Montana Early Care And Education Knowledge Base

Montana Early Care and EducationKnowledge BaseA guide to professional early care and education practice:what early childhood practitioners need to know, understand, and be able to do2013

Knowledge Base Content Areas

ContentsINTRODUCTION . 1Important Assumptions . 1Ways to Use the Knowledge Base . 2STANDARD 1: Promoting Child Development and Learning . 3A. Health and Well-being . 4Prevention of Infection . 5Injury Prevention . 6Ready for Emergencies . 6Health and Nutrition . 7Health and Physical Activity . 9Mental Health . 10Health Education . 11Staff Members and Consultants . 11Facility Design . 12Children with Short-Term or Chronic Health Needs . 14Child Maltreatment (Abuse and Neglect) . 15B. Child Growth and Development . 16Cognitive and Brain Development . 17Emotional Development . 18Language and Literacy Development . 19Physical Development . 20Play. 20Social Development . 21

C. Environmental Design . 23Elements of Design . 24Materials.24Indoor Environment.25Outdoor Environment .26Schedules and Transitions .26STANDARD 2: Building Family and Community Partnerships . 28D. Family and Community Partnerships . 29Program Environment .30Family Partnerships .30Teaching and Learning .31Community Partnerships .31E. Program Management . 33Human Resources and Personnel Development .34Fiscal Management .34Program Operations .35Program Development and Planning .35Nutrition and Food Service .36Family and Community Partnerships .37STANDARD 3: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families . 38F. Observation, Documentation, and Assessment . 39Observation and Assessment Process .40Observation and Assessment Tools .41Behavioral Assessment .41Documentation and Communication .42

STANDARD 4: Using Developmentally Effective Approaches .43G. Child Guidance .44Foundations .45Environment .46Positive Guidance Strategies .46Parent and Community Partnerships .47H. Diversity .48General Knowledge and Dispositions .49Child Development and Learning .49Families .50Assessment .51Collaboration .51STANDARD 5: Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum .52I. Curriculum .53Foundations .54Language and Literacy .55Science .56Mathematics .57The Arts (Art, Dramatic and Role Play, Music, Dance/Creative Movement) .58Social Studies .60Physical Development and Well-being .61STANDARD 6: Being a Professional .63J. Professionalism .64Foundations .65Developmentally Appropriate Practice .65Ethics .66

Lifelong Learning .66Self-Assessment .67Advocacy.67K. Personal Dispositions .68Authenticity .69Creativity.69Flexibility .69Love of Learning .70Passion .70Patience .70Perseverance .70Pragmatism (Practicality) .71Respect .71Sense of Humor .71Willingness to Take Risks .71APPENDICES .72A. NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct .73B. Individualized Professional Development Plan .78C. Supplemental Resources .81ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .88

Introduction(PAS/BAS), and Montana’s Early Learning Guidelines. For detailed information about what children ages birth to five years old should know, understand, and be able to do across the domains of development, see Montana’sEarly Learning Guidelines (revised, 2013). Montana’s Early Learning Guidelines also include numerous examples of how adults can effectively supportyoung children’s growth and learning which are cross-referenced with the content areas and competencies included in this Knowledge Base.The Montana Early Care and Education Knowledge Base is the foundation ofMontana’s career development system and was first published in 1997. TheKnowledge Base underwent subsequent revisions in 2004 and 2008. The2013 edition reflects major changes, including: An item ana

An item analysis conducted by the Montana Early Childhood Higher Education Consortium and other Montana early childhood professionals was used to update and revise content areas and core competencies. The six standards for early childhood professional preparation estab-lished by the National Association for the Education of Young Children