Jaclyn Klinginsmith and retired Professor Michelle Buchanan work with Lena Baskins
at the Early Care and Education Center, located on the UW campus. The Wyoming Early
Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative is working to improve the opportunities
for Wyoming’s youngest learners by supporting the professional development of their
early childhood educators. (UW Photo)
The Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative is working to improve
the opportunities for Wyoming’s youngest learners by supporting the professional development
of their early childhood educators.
The group was initiated when the Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network (WYECON),
a University of Wyoming Trustees Education Initiative innovation, and Wyoming Kids
First started to explore opportunities to improve the quality of early childhood education
in the state. Through their shared goals, the partnership grew to include the Wyoming
Department of Family Services, WY Quality Counts, Align, Statewide Training and Resource
System (STARS) and Project ECHO in Early Childhood Education.
“The Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative is an amazing vehicle
to support WYECON’s goal of elevating the quality of early childhood programs by improving
the professional learning opportunities offered to teachers and caregivers,” says
WYECON Director and Associate Lecturer Nikki Baldwin.
The collaborative recognizes that students’ achievement is closely linked to the knowledge
and skills of their teachers. Early childhood educators, especially in rural states
such as Wyoming, have suffered from a lack of practical professional learning opportunities
that allow them to improve their practice and build a professional network.
As the group began its work, a collective vision for a framework of early childhood
professional development began to take shape. The model is designed to make the most
impact in Wyoming’s unique early childhood landscape in regard to funding, systems
and governance.
“Early childhood educators overwhelmingly list isolation and lack of resources as
their biggest challenges. In a profession that is so physically, emotionally and cognitively
draining, these professionals need connections with one another, opportunities to
collaborate, and resources they can access locally to help them gain knowledge and
grow as professionals,” Baldwin says. “This model brings training, mentoring and coaching
opportunities directly to early childhood professionals.”
The new model uses seven regional learning facilitators, serving every peak and valley
in the state, to deliver content directly to educators via local STARS trainings,
online learning communities and individualized learning tools such as on-site mentoring
and coaching.
“Our professional learning facilitators are not only providing these opportunities
locally, but also are elevating early childhood leaders in programs and communities
to build their capacity to support their own professional learning efforts,” Baldwin
says. “This is about raising up the entire early childhood profession one teacher,
leader and program at a time.”
Individualized learning plans will be put into action by the collaborative to provide
a roadmap to guide facilitators and participants through the professional learning
process. Content delivered will be based on the recently published NAEYC Professional
Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, which define the essential
body of knowledge, skills, dispositions and practice required of all early childhood
educators.
“The focus of professional learning activities for year one is improving the quality
of early learning environments, supporting healthy relationships between children
and caregivers, and improving adult-child interactions. Each of these priorities is
directly linked to improved learning outcomes for young children,” Baldwin says.
