The curated collection of OER provided below was developed by the ASCCC OERI CDEV/ECE Discipline Lead. If you are interested on how available OER might be used to develop an associate degree for transfer that is a zero textbook cost (ZTC) degree in either of these disciplines, please see:
Archived Child Development and Early Childhood Education Webinars
Child Growth and Development (C-ID CDEV 100)
Textbooks
- Understanding the Whole Child: Growth and Development Conception through Adolescence (Saddleback College) – Pressbooks (CC BY)
An Open Educational Resources Publication by Saddleback College and Saddleback CDE adapted from College of the Canyons Child Development
- Child Growth and Development – LibreTexts (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
- Understanding the Whole Child: Prenatal Development through Adolescence (Paris, Ricardo, and Rymond) – Google Doc
- Understanding the Whole Child: Prenatal Development through Adolescence – Word, PDF, and ancillaries
- Understanding the Whole Child: Prenatal Development through Adolescence – Spanish Translation, Word and PDF
- Understanding the Whole Child: Prenatal Development through Adolescence – Spanish Translation in LibreTexts
- Child Growth and Development (Zaar) (CC BY-NC-SA)
Additional OER/ZTC Resources
- Children’s Development: Infancy through Middle Childhood (Leon) (CC BY 4.0) This is a textbook compiled by Ana R. Leon of West Hills Community College Lemoore. It covers infancy through middle childhood, so additional content would be required to address adolescence.
- Cognitive Development: Preschool | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Children usually follow predictable patterns in how they grow and learn. This lesson will help you understand typical cognitive development, or how children develop thinking skills during the preschool years. You will learn about developmental milestones and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development.
- Child Growth and Development course by CTE Online California (CC-BY-NC-SA) This concentration level course is a study of the physical, perceptual, cognitive, personality, and language developmental stages of children from conception through adolescence, including the principle theories of development and their application.
- Child Growth and Development course reader (Laura Paciorek) Features relevant sections from the Lally and Valentine-French lifespan text and includes additional OER readings to supplement each chapter (especially for middle childhood and adolescence) as well as extra resources for instructors.
- Child Growth and Development Thread Additional resources can be found in the Child Growth and Development thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- From Preschool to Prosperity: The Economic Payoff to Early Childhood Education Bartik shows that investment in high-quality early childhood education has several long-term benefits, including higher adult earnings for program participants.
- Early childhood development – HEART (heart-resources.org) (HEART produced content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License)
- Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective – Fourth Edition (Lally and Valentine-French) (CC BY-NC-SA) This is a textbook by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French from the College of Lake County. Chapters 7-10 are not needed for Child Growth and Development.
- Lifespan Development (Lumen Learning) (Varied Licenses – terms of each page must be reviewed) This is a Lumen Course. Units 1-3 (which include Modules 1-7) could be used to teach Child Growth and Development. There are references to adulthood throughout the course as it is course over the whole lifespan. You will need to check each page of content for specifics on licensing.
- Physical Developmental Milestones | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information https://www.virtuallabschool.org/legal) This lesson will help you understand typical physical development or, in other words, how children develop and refine motor skills during the preschool years. You will learn about developmental milestones and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development.
- Social-Emotional Development: Preschool Children | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) This lesson will help you understand how children develop social-emotional skills during the preschool years. You will learn about social-emotional milestones and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development.
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC CDEV 100 Child Growth and Development Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- CDEV 100 Child Growth and Development (ECE / CHDEV) Canvas Shell – Amanda Taintor
- Child Growth and Development OER Book and Course (CC BY) – Jennifer Paris/College of the Canyons built around Child Growth and Development/Understanding the Whole Child: Prenatal Development through Adolescence (Paris, Ricardo, and Rymond) OER book
- Child Growth and Development OER Resources Canvas Shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
Child, Family, and Community (C-ID CDEV 110)
Textbooks
- Child, Family and Community (Laff and Ruiz) – LibreTexts (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
- Child Family Community: The Socialization of Diverse Children (ASCCC OERI, 2022) – LibreTexts (CC BY)
Additional OER/ZTC Resources
- Antiracist Activism for Teachers and Students/Points to Consider for Teaching Anti-racism/Anti-Racism in Early Childhood – Wikibooks, open books for an open world (CC-BY)
- Building Partnerships Series For Early Childhood Professionals (hhs.gov) Guide to Developing Relationships with Families
- Child, Family, and Community (Flores) (CC BY) This Canvas shell from MiraCosta College compiles resources (many of which are openly licensed). Their Course Reader (also linked to on the Syllabus page in the Canvas shell) lists out all the readings in a convenient outline
- Child, Family, and Community thread – Additional resources can be found in the Child, Family, and Community thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- Contemporary Families: An Equity Lens – Simple Book Publishing (pressbooks.pub) This openly licensed text approaches contemporary families from an equity lens. It was created by a Human Development and Family Services (HDFS) faculty member and 12 HDFS students at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), using an open pedagogy approach. It asks two questions relevant to the Difference, Power, and Discrimination outcomes at LBCC: “What do families need?” and “ How do society and institutions support or get in the way of families getting what they need?” This book includes remixed content. Please note that some sections may have more restrictive licenses, and some all rights reserved content is included under fair use. More specific information can be found under Licenses and Attributions at the bottom of each section.
