Complete your bachelor's degree entirely online. Through Northwestern’s Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program, you will gain knowledge in child development, assessment, behavior and current policy and be prepared to create meaningful learning experiences for every young child. Build on what you already know and become better equipped to address student needs and collaborate with co-teachers, parents, and peers. Take relevant courses and apply new strategies immediately in your early childhood education environment.
The B.A. Early Childhood program will qualify you for early childhood education roles in a variety of settings, including:
Earning your degree doesn't have to cost you time away from your other responsibilities. Northwestern College's online Bachelors in Early Childhood is designed for working adults, allowing you to log into classes and complete your coursework each week when it's most convenient for you. Take one 8-week class at a time and balance your work, school and life schedule.
Educators with an early childhood degree are also highly employable. Research shows that teachers with more education offer higher quality programs with more positive child outcomes. Northwestern's affordable bachelor's degree program will provide opportunities for employment, job changes and promotion.
Early Childhood core courses (33 credits)
ECE 305 - Child Observation and Assessment
(3 credits) In this course, participants will learn how to implement a system of ongoing child assessment that is systematic, comprehensive and feasible in order to make sure that children make the progress necessary to be ready for kindergarten. Participants will first understand the importance of and strategies for planning and preparing for an effective system of ongoing child assessment. Participants will learn about and practice using four methods of effective ongoing assessment to inform their teaching and improve children's learning. This course will also provide information and implementation opportunities for individualizing ongoing assessment strategies for children who are dual language learners and children with special needs. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 310 - Resiliency and Wellness for Educators
(3 credits) The purpose of this course is to teach you how to be a resilient educator. Resilience is the ability to survive and thrive. It is not only about your ability to positively adapt in the face of adverse or challenging circumstances (that is, survive), but it is also about learning the positive skills, strategies, and routines that enable you to live a happy, fulfilling, and successful life (in other words, thrive). This course will help give you the permission to take care of yourself in order to optimize your effectiveness as an early childhood educator. This captures the notion of teaching from the inside out - a phrase that highlights the importance of promoting core resilience skills, strategies, and routines among early childhood educators. In turn, resilient educators are more capable of creating and maintaining nurturing, supportive, and effective learning environments while optimizing their own well-being and love of the profession. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 320 - Positive Behavioral Support for Young Children I
(3 credits) This course utilizes evidence-based strategies for promoting social and emotional development and preventing and addressing challenging behaviors in preschool-aged children. Through course readings, discussions, activities, and related experiences, participants will learn about a variety of these research-based practices. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 325 - Positive Behavioral Support for Young Children II
(3 credits) This course utilizes evidence-based strategies for promoting social and emotional development and preventing and addressing challenging behaviors in preschool-aged children. Through course readings, discussions, activities, and related experiences, participants will learn about a variety of these research-based practices. Prerequisite: ECE320.
ECE 330 - Supporting Language and Literacy Development in Preschool
(3 credits) This course is designed with two key learning objectives in mind. First, this course will increase learners' knowledge about how children's language and literacy skills develop between ages 3 to 5 and the ways in which these skills lay a foundation for later reading success. Second, learners will be introduced to key practices that promote explicit and systematic instruction. Learners will also participate in field-based assignments where they apply this learning in their own settings. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 340 - Highly Individualized Teaching & Learning
(3 credits) This course covers evidence-based research and practices for fostering the social emotional, cognitive, and motor development of young children with varying needs and abilities in inclusive settings. Students learn to individualize instructional strategies, design learning environments with appropriate accommodations and adaptions, and understand IEPs and IFSPs. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 400 - Supporting Dual Language Learners
(3 credits) This course focuses on the language, reading, writing, and communication development of children who are dual language learners (DLLs), ages birth-to-five years. Connections are made between assessment and instruction that promote early language and literacy learning for children who are DLLs. Emphasis throughout the course is placed on fostering language and literacy learning by building on the family and community connections of young children who are DLLs. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 420 - Engaging Interactions and Environments
(3 credits) This course will increase learners' skill in creating effective classroom environments and interactions by providing rich opportunities to learn about and see examples from other classrooms. Learners will also complete field-based assignments where they apply this learning in their own settings and receive feedback focused on ensuring they can enact the practices they are learning about. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 425WI - Children’s Health and Well-Being
(3 credits) (Writing intensive) This course explores topics related to health and well-being and focuses on teaching practices, classroom activities, partnerships with families, and program policies to ensure that all children are healthy and ready
to learn. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
ECE 430 - Learning with Digital Media
(3 credits) Although infants and very young children do not learn from digital media such as television and media, there is evidence that preschool-aged children can. Young children can learn basic literacy skills, mathematics skills, and develop interest in science from engaging with digital media. Instructional practices can enhance learning from media. Specifically, young children's learning is enhanced when adults co-view or co-engage with young children in ways that foster sustained attention to aspects of media that are intended to promote learning. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in
Early Childhood program.
ECE 450 - The Early Childhood Professional Portfolio
No course description available.
Northwestern education core courses (4 credits)
Accepted as transfer credits or taken at Northwestern
BTS 150 - Christian Story I
(4 credits) This course presents an overview of and orientation to the Bible, focusing on its content, character, role in the Christian faith, and covenant themes of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. This course begins the development of theological thinking for academic study in the liberal arts and equips students for the task of integrating faith and learning in their academic work. Students should complete this course by the end of their second term.
Note: Does not count toward a religion major or minor.
Elective courses
Accepted as transfer credits from an associate's degree.
The following online courses are also available for students who need to reach a total of 124 credits.
ECE 228 - Young Children's Literature
(3 credits) Young Children's Literature provides an opportunity to study the history of children's literature and its uses in the classroom. This course provides an introduction to the criteria and selection of children's literature for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Various genres are reviewed, and ideas for curriculum integration are explored. A study of illustrations and authors is included.
EDU 229 - Intro to Early Childhood
(3 credits; alternate years, consult department)This course examines both the typical and atypical growth and development of children ages birth through grade three in the areas of cognition, language development, physical
motor, social-emotional, mental health and adaptive behavior. Candidates will learn how these areas impact development and learning in the first years of life and will use this knowledge to plan, develop, implement and evaluate integrated learning experiences for home, center and school environments based on knowledge of the child, the family,
and the community. Candidates will also use relevant national and state professional standards for designing content and informing and improving practices for children and their families.
Note: This course includes field experience.
ECE335 - Cognition & General Knowledge
(3 credits) This course covers evidence-based instructional practices that promote math and science learning in the early childhood classroom. This course includes an overview of young children's use of logic and reasoning. Prerequisite: Admission into the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood program.
EDU240 - Integrating Arts in the Elementary Classroom
(3 credits) This course is designed to provide basic skills for integrating music, theatre, art, and physical education in the elementary school classroom as well as strategies for cooperative opportunities with the specialized teachers. We will concentrate on effective teaching strategies, which include planning, implementing, and evaluating the teaching process. Course content will include practicing teaching techniques and learning pedagogy related to the integration of these specials in the elementary classroom.
Total credits: 124
124 credits are required to graduate with a bachelor's degree, which includes the total associate and bachelor credits combined.
Minimum credits from Northwestern: 30
