Amber Morabito is a Curriculum Manager for the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC). In this post, we feature Morabito’s expertise on the PITC curriculum and highlight her leadership in mentoring a team that delivers PITC Curriculum training and coaching nationally.

The PITC offers a high-quality curriculum that enriches responsive, relationship-based learning for infants and toddlers. In this Q&A, Morabito discusses how the PITC Curriculum uniquely supports children’s development and upcoming opportunities for early childhood professionals to connect and learn about PITC Curriculum implementation. 

PITC delivers curriculum implementation training and coaching, along with other types of professional learning, nationally. Where is the PITC Curriculum being used currently, and how has successful implementation impacted infant/toddler care?  

  • Currently, nine states (AZ, CA, IA, TX, MN, ND, NY, SC, and WV) have taken the PITC Curriculum Implementation Training, making up about 30 cohorts of implementation training.
  • The PITC Curriculum Implementation Training has expanded internationally with participation from Singapore.
  • The PITC Curriculum is also recognized as a state-wide approved curriculum for infants and toddlers in California, North Carolina, and West Virginia.
  • We continue to collect data on the implementation trainings and receive feedback about implementation of the PITC Curriculum. The nationwide stories from caregivers on their implantation journey and how hearts, minds, and practices are changing have been inspiring!

How does the PITC Curriculum differ from other curriculum planning tools and strategies that support professionals in early learning and care for children ages 0 to 3? 

  • The PITC Curriculum was designed for infants and toddlers! Our child-centered approach to curriculum planning is also a professional development tool for care teachers. Our tools were designed to support increased fluency in identifying child learning and development. More specifically, our tools were designed to support the increased ability to articulate what children are learning and how their learning progresses.
  • The PITC curriculum and strategies to support reflective curriculum planning can be used to supplement other curricula that programs may have already invested in.
  • The PITC Curriculum aligns with the Early Head Start Performance Standards and the Early Learning Outcome Framework.
  • The PITC Curriculum facilitates the completion of formative assessments like the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP).

How does the PITC Curriculum implementation uniquely support children’s developing abilities, including linguistic, cognitive, and behavioral skills? 

Learning and development for infants and toddlers is integrated by nature. When care teachers support the scaffolding of emerging skills in various domains, it is important to be able focus on a specific domain or domains to support the progression of various skills and abilities.

PITC will be providing curriculum training in 2024. What is the PITC Curriculum Implementation Training and who should sign up for it? 

The curriculum can be purchased and used independently and is most effective when used in conjunction with our PITC Curriculum Implementation Training. The training supports a deeper understating of the PITC Curriculum, the PITC Curriculum planning tools. The training is designed so that participants expire real-world scenarios, engage in practice opportunities, and reflect with others to support the understanding of concepts.  More specifically, the implementation training includes:

  • Engaging, interactive training facilitated by a PITC-authorized trainer (four 3-hour sessions)
  • Support through additional resources and materials to enhance learning and participation in training
  • Extended technical assistance to support implementation

The training is designed for anyone that is:

  • Seeking more support with implementing the PITC Curriculum
  • Interested in the PITC Curriculum
  • Supporting others working directly with children

We are now enrolling for our virtual national cohort. If an agency, family childcare, or a center-based program has a group, we have private group options (virtual or in-person) available.  

What do you love most about helping infant and toddler care teachers understand the PITC approach and the curriculum? 

I was an infant and toddler teacher for over more than 10 years, and I know firsthand the joys and struggles of the work. What I love about the PITC Curriculum is that it reminds care teachers of the importance of slowing down and establishing and nurturing relationships with children and their families.

I also love that our curriculum centers the child and the child’s interests while encouraging the care teacher to wonder and be curious about their child’s interests. In approaching curriculum planning from this paradigm, we hope care teachers feel motivated again and have more joy in their work with infants and toddlers.  

The PITC Curriculum can be purchased and used independently, but it is most effective when used in conjunction with dynamic implementation training. Why should early childhood professionals sign up for the training, and what will they learn? 

Suppose a family childcare or center-based program wants to work toward implementing the PITC Curriculum to fidelity (we have developed a fidelity tool that guides this process). In that case, they should consider taking our training to support their process.  

Is there a limit to how many professionals can sign up for the training? If so, why? 

We limit each of our cohorts to about 30–40 people to support the development of a community of learners. Throughout the training, the group size supports small group discussions, pair shares, and adult learning strategies that facilitate reflection, retention, application, and implementation of skills.  

How does the training offer opportunities for participants to connect with and learn from each other? 

Our private trainings often support team building and increased collaboration between teaching teams. In the national trainings, care teachers can learn from others and are exposed to various perspectives.  

Technical assistance will be available to reinforce learning and guide the implementation of the PITC Curriculum. What can participants expect to gain from the technical assistance?   

During the technical assistance, also known as coaching, care teachers receive: 

  • Support with practice opportunities related to each training session 
  • Answers to frequently asked questions related to the sessions  
  • Implementation support and guidance related to their children and settings 
  • Support with the PITC Curriculum implementation tools 

What would you say to early childhood professionals who are on the fence about registering for the PITC Curriculum Implementation Training?  

The genius of our national cohort was to provide an opportunity for anyone interested in the PITC Curriculum or to support a small family child care (FCC) or center-based program that wants to explore our products and training. Additionally, some programs send a few people through our trainings to get a sense of the curriculum before purchasing a private cohort for the remainder of their staff.  

There are other instances when FCC and center-based programs are on the fence about sending their entire staff through the implementation because of the investment of time and resources. This is understandable; however, when the entire team (inclusive of leadership) is trained, there is a collective understanding, greater “buy-in,” and increased sustainability with the implementation of the PITC Curriculum.  

In 2023, the PITC Curriculum was released in Spanish! This means that the PITC Curriculum, the implementation training, and all of the training materials are now available in Spanish.

What’s ahead for PITC Curriculum Implementation Training? Will there be more training opportunities in 2024? 

As the demand for training increases, we anticipate training to increase nationally and internationally in 2024 in both English and Spanish. If you don’t hear from us, be sure to reach out directly to inquire about the PITC Curriculum implementation trainings.   

Are you an early childhood provider desiring an in-depth understanding of the PITC approach to infant and toddler curriculum planning? Register by February 23, 2024 for the PITC Curriculum Implementation Training.