- Family Engagement | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Family members are the most important people in young children’s lives. This course will help you view families as a system, implement family-centered practice, and build positive relationships with families. You will learn appropriate ways to share and collect information with and from families. Supporting families of children with special needs, military families, and families facing challenges will also be addressed.
- Family Partnerships and Culture (California Department of Education, 2016) The California Department of Education has produced a book Family Partnerships and Culture. This book is copyrighted, although the California Department of Education has given permission through College of the Canyons for this book to be used in the development of OER.
- Opening eyes onto inclusion and diversity in early childhood education – Opening Eyes onto Inclusion and Diversity (pressbooks.pub) (CC BY-NC-SA) What can educators do to create inclusive early childhood contexts that provide children and families with the opportunity to develop understandings of difference and diversity?
- Parenting and Family Diversity Issues (Iowa State University, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA) This book has been created for students and all individuals who work with children and families (e.g., educators, parents, caregivers, direct support workers, etc.) in diverse contexts. It is imperative to understand how and what factors may influence child outcomes across the lifespan. Therefore, key concepts related to parenting, child-rearing, care-giving, and parenting education are outlined in this textbook to provide historical, theoretical, and practical perspectives across vast settings and developmental domains.
- Resources for Parents (ca.gov) (Public Domain) – Types of child care in California
- Revisiting and Updating the Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs Serving Children Ages Birth to Five (hhs.gov) Public Domain
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC CDEV 110 Child, Family, and Community Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- Child, Family, and Community OER Course and Textbook (CC BY) – Jennifer Paris/College of the Canyons built around Child, Family, and Community OER book (Laff and Ruiz).
- Child, Family, and Community OER Resources Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use).
Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children (C-ID ECE 120)
Textbooks
- Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children (Stephens et al.) – LibreTexts (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
- Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children (Stephens, Peterson, and Eyrich) – Word, PDF, and ancillaries
- Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children (Stephens, Peterson, and Eyrich) – Spanish Translation, Word and PDF
If you are reading this, you’re likely interested in learning more about becoming an early childhood professional. Perhaps you’re just curious and want to know a little bit more about young children. Maybe you want to make up your mind after finding out a little bit more about what is involved. In either case, your interest and curiosity are two key characteristics that will make this a positive growth experience for you.
Additional OER/ZTC Resources
- Age-appropriate pedagogies professional learning materials (earlychildhood.qld.gov.au) (CC BY) The State of Queensland (Department of Education) 2021, although stated copyrighted, resources licensed CC BY.
- California Preschool Program Guidelines (California Department of Education, 2015) This publication is copyrighted, but the California Department of Education has given permission through College of the Canyons for them to be used in the development of OER.
- Complexities, Capacities, Communities: Changing Development Narratives in Early Childhood Education, Care and Development (Alan Pence, Allison Benner) (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.)
- Democracy and Education (edtechbooks.org) (Public Domain) “First published in 1916, this classic continues to influence contemporary educational thought. Considered one of the great American philosophers, Dewey grapples with the nature of knowledge and learning as well as formal education’s place, purpose, and process within a democratic society.”
- Early Childhood Educator Competencies (California Department of Education, 2011) This publication is copyrighted, but the California Department of Education has given permission through College of the Canyons for them to be used in the development of OER.
- Educational Learning Theories (Zhou and Brown) – Social Sci LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA) This open textbook was the result of a remix of pre-existing open materials collected and reviewed by Molly Zhou and David Brown. Learning theories covered include the theories of Piaget, Bandura, Vygotsky, Kohlberg, Dewey, Bronfenbrenner, Eriksen, Gardner, Bloom, and Maslow. The textbook was revised in 2018 through a Round Ten Revisions and Ancillary Materials Mini-Grant.
