The overall goal of the Beginning Together Institute is to increase the PITC graduates capacity to address the needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities in their existing and future training content. The following are the Learner Outcomes for the Beginning Together Institute.
Through The Beginning Together Institute, participants will:
- Design lessons based on the Key Concepts presented in the workshops.
- Expand and strengthen their knowledge of community resources and know how to link with appropriate specialists in their local area in order to provide collaborative training
- Increase their comfort and competence in relating to parents of children with special needs and partnering with parents as co-presenters.
- Incorporate information about infants and toddlers with disabilities and other special needs into their existing PITC trainings.
Participants who become certified in Beginning Together will be eligible for the PITC Stipend Program for Certified Trainers in the four topics covered in Beginning Together workshops: When Concerns Arise; Adapting Routines and Environments; Building Relationships among Caregivers, Families and Specialists; and Inclusion and Access through Legislation: The Americans with Disabilities Act.
Certification Requirements:
- Attend and fully participate in all sessions of the Institute.
- Submit a certification paper. The paper will consist of context, community partnership information and two lesson plans, from two of the four major sessions presented in the Institute. (If you write with a partner, you will need to have lesson plans for all four sessions)
- Send certification paper to:
Beginning Together
751 Rancheros Drive, Suite #2
San Marcos, CA 92069 - Develop outlines for two training sessions and, using the key concepts from two different Beginning Together workshops, write a training plan for how these concepts will be shared with your audience. In one plan, include a co-presenter from the community. In the other plan, include a parent of a child with special needs as co-presenter or use a panel of parents. There should be clear links to PITC concepts and knowledge. Since these are plans, you do not have to have conducted the session prior to turning in your paper.
- The certification paper must be a minimum of 10 full pages of text (does not include handouts).
| Sections of Certification Paper | Minimum # of Pages |
|---|---|
| Community Partnerships | 1 page |
| Context | 1 page |
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Training plan for one of the workshop sessions starting with:
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Training plan for a different one of the workshop sessions starting with:
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