Program Overview
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
School of Teacher Education
McKee 216, Greeley, CO 80639
Telephone: 970.351.2908
Fax: 970.351.1877
Website: www.unco.edu/cebs/teacher-education
Center for Urban Education
1059 Alton Way #758, Denver, CO 802030
Telephone: 303.637.4335
Website: www.unco.edu/cebs/urban-education/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Early Childhood PTEP Credits
- University-Wide Elective Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
The Early Childhood Education Teacher Education Program is offered at the Greeley campus and the Center for Urban Education (CUE) at the Denver Center at Lowry. In addition to engaging coursework, students complete over 800 hours of fieldwork in a variety of birth through third grade settings.
Graduates possess a broad background of knowledge within liberal arts areas and the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to be successful in a variety of early childhood settings. Upon graduation, students are eligible for a Birth through Age Eight State of Colorado Teacher License that includes the right to teach grades kindergarten through age eight and Director Qualification.
Program Admission Requirements:
Academic Good Standing
PTEP Program Requirements:
Teacher candidates who complete an approved content degree and the UNC professional teacher education program, as well as pass the appropriate Colorado Department of Education designated PRAXIS exam (if applicable), will be eligible for recommendation from UNC for a Colorado Department of Education teaching license.
If you are seeking licensure in your program area, the following items are required to complete your program.
- Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #1 (Enrollment in this checkpoint will result in a one-time program fee, assessed to student accounts to pay for assessment software. This checkpoint will also require an out-of-pocket payment - to the chosen approved vendor - to obtain a fingerprint background check, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education.)
- Completion of Full Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #2
- Completion of Application for Student Teaching – referred to as Checkpoint #3
- Completion of content specific PRAXIS test prior to Student Teaching
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.
- All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.
- Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they were once students or where they have a close relative attending and/or working.
- Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Please work with your content advisor to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout your program.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
ELIT 290 Survey of Culturally Diverse Literature for Children is recommended to fulfill Arts & Humanities and U.S. Multicultural Studies requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
SOC 120 Introduction to Family Studies is recommended to fulfill Social & Behavior Sciences, but is not required by the major.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 36 credits
Take all of the following courses:
| EDEC 101 | Introduction to Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| EDEC 102 | Introduction to Early Childhood Education Lab | 3 |
| EDEC 103 | Guidance Strategies for Children | 3 |
| EDEC 104 | Child Development in Context | 3 |
| EDEC 205 | Nutrition, Health, and Safety | 3 |
| EDEC 220 | Curriculum Development: Methods and Techniques | 3 |
| EDEC 240 | Administration of Early Childhood Care and Education Program | 3 |
| EDEC 241 | Administration: Human Relations for Early Childhood | 3 |
| EDEC 250 | Diverse Early Language and Literacy | 3 |
| EDEC 330 | Development and Education of Infants and Toddlers | 3 |
| ECLD 350 | Teaching Young Bilingual Children | 3 |
| ELIT 290 | Survey of Culturally Diverse Literature for ChildrenLAA2LAMS | 3 |
3. Early Childhood PTEP — 51-53 credits
Take all of the following courses:
| EDEC 450 | Family Diversity and Involvement Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| EDEC 455 | Creative Expression and Play in Early Childhood | 3 |
| EDEC 475 | Assessment for Primary Classrooms | 3 |
| EDEL 220 | Teaching with Writing | 3 |
| EDEL 310 | Reading Assessment Informs Teaching | 3 |
| EDEL 360 | Teaching Foundational Reading Skills | 3 |
| EDSE 431 | Introduction to Early Childhood Special Education | 3 |
| ET 340 | Integration of Technology into Content and Pedagogy | 2 |
Additional Main Campus PTEP Requirements:
Take the following course:
| EDEC 262 | ECE Practicum Field Experience I | 2 |
Take all of the following courses concurrently:
| EDEC 461 | Early Childhood Curriculum Language Arts | 3 |
| EDEC 462 | ECE Practicum Field Experience II | 2 |
| EDEC 463 | Early Childhood Curriculum Social Studies | 3 |
| EDEC 465 | Managing Early Childhood Classrooms | 2 |
| EDEC 480 | Early Childhood Curriculum II Mathematics and Science | 6 |
Student Teaching
| EDEC 490 | Early Childhood Student Teaching | 6-12 |
Additional Urban Education PTEP Requirements:
Take all of the following courses:
| EDEC 361 | School Programs for Young Children (CUE) | 2 |
| EDEC 461 | Early Childhood Curriculum Language Arts | 3 |
| EDEC 463 | Early Childhood Curriculum Social Studies | 3 |
| EDEC 465 | Managing Early Childhood Classrooms | 2 |
| EDEC 480 | Early Childhood Curriculum II Mathematics and Science | 6 |
| EDEC 490 | Early Childhood Student Teaching | 6-12 |
| EDFE 170 | Introduction to Field Based Experience | 1- 3 |
| EDFE 370 | Advanced Field Based Experience | 1- 3 |
EDEC 490: Must be taken for 6 credits.
EDFE 170: Must be taken for 3 credits; take for 3 semesters, 1 credit each semester.
EDFE 370: Must be taken for 3 credits; take for 3 semesters, 1 credit each semester.
4. University-Wide Electives — 0-2 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program, that will typically be 0-2 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.