- Foundations and Current Issues of Early Childhood Education – (CC-BY-SA) This is the first edition of a textbook created and edited as part of an education course, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. The book’s primary contributors have been graduate and undergraduate, preservice and present teachers.
- Foundations and Current Issues of Early Childhood Education (WikiBooks) (CC BY SA 3.0) This wikibook addresses some current issues in early childhood education (including the achievement gap, early literacy, differentiated instruction, kindergarten readiness, multicultural issues, No Child Left Behind, Reggio Emilia, schools’ role in health, and universal preschool).
- Foundations of Education | Simple Book Production (lumenlearning.com) This is a Lumen course. Check each page of content for specifics on licensing.
- Historical and Contemporary Definitions of Childhood – Introduction to Childhood Studies (pressbooks.com) (CC BY-NC-SA) This book supports a speaking-intensive course that introduces students to key concepts in the study of childhood from multidisciplinary perspectives.
- Introduction to Childhood Studies (Eliason) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) This OER textbook by Dr. Susan Eliason supports a speaking-intensive course that introduces students to key concepts (including: historical and contemporary definitions of childhood, rights and responsibilities during childhood, influences of family, society, and culture, and the impact of the environment, education, economy, and political conditions) in the study of childhood from multidisciplinary perspectives.
- Introduction to Teaching Young Children: Course Reader – Google Doc A course reader with links to both openly licensed and free to use content.
- Parents and Families – California Child Care Licensing – Resources for Parents and Providers (childcarevideos.org) (Public Domain) How are Community Care Licensing regulations and requirements put into practice? Watch these brief, informative videos and learn how you can contribute to the health and safety of children in child care facilities
- Principles and Practices in ECE thread Additional resources can be found in the Principles and Practices in ECE thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- The Ends and Means of Education (edtechbooks.org) (Public Domain) This book provides a brief introduction into some of the persistent challenges and quandaries facing educators by drawing upon snippets from some of the great philosophers in history, such as Aristotle, Descartes, Rousseau, Dewey, and others.
- Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation | The National Academies Press (nap.edu) Copyright protected but free to use with permission – obtain permission Click here to obtain permission for Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation. Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective – to nurture young children and secure their future success – the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well.
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC ECE 120 Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- OER Resources for Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
Introduction to Curriculum (C-ID ECE 130)
Textbooks
- Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (Paris and Beeve) (LibreTexts) (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
- Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (Paris and Beeve) – Word, PDF, and ancillaries
- Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (Paris and Beeve) – Spanish Translation, Word and PDF
- Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education (Paris and Beeve) Spanish Translation in LibreTexts
Additional OER/ZTC Resources
- Cognitive Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Children usually follow predictable patterns in how they grow and learn. Knowing and understanding these patterns allows Preschool teachers to encourage discovery, exploration, experimentation, and problem-solving. These experiences help children learn how to learn. You will learn about cognitive development, interactions that promote learning, engagement, what and how children learn in preschool, exploration and problem solving, planning, inclusion, and embracing ethnicity and culture.
- Communication and Language Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Communication skills are vital to the overall learning and development of preschool children. In this course you will learn about communication milestones and what to do if you have concerns about a child’s development. You will also learn strategies to maintain effective communication with families and how to create a communication and language-rich environment.
- Creative Expression | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) The preschool years are a time of tremendous growth in creative expression. This course will help you learn to plan indoor and outdoor experiences that promote children’s creativity, as well as how to select culturally responsive materials for all learners. Your role as a creative preschool teacher will also be addressed and help you learn how to promote creativity in your workplace.
- Implementing a Curriculum Responsively: Supporting Children’s Development and Learning | ECLKC (hhs.gov) (Public Domain) This suite describes how education staff can implement a responsive curriculum. It also highlights the importance of understanding children’s development and learning. Explore the ways a curriculum guides the learning environment, learning experiences, and adult-child interactions. Consider ways to use a curriculum’s guidance to support children’s development and learning and promote positive child outcomes.
- Introduction to Curriculum thread Additional resources can be found in the Introduction to Curriculum thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- Learning Environments | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Preschool children thrive in learning environments that are designed with their unique needs and interests in mind. This course will help you plan engaging interest areas and also address how indoor and outdoor spaces are designed to support learning. You will also learn how to select developmentally appropriate materials, as well as how to create a flexible, but predictable, classroom schedule
- Textbooks from Hostos Community College – Language Arts for Young Children, Social Studies for Young Children, Music for the Young Child, Teaching Math and Science to Young Children
- Outdoor Learning Environment at A Child’s Haven: Jon Fritz Design Review – YouTube Jon Fritz, landscape designer, presents the outdoor learning environment design for A Child’s Haven with knowledge gained through the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) certificate course.
