Early Childhood Education-BA

Program Overview

Bachelor of Arts - Early Childhood Education

The Great Basin College Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education is a 120-credit online degree program focused on providing high-quality, research-based education for teaching children from birth through age five. This program is designed to prepare students to assume teaching and/or leadership positions in licensed childcare and preschool programs, Head Start programs, and agencies supporting early childhood education. The Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education aligns with the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators.

Note: This program does not offer licensure for teaching positions in the PreK-12 public school system.

Student Learning Outcomes

The graduates of this program will consistently display the following skills in accordance with the National Association for the Education of Your Children Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators:

Standard #1: Child Development and Learning in Context - Early childhood education students will be able to describe child development and learning in context from birth through age five across developmental domains.

Standard #2: Family-Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections - Early childhood education students will be able to explain and demonstrate the importance of partnerships with the families of the young children they serve.

Standard #3: Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment - Early childhood education students will be able to interpret and appraise assessments to inform instruction and planning in early childhood settings.

Standard #4: Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices - Early childhood education students will be able to select the teaching skills needed for the learning trajectories of young children.

Standard #5: Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum - Early childhood education students will be able to examine and identify developmentally appropriate pedagogical methods for teaching in early childhood disciplines.

Standard #6: Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator - Early childhood education students will be able to summarize and apply ethical guidelines that advocate for young children, their families, and the early childhood profession.

These performance standards are assessed through coursework, portfolios, reflections, observations, and performance-based rubrics.

Accreditation

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits this baccalaureate program.

Teacher Education Program Mission Statement

The mission of the teacher education program of Great Basin College is to provide a distinctive early childhood, elementary, secondary, and special education program for rural Nevada.

The teacher education program is designed to develop competence, values, skills, and knowledge to promote lifelong learning and is distinctive in the following ways:

• We recognize and value diversity in the heritage and traditions of the region.
• We collaborate with the ten rural school districts in the region to offer early and extensive clinical  and field experiences throughout the programs.
• We utilize the professional expertise and contributions of faculty and staff in all academic               disciplines. 
• We utilize technology for distance education and delivering education courses in rural areas.

Academic Advising

It is highly recommended that students who are interested in pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education seek advisement early in their academic program to ensure efficient advancement through the program. The course of study in Early Childhood Education involves the proper sequencing of courses within the program. All students are encouraged to schedule appointments with their assigned advisors on a regular basis. Program degree requirements may change. Call the Office of Advising at 775.327.2068 to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor.

Admission to the Early Childhood Education Program

Application Deadline: After the specified prerequisites have been met, students must formally apply for admission into the Early Childhood Education program. Students will contact the Early Childhood Education Department to receive a copy of the most current GBC Early Childhood Education Program Admission Handbook. Prior to application to the Early Childhood Education Program, students must successfully complete the following:

• Early Childhood Education Program application form for admission.
• FBI background checks for ECE 493 Supervised Internship, if applicable.
• Completion of ENG 102 with a grade of C- or higher.
• Completion of 24 credits in ECE/HDFS.
• Overall GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Technology and ECE/HDFS courses must have been completed within the last ten years.
• Official transcripts from previous colleges sent to GBC’s admissions and records office.

Admission Criteria: The teacher education committee (TEC) will admit students to the BA in Early Childhood Education program each semester. Admission is on a competitive basis. When there are more qualified applicants than there are available spaces in the program, preference will be given to those with the highest qualifications. Meeting minimum application criteria does not guarantee admission to the program. Those students who meet or exceed the minimum criteria but who are not admitted may reapply in future semesters.

Additional Costs: Fingerprint cards must be submitted for background checks prior to enrolling in the student’s first field experience class, if applicable. There is a fingerprinting fee.

Maintaining Good Standing: Students who have been admitted to the Early Childhood Education program must maintain their status as students in good standing in order to graduate.

