The primary purpose of this position is to facilitate the mission of the Early Learning (ELC) - to foster scientific understanding of young children’s development. The ELC accomplishes this mission through (a) interdisciplinary research, (b) academic programs for undergraduate and graduate students, (c) early education programs for young children, and (d) outreach, advocacy, and public policy. All three levels of the Educator position - Educator Apprentice, Intermediate Educator, and Educator - are an integral part of the teaching and research mission of the ELC, providing direct training, mentoring, and supervision to undergraduate and graduate students in the program, as well as day-to-day supervision of and education programming for children in the laboratory school setting. More information about the ELC is available at elc.utk.edu.

Educator Apprentice Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Education: High school diploma or GED; One of the following is required: (1)CDA; (2)Associate’s Degree; (3)At least 15 documented hours of coursework or professional development on practices in early childhood education.

Experience: At least one year of experience working with children required.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Beginning knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices for young children

• Skills in communication

• Skills in organization and care of the physical environment

• Skills in routine care tasks needed to care for young children

• Guidance skills and knowledge of techniques for young children

• Interpersonal skills

• Professionalism

• Ability to work with families and other teaching staff

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree

Experience: Two or more years of experience working with young children (birth-age 8)

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of and ability to recommend practices in early childhood environments

• Knowledge of appropriate curricula and program plans for child care programs for children

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong communication skills

Intermediate Educator Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Education: High school diploma or GED; One of the following is required: (1)Associate’s Degree in early childhood education or related field; (2)At least 25 documented hours of coursework or professional development on practices in early childhood education.

Experience: Two or more years of experience working with children in a childcare or school setting for candidates with a Bachelor’s degree; If candidate does not hold a Bachelor’s degree in ECE or related field, five or more years of experience working with children in a childcare or school setting

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of and ability to recommend practices in early childhood environments

• Knowledge of appropriate curricula and program plans for child care programs for children

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong communication skills

• Ability to work with families and other teaching staff

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Associate’s Degree in early childhood education, special education, or related field (child development, human development/family studies, elementary education, deaf education, etc.) or Bachelor’s Degree in early childhood education, special education, or related field (child development, human development/family studies, elementary education, deaf education, etc.)

Experience: Two or more years of experience working with young children (birth-age 8) in a childcare or school setting. Experience working with diverse families.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• High level of initiative and accountability

• Ability to consistently and independently self-regulate

Educator Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree OR 5 more years of experience working with children; Coursework: Completion of IEC 106, IEC 350, IEC 351, and at least one course in Special Education (or approved equivalents)

Experience: Two or more years of experience working with children in a childcare or school setting; completed advancement plan or completed documentation of equivalent experiences

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of and ability to recommend practices in early childhood environments

• Knowledge of appropriate curricula and program plans for child care programs for children

• Strong operational skills

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong communication skills

• Ability to work with families and other teaching staff

• Ability to provide on-site supervision to undergraduate practicum students, graduate students, and student educators

• High levels of initiative, accountability, and ability to consistently and independently self-regulate

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in early childhood education, special education, or related field (child development, human development/family studies, elementary education, deaf education, etc.);

Experience: Three or more years of experience working with young children (birth-age 8) in a childcare or school setting. Experience working with diverse families; Experience disseminating pedagogical work through writing, conference presentation, or other context.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Intentional, individualized modeling for students of recommended instructional practices

Work Location

Knoxville, TN; In-Person workplace

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range:

  Educator Apprentice MR04

  Demonstration Educator MR05

• Anticipated hiring range: $39,000-$45,000

• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

• Resume

• Cover Letter

About The College/Department/Division

ELC is a Center within the Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Department and the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. As an education department at a land-grant institution, the mission is to benefit local, regional, national, and global communities by preparing teachers, educators, and education researchers, and through community engagement in educational outreach.

Educator Apprentice

Early Childhood Education Classroom Support

• Works with other classroom teachers to provide high quality early care and supervision of children

• Designs and provides responsive structures, interaction, and communication to meet children’s developmentally and culturally situated needs for routine care and both physical and emotional health and safety

• Upholds child-care licensing regulations; constructs and maintains classroom systems for compliance with multiple sets/sources of health and safety regulations

• Designs and implements responsive and developmentally appropriate embedded instructional support for children’s skill development across domains and learning contexts

• Documents children’s health and safety including injuries, illness, symptoms, and routines

• Communicates with families about children’s daily needs and care updates, and significant incidents

Child Curriculum and Assessment

• Foundations-level curriculum planning focusing on skills-based curriculum and developmental norms

• Applies knowledge base in human development and learning theory to curriculum decisions which support children’s development and learning in all developmental domains and content areas

• Plans and implements developmentally appropriate learning environments

• Designs and implements social-emotional curriculum, strategies, and interventions in multiple contexts

