Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO)

On-the-job Training

• Child Development and Learning
  • Applies general knowledge of development in all domains from conception through early childhood, including knowledge about typical and atypical development. Identifies major milestones about the social–emotional, language, cognitive, and perceptual and motor domains for the stages represented in the group.
  • Demonstrates knowledge and initiates discussions about the ecological perspective and the factors that contribute to each child’s development.
  • Applies theory to practice and provides resources to staff and colleagues.
  • Understands different patterns of parent–child interaction and attachment, and their impact on child outcomes.
  • Initiates and sustains relationships with families that build on the families’ strengths and emerging capacities.
  • Designs and maintains the indoor and outdoor learning environment to support children’s participation during play, including the provision of open-ended, developmentally appropriate materials and activities that engage children based on observations of their development.
  • Plans and implements curriculum to support the development and learning of each child.
• Culture, Diversity & Equity
  • Works proactively to support children and families as they transition to the early childhood setting.
  • Embraces each child’s culture and sees it as an asset.
  • Applies skills and knowledge gained from orientation sessions to communicate respectfully with all families.
  • Reflects on own biases and cultural background and experiences on teaching; communicates with early educators and families to understand all cultural and linguistic backgrounds and experiences.
  • Models the implementation of inclusive communication and practices to engage colleagues, children, and families.
  • Identifies and uses pictures, photos, books, recordings, food, and other materials that reflect the diversity of children and families.
• Relationships, Interactions & Guidance
  • Establishes an environment in which children and adults feel safe to explore their emotional experiences and to receive support as needed.
  • Provides activities and organizes the learning environment to support children’s developing self-regulation.
  • Organizes the learning environment to reflect the importance of consistency, continuity, and responsiveness in supporting children’s emotional development.
  • Works with staff and colleagues to plan a positive social–emotional climate in the learning environment based on the individual strengths and interests of the children in the group.
  • Plans experiences that incorporate a variety of developmentally appropriate strategies for supporting children’s social– emotional development, based on observations of children’s behavior and family input.
  • Refines and implements developmentally appropriate strategies to help children learn how to express emotions, negotiate conflict, and solve problems. Implements strategies designed by staff, colleagues, and families to address children’s challenging behaviors.
• Family and Community Engagement
  • Respects each family’s style and preferred methods of communication and interacts with families in a transparent, accountable manner.
  • Maintains confidentiality and ensures privacy in communications about children, families, and staff members.
  • Builds relationships with families to ensure meaningful two-way collaboration, supporting the children’s learning and development and helping families to understand child development.
  • Demonstrates an understanding of risk factors related to child and family health, mental health, and development.
  • Works with staff to respond to signs of risk or stress in children, as developmentally appropriate and individually meaningful.
  • Identifies indicators of school readiness and their developmental precursors, as appropriate for the ages of the children served.
• Dual-Language Development
  • Incorporates practices that honor the role of the home language as a vital foundation in English-language development.
  • Implements a range of strategies to support young dual-language learners and supports colleagues in the implementation of strategies.
  • Observes young dual-language learners in a variety of physical and social contexts, solicits input from families and colleagues, and documents observations and uses observations to inform interactions with children and the curriculum-planning process.
  • Articulates that young dual-language learners bring diverse linguistic and cultural experiences, even if they share a home language.
• Observation, Screening, Assessment & Documentation
  • Supports the planning process and develops appropriate activities based on observation of children in the group.
  • Understands the basic differences between screening and assessments and assists staff or specialists in conducting screenings as appropriate.
  • Demonstrates understanding that assessment includes observation and the use of specific assessment instruments and applies appropriate assessment instruments to individual children, groups, or programs as required.
  • Plans developmentally appropriate opportunities for children to participate in documentation of their experiences.
• Special Needs & Inclusion
  • Follows program policies designed to create a sense of belonging and to support full participation by children and adults with disabilities or other special needs.
  • Follows guidance to support all children’s active participation in learning opportunities through the use of easily adaptable materials, strategies, and techniques.
  • Identifies and addresses modifications in the facility and the learning environment to support children or adults with disabilities or other special needs, based on input from service providers, families, staff, and colleagues.
• Learning Environments and Curriculum
  • Uses knowledge of development to inform planning for individual children within the indoor and outdoor learning environment, including support for relationships and the development of emotion regulation.
  • Responds to children’s interests by selecting materials, expanding on their ideas, or planning activities and experiences, engaging children in planning as developmentally appropriate.
  • Adapts the environment as necessary to meet the interests and requirements of children in the group.
  • Plans and/or follows the daily schedule to meet regulatory requirements and to support the learning and development of children, providing time for meaningful engagement and incorporating a balance of quiet and active choices, indoor and outdoor play, various group configurations, and both child initiated and adult-facilitated elements
• Health, Safety & Nutrition
  • Modifies the environment to improve health and safety.
  • Collaborates with children, staff, colleagues, and families, as appropriate, to establish indoor and outdoor safety rules for the immediate environment.
  • Has knowledge of, and contributes to the improvement of, emergency plans; and locates relevant documentation and supplies—such as emergency contact information, evacuation maps, first-aid kit, and automated external defibrillator (AED)—and conveys accurate information to staff and families when needed.
  • Follows directions, models appropriate behavior, and assists children, as developmentally appropriate, during an emergency or drill.
  • Contributes to implementation of food-safety guidelines for handling and storage.
  • Contributes to development and discussions about principles of healthful food choices and habits, including developmental and individual feeding schedules and timelines, appropriate portion sizes, and healthy selection of fresh foods.
  • Recognizes and responds to signs of illness or injury in children or alerts other staff as appropriate.
  • Knows individual children’s identified special health-care requirements and locates documentation as needed.
  • Identifies signs of child abuse or neglect and reports concerns about child abuse or neglect to appropriate staff.
  • Understands and adheres to own role as a mandated reporter.
  • Maintains certification in infant/ child CPR and pediatric first aid and responds accordingly to children’s injuries or illnesses.
  • Supports understanding that child and family health (including mental health) may be influenced by factors such as genetics, stress, health of other family members, and exposure to environmental toxins."
  • Collaborates with families, staff, and colleagues to develop health practices and personal care routines that are developmentally appropriate, responsive to individual requirements, and consistent with family practices.
  • Establishes schedules, environments, and experiences to provide children with ample opportunities for physical activity, including a variety of developmentally appropriate and noncompetitive games, making adaptations as necessary to meet individual requirements.
• Professionalism
  • Asks questions and pursues learning opportunities.
  • Asks for help and tries out new ideas and suggestions.
  • Practices self-assessment and shared reflective dialogue & participates in reflective dialogue to challenge one’s own knowledge base.