Home Visitor Professional 1

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Description:

The Home Visitor Professional Level 1 Micro-credential provides Home Visitors with the knowledge, skills and training needed to succeed in their role as they support mothers enrolled in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program. Learners will explore a variety of subjects and demonstrate skills required in the role of a Home Visitor, all of which can be entered into a learner portfolio. Upon completion of this micro-credential, learners will be able to explain the role of Home Visitors, discuss a variety of topics that impact HIPPY mothers and their families, and demonstrate entry level skills of a Home Visitor.

Term 1 includes the following topics/modules/hours:

• Home Visiting: 3 modules, 2 hours each
• Science of Early Child Development: 3 modules, 2 hours each
• Adult Education: 3 modules, 2 hours each

Term 2 includes the following topics/modules/hours:

• Violence Against Women: 6 modules, 2 hours each
• Immigrant Settlement and Integration: 3 modules, 2 hours each
• Building Bridges with First Peoples of Canada: 3 modules, 2 hours each.

Learners must complete both Terms.

Knowledge and Skills Demonstrated:

This badge certifies that the student can demonstrate the following knowledge and skills:

Home Visiting:

• Explain to the HIPPY mothers the impacts home visiting has on them and their families.
• Explain to the HIPPY mothers the importance of a Home Learning Environment on the development of children.
• Demonstrate how to maintain professional boundaries in their relationships with HIPPY parents.

Science of Early Child Development:

• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based skills and strategies that foster healthy brain development in the early years.
• Discuss strategies that positively guide young children in ways that support their development.
• Describe why play is important in the lives of young children.
• Demonstrate ways to support the play of children 0-6 years of age.

Adult Education:

• Describe three types of adult learning (e.g., informal, non-formal and formal learning) in HIPPY mothers.
• Describe the key characteristics of adult learners and how these characteristics apply to HIPPY mothers.
• Describe individual learning styles in order to recognize HIPPY mothers’ needs.

Violence Against Women:

• Discuss the topic of Violence Against Women and understand its different forms.
• Identify community resources that support women experiencing violence in the home.

Immigrant Settlement and Integration:

• Identify common barriers for newcomers which prevent successful settlement and integration into Canada.
• Recommend community resources to provide to HIPPY mothers to overcome barriers.

Building Bridges with First Peoples of Canada:

• Analyze the impact of colonization including the intergenerational impacts of residential school on Indigenous peoples in Canada.
• Discuss the need of all Canadians (including those living and working in Canada) to learn the truth and participate in reconciliation

Evidence of Learning/Criteria for Success:

All Evidence of Learning activities correspond directly to the learning of the module in which they appear. Students must complete all Evidence of Learning activities listed below and submit them to the corresponding Dropbox folder.

Home Visiting:

• Research the current safety protocols that are already in place and create a new home visiting safety protocol proposal (recommendations).
• Based on the red flags discussed, recognize own difficulties in setting limits and reflect on own personality limitations, past life experiences, or other factors that prevent you from setting professional limits.

Science of Early Child Development:

• Reflecting on Brain Development and check understanding of the information presented (true/false, multiple choice and short answer questions)
• Based on a child scenario, reflect on what positive guidance would look like.
• Reflect on play: identify low/no cost materials parents, how to use them for play for kids ages 3-5, explain to parents how low-cost, no-cost materials support children’s play and learning.

Adult Education:

• Reflect on the difference between adult and child learning for a specific task.
• Reflect on types of characteristics of a positive versus negative learning experience, and how these characteristics supported a positive/not so positive learning experience.

Violence Against Women:

• Identify Home Visitor responsibilities, and instances when it is not a Home Visitor responsibility, when supporting HIPPY families with gender-based violence.
• Understand the importance of self-care when supporting HIPPY families by developing a self-care toolkit that identifies current and new practices (based on the module learning).
• Research and find local services, and for each service, and for each identify if it offers a place for newcomers to meet new people, build confidence, learn new skills, get help, and/or make a difference.
• Based on a scenario, identify potential warning signs of abuse and any signs that this is a high-risk situation, and consider a Home Visitor would say or do.
• Conduct online search for local legal supports to refer someone experiencing GBV to, by using different combinations of the search terms.
• Based on a scenario, use the Home Visitor flowchart and the Blue Sky method to identify what kinds of things to say or do if a HIPPY mother discloses that they are experiencing abuse.

Immigrant Settlement and Integration:

• Describe own migration, settlement, and integration journey, considering: the 4-Step Model for Integration, stage of the integration journey, challenges experiences, successes achieved, next steps in the journey, tips or advice for others who are considering immigrating to Canada
• Create a client “persona” that represents a typical HIPPY family and create a settlement plan for that person.

Building Bridges with First Peoples:

• Describe how their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous Peoples, their histories, and contemporary realities been constructed over time, and how might this impact their professional practice
• Describe new learnings regarding current issues of colonization, and why it is important to understand this information in their role as a Home Visitor
• What?, So What?, and Now What Analysis (What did you learn? Why is this important? What will you do with this information?)

Home Visitors gain important knowledge and insight into the six topics, as well they create their own learning portfolio (consisting of all Evidence of Learning activities) that will support them in practically applying what they have learned. This ‘work, learn, apply’ process will better equip Home Visitors to succeed in their role and better meet the needs of HIPPY mothers and their children they work with.