- Physical Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information )The preschool years are an important time of physical activity and development. In this course you will learn about typical motor skill development and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development. You will also learn how to plan indoor and outdoor experiences that promote physical development and support families and children as they pursue an active lifestyle.
- Play-Responsive Teaching in Early Childhood Education (CC BY) This open access book develops a theoretical concept of teaching that is relevant to early childhood education, and based on children’s learning and development through play. It discusses theoretical premises and research on playing and learning, and proposes the development of play-responsive didaktik. It examines the processes and products of learning and development, teaching and its phylogenetic and ontogenetic development, as well as the ‘what’ of learning and didaktik. Next, it explores the actions, objects and meaning of play and provides insight into the diversity of beliefs about the practices of play. The book presents ideas on how combined research and development projects can be carried out, providing incentive and a model for practice development and research. The second part of the book consists of empirical studies on teachers’ playing skills and examples of play with very young as well as older children.
- Positive Guidance | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Positive guidance impacts the healthy development of preschool children. In this course, you will learn about typical preschool behaviors and effective strategies for challenging situations. You will also learn how to create a high-quality environment and developmentally appropriate experiences to maximize positive interactions.
- Social and Emotional Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Social-emotional skills are essential in the healthy development of preschool children. In this course, you will learn about social-emotional milestones and what to do if you have a concern about a child’s social-emotional development. This course will also address the impact high-quality environments have on social-emotional development, as well as the role you play as a responsive, nurturing preschool teacher.
- The Doing What Works Library (wested.org) – Watch interviews with researchers and educators, explore preschool classroom videos and sample materials, and access tools to help educators put evidence-based practice into action. Most of the library content is based on What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guides developed by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.
- Early Childhood Literacy Engaging and Empowering Emergent Readers and Writers – Birth to Age 5 (Schull et al.)- Libretext (CC BY)
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC ECE 130 Introduction to Curriculum Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- OER Resources for Introduction to Curriculum Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
Observation and Assessment (C-ID ECE 200)
Textbooks
- Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education (Peterson and Elam) (LibreTexts) (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
- Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education (Peterson and Elam) – Word, PDF, and ancillaries;
- Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education (Peterson and Elam) – Spanish Translation, Word and PDF
- Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education (Peterson and Elam) – Spanish Translation in LibreTexts
- This text focuses on the appropriate use of a variety of assessment and observation strategies to document child development and behavior. Child observations will be conducted and analyzed.
- Observando y Asesorando en Ambientes Educativos by Gonzalez Cuadros (CC BY-NC)
Additional OER/ZTC Options
The following are some additional resources that faculty can use to teach the course. Some may be OER and others may be copyrighted resources faculty can use to teach the course with no associated costs for digital access (often referred to as Zero Textbook Cost, or ZTC).
- A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood: Infancy to Age 8 A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood: Infancy to Age 8 by Washington State provides a thorough look at assessment and provides descriptions of dozens of (mostly proprietary) assessment tools. It is copyrighted, but may be freely reproduced without permission for non-profit, educational purposes with proper citation.
- Comparative Educational Psychology (Wikibook) (CC BY-SA 3.0) The following chapters from an Education Psychology wikibook are written about education psychology in general (and therefore may be more applicable to elementary education), but as is licensed CC BY SA 3.0 so it can be revised and remixed as needed. Contemporary Educational Psychology/Chapter 10: Teacher-made Assessment Strategies/Selecting Appropriate Assessment Techniques, Part 2 (WikiBooks) (CC BY-SA 3.0) briefly addresses observation, questioning, and record keeping. Contemporary Educational Psychology/Chapter 10: Teacher-Made Assessment Strategies/Adjusting Instruction re Assessment (WikiBooks) (CC BY-SA 3.0) addresses how use assessment results to adjust instruction, communicating with families, and the cycle of planning.
