UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROGRAM
* A long-standing tradition of excellence, demonstrated by the number of BGSU early childhood educators holding positions nationwide
* Interdisciplinary perspectives on effectively working with young children, their families, and their communities
* Field experiences (observing, tutoring, assisting, assessing, teaching) interwoven with coursework from freshman to senior year.
* Development of a professional portfolio during the senior year to help students prepare for Ohio’s entry year Pathwise program.
* Professional year experience with opportunity to do methods coursework and student teaching at a single school site
* Opportunities to student teach at multicultural sites that include bilingual student populations, such as international schools (Rio de Janeiro, Montreal), as well as a Texas site (Lamar, Texas).

STUDENTS
The BGSU Early Childhood Program is a highly competitive program because of student interest in this major, the program’s strong reputation, and its commitment to the highest quality learning experiences for students, both on and off campus. Program admission requirements include a grade point average of 3.2. Thus, students who enter this program are academically strong and prepared for the demands of a challenging program of preparation. The program enrollment consists of over 1000 students across the Bowling Green and Firelands campus.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Susan Peet, Program Coordinator
Early Childhood Education
School of Teaching and Learning
College of Education and Human Development
Bowling Green State University
529 Education Building
(419) 372-8257
e-mail: speet@bgsu.edu

Students interested in enrolling in the Bowling Green Early Childhood Education Program through Firelands College should contact:
Anne Leser, Firelands Program Coordinator
Firelands College
Huron, Ohio 44839-5560
(419) 372-0968
email: aleser@bgsu.edu

FACULTY in EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The faculty in Bowling Green State University’s Early Childhood Education Program bring years of professional experience to the classroom. They are educators and professionals who are distinguished by: ongoing research and practice in the field of early studies, as well as active participation in professional organizations; a willingness and commitment to help all students succeed; outstanding teaching that includes a focus on assisting students in the development of a professional portfolio to assist each student with employment and first-year teaching success.

The following list includes core faculty members who teach in the Early Childhood Program:
Savilla Banister, Assistant Professor
Daniel Brahier, Full Professor
Kim Christensen, Assistant Professor, SIS
Alden Craddock, Assistant Professor
Stacey Dudley, Lecturer
Lena Ballone Duran, Assistant Professor
Janet Emerine, Lecturer
Jacqui Guzell, Assistant Professor, FCS
Linda Hamaide, Lecturer, Firelands College
Dodi Hodges, Assistant Professor, SIS
Sherri Horner, Associate Professor, EDFI
Sally Kilmer, Professor, FCS
Marjori Krebs, Instructor
Anne Leser, Associate Professor, Fierlands College
Julie Matuga, Assistant Professor, EDFI
Richard Oldrieve, Assistant Professor
Marcia Rybczynski, Assistant Professor
Ruth Schneider, Associate Professor
Ruth Steinbrunner, Assistant Professor, Firelands College
Debra Shelt, Lecturer
John Sorg, Instructor
Jennifer Thompson, Lecturer
Judy Williams, Lecturer, Firelands College

ALUMNI
Alumni are encouraged to update their records with BGSU. To do so, complete the form at www.bgsu.edu/offices/alumni/updateadd.html. Current BGSU Alumni should visit the Alumni Connections webpage (www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/bgu).

ADVISING
Faculty advisors and professional advisors are committed to helping all students succeed. Students in the EC program receive advising from faculty and from the College of Education and Human Development’s Undergraduate Student Services office, which provides a variety of services to assist students in meeting their personal and professional goals (www.bgsu.edu/colleges/edhd/advising).

ACCREDITATION
The Early Childhood Studies Program is accredited by the Ohio Department of Education and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

SERVICES AND RESOURCES
Students have the opportunity to student teach in English-speaking schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Montreal, Canada. One of the newest student teaching sites outside the state of Ohio is Lamar, Texas. Students interested in one of these student teaching sites should contact the Undergraduate Student Services Office in 365 Education Building.

The Technology and Resource Center provides audio-visual equipment, networked Macintosh/IBM-compatible computers, laser printing, videodisc players, scanners, and a wide variety of application and educational software. Some classrooms are furnished with computers, a projection system, scanner, printer, VCR, and stereo sound system.

BGSU’s Career Services sponsors one of the largest Teacher Job Fairs in the country. Students who attend the job fair generally experience a high placement rate. The overall placement rate for BGSU teacher education graduates is exceptionally high, especially for graduates who are not geographically limited. For more information on the services provided by Career Services, check their website (www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/career)

Many opportunities for education-related clubs and organizations are also available within the College of Education and Human Development. BGSU’s Student Education Association is one of the largest in the nation. Other professional organizations, both academic and non-academic, are available to students. Opportunities are also available for those interested in Greek Life or student government. A complete listing of student organizations on the BGSU campus is available on the student organizations website (www.gsu.edu/offices/sa/life/organizations.html).