The requirements are as follows:

• Maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA at GBC.
• Maintain an ethical and professional standard of behavior.
• Receive satisfactory evaluations in field work and project development.
• Receive no lower than a 2.0 GPA in all upper-division courses.

Students who complete the lower division ECE, HDFS, and general education courses may also apply to graduate with an Associate of Arts or Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education.

Students must formally apply for acceptance into the Bachelor of Arts Early Childhood Program. Applications will be accepted each semester for the subsequent semester. The deadlines for submitting applications will be April 1 for the fall semester and October 1 for the spring semester. Prior to graduation, students must meet the following criteria:

Total Units........................................................120 Credits

Total Lower Division Courses..............................78 Credits

Total Upper Division Courses..............................42 Credits

Cumulative GPA............................................ 2.5 or higher

Maintain GPA ............................................... 2.5 or higher

GBC GPA for Graduation..............................................2.0

Residency Requirement.....................................32 Credits

Half Program Units/4 Year Institution..................60 Credits

General Education Requirements

Lower-Division Courses

Evidence-Based Communications

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ENG 102	Composition II	3 Credits

 

Mathematical Reasoning (one course required): Choose from the courses listed below or any higher-level math.

Course #	Course Title	Credits
MATH 120	Fund of College Math	3 Credits
MATH 120E	Fund of College Math Expanded	3 Credits
MATH 126	Precalculus I	3 Credits
MATH 126E	Precalculus I Expanded	3 Credits
STAT 152	Intro to Statistics	3 Credits

 

Scientific Data Interpretation (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
AST 101	General Astronomy	3 Credits
BIOL 100	General Biology/Non Major	3 Credits
BIOL 190	Intro Cell/Molecular Biology	4 Credits
CHEM 100	Molecules/Life Modrn Wrld	3 Credits
CHEM 121	General Chemistry I	4 Credits
ENV 100	Humans and the Environment	3 Credits
GEOL 101	Exploring Planet Earth	3-4 Credits
NUTR 121	Human Nutrition	3 Credits
PHYS 100	Introductory Physics	3 Credits
PHYS 151	Gen Physics I	4 Credits
PHYS 180	Physics Scientist/Engr I	4 Credits

 

Scientific Reasoning (one course required): Choose one course listed below or any AST, BIOL, CHEM, ENV, GEOL, or PHYS

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ANTH 102	Physical Anthropology	3 Credits
GEOG 103	Physical Geog Earth Environmnt	3 Credits
NUTR 121	Human Nutrition	3 Credits

 

American Constitutions and Institutions: HIST 101 and 102 or PSC 101

Course #	Course Title	Credits
HIST 101	U.S. History to 1877	3 Credits
HIST 102	U.S. History Since 1877	3 Credits
PSC 101	Intro American Politics	3 Credits

 

Humanities (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ART 160	Art Appreciation	3 Credits
Course ART 260 does not exist.
Course ART 261 does not exist.
ENG 203	Intro to Literary Study	3 Credits
ENG 223	Themes of Literature	3 Credits
FIS 100	Introduction to Film	3 Credits
FREN 111	First Year French I	3-4 Credits
FREN 112	First Year French II	3-4 Credits
HIST 208	World History I	3 Credits
HIST 209	World History II	3 Credits
HUM 101	Intro to Humanities I	3 Credits
Course HUM 111 does not exist.
HUM 210	Communicating Diversity	3 Credits
MUS 121	Music Appreciation	3 Credits
Course MUS 125 does not exist.
PHIL 101	Intro to Philosophy	3 Credits
PHIL 102	Critical Thinking	3 Credits
PHIL 135	Introduction to Ethics	3 Credits
SPAN 111	First Year Spanish I	3 Credits
SPAN 112	First Yr Spanish II	3 Credits
SPAN 211	Second Year Spanish I	3 Credits

 

