What you will learn
Advance specialized knowledge and skills for effective interactions and teaching.
- Focus on infant-toddler pedagogy—the method and practice of teaching
- Explore the unique needs of multilingual, multicultural families and children from populations facing risk factors
Designed for
All professionals supporting infant-toddler education, including early childhood educators, adult educators (coaches, trainers, specialists), administrators and program directors.
Overview
The ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant-Toddler Educators™ describe what educators can do to make the most of teacher-child interactions, to turn them into valuable learning opportunities. The Critical Competencies are specialized competencies which provide clear, concrete descriptions of specific educator behaviors and interactions that are known to support critical areas of development during the critical time of development, from birth to 3 years old. The Critical Competencies and its cutting-edge suite of trainings, products, and services:
- support educators who work in group settings (center-based and family child care homes) with infants, toddlers, or both;
- feature considerations for working with children facing risk factors and multilanguage learners;
- build on professional criteria for the early childhood field (e.g., NAEYC, CDA, and more), are cross-walked with state core knowledge and competency areas, and align with observation tools (e.g., ITERS and CLASS), and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework.
Offerings
ZERO TO THREE offers a comprehensive menu of Critical Competencies learning options and services for individuals and through group contracts:
- Critical Competencies Online Learning Course and Micro-Courses
- Critical Competencies Coaching Program
- Competencies Micro Training-of-Trainers and Badging
- Critical Competencies Online Reflection Tool & consultation on results (through group contracts only)
- Critical Competencies Higher Education Faculty eResource Package and License
- State and Organizational-level Licenses (through group contracts only)
- Technical Assistance (through group contracts only)
All of the Critical Competencies trainings are offered virtually. The Micro ToTs can be delivered in-person for group contracts. See Training Descriptions below for additional details.
Critical Competencies for Infant-Toddler Educators™ Online Course
Critical Competencies Area 2 Micro-ToT - August 2023
Critical Competencies Area 3 Micro ToT - September 2023
Training Description
All participants in Critical Competencies offerings receive access to the ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant‐Toddler Educators™ eBook for download. Contact us to learn more about the Critical Competencies offerings, including the training programs described below, technical assistance services and options for customized packages that meet your specific needs.
- Critical Competencies Online Learning Course and Micro-Courses offer educators scenario-based opportunities to observe, understand, and reflect on critical interactions with infants and toddlers. The full Course explores all of the Critical Competencies Areas, covering 1 sub-area per module. Each module takes approximately 90 minutes to complete. Courses include knowledge assessments at the conclusion of each of the three Critical Competencies Areas:
- Micro-Course Area 1: Supporting Social-Emotional Development (6 modules)
- Micro-Course Area 2: Supporting Cognitive Development (4 modules)
- Micro-Course Area 3: Supporting Language and Literacy Development (3 modules)
- Critical Competencies Coaching Program supports and enriches coaches’ knowledge of and capacity to integrate the Critical Competencies into their direct practice with early childhood educators and program leaders. ZERO TO THREE Faculty guide a cohort of coaches (or other TA providers) through an intensive five-part program that equips them with strategies and resources to help their coachees reflect on, practice and advance the Critical Competencies.
- Critical Competencies Micro Training-of-Trainers prepares early childhood trainers to deliver the Critical Competencies Micro-Courses and includes information and support for adult educators to become a ZERO TO THREE badged or certified trainer. ZERO TO THREE badged and certified trainers are permitted to synchronously deliver the Critical Competencies curriculum (Area 1, 2 and/or 3) virtually, in hybrid delivery formats, as well as in-person, as originally designed.
