Penn State Extension Better Kid Care Professional Development for Early Care and Education and School-age Professionals

About BKC Better Kid Care provides evidence-­‐informed professional development to early care and education and youth development professionals to improve the quality of their care and educational practices. Online training is available for child care professionals with more than 200 relevant modules. Better Kid Care translates research-­‐based information into online child care training modules and other professional development resources for early childhood and school-­‐ age practitioners in the following curriculum areas: • Child Growth & Development • Curriculum & Learning Experiences • Families, Schools and Community Collaboration and Partnerships • Assessment • Communication • Professionalism & Leadership • Health, Safety & Nutrition • Program Organization & Administration

BKC Reach Penn State Better Kid Care has learners from all 50 states and more than 56 countries. The maps below visually shows the national footprint of BKC and also the PA participation. Since the launch of On Demand in July of 2011, more than 130,000 professionals have completed more than 550,000 modules to equal over one million hours of professional development.

 

BKC Approval as a Professional Development Organization Currently, BKC online professional development is approved in 41 states and D.C. through state licensing agencies and/ or QRIS systems. The depth of the approval process varies in each state but always involves vetting both the expertise/ credentials of the trainer or training organization and the content being delivered. In some states, every module is being reviewed before approval is granted for use as professional development in that state. To view approval status of each state, visit: http://tinyurl.com/bkc-­‐states Additionally, BKC is a recommended professional development provider by the Administration of Children and Families, Offices of Child Care and Head Start and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the new web portal, Early Educator Central . Better Kid Care’s online modules for infant-­‐ toddler professionals were reviewed by an expert panel from Zero-to‐Three and are included on the website in many categories as a recommended source of professional development. Another national endorsement is from Goddard Systems. Goddard contacted BKC for permission to put the BKC website on their Intranet as a “go-­to resource” for professional development. BKC is also included in the on-­boarding program for new Goddard School franchise owners. Better Kid Care also is contracted by the Department of Defense to provide online professional development in all child care facilities on military bases for all service branches and to child care programs in catchment areas around those bases in 21 targeted states.

Building on Expertise through Partnerships Curriculum development specialists at Better Kid Care have expertise in many different areas of child and youth development including social-­‐emotional development, language and literacy, nutrition and health, youth development, early care and education, adult learning and more. Better Kid Care also reaches out and partners with experts and other agencies to develop On Demand modules such as physicians, CACFP Sponsoring Organizations, research scientists, nutritionists, sleep specialists and other early childhood experts. Some of our key partners are listed below. Each partner represents support with funding and/or expertise for module development. • Department of Defense, Military Community and Family Policy, USDA/NIFA and the University of Nebraska Extension (CYTTAP)

• Pennsylvania Department of Health

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Obesity Prevention Branch

• The Pennsylvania State University Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness

• NIFA: National Institute for Food and Agriculture: Obesity Prevention

• The Pennsylvania State University Integrated Pest Management

• NIFA: Integrated Pest Management

• The Pennsylvania State University Child Study Center (NIH-­‐ funded project)

• University of Nebraska Extension: Noyce Foundation • University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences • Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center • CACFP Sponsoring Organization • Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning

• Pennsylvania Department of Education

• The Pennsylvania State University Eberly College of Science Outreach • Penn State Expanded Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) • Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation • Nemours Children’s Health System • Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation

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Module Development Asst Teacher Process 34%

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24% African Primary American Role Lead Teacher 8% Hispanic Primary Role Assessment includes some form of self-­‐reflection so that participants may identify their own learning Asst Teacher Director 11% Education level The module offers multiple ways for participants to demonstrate competency with director, observation, All Others(discussion 25% 48% presentation, journal reflection, portfolio or other) Director Lead Teacher 30% High school

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11% Public pre-K 67%White 64% Home-based Center-based 8% School-aged 24% African American 8% Hispanic 10%

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BKC Evaluation and Feedback Evaluation reports indicate that participant knowledge gained and intent to apply learning-to-practice had mean scores of 3.3 or higher on a scale (1=low to 4=high) for each module. The online learning environment is filling a critical gap for childcare providers with easy anytime, anywhere access to professional development. For millenials, this is how they access information. For all 200+ On Demand modules, participants respond to an open-­ ended question asking what they learned that they will use in their early care and education or school-age program.

