TEDX1901X - Supporting At-Risk Young Learners & Their Families
Course Description
This course is designed to help Early Childhood Educators gain strategies to reach and teach young children who are at risk of not meeting their potential. Participants will learn the internal and external factors that place a child at risk, how heredity and environment affect a child’s development, the characteristics of various risk factors, and interventions for each risk factor. A major emphasis will be on the family’s influence on the child’s development and how Early Childhood Educators can work with families to support their child’s growth in all areas of development.
The course is divided into four chapters. The first chapter defines “at-risk” factors, reviews early childhood development, and presents information about adverse childhood experiences. The second chapter presents the various external environmental and family factors that contribute to a child’s being at risk. The third chapter discusses the internal, child-centered factors of risk. And the fourth chapter presents the problems trauma and abuse cause the developing child. The chapters are sequential and should be completed in the order in which they are presented. At the end of each chapter, there will be an examination covering the material. Students must complete the examination before proceeding to the next chapter. In some of the examinations, questions will involve case studies to provide further practice in the application of knowledge. This course is appropriate for educators who seek training in working with children ages birth to 8 years and for professionals who work directly with families.
Although this course is a comprehensive presentation of the educational issues surrounding adverse childhood experiences and their influence on a child’s development, there is certainly a wealth of research and topics that are not covered in the scope of this course. The instructor highly recommends that you augment your readings from this course with further research to gain a fuller understanding of the complexities of this subject. However, the material presented in this course will give you a broader understanding of the topic. It will also give you information to apply directly to your work with students in the classroom and the community.
View Supporting At-Risk Young Learners & Their Families syllabus for additional information.
Key Benefits
- 100% online self-paced course.
- No prior experience required.
- No textbooks and other materials required for purchase.
Learning Modules Include
- Chapter One: The Early Years of Child Development
- In Chapter One, the early years of child development are discussed in regard to the influences of heredity vs. environmental factors. How the environment influences brain development is a major focus. How adverse childhood experiences affect development is reviewed. Also, several child development theories that explain the influence of family and the needs of children are presented.
- Chapter Two: Family Contributors to Potential Adverse Childhood Experiences
- In Chapter Two, we examine how the family environment and the family’s choices affect how a child develops their cognitive, social-emotional, language, physical, and adaptive skills and their personality. The external factors that can negatively affect a child’s development include poverty, parental issues such as divorce, and dysfunctional families with addictions or mental illness. Interventions for removing school barriers for these families, along with interventions for both the family and the child, are discussed.
- Chapter Three: Individual Factors Contributing to Potential Developmental Risks
- This chapter will discuss child’s internal factors that may contribute to developmental risk. These include such issues as school readiness, temperament/personality, mental health factors, having a disability, or being an English Language Learner. The final section of the chapter is a discussion on how to build resilience in both families and children.
- Chapter Four: The Effects of Trauma: Child Abuse/Neglect, Domestic Violence, General Trauma
- The final chapter examines the effects of trauma on children’s development. Child abuse and violence both have devastating effects on the development of a young brain and leave lasting problems. Interventions for working with trauma-affected students is a major focus of this chapter, as is violence prevention.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Understand the educator’s role in identifying and providing interventions for at-risk young children
- Recognize the symptoms of a child and/or their family being at risk
- Understand what adverse childhood experiences are and how they affect a child’s growth and development
- Understand the external and internal causes of a child’s being placed at risk in families and society
- Understand the special learning needs these students bring to the classroom
- Gain techniques for supporting students and families affected by negative factors
- Learn intervention techniques applicable to early childhood settings
- Gain a wider knowledge of available outside resources and support systems
- Understand the educator’s role in the intervention and prevention of developmental delays
- Understand how the family is the child’s primary influence and the role their choices make in the child’s early development
Requirements to Enroll
No application is needed to enroll. All learners are eligible to enroll in the course. There are no admission requirements. It is recommended that learners have a high school diploma or GED, and have basic computer and internet knowledge.
Semester Open-Enrollment Schedule:
- Spring = January - April
- Summer = May - August
- Fall = September - December
*Please note that students are only allowed to register max 5 TEDX courses per semester period*
Estimated Time to Completion
This course can be completed in approximately 40 hours of asynchronous work.
Access Time
Learners will have access to their course learning modules for up to 365 days from the date of enrollment.
CEUs and PDUs
- CEUs 4.0 National University Continuing Education Units
Certificate of Completion
Learners will be awarded a National University Workforce and Community Education, Professional and Continuing Education Certificate of Completion after satisfying the course requirements below:
- Complete all four information sections showing a competent understanding of the material presented in each section.
- Complete all four section examinations, showing a competent understanding of the material presented. You must obtain an overall score of 70% or higher, with no individual exam score below 50%, to pass this course. *Please note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary by college or university; therefore, you should refer to your course addendum to determine what your minimum exam score requirements are.
- Complete a review of any section on which your examination score was below 50%.
- Retake any examination, after completing an information review, to increase that examination score to a minimum of 50%, making sure to also be achieving an overall exam score of a minimum 70% (maximum of three attempts). *Please note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary by college or university; therefore, you should refer to your course addendum to determine what your minimum exam score requirements are.
- Complete a course evaluation form at the end of the course.
Refund Policy
We at National University want all of our students to have a positive and rewarding learning experience. In the event that a student is not completely satisfied with a course, we offer a refund policy to ensure satisfaction.
To be eligible for a refund, the student must submit a written request, including a valid reason, within 9 calendar days of registering for the course. Additionally, the student must not have attempted more than 25% of the course.
To request a refund, email PACE@nu.edu and include your full name, student ID, and course name. Your reason for requesting a refund will be carefully reviewed, and we reserve the right to refuse a refund if we determine the request to be invalid.
If you meet the eligibility criteria and are approved for a refund, we will issue a refund to your original method of payment within 60 days of the refund approval.