Practicum & Fieldwork

CDV 480 – Practicum in Early Childhood Education

CDV 480 is designed to provide students with practical/clinical experience in preschool settings. Students will complete a minimum of 100 hours of direct interaction with preschool-aged children and teachers at university-approved practicum sites*. Students will demonstrate their ability to observe children and plan learning activities that are developmentally appropriate. Additionally, seminars will provide opportunities to reflect on and integrate their practicum experiences under the guidance of a practicum instructor, fostering a deeper understanding of early childhood education principles. 

What are the benefits of this course?

• Skill Development: Students will practice and demonstrate skills expected of beginning preschool teachers in California, aligned with the California Early Childhood Education Teaching and Administrator Performance Expectations.
• Field Experience Requirements: This course fulfills the 3-unit supervised field experience requirement for the Child Development Permit. For more information, visit the CTC Child Development Permit page.
• Credential Equivalency: Students applying for the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential will receive clinical practice equivalency for 100 hours completed in CDV 480. Note that the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential requires a minimum of 600 hours of clinical practice, with 200 hours in a preschool or TK setting. For further details, refer to page 8, Option 2.
• California Formative Teaching Performance Assessment (CalFTPA): Students will complete the ECE CalFTPA to apply early childhood theories of practice to their work with children, aligning with the ECE Teaching Performance Expectations. This experience equips students with valuable knowledge and skills in teaching performance assessments, beneficial for those pursuing teaching credential programs, as passing such assessments is a requirement for credential recommendation.

* Current employment sites or prior job experience will not be accepted as a substitute for this course.