The Curriculum and Resource Center in Jerome Library contains more than 80,000 multimedia materials for education majors to use in field experience and classroom activities. These materials range from children’s books to puppets and computer software. Visual aids, videos, textbooks, and other resources are available in the CRC. The CRC maintains a website (www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/crc). In addition, the CRC also maintains a website many of the area schools where professional year students are placed (www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/crc/schooldistricts.html).

SCHOLARSHIPS
A list of all scholarships available to students in the College of Education and Human Development is available at www.bgsu.edu/colleges/edhd/scholarships.html. A list of all
scholarships available to BGSU students is available through the Student Financial Aid Office at www.bgsu.edu/offices/sfa.

FINANCIAL AID
Approximately 60% of BGSU students receive financial aid. Additional information is available through the Student Financial Aid Office, www.bgsu.edu/offices/sfa.

GRANT AND RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Faculty in the Early Childhood Program are actively engaged in a variety of research and grant activities:

Dr. Banister is conducting research in local K-12 schools, focusing on the impact of computer technology on teaching and learning. The multimedia reports coming out of this research have been funded, in part, through Project PICT, a national PT3 grant. She has also received funding through the Ohio Learning Network for her work in online course development.

Dr. Brahier (Mathematics Education) is working on a number of grants which include SUCCESS IV (an Improving Teacher Quality Grant-funded project) and C2aSDII (through Project SUSTAIN). These grants are designed to improve mathematics education throughout northwestern Ohio.

Dr. Ballone Duran (Science Education) is the Principal Investigator and Project Director for a series of Ohio Board of Regent’s Improving Teacher Quality Grants entitled: Project ASTER I, II & III: Active Science Teaching Encourages Reform. She also serves as the co- principal investigator for a NSF Grant entitled PRISM: Partnership for Reform through Inquiry in Science and Mathematics. In addition, she has served as the Co-Principal Investigator for Web-Based Scientific Inquiry in Astronomy and Physics for Middle Childhood Educators. These projects are all designed to improve science teaching and learning at K-12 and college level.

Dr. Sorg is currently researching literacy motivation his dissertation. In a case study the planning and teaching of language arts to second graders by an expert teacher has been analyzed using Ford's Motivational Systems Theory (MST). MST attempts to blend over thirty well known theories of motivation into a unified, comprehensive system. Data collected in the study was coded for 57 variables associated with motivation. The detailed analysis of various literacy events reveals interesting combinations of goals, personal agency beliefs, and emotional patterns.

CURRICULUM
Early Childhood Education professionals are committed to helping young children from diverse backgrounds, and with varying abilities, succeed. Coursework focuses on the influences of families and communities, planning and implementing curricula in literacy, language arts, math, science, arts, social studies, and physical education. ECS majors will take classes in biology, art, English, kinesiology, math , music, special education, and human development and family studies, as well as a group of professional education courses. You must also complete BGSU’s general education requirements. With careful selection of courses, students can complete the program's 123-130 required semester hours within a four-year time frame.

ENTRY TO THE PROGRAM
Prospective Early Childhood Education (ECE) majors are labeled “PreECE,” Pre Early Childhood Education. To be eligible for admission students must complete at least 45 hours of coursework, including at least 24 semester hours at BGSU for transfer students. Admission criteria relate to state and national standards for accreditation. To be admitted, the pre-early childood major must demonstrate:

(1.) Content knowldedge with:

a. an ACT composite of 22 or higher, or Praxis I English and Mathematics scores of 172 or higher and a Reading score of 173 or higher. NOTE: Students who take the Praxis I tests must earn satisfactory scores by the completion of 30 BGSU hours of coursework.

b. a minimum overall grade point average of 3.2 at BGSU


(2.) Basic skills in mathematics, oral communication, and written communication by earning a grade of "C" or better in MATH 213, IPC 102, and ENG 112.

(3.) Undedrstanding of the framework of early childhood education by earning a letter grade of "C" or better in HDFS 221, EDFI 300, EDFI 301, and EDTL 204.

Students who meet the criteria are admitted to the program in either January or June of each year. Students are notified of admission by mail at their home address.

DEGREE
Graduates receive a B.S. in Education.

LICENSURE
The BGSU Early Childhood Program is designed to prepare students for Ohio’s Early Childhood license. This license allows graduates to teach young children who are typically developing, at-risk, gifted, and who have mild/moderate educational needs. The license is issued to for ages three through eight and prekindergarten through grade three.

To be eligible for Ohio’s Early Childhood provisional license, students must successfully complete the coursework listed on their advising checksheet and must pass the required PRAXIS II examinations. This provisional license is valid for 2 years. To move to the next level of licensure, students must pass PRAXIS III.