About RIE Foundations: Theory & Observation
For Professionals seeking career advancement and parents that desire in-depth training
A sixty-hour program, thoroughly examining the Educaring Approach, this course provides 36 hours of in-class shared collaborative learning experiences complemented by extensive outside-of-class observations and self-study. The course is meant to enable the student to understand and internalize Magda Gerber’s Educaring Approach. For those wishing to apply to enter RIE’s apprenticing pathway to become a credentialed RIE Associate, successful completion of this course is a prerequisite.
Cost: $1395. Prices may vary.
For more information email classinfo@rie.org.
Who is this course for?
This course will benefit anyone who wants to gain a comprehensive understanding of Magda Gerber’s Educaring Approach to respectful infant care and apply it in their professional and/or personal life. Students include infant and toddler professionals serving a wide variety of communities, including child-care providers and administrators, home visitors, college professors, therapists, nannies, aligned infant health professionals and parents seeking in-depth training.
RIE® Foundations: Theory & Observation™
This comprehensive course is designed to enhance the skills and competencies of professionals who work in the field of infant care, teach in a college environment, work with parents, or train students in infant care and development. The course is also chosen by Parents desiring in-depth training. Whether you are with infants for brief periods or provide full-time care, this course will deepen your understanding of infant development and behavior and help you be of service to babies and their families.
This course provides an overview of the following:
- Natural gross motor development
- Fine motor development that is driven by the innate urge to play
- Social-emotional development
- Designing the environment for optimum learning
- The art of observation
- Understanding parents’ and infants’ needs, expectations, and learning processes
- Appropriate “curriculum” for infants and toddlers
The more we observe, the more we understand and appreciate the enormous amount and speed of learning that happens during the first two or three years of life. We become more humble, we teach less, and we provide an environment for learning instead.
Available courses
- In-Person and Hybrid courses are scheduled in various locations throughout the year. In-person courses conduct all in-class sessions in an in-person setting. To expand access to a larger region around a central, physical location, Hybrid courses blend in-person class sessions with synchronous online in-class sessions. If the option to join an in-person session is not available or not possible, please see below for online course schedules. Online classes meet on various schedules for accessibility across worldwide time zones.
- All RIE Certified courses currently scheduled are listed below. Please check back often as the offerings are continuously updated. For detailed course schedules, pricing and to register, click the Inquire/Register link for the class of interest to you.
IN PERSON/HYBRID
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| In Person June 25 – July 2 Every Day 9am – 4pm Central Chicago, Illinois . Shannon Carr Contact Instructor |
Hybrid In Person – July 6 – 12 8:30am – 4pm PST Raleigh, NC . Online June 12 – 14 8:30am – 12 PST . Nicole Vogliotti, Eileen O’Sullivan, and Anna Ruth Meyers Contact Instructor |
Hybrid In Person – July 10-13 9am – 5pm PST . Online July 22, 29 & Aug 5 . Ruth Anne Hammond/Pasadena RIE Center Contact Instructor |
In- Person July 17-25 9am – 4pm Central St. Louis, Missouri . Shannon Carr Contact Instructor |
ONLINE
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Feb 17 – May 12 Tuesdays Shannon Carr
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Mar 14 – Apr 18 Saturdays Jill Getto Lee |
April 4 – May 9 Saturdays Shannon Carr
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April 13 – May 20 Mon & Wed Melissa Coyne |
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May 2 – June 6 Saturdays Kristy Thomas |
May 23 – June 27 Saturdays Jill Getto Lee |
July 6 – 10 Every Day Deborah Carlisle Solomon |
July 6 – Sept 21 Mondays Melissa Coyne |
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July 11 – Aug 15 Saturdays Jill Getto Lee |
Nov 2 – Dec 3 Mon, Wed & Thurs Melissa Coyne |
Testimonials
See what students using different formats have to say about the course.
Foundations Course FAQs
While some students will have taken one of our shorter courses (like Introduction to Educaring® or Nurturing Nanny™), there is no prerequisite for RIE Foundations: Theory & Observation. Most courses have a mix of students who work in the field together with parents seeking in-depth training. Our instructors tailor the course to the individual needs of the students.
RIE-certified Foundations: Theory & Observation courses are taught in-person and online around the world by licensed RIE Associates who have attained approval to deliver this course. Generally, all courses will be a mix of meeting together (in-person or via Zoom), independent study, and observations in the field (or via video).
Sign up for the course that meets your schedule and preferred learning style. Rest assured, all courses share standard hours of in-class shared learning experiences and outside of class time work. There is also a substantial body of basic required reading.
We believe that every child and every community deserves to learn about Magda Gerber’s relationship-based approach to infant and toddler care. One way we put this value into action is through a long history of offering scholarships and financial aid for our courses. Contact your instructor for details.
Attendance and peer interaction in shared learning experiences is a critical part of the course. Missing more than three in-class hours will mean you would not be eligible for the Certificate of Completion for the course. But, most instructors allow you to make up as many as three missed hours of in-class time. Contact the instructor to discuss your ability to fully engage in the course to be sure.
If you end up missing too much of the course for any reason, you would still be eligible for a certificate of attendance and would be encouraged to re-take the course.
Courses are intentionally kept small and typically range between 8 and 14 participants. This allows ample opportunity to interact and really get to know your instructor and your fellow students as you experience the course journey together.
Upon successful completion of RIE Foundations, you will receive a certificate of completion recording the course hours you have earned that you can use in your professional portfolio to demonstrate your ongoing training. You will also receive a personalized letter from your instructor detailing your unique participation and growth in the course.
The course is a pre-requisite for those wishing to apply to enter RIE’s credentialing pathway toward becoming invited to become a RIE Associate.
While you will receive a Certificate of Completion of the course, you will not achieve the right to teach using RIE courses or content.
However, successful completion of RIE Foundations is a the first step along a pathway required to become a RIE Associate and earn the license to teach RIE Certified classes. You can learn more about this here.
