N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 507.18

Current through Register No. 50, December 12, 2024

Section Ed 507.18 - Early Childhood Education Teacher

(a) In this section, "young" means a child who is of pre-K age through grade 3.

(b) To be considered for an early childhood education teacher statement of eligibility, as described in Ed 505.06, a candidate shall have at least a bachelor's degree.

(c) To be eligible for licensure as an early childhood education teacher for birth through grade 3 under any of the pathways described in Ed 505.05 through Ed 505.07, a candidate shall have the following skills, competencies, and knowledge:

(1) In the area of early child development and learning, the ability to:

a. Use knowledge and understanding of young children's developmental characteristics and needs to inform curriculum planning and instruction;

b. Use understanding of the multiple interacting influences on young children's development and learning to individualize their planning and instruction; and

c. Create environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for all young children, including, but not limited to, young children:

1. With developmental delays or disabilities;

2. Who are gifted and talented;

3. Whose families are culturally and linguistically diverse;

4. From diverse socioeconomic groups; and

5. Who have individual learning styles, strengths, and needs;

(2) In the area of family and community relationships, the ability to:

a. Use knowledge and understanding of the complex characteristics of young children's families to establish positive relationships with the families of young children in the classroom;

b. Use knowledge and understanding of the complex characteristics of community life to develop an understanding of:

1. The community in which the individual teaches;

2. How to access the resources available to young children and families, guardians, or both; and

3. Ways of connecting families, guardians, or both to those resources;

c. Involve all families, guardians, or both in the young child's development and learning through respectful, reciprocal relationships and using multiple strategies and approaches; and

d. Use community resources to enhance the curriculum;

(3) In the area of observing, documenting, and assessing to support young children and families, guardians, or both, the ability to:

a. Know about and understand the goals, benefits, and uses of formal and informal assessment;

b. Demonstrate understanding of responsible assessment practices that are ethically, culturally, linguistically, developmentally, and individually appropriate;

c. Use effective assessment strategies, including, but not limited to, systematic observations and documentation, to identify areas of growth and challenge in individual children;

d. Adapt and improve instructional programs based upon formal and informal assessment; and

e. Implement and evaluate assessments in partnership with families, guardians, or both, and other professionals;

(4) In the area of teaching and learning, the ability to:

a. Know, understand, and use positive relationships and respectful, supportive interactions with all young children as the foundation for curriculum and instruction;

b. Know, understand, and use a wide repertoire of effective approaches, strategies, and tools to positively influence all young children's development, behavior, and learning including both teacher-directed learning and student-directed learning;

c. Know and understand the importance of each domain and content area in young children's learning, including:

1. Understanding the essential concepts and tools of inquiry; and

2. Identifying resources to deepen the candidate's content knowledge;

d. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of what is important in each content area, why it is important, and how it links with earlier and later understandings;

e. Integrate content areas across the curriculum, including project-based learning, hands on learning, and play-based learning;

f. Use knowledge and other resources to plan, design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curriculum that promotes comprehensive developmental and positive learning outcomes for all young children; and

g. Use technology as an instructional tool in developmentally appropriate ways for the setting in which the candidate teaches, and for communication with families, guardians, or both;

(5) In the area of early childhood content, demonstrate knowledge in the content central to the early childhood curriculum for birth through grade 3 in the central concepts, skills, and tools of inquiry of the following areas:

a. Language and literacy, including bilingualism and the needs of English language learners, including, but not limited to:

1. Knowledge of expressive and receptive language development listening and speaking and their role in literacy development;

2. The process of learning to read, including phonetic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension;

3. Reading strategies and skills, and the features of young children's literature;

4. The process of learning to write, writing modes and forms, and conventions of written English; and

5. The major indicators of and accommodations for common learning difficulties in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing;

b. The arts, including understanding the importance of the creative process and aesthetic development for all young children and articulating the importance of high-quality, meaningful arts experiences to meet the developmental needs and support all young children's creative expression, in the areas of:

1. Open-ended pretend play, such as dramatic play and storytelling;

2. Music, experienced by listening to a variety of musical styles, moving to music, and creating music and rhythms with instruments and voice;

3. Creative movement and dance;

4. The visual arts using a variety of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media, including, but not limited to paint, clay, dough, drawing tools, and collage; and

5. The performing arts, including, but not limited to puppets, role play, and creative dramatics;

c. Mathematics, including the major indicators of and accommodations for common learning difficulties in mathematics and the ways in which young children demonstrate their understanding of mathematics, including but not limited to the following:

1. Mathematics process skills, including:

(i) Representation;

(ii) Reasoning;

(iii) Communication;

(iv) Problem solving; and

(v) Making connections;

2. Number and operations;

3. Geometry and spatial sense;

4. Measurement;

5. Patterns and algebra, including, but not limited to, patterns and relationships in arithmetic; and

6. Displaying and analyzing data;

d. Health and physical activity, including articulating the importance of a high-quality, meaningful health and wellness curriculum to meet the developmental needs of all young children, in the areas of:

1. Physical activity, including, but not limited to, knowledge of the typical progression of motor development, fine and gross motor skills, movement and body awareness, physical fitness, personal safety, and the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle;

2. Health and wellness, including, but not limited to, nutrition, personal hygiene, disease prevention, and making decisions that promote a healthy lifestyle; and

3. Social and emotional wellness and their influence on development and learning in the content areas;

e. Science, including the unifying science concepts of systems, cycles, constancy and change, form and function; and the ways in which young children demonstrate their understanding of science; in the areas of:

1. Science process skills, including, but not limited to:

(i) Observing;

(ii) Asking questions;

(iii) Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data;

(iv) Constructing and testing explanations or solutions to problems;

2. Physical science and the basic phenomena of the physical world;

3. Earth and space science and the basic phenomena of earth and space; and

4. Life science and the study of living organisms and life systems; and

f. Social studies and the ways in which young children demonstrate their understanding of social studies, including, but not limited to:

1. Social studies process and perspective skills;

2. Identity and individual development;

3. Families, neighborhoods, and communities;

4. Culture and cultural identity;

5. People, geography, and economics;

6. Time and patterns of time, continuity, and change; and

7. Social relations and civics and government; and

(6) In the area of professionalism, the ability to:

a. Know and comply with federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to the education, health, and safety of young children;

b. Collaborate with school colleagues, families, other professionals, and the community to meet the needs of young children and improve professional practice;

c. Demonstrate knowledgeable, reflective, and critical perspectives on one's work, and make informed decisions that integrate knowledge from a variety of perspectives; and

d. Advocate for sound educational practices and public policies that support young children, families, guardians, or both, and early childhood education.

(d) The early childhood education license shall qualify a teacher to provide instruction to young children, with or without disabilities, from birth through grade 3.

N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 507.18

#6349, eff 10-5-96; rpld by #7923, eff 7-24-03

New. #9305, eff 10-25-08; amd by #10130, eff 5-18-12

Amended by Volume XLII Number 49, Filed December 8, 2022, Proposed by #13484, Effective 11/11/2022, Expires 11/11/2032