Intelligence (COG100), I highly recommend CCEI. The courses were simple to follow and very thorough! I love that you can review the information in your dashboard anytime you need and additional resources are provided for further research.

Teaching preschool is an especially fun classroom to plan for because there is so much to learn and so much development going on in just one year! From imagination to coordination and academic skill building, kids at this age soak up learning like a sponge and it’s up to teachers and caregivers to ensure their safety and academic success. 

Below are five course topics for preschool teachers to consider for professional development during these remaining months of summer:

1.Preschool Development (Cognitive, Emotional, Social, Physical, Brain)

Preschool development spans a short year or two and really covers the entire being and personality of a child. From brain development to physical, emotional, social and cognitive development, CCEI has courses that cover every area you need! Below are four of the many recommended courses that CCEI offers in regards to preschool development.

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2. Specials Needs & Disorders (Autism, ADD, ADHD, OCD, General)

Having a child myself with autism I appreciate that there is so much awareness of special needs in regards to education. No two children are alike, but there are many tools that you can learn and utilize across different needs and disorders. Helping children learn how to regulate and cope with various issues paves the way to a more consistent and happier future.

Below are five great courses from CCEI that will help you gain a greater understanding of behaviors that span some of these disorders.

    • SPN104: Making Sense of Sensory Processing
    • SPN103: Teaching Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • GUI103: Understanding Aggressive and Defiant Behaviors
    • CCEI968: Inclusion and Children with Special Needs
    • GUI104: Individualized Guidance, Instruction, and Support in Early Childhood Care and Education

 

 

 

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3. Health & Safety

When you think of little kids you may think of snotty noses and germs, but health and safety is so much more than basic hygiene! This encompasses everything from food allergies, medication, fire safety, child abuse, nutrition and other very important aspects that preschool children will need to learn about or be guarded from!

Below are four recommended courses to start with in this topic.

  • HLTH106: Fire Safety in the Early Care and Education Environment
  • CCEI119: Food Allergies in the Early Care Setting
  • HLTH105: Medication Administration in the Child Care Environment
  • CCEI112A: Child Abuse: Signs of Abuse and Reporting Requirements for Early Childhood Professionals

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4. Curriculum

Curriculum is perhaps one of my most favorite topics when it comes to preschool education. Children learn through exploration and play and there are so many products and ideas that help assist you with this learning method. Gone are the days of worksheets in preschool, a more natural learning process now captivates many preschool children!

I chose eight different CCEI courses to recommend in various aspects and I highly recommend taking ALL of them! Before the summer, I completed the first course hyperlinked below. Click on it to learn more about my experience with that course.

  • CCEI450A: Launching Learning Centers in Your Classroom 
  • CCEI430: Math Madness 
  • CUR118: Outdoor STEAM Activities and Project Based Learning
  • CCEI960: Rainbows and Rembrandts: Enhancing Art in the Preschool Classroom
  • CCEI440: Sensational Science
  • LIT100: Storytelling for Enrichment, Early Literacy, and Fun
  • CHD103: The Child’s Digital Universe: Technology and Digital Media in Early Childhood
  • LIT101: The Read-Aloud Process: Building the Components of Literacy

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5. Diversity & Dual Language

Teaching children about diversity is an important part to developing a multicultural environment. Ethnically diverse classrooms and dual language students all require additional strategies to ensure that not only the academic needs are being met but also the social and cultural needs as well. These can look very different for every classroom. These three CCEI courses will give you a good head start. 

  • CCEI640: Creating a Multicultural Environment 
  • CUR111: Cultural Competence and Promoting Awareness of Diversity in Child Care
  • CHD102: Dual Language Learning in the Early Childhood Environment

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You can view all of the professional development course options here and the preschool care training courses here.

 

Can I Take CEU Courses Online?

Generally the answer is yes but you’ll definitely want to make sure that you check with your state department of education to verify what will and will not be accepted for credit. CCEI has an interactive map that will allow you to click on your state for more reference here and their CEI coursework is approved by IACET in 49 states!  The most of any provider!

Who is ChildCare Education Institute?

ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI) specializes in providing online child care training and certificates, child care registry development, and administrative solutions for the early care and education industry. As the leading distance training provider in child care, CCEI offers professionals 150+ online child care training courses in English and Spanish to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start requirements. Coursework offered by CCEI is used to meet the education needs of practitioners in a range of settings, including family child care, preschool, prekindergarten, childcare centers, and more. In addition to professional development, CCEI offers online certificate programs that help meet the coursework requirements for national credentials, such as the Child Development Associate (CDA), online Director Credentials, Early Childhood Credential, renewals, custom programs, and other continuing education options.  

Over 13,000 early childhood professionals have graduated from CDA and other certificate programs with over 5 million online course hours completed!

CCEI is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The Distance Education Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency and is a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). CCEI coursework is eligible for college credit articulation through articulation agreements with accredited institutions of higher learning.

You can learn more about ChildCare Education Institute here. Read more about ChildCare Education Institute curriculum here.

Click on either of the images below to learn more about the different courses that I have taken with CCEI:

list of preschool learning centers computer with professional development worksheets

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