eCircle Professional Development

The eCircle Professional Development Program includes 16 courses (73.5 hours) for teachers and administrators serving children three to six years of age. These courses include extensive video-based demonstrations of effective instructional practices, as well as application-based assignments and activities. eCircle is well-aligned to the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines, covering topics in classroom management, language and literacy, social and emotional development, science, and mathematics. This program can be self-paced or facilitated in a group setting.

FOUNDATIONAL TOPICS

Classroom Management

This course focuses on designing, creating, and managing classrooms that combine meaningful structure with a warm spirit.

Building Children's Vocabulary

This course focuses on developing and enhancing theme-based vocabulary instruction for pre-kindergarten children.

Letter Knowledge

This course focuses on strategies for introducing pre-K children to letter and language concepts while exposing them to the letters themselves.

Phonological Awareness

Discover a critical piece in literacy development: Phonological Awareness. This course features four-year-olds engaged in playful activities with a purpose. The teachers focus on exposing the children repeatedly to the sounds of spoken words.

Read Alouds

This course focuses on planning and leading effective read alouds. It includes research-based techniques for extending the benefits of read alouds throughout the day and week and presents read alouds as a cornerstone of children’s literacy.

Written Expression

This course focuses on planning, implementing, and reflecting on written expression instruction in pre-K classrooms, including modeling, encouraging, and scaffolding writing across the school day and throughout the school year.

Social and Emotional Learning

This course focuses on a child’s development of self-concept, self-control, social competence, and social awareness.

Early Childhood Mathematics

This course presents strategies and rationale for supporting mathematics development in early childhood classrooms. A new module on the developmental progression of math is coming soon!

Discovering Early Childhood Science

This course presents research-based methods and tools to help teachers plan for, teach, and assess children’s understanding of developmentally appropriate pre-K science experiences.

Effective Mentoring Strategies

This course introduces the key components of mentoring, as well as tools and effective strategies to help mentors support early childhood teachers in their work with children.