DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Introduction If you are just considering or actually working toward your Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential ™ , you are to be commended! As in any field, becoming an early child care and education professional takes commitment and a desire to do one’s best to meet the quality standards that define membership in a particular profession. About the Third Edition In the interest of providing CDA candidates with the most up- to-date help and information possible, this third edition of The CDA Prep Guide reflects recent major changes to the Council for Professional Recognition’s CDA National Credentialing Program ® , referred to as CDA 2.0. The entire new process is integrated, with each part inter- woven with the others in some way, requiring a good deal of reflection—about what has been included in the Professional Portfolio and about the candidate’s own philosophy of teaching young children. With the introduction of CDA 2.0, candidates will create a Professional Portfolio. This replaces the Professional Resource File that had been a part of the previous CDA process. Besides the name change, some notable differences exist. The Resource Collection is still included, and these items are again arranged to align with each of the Competency Standards. However, instead of seventeen Resource Collection items, there are now ten. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL ix