Communications & Expressions/Fine Arts (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ART 100	Visual Foundations	3 Credits
ART 101	Drawing I	3 Credits
ART 107	Design Fundmntls I (2-D)	3 Credits
ENG 205	Intro to Creative Writing	3 Credits
MUS 101	Music Fundamentals	3 Credits
THTR 100	Introduction to Theatre	3 Credits
THTR 105	Introduction to Acting I	3 Credits
THTR 204	Theatre Technology I	3 Credits
WELD 200	Metal Art	3 Credits

 

Technology

Course #	Course Title	Credits
EDU 214	Prep Teachers to Use Tech	3 Credits

 

Mastery Course Requirement

Humanities or Social Science (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
HUM 301	Studies in Humanities	3 Credits
INT 339	Integrative Humanities Seminar	3 Credits
ANTH 307	Ancient Civilizations	3 Credits
ANTH 332	(De)Constructing Race	3 Credits
HIST 303	Worlds of Islam	3 Credits
HIST 312	Expansion of the U.S.	3 Credits
HIST 341	Global China	3 Credits
INT 349	Integrative Social Science Sem	3 Credits
PSY 313	Well-Being: East Meets West	3 Credits

 

Lower-Division Program Requirements

Oral Communications (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
COM 113	Fund Speech Communication	3 Credits
Course THTR 102 does not exist.
THTR 221	Oral Interpretation	3 Credits

 

Written Communications (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ENG 100	Composition-Enhanced	5 Credits
ENG 101	Composition I	3 Credits

 

Structures of Societies (one course required)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ANTH 101	Intro Cultural Anthropology	3 Credits
CRJ 104	Intro to Admin of Justice	3 Credits
CRJ 270	Intro to Criminology	3 Credits
ECON 102	Prin of Microeconomics	3 Credits
ECON 103	Principles of Macroeconomics	3 Credits
GEOG 106	Intro to Cultural Geography	3 Credits
HMS 200	Ethics in Human Services	3 Credits
PSY 101	Gen Psychology	3 Credits
PSY 208	Psy of Human Relations	3 Credits
SOC 101	Prin of Sociology	3 Credits

 

ECE/HDFS Education Lower-Division Courses

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ECE 126	Social/Emotional Development	3 Credits
ECE 127	Role of Play Infnt/Toddlr	1-3 Credits
ECE 130	Infancy	3 Credits
ECE 200	The Exceptional Child	3 Credits
ECE 204	Principles Child Guidance	3 Credits
ECE 210	Assess of Young Children	3 Credits
ECE 235	Adapting Curricula	3 Credits
ECE 250	Intro Early Childhood Edu	3 Credits
ECE 251	Curriculm Early Child Edu	3 Credits
ECE 262	Early Lang/Litrcy Develop	3 Credits
HDFS 201	Lifespan Human Developmnt	3 Credits
HDFS 202	Introduction to Families	3 Credits
HDFS 232	Diversity in Children	3 Credits

Upper-Division Program Requirements

Early Childhood/HDFS Courses

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ECE 461	ECE Management	3 Credits
ECE 441	Play, Creat, & Aesth	3 Credits
EDES 300	Lang Arts and Lit	3 Credits
HDFS 435A	Child Socialization	3 Credits

Methods Courses  

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ECE 453	Methods I/Social Sciences	3 Credits
ECE 454	Methods II/Math & Science	3 Credits

ELAD: English Language Acquisition & Development Courses

Course #	Course Title	Credits
EDRL 471	Theory/Pract Acad Eng Lang Dev	3 Credits
HDFS 428	PreK Curr I	3 Credits

SPED: Special Education Courses Requirement

Course #	Course Title	Credits
HDFS 429	Advanced PreK Curr II	3 Credits
EDUC 470	Multicultural Education	3 Credits

Internship Requirement

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ECE 483	Pre-Student Teaching	3 Credits
ECE 493	Supervised Internship in ECE	1-12 Credits

 

SUGGESTED 4 YEAR PLAN OF STUDY

Bachelor of Arts - Early Childhood Education - Birth through Age Five, Non-Licensure