Jenni Annette Jacobs

Jenni Jacobs is an Instructional Designer for the School of Education within the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. Her doctoral degree is in Special Education, and her Master's Degree is in Child Development. Her research interests include Distance Learning and Gamification. She previously served as an Academic Director for the Early Childhood Online Program at UC and as an Early Childhood Teacher Education Specialist and taught both half day and full day preschool at the Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center. She has worked in the field of early childhood since 1994 in various settings including family childcare, child day care center, and a substitute teacher for the public schools. Dr. Jacobs has worked on various grants for the university including the Head-Start University Partnership Grant and the Mentoring Infant and Toddler Teachers Initiative. She provides numerous workshops for 4-C, the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area child care and referral agency. 

AA: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2001 (Pre-Business Administration)

AS: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2001 (Early Childhood Care and Technology)

BS: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2003 (Early Childhood Education, PreK - 3)

MEd: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2006 (Early Childhood Education: Child Development)

Ed.D: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2016 (Special Education)

2014 -To Present Instructional Designer, Individual and program level instructional design support for current and new online and F2F courses in the School of Education. Work collaboratively with the staff of the Office of Innovative Technology and Learning Design and online learning faculty and staff in the School of Education to design and deliver professional development related to quality improvement of courses. Coordinate course design production teams, oversee quality improvement initiatives related to online learning, train new adjunct faculty in the LMS , University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2010 -2014 Academic Director, Provide leadership and mentoring to early childhood faculty teaching online and manage academic quality, policies, and issues for the online ECE program consisting of over 650 online students. Additional duties include teaching courses on UC's main campus and online, overseeing the development of new courses for online delivery, instructional design of Early Childhood courses, coordinating staffing, and collaborating with Enrollment Management, Student Services, and other UC units and community and state agencies. , University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2001 -To Present Early Childhood Consultant, Design and implement professional development trainings to child care providers in Ohio and Kentucky. Design online workshops for professionals in the early childhood field.,

2006 -To Present Term Adjunct Faculty, Online and on-campus teaching of instructional design, early childhood, literacy, and special education courses. , University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2009 -2011 Grant Director, Provided leadership and managed policies and issues for Head Start University Partnership Grant. Co-wrote 508 Compliant curriculum for 30 English modules and supervised co-development in Spanish. , University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2004 -2008 Early Childhood Teacher Education Specialist/Research & Technology Assistant, Professional Development Coordinator, Planned and implemented an early childhood program for children ages 3-5. Maintained anecdotal and observational records for children. Daily supervision of assistants and student teachers. Member of ACT 2 Research team. Coordinated CBM data collection. Participated in grant writing endeavors. Monitored, updated, and enhanced website. Assisted with professional articles and professional development opportunities., University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2004 -2004 Substitute Teacher, Substitute teacher for grades Kindergarten through 6th grade for district., Princeton Local School District, Cincinnati, OH

2001 -2004 Family Childcare Network Specialist, Coordinated two networks of family child care providers. Developed policies and procedures for administering the network. Designed and implemented a resource lending library. Planned and conducted educational workshops around early childhood topics. Performed on-site home visits to network members to provide technical assistance., 4C for Children, Cincinnati, OH

1999 -2000 Education Director, Trained all new staff. Promoted continuing education of existing staff. Provided assistance to teachers in lesson plan development. Classroom substitute as needed. Assisted director in office. , St. James Day Care Center, Cincinnati, OH

1994 -2001 Family Childcare Provider, Planned and implemented an early childhood program for children ages birth-5. Maintained anecdotal and observational records for children. Develop and maintain record-keeping system including taxes. Develop marketing materials., Self Employed, Cincinnati, OH

Peer Reviewed Publications

Williamson, P., Carnahan, C., & Jacobs, J. Reading Comprehension Profiles of High-functioning Students on the Spectrum: A Grounded Theory .Exceptional Children, ,

Griebling, S., Jacobs, J., Kochanowski, L., Vaughn, L. What preschool children like best about school. Southern Early Childhood Association: Dimensions, ,

Book Chapter

Jacobs, J. & Watts-Taffe, S. (2011 ) Vocabulary Quality Literacy Instruction for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders .(pp. 321-354).Shawnee Mission, KS, Autism Asperger Publishing Co. (Co-Author)

Invited Presentations

Jacobs, J. (04-2016. ) Brain Development Meets DAP .4C Leadership and Early Childhood Conference, Sharonville, OH. Level:Regional

Dichter, H., Dean, A., Gayle, J., Jacobs, J., Lutton, A. (06-2015. ) Introducing Early Educator Central: The pathway to credentials and degrees for infant-toddler educators .NAEYC Professional Development Institute, New Orleans, LA. Level:National