Additional responses below provide a small sample of types of information learned and shared:

An example from Safe Sleep: Reduce the Risk of SUID module is representative of feedback from most modules. (Note: Feedback from specific modules is available on request.) 65% (2,820 participants) shared at least one thing that they learned from the module.

Sleep and Health Module

Sample responses are: • “No bumper pads in crib with baby” • “They should never be placed on their stomachs to sleep.” “That you lay a baby on his/her back while sleeping.” • “I plan on using the handouts provided as references and make them available to parents.” • “In the childcare facilitie I work I am the sole provider in the infant room. I have always been terrified of SIDS happening to me and any information to prevent it is greatly appreciated. I know children should never share a bed, or have items in the crib with them, however I had no idea about that they had to sleep on their backs and that stomack sleeping is dangerous.” • “We will never allow a child to sleep in a bouncer, swing or carseat” • “I like the idea of the sleeper sack. didn’t know there was such a item. I will be purchasing one today” • “I am going to be letting them know that infants should not have anything in cribs. I will be removing the blankets from there and informing the parents as well.”

Healthy and Hunger Free Children: Resources for Families Module • “I work in an EHS program that helps provide low income families with resources to better assist them. Learning more about WIC and SNAP was beneficial to me. I can provide information to my students parents that I couldn’t have before.” • “While our program already participates in the food program, we often hit a wall when trying to figure out way to introduce new foods and add variety to the menu. The training gave me some new ideas to introduce at staff meetings.”

“I learned to recognize signs that children may not be getting adequate sleep at home such as hyperactivity or faster emotional reactions to stimuli in the classroom setting. Upon noticing these behaviors, I can consult my lead teacher on how to best help our students achieve better sleep.” • “I will encourage parents to keep the TV out of the bedroom and to read with the child/children instead.” • “I learned different strategies to help young children sleep easier.” • “I never realized how many health issues were linked to not getting enough sleep.” • “It helps to have the correct knowledge to provide to the families when coming up with an action plan for the children’s sleep schedule.”

Food Allergies: Management and Prevention Module • “I have had and continue to have many children with food allergies. Our center doesn’t have a Food Allergy Plan and now I would like to help implement one. In addition, I was unaware that the center had to provide alternatives for children with severe debilitating allergies while enrolled in the CACFP.” • “I learned that you have to watch the children with allergies a lot closer so nothing is shared cause you never know if they are ingesting maybe something from a friend that might cause them a reaction. I really learned a lot from this lesson and plan on telling everyone in my center about it. Thanks.” • “We have a lot of children in our center with food allergies so this was a great class to take in order to know better of how to treat and what us going on with them. I also liked that they informed me of how children will describe what it feels like when they are having an allergic reaction.”

Discussion Forum: Interaction with Peers and BKC Staff At the end of every online module, learners are given the opportunity to participate in a discussion forum. Better Kid Care staff monitor the discussion boards that allow participants to pose questions to staff or other learners. The discussion forum provides an opportunity to further learning and in some cases, as this example illustrates, clarify concepts learned: Post Text: 1526 – I am interested in hearing from other people about disciplinary strategies to use with preschoolers that don’t involve time out. I have been trying to talk with both parties to conflicts, as it suggests in the videos but I find myself falling back on time out of habit. BKC staff responded that it is important to teach children conflict resolution skills, explaining that children need practice to learn how to solve problems and learn conflict resolution skills. Time out is an “adult fix” to temporally stop unwanted behavior, but it doesn’t teach children how to respond. A few states require that participants post at least two times to the discussion forum before a certificate of completion is awarded. Better Kid Care tracks this and notes discussion forum posts on participant certificates.

Blended Learning and BKC Some state professional development organizations have used BKC On Demand modules in a blended learning environment. Learners complete a module or series of modules and then come together for reflection, discussion or additional learning.

C. Mincemoyer, PhD., Director, Better Kid Care 9/15/16

This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to minorities, women, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and other protected groups. Nondiscrimination: http://guru.psu.edu/policies/AD85.html Claudia C. Mincemoyer, Ph.D., Better Kid Care Program Director 2182 Sandy Drive – Suite 204 State College, PA 16803 © 2016 The Pennsylvania State University