- Learning Environments | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Preschool children thrive in learning environments that are designed with their unique needs and interests in mind. This course will help you plan engaging interest areas and also address how indoor and outdoor spaces are designed to support learning. You will also learn how to select developmentally appropriate materials, as well as how to create a flexible, but predictable, classroom schedule
- Observation and Assessment thread Additional resources can be found in the Observation and Assessment thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- Observation, Assessment and Documentation (UMass Boston OpenCourseWare) (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) The Observation, Assessment, and Documentation module of the Early Education and Care in Inclusive Settings: ECE Core Competencies by Mary Lu Love (a UMass Boston OpenCourseWare course) provide an audio presentation, PowerPoint slides, list of supplemental readings, and self-assessment.
- Observation: The Heart of Individualizing Care (Early Head Start, 2013) (Public Domain) Early Head Start’s publication, Observation: The Heart of Individualizing Care provides information on what observation is, goals of observation, using observation, setting up systems to support observation, reflecting on observation, responding based on observation. Although it is targeted toward use with infants and toddlers, it provides information that can be reused, revised, and remixed to address observation more broadly as it is in the public domain.
Videos
- ACCESS curated Video Log.xlsx – Google Drive Organized collection of videos with descriptions that highlight the topic, domain, age group and length for easy use.
- Benchmark Videos (Illinois Early Learning Project) These are captioned (and have transcripts and have explanations of how the children featured meet various 2013 Illinois Early Learning and Development benchmarks). These videos are copyrighted.
- Infants and Toddlers – CCDMD Large repository of videos for observation as well as accompanying exercises. Terms of use: The user must always cite the authors and the source of the video or document. (e.g Fréchette, N. and Morissette, P. (2018). Child development. Montreal, Quebec: Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique. Spotted in https://developpement.ccdmd.qc.ca)
- List of Focused Observation Videos (RedLeaf Press) (YouTube) Captioned videos from Focused Observation by Redleaf Press. They are copyrighted.
- Media Library – EarlyEdU Alliance (Free for educational use) Must create a free membership to access videos.
- Results Matter Video Library – Practicing Observation, Documentation and Assessment Skills – Page 1 (Colorado Department of Education) Be sure that you choose only the ones that are captioned to ensure accessibility. These are not openly licensed and have specific terms of use.
- Video Clip Library for Faculty and Trainers – Eastern (easternct.edu) Free to use for educational purposes. Must agree to terms of use stated on website.
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC ECE 200 Observation and Assessment Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- ECE 200 Observation and Assessment OER/ZTC Template Canvas Shell – Amanda Taintor (CC BY)
- OER Resources for Observation and Assessment Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
Practicum in Early Childhood Education (C-ID ECE 210)
Textbooks
- Practicum Fieldwork OER Handbook Folder – Google Drive (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
- The ELC: An Early Childhood Learning Community at Work – Milne Open Textbooks (CC-BY-NC)
The ELC professional development model was designed to improve the quality of teacher candidates’ Practicum field placements and align teaching in field placements with Learning Standards used in the teacher education program. Teams of four educators from varied settings worked in a Practicum placement setting for one semester to improve their teaching and align it with Learning Standards. An action research approach improved teaching challenges teams faced. Research articles were read to improve teams’ teaching challenges by implementing one agreed strategy. Teams video-recorded, assessed, and reflected on the impact of the strategy on their teaching, on teacher candidates’ learning and on children’s learning. This text compiles six case studies from this model to illustrate how teaching challenges were improved. Appropriate for practiced educators as well as educators in training, this text provides a real world look into applying Learning Standards in early childhood classrooms.
Additional OER/ZTC Resources
The following are some additional resources that faculty can use to teach the course. Some may be OER and others may be copyrighted resources faculty can use to teach the course with no associated costs for digital access (often referred to as Zero Textbook Cost, or ZTC).
- Chapter One | Addressing Standards and Themes – EDU 113 – Field Experience in Early Childhood Education – Textbook – LibGuides at Hostos Community College Library (cuny.edu) (CC BY-NC)
- Cognitive Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Children usually follow predictable patterns in how they grow and learn. Knowing and understanding these patterns allows Preschool teachers to encourage discovery, exploration, experimentation, and problem-solving. These experiences help children learn how to learn. You will learn about cognitive development, interactions that promote learning, engagement, what and how children learn in preschool, exploration and problem solving, planning, inclusion, and embracing ethnicity and culture.
- Communication and Language Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Communication skills are vital to the overall learning and development of preschool children. In this course, you will learn about communication milestones and what to do if you have concerns about a child’s development. You will also learn strategies to maintain effective communication with families and how to create a communication and language-rich environment.