Jacobs, J. & Bryan, K. (04-2014. ) Bringing Online Learning to Life .Ohio Association for the Education for Young Children, Columbus, OH. Level:State

Jacobs, J. (03-2014. ) Teaching to the Brain .Pathways to Quality, Newark, OH. Level:Regional

Moore, F., Heying, K., Britt, D., & Jacobs, J. (07-2013. ) Office of Head Start’s Infant and Toddler Online Associate Degree Curriculum Modules: Head Start Collaboration Directors’ Overview .HSSNCO Webinar, Level:National

Britt, D. & Jacobs, J. (06-2011. ) Mentoring Infant and Toddler Teachers Initiative: Online Modules for Teachers of Our Youngest Children .National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development, Providence, RI. Level:National

Britt, D. & Jacobs, J. (11-2010. ) Mentoring Infant and Toddler Teachers Initiative: Online Modules for Teachers of Our Youngest Children .National Association for the Education of Young Children, Anaheim, CA. Level:National

Britt, D. & Jacobs, J. (10-2010. ) Mentoring Infant and Toddler Teachers Initiative: Online Modules for Teachers of Our Youngest Children .Birth to Three Institute, Washington, DC. Level:National

Mentoring Infant and Toddler Teachers Initiative: Online Modules for Teachers of Our Youngest Children (06-2010. ) Mentoring Infant and Toddler Teachers Initiative: Online Modules for Teachers of Our Youngest Children .National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development, Phoenix, AZ. Level:National

DiSanto, J. & Hieronymus, B. (11-2009. ) Don’t let the social studies standards scare you: Social studies is everywhere! .National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC. Level:National

DiSanto, J. & Neal, M. (11-2009. ) Teaching the art of play: Using work systems in Preschool classrooms .National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC. Level:National

DiSanto, J. & Hieronymus, B. (11-2009. ) Don’t let the social studies standards scare you: Social studies is everywhere! .Ohio Association for the Education for Young Children, Columbus, OH. Level:National

Williamson, P., Carnahan, C., & Jacobs, J. (04-2009. ) How students with ASD make meaning from text: A grounded theory .Council for Exceptional Children, Seattle, WA. Level:National

DiSanto, J. & Hieronymus, B. (11-2007. ) Planning for learning: Implementing a math curriculum that aligns to standards and outcomes .National Association for the Education of Young Children, Chicago, IL. Level:National

Boat, M. B., Carr, V. W., Barnett, D., DiSanto, J., Moomaw, S., & Nichols, A. (10-2005. ) Curriculum-based measures: Promoting progress for ALL preschool children .International Conference of the Division of Early Childhood/Council for Exceptional Children (DEC), Portland, OR. Level:National

Poster Presentations

Jacobs, J. (11-2008. ) Using curriculum-based measures to evaluate preschool letter naming skills .Kaleidoscope - Teacher Education Division of Council for Exceptional Children, Dallas, TX. .

DiSanto, J. (11-2008. ) Using Curriculum Based Measures to Evaluate Preschool Letter Naming Skills (Poster) .Kaleidoscope - Teacher Education Division of Council for Exceptional Children, Dallas, TX. . Level:National

Lecture

Boat, M.B., Carr, V.W., Barnett, D., DiSanto, J., Moomaw, S., & Nichols, A. (10-2005. ) Curriculum-based measures: Promoting progress for ALL preschool children .Portland, OR.

DiSanto, J., & Hieronymus, B. (11-2007. ) Planning for learning: Implementing a math curriculum that aligns to standards and outcomes .Chicago, IL.

Williamson, P., Carnahan, C., & Jacobs, J. (04-2009. ) How students with ASD make meaning from text: A grounded theory .Seattle, WA.

18-ECE-231 CLASSRM ORG & MGT Level:Undergraduate

18-CI-247 COMP TOOLS/TEACHERS Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-234 MATH SCI ECE Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-251 INFANT/TODDLR PRGS Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-261 FAM,CULT INCLUSION Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-276 CHILD DEVELOPMENT Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-278 HLTH, SAFETY, NUTR Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-292 INTRO INCLU PRAC Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-411 PLAY AND DEVELOP Level:Undergraduate

18-ECE-415 FDNS OF LITERACY Level:Undergraduate

Phonics in Early Childhood Education Level:Undergraduate

Designing Online Learning Environments Level:Graduate

Foundations of Math and Science Level:Undergraduate

ECE3011 Level:Undergraduate

-ECE-1011 CDA I HEALTH & DEV Level:Undergraduate

-ECE-3030 SOCIAL ISSUES EC &E Level:Undergraduate