Kendall CollegeOnline coursework and student teaching offer needed flexibility for early childhood students.Kendall College has been a pioneer in providing alternative professional development pathways for its students. Kendall has also made a commitment to creating new pathways and streamlining existing educational pathways for Head Start staff who wish to get their Bachelors in Arts (BA) degrees. Two practices in particular help Head Start staff—and others working in early childhood settings—to continue their education at Kendall College. Kendall’s online coursework provides flexibility in scheduling and location. This quarter, for example, Kendall offered part of its student teaching course online, combining face-to-face experience with online communication and instruction. “Clinical supervisors” from settings around the state participate in online seminars with the student teachers and faculty from Kendall. One of the many advantages of connecting student teachers from around the state in an online course is found in the richness of the experiences shared. For example, a student in Springfield and a student at Kendall’s Riverworks campus in downtown Chicago collaborated to establish a student chapter of the Illinois Education Association. Kendall’s online student teaching and face-to-face student teaching courses share the same standards, requirements, and faculty to ensure that they are recognized as comparable by students and employers. Kendall has also streamlined its early childhood program so that the BA degree without teaching certification in early childhood education also provides the needed preparation to allow a student to continue on to receive a Type 04 credential. Students who choose later to get a Type 04 credential will need to complete a clinical practice course and take three state-standardized tests to demonstrate (1) basic skills, (2) content knowledge, and (3) aptitude for teaching. By structuring the degree program in this way, Kendall builds into its BA degree career flexibility and options for its early childhood students. For more information please contact: Dr. Marti Garlett, Dean
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