- DEY Lively Minds.indd (wordpress.com) Permission has been granted to use portions of the publication Issues in Early Childhood Education: Curriculum, Teacher Education, & Dissemination of Information. This is a compilation of the proceedings from the Lilian Katz Symposium in November of 2000. They can be used with no further permissions, as long as proper credit is given to the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative.
- Early Childhood Mentored Field Observations (Eliason and Alexander, 2018) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Early Childhood Mentored Field Observations is a textbook by Dr. Susan Eliason addresses different aspects of fieldwork and teaching (including relationships, instruction, using feedback to improve, ethics, and advocacy).
- Enroll in ECE OER Textbook Quiz Banks (instructure.com) Access quizzes created for the book: Enroll in the assessment Canvas shell (using your academic email address) f you don’t yet have a Free for Teachers account, please select new user when enrolling. Once you are enrolled, your role will need to be changed to Teacher to allow you to export the quizzes. Then you can import them into your own course/s. Be sure to use the Select Content option when importing, so you only bring in the quizzes you want. Once you have enrolled, please bookmark this link to directly access the course (if you re-enroll, your role will go back to student)
- Physical Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) The preschool years are an important time of physical activity and development. In this course, you will learn about typical motor skill development and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development. You will also learn how to plan indoor and outdoor experiences that promote physical development and support families and children as they pursue an active lifestyle.
- Positive Guidance | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Positive guidance impacts the healthy development of preschool children. In this course, you will learn about typical preschool behaviors and effective strategies for challenging situations. You will also learn how to create a high-quality environment and developmentally appropriate experiences to maximize positive interactions.
- Practicum/Field Experience thread Additional resources can be found in the Practicum/Field Experience thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- Proceedings of the Lilian Katz Symposium (illinois.edu) Permission has been granted to use portions of the publication Issues in Early Childhood Education: Curriculum, Teacher Education, & Dissemination of Information. This is a compilation of the proceedings from the Lilian Katz Symposium in November of 2000. They can be used with no further permissions, as long as proper credit is given to the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative.
- Social and Emotional Development | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Social-emotional skills are essential in the healthy development of preschool children. In this course you will learn about social-emotional milestones and what to do if you have a concern about a child’s social-emotional development. This course will also address the impact high-quality environments have on social-emotional development, as well as the role you play as a responsive, nurturing preschool teacher.
- Supporting Physical Development: Indoor Environments and Experiences | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) It is important to provide a variety of indoor opportunities to support children’s physical development. This lesson describes how you can engage preschoolers in meaningful indoor experiences that promote development.
Videos
- Affordance and Behavior Setting – YouTube Affordance is a perceptional relationship between functional properties of environments and skills of individual users.
- Media Library – EarlyEdU Alliance (Free for educational use) Must create a free membership to access videos.
- NYSED Office of Early Learning Video Series | New York State Education Department The NYSED values play as an instructional strategy in the early childhood classroom. The video series includes examples of purposeful, play-based instructional strategies that assist children in developing critical foundational skills. In the early grades, it is particularly important for educators to recognize and provide a balance between individual and group needs, active and quiet times, teacher-directed and child-selected activities, and English and home language development. Teachers influence what and how children learn by creating an environment that reflects developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate practices and instruction. Intentional planning provides a framework for learning that is culturally and linguistically responsive, playful, interactive and interdisciplinary.
- Resources Child development (ccdmd.qc.ca) 323 videos to illustrate mental behaviors and processes. Terms of use: The user must always cite the authors and the source of the video or document. [e.g., Fréchette, N. and Morissette, P. (2018). Child development. Montreal, Quebec: Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique. Spotted in https://developpement.ccdmd.qc.ca]
- Results Matter Video Library – Practicing Observation, Documentation and Assessment Skills – Page 1 (Colorado Department of Education) Be sure that you choose only the ones that are captioned to ensure accessibility. These are not openly licensed and have specific terms of use.
- Video Clip Library for Faculty and Trainers – Eastern (easternct.edu) Free to use for educational purposes. Must agree to terms of use stated on website.
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC ECE 210 Practicum in Early Childhood Education Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- Practicum OER Resources Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
Health, Safety, and Nutrition (C-ID ECE 220)
Textbooks
Additional OER/ZTC Options
The following are some additional resources that faculty can use to teach the course. Some may be OER and others may be copyrighted resources faculty can use to teach the course with no associated costs for digital access (often referred to as Zero Textbook Cost, or ZTC).
- Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs 4th Edition (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, 2019) The 4th edition of Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education is available for free online. This 600+ page resource provides standards for just about any health, safety, or nutrition. It is copyrighted and freely accessible digitally (but a request for permission to use in OER was denied).
- Child Safety and Injury Prevention webpages (CDC) (Public Domain) The Child Safety and Injury Prevention webpages by the CDC are in the public domain. Information about preventing injuries due to burns, drowning, falls, poisoning and safety related to playgrounds, road traffic, and sports can be remixed and revised as appropriate.
- Consumer Product Safety Commission Injuries and Associated Deaths with Playground Equipment 2009-2014 Report (Hanway and Motabar, 2016) (Public Domain) The Consumer Product Safety Commission Injuries and Associated Deaths with Playground Equipment 2009-2014 report is public domain and provides statistics about reported incidents and injuries.
- Head Start Forward: Health and Safety Considerations | ECLKC (hhs.gov) The Head Start Forward campaign supports grantees in reaching more children and families and moving toward fully in-person comprehensive services, as local health conditions allow. Listen to the fourth webinar in the series for guidance around important health and safety considerations, including recommended risk reduction strategies, updates on toothbrushing, family style meals, masks, and screening, introduction of a new Head Start Forward: COVID-19 Health and Safety Operational Checklist, and more! Keep the conversation going on social media using #HeadStartForward.
- Health Promotion and Protection | ECLKC (hhs.gov) (Public Domain) A curation of resources developed by Head Start.
- Health, Safety, and Nutrition thread Additional resources can be found in the Health, Safety, and Nutrition thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- Healthy Environments | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Healthy environments are critical for preschoolers’ development. In this course you will learn how to create and maintain healthy environments for all preschoolers, and how to implement hygiene practices to prevent disease. You will learn strategies to ensure daily healthy checks, as well as strategies to support children’s and families’ mental health needs. The importance of healthy nutrition and physical activity will also be addressed.
- Human Nutrition (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition Program) (CC BY 4.0) Human Nutrition is a textbook created by the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa that serves as an undergraduate introduction to nutrition, including basic concepts in human nutrition, key information about essential nutrients, basic nutritional assessment, and nutrition across the lifespan. It is licensed CC BY and can be remixed and revised as appropriate to focus on nutrition for children.
- Nutrition and Food Service | ECLKC (hhs.gov)
- Parents and Families – California Child Care Licensing – Resources for Parents and Providers (childcarevideos.org) (Public Domain) How are Community Care Licensing regulations and requirements put into practice? Watch these brief, informative videos and learn how you can contribute to the health and safety of children in childcare facilities
- Promoting Active Lifestyles | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information) Promoting healthy lifestyle habits starts from a young age. Family members and professionals can assume significant roles when it comes to promoting children’s overall well-being during preschool years. This lesson will help you identify ways to engage families in their children’s physical development that will foster wellness and an active lifestyle from a young age. It will also demonstrate how you can be a positive role model for children and families.
- Safe environments | ECLKC (hhs.gov) (Public Domain) A curation of resources developed by Head Start to create and support safe environments in early care and education.
- Safe Environments | VLS (virtuallabschool.org) (free to use for educational purposes, see terms of use for complete use information ) Families trust you to help their children learn and grow. Most importantly, though, they trust you to provide a safe place for their children. Your most important job is to keep children safe each and every day. This course will teach you how to protect children, families, and staff from harm. There are eleven lessons in this course. You will learn about toys and materials, environments, supervision, safety rules, ratios, sleep practices, child abuse, emergency preparedness, injuries, trips away from the program, and vehicle safety.
- Tips for Keeping Children Safe: A Developmental Guide | ECLKC (hhs.gov)
- Understanding How the Environment Shapes a Child’s Nutrition Habits | ECLKC (hhs.gov) Safe and supportive environments are critical to shaping children’s overall development, including nutrition habits. Children living in unsafe or unstable environments that don’t support healthy eating, physical activity, or adequate sleep may experience poorer health outcomes, affecting their ability to be ready for school. Learn about the environmental factors that impact children’s health. Find out how programs can tailor health services to help children build better nutrition habits and experience improved health.
