New Course from ChildCare Education Institute on Developmental Screening Tools in Early Childhood Education

ATLANTA, GA, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ChildCare Education Institute^® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, is proud to introduce PROF109: Developmental Screening Tools in Early Childhood Education to the online child care training course catalog.

Early childhood is a critical time in a child′s life. Children are growing and changing rapidly, and teachers need to understand each child′s strengths, challenges, and emerging skills. With this critical information, educators can plan a meaningful curriculum and work with families to support children′s growth and development.  In recent years, there has been a nationwide initiative to ensure that all children enter kindergarten ready to learn. An article by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that approximately one in six children (ages 3-17) have one or more behavioral or learning developmental disabilities. Studies such as this prompted most states to take a closer look at the tools and resources used by early childhood educators.

States quickly recognized the importance of the early learning workforce in helping achieve the ambitious goal of preparing every child for kindergarten. A majority of states developed early learning standards. These documents spell out the developmental skills and milestones that young children should be working on during the preschool years.  States also evaluated various curricula and created a list of approved or recommended curriculum resources that programs should use.

Many states created child care workforce competencies that describe skills teachers should use to assess and track children′s learning over time. The idea is that these ongoing assessments become the backbone of curriculum planning and the day-to-day decisions that teachers make in their classrooms.

Furthermore, some states added the use of developmental screening tools to their requirements for early learning programs. The goal is to identify children who may qualify for additional educational supports before they enter kindergarten.  Developmental screening tools and assessments are often confused as the same thing; however, they are used for different purposes. 

Developmental milestones act as checkpoints to determine whether children are developing as expected. Therefore, documenting how children navigate these milestones is an important part of understanding their unique needs and behaviors.  One of the most important reasons for monitoring development is determining whether or not a child is on track for success in school. If they are not, it is vital to determine what can be done to help the child build these important skills. 

In this course, participants will discover features of some of the more widely used developmental screening tools. The course will also explore how to talk to families about screening results, when to make referrals to early intervention services, and how to adapt the curriculum to support children’s development.

“The screening tools reviewed in this training can assist teachers in identifying possible developmental delays and the need for further evaluation by early intervention professionals,” says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI.  “In addition, they provide a reliable and valid snapshot of children′s development and help teachers adjust their curriculum planning to meet children′s needs.” 

PROF109: Developmental Screening Tools in Early Childhood is a two-hour, intermediate-level course and grants 0.2 IACET CEUs upon successful completion.  Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as individual or block hours through CCEI online enrollment. 

For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST

ChildCare Education Institute, LLC 

ChildCare Education Institute®, a division of Excelligence Learning Corporation, provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 150 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials.  CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ training provider, is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).