• Administers screening tools for assessment of children’s development and learning

• Contributes to child assessment processes by collecting assigned observations

Laboratory Classroom Operations / Academic Programs Support

• Models high quality care and supervision of children for undergraduate practicum students, graduate students, pre-service teachers, and paid student workers engaged in the classroom

• Models recommended anti-bias education practices

• Responsible for communicating, instructing, and advising students and part-time/substitute teachers to prioritize quality control and maintenance of both regulations and approaches

• Leads team of students and teachers in the classroom in the absence* of the Demonstration Educator

• Manages the team of students and teachers along with comprehensive management of the routines and needs of the children in the absence* of the Demonstration Educator

*consistently 10-20 hours weekly, per classroom schedule, in addition to any hours/days the Demonstration Educator takes leave, participates in conference or other dissemination activity, and/or is unexpectedly absent

In addition to duties in Educator Apprentice position, Intermediate Educator duties also include

Early Childhood Education Classroom Support

• Documents classroom events, children’s growth and learning, and health and safety data/incidents, such as injuries, illnesses, behavior events, and routines

• Communicates with families using multiple modes and platforms about children’s daily needs, care updates, and significant incidents

• Supports families and assists in planning community functions for ELC families

Child Curriculum and Assessment

• Curriculum development: formal lesson plan design and development, to include support for skill development in response to assessment data and children’s needs

• Documents curriculum planning and implementation; engages in reflexive teaching practices in curriculum processes

• Responsible for child assessments, collection of observations, media, and other forms of data illustrating children’s learning and development

• Organizes and discusses child assessment data; collaboratively identifies appropriate individual child learning and growth goals

• Conducts family conferences to share and discuss child assessment data, developmental progress, and developmental goals

Laboratory Classroom Operations / Academic Programs Support

• Responsible for communicating, instructing, and advising students and part-time/substitute teachers to prioritize quality control and maintenance of both regulations and program approaches

• Identifies opportunities for application of diversity, equity, and inclusion recommended practices in the laboratory classroom

• Co-leads the class and team when the Demonstration Educator is present

In addition to duties in Educator Apprentice and Intermediate Educator positions, Educator duties also include

Early Childhood Education Classroom Support

• Constructs and maintains classroom systems for compliance with multiple sets/sources of health and safety regulations

• Designs and implements responsive and developmentally appropriate embedded instructional supports for children’s skill development across domains and learning contexts in alignment with (1)recommended practices; (2)developmental norms; (3)milestones of development; and (4)intensive individualized knowledge about each child’s learning styles, personality characteristics, communication styles, temperaments, and dispositions

• Navigates and interacts with multiple systems for documenting classroom events, children’s growth and learning, and health and safety data/incidents, including injuries, illnesses, significant behavior events, and routines

• Communicates with families using multiple modes and platforms about children’s daily needs, care updates, developmental goals, and significant incidents

• Applies judgment, knowledge of regulations, and program policy to make critical decisions with families about children’s health, safety, and attendance; consultation with families surrounding illness and injury

Child Curriculum and Assessment

• Curriculum development: Plans and implements meaningful and effective lessons for the children engaged in the classroom, to include (1)support for skill development in response to assessment data and children’s individual needs, and (2)inquiry-based project work

• Applies knowledge base in human development, learning theory, and critical pedagogical influences to curriculum decisions which support children’s development and learning in all developmental domains and content areas

• Designs and implements individually responsive and developmentally appropriate social-emotional curriculum, strategies, and interventions in multiple contexts

• Documents curriculum planning, implementation, and teacher inquiry/interpretation; engages in reflexive teaching practices in all curriculum processes

• Produces pedagogical documentation in multiple forms, for multiple audiences

• Produces ongoing, comprehensive assessments of the children’s development and learning, using multiple formats and systems for data collection, interpretation, and dissemination

Laboratory Classroom Operations

• In-classroom part-time supervision of practicum students and student educators

• Provides training and coaching for students, both paid and practicum

• Delegation and task assignment within the teaching team; decision-making about use of personnel resources in alignment with classroom needs

• Consistently employs and models recommended practices for anti-bias education in the laboratory classroom

• Models recommended practices for social-emotional curriculum and support, healthy classroom culture, and democratic community cultivation

• Manages and facilitates many aspects of informal and structural operations within classroom

• Identifies and acts upon individually and culturally responsive opportunities for application of recommended practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the laboratory classroom; consistently applies anti-bias lens in all aspects of teaching

• Leads and supervises undergraduate practicum students, and student educators engaged in the classroom in the absence* of the Demonstration Educator; co-leads the class and team when Demonstration Educator is present

**consistently 10-20 hours weekly, per classroom schedule, in addition to any hours/days the Demonstration Educator takes leave, participates in conference or other dissemination activity, and/or is unexpectedly absent