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC ECE 220 Health, Safety, and Nutrition Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- OER Resources for Health, Safety, and Nutrition Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
Teaching in a Diverse Society (C-ID ECE 230)
Textbooks
- The Role of Equity and Diversity in Early Childhood Education (Esquivel, Elam, Paris, & Tafoya) in LibreTexts (CC BY, except where otherwise noted)
Guided by cultural beliefs and principles, families select experiences, convey attitudes, and impart knowledge to their children to prepare them for adulthood. Accordingly, it is important for program staff to learn to collaborate effectively with families. To develop a partnership and to tap into the family as a primary resource, early childhood educators must reach out to, learn about, and develop strong partnerships with families. This process requires openness to learning and an effort to understand the individuality of each family and the diversity of the families from which the children come.
- Dimensiones de Diversidad en la Educación Temprana (González Cuadros)
Additional OER/ZTC Options
The following are additional resources that faculty can use to teach the course. Some may be OER and others may be copyrighted resources faculty can use to teach the course with no associated costs for digital access (often referred to as Zero Textbook Cost, or ZTC).
- Child Development – Culture (Lumen Learning) (Licenses vary.) There is a small portion on culture in this Lumen Course on Child Development.
- Creating Cultural Competence – Simple Book Publishing (pressbooks.pub) (CC-BY) This book was written to provide an introduction to cultural competence. The book is broken into video chapters that focus on the five developmental orientations of cultural competence, based on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). The videos utilize voices of how students define and create cultural competence in their communities. These videos are appropriate for high school and college campus initiatives and classes, organization, and community trainings.
- Culturally_Responsive_Teaching) (CC BY) A 50-State Survey of Teaching Standards
- Family Engagement and Cultural Perspectives: Applying Strengths-based Attitudes (hhs.gov) (This resource may be duplicated for noncommercial uses without permission.)
- Foundations and Current Issues of Early Childhood Education (WikiBooks) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Intercultural Education (Merlot) (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US)This course on Intercultural Education which includes content on intercultural relationships, cultural differences, social conflict, cultural spaces, and cultural competence is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US.
- NOBA Modules – Culture and Emotion | Noba (nobaproject.com); Time and Culture | Noba (nobaproject.com)
- Teaching in a Diverse Society thread Additional resources can be found in the Teaching in a Diverse Society thread on the Early Childhood Education OER Collaboration Google Group. The licensing of these resources varies and should be confirmed before use.
- Teaching Tolerance (Southern Poverty Law Center) The Teaching Tolerance website by the Southern Poverty Law Center provides free resources to educators (including readings, activities, and teaching strategies). They are copyrighted.
- Understanding Assessment: Effects of Cultural Bias on Childhood Development (Leaders Project, 2013) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Understanding Assessment: Effects of Cultural Bias on Childhood Development is a reading by Dr. Catherine (Cate) Crowley. It is licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (which means it cannot be altered, but it can be reused without modification)
Resources in Canvas
- ASCCC ECE 230 Teaching in a Diverse Society Canvas Shell – This is a Canvas shell populated with videos that are freely available and suggestions for their use and other resources, if available. Videos may have restrictions on their use.
- OER Resources for Teaching in a Diverse Society Canvas shell (shell is licensed CC BY, contents may have restrictions on their use)
California Department of Education Resources
The following resources from the California Department of Education have helpful information within (they are not focused on observation and assessment, but provide information on them in context). They are copyrighted, but permission has been given through the California Department of Education to use them to create OER.
- California Preschool Program Guidelines (California Department of Education, 2015) The curriculum planning process is reflected at the end of Part Two.
- Early Childhood Educator Competencies (California Department of Education, 2011) The Observation Screening, Assessment, and Documentation competency area of the California Early Childhood Educator Competencies provided professional expectations for observing and assessing young children.
- Infant/Toddler Curriculum Framework (California Department of Education, 2012) The curriculum planning process is reflected in the introduction section with additional reflections on documentation, assessment, and planning.
- Preschool Curriculum Framework (California Department of Education, 2010) The curriculum planning process is reflected in the introduction section of each volume.
- Preschool Learning Foundations The curriculum planning process is reflected in the introduction section of each volume.
- The Integrated Nature of Learning: Best Practices for Planning Curriculum For Young Children (California Department of Education, 2016) There are portions of this book that would be particularly relevant, including Part III on reflective planning and Part V on assessment.
Additional OER for Courses with no C-ID descriptor
- Infant and Toddler Care and Development Revised Edition (Taintor and LaMarr, 2024) (Mixed license) – LibreTexts
Infant and Toddler Textbooks/Resource to be used in a variety of Infant or Toddler Deveopment or practicum courses. Also includes H5P activities.
Using an OER resource that is missing from the list above? If so, please let us know.
This page last updated February 5, 2024.