I am writing to you in hope of performing a developmental assessment on your child for a school project. During this process, I would spend time talking with you and observing your child to determine where they are in their development. During the initial stages, I would talk with you to discuss how you feel your child is developing and areas of concern you may presently. I will conduct an interview where I ask you questions detailing what you already observe in your child. I will also ask questions about your background that will help me to better understand your family and your child. None of the questions will be too invasive, but will help in my goal of assessing your child effectively. If you speak another language at home, or you or your child have special abilities, this will be included in our initial conversation so that we can properly plan for the assessment. During this meeting, we will work together to devise a plan for observing your child, including the optimal time and environment. This stage of the project is perhaps the most important as I want to ensure we are partners in assessing your child. I want to hear your passions for your child and concerns as well. I hope to be a team with you first and foremost, as you know your child better than anyone.
After the initial parent interview, the next step is for me to actually assess your child according to the laid out plan. I will observe your child on two separate occasions over one week, hopefully during different times of the day to get a full grasp on how they are developing. I can possibly observe your child during their individual play, interactions with family, meal times, and transitions during their day. Children may behave differently from day to day and different times of the day depending on what is going on and how they feel. With two separate interactions, I can get a good idea of how they are developing in the areas we determine together. When observing, I will take into account the information you share with me and remain sensitive to your child’s individual life. This assessment will be tailored specifically what you want to learn about your child and your background. This way, I can be as accurate and relevant as possible.
After the observations, I will collect and other relevant information in order to evaluate your child’s development. During our interview, we can come up with an appropriate time to give you the results of the assessment. Before this meeting, I will determine the best method to deliver this information, but I will make sure it is understandable and related to the information you want to gain about your child. This meeting can be from 30 minutes to an hour of your time and can help you in working with your child’s teachers and possible support professionals they already work with to support your child further. The entire process with last over the course of 4 weeks for you, with minimal time commitment on your part.
With your help, this assignment will help me to gain experience at effectively assessing children so that I can help parents such as yourself and support professionals (such as speech therapists and reading specialists) better care for and support your child’s development. With proper assessment, children get the most out of the education program they participate in. Proper assessment also empowers parents and children in being an active part of their own development. I look forward to working with you soon. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Latiel Fields
Summary
So far in this course, we have learned that assessment is the first step to partnering with parents, lawmakers, and other education professionals to better teach and foster the development of young children. An assessment, or a comprehensive developmental screening, “is a process that allows providers to collaborate with parents to monitor, describe and discuss all domains of a child’s development” (McCann & Yarbrough, 2006, p. 1). Assessment is essential in recording the milestones a child has reached and worked to achieve more. Assessment is an important tool for teachers. With assessments, teachers can plan activities tailored to the children’s abilities. It also helps a teacher to adapt said activities to the individual needs of the children in their care. For example, if a teacher is working on language skills, they may work more intensely with a child who speaks more than one language, breaking down sentences or saying simple phrases, while helping a child who already says three-word sentences elongate their ideas. Each activity can come from a child’s status based on their assessment, coupled with what I know about child development.
I hope that conducting the Child Observation Project will help me to better partner with families to create an assessment plan and activities moving forward. One of the first steps in the project is to conduct an interview with the parents of the child I plan to assess. This does a couple of things. First, it creates a rapport with the parents. They will more freely discuss their family and any concerns they may have if they feel comfortable with me and that their thoughts are being heard. According to McCann and Yarbrough, “All parents notice and care about their children’s development. However, they may not know whether or not their children are developing typically, if their children’s behaviors are in a normal range, or how to better support their children’s ongoing development” (2006, p.1). Parents are a child’s first teachers, and I expect that this project will reinforce this idea for me in my professional life and how I deal with families moving forward.
During observations, I will also gain valuable experience in remaining impartial. Professionally, I try to maintain an objective position on the development of the children in my care. However, even with extensive experience, remaining completely impartial can be a daunting task. McAfee, Leong, and Bodrova assert, “Even when teachers are sensitive to possible problems, they must be careful not to overidentify” (2016, p. 19). Overidentifying children is stereotyping them based off of what you think they should be doing versus where they are developmentally. Overidentifying makes you think a child has ADHD when perhaps they just need to be challenged more, or helped in their emotional development. Recognizing my own culture as an influence on my beliefs and actions, I have to remain cognizant of the individual differences between each child, even if they are the same age and similar background. I have to stay sensitive to the notion that every child will develop at their own pace and that their differences can possibly be explained by differences in ability, culture, or socioeconomic background. Over the course of this class and the Child Observation Project, I hope to gain more tools and practice in remain unprejudiced in my assessments.
Professionally, this class will teach me how to move forward from assessment. In realizing its importance, I can learn how to better teach the children in my class. I currently have the tendency to use assessments, but still create activities that are based on where the children should be, instead of using the assessments to determine the activities I do with the children. With this new knowledge and experience, I can assess more effectually and use the results in the most effective way. I will take what I learn as I move forward professionally to make positive change in the lives of the children I teach.
References
McAfee, O., Leong, D. J., & Bodrova, E. (2016). Assessing and guiding young children's development and learning (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
McCann, C., & Yarbrough, K. (2006). Snapshots: Incorporation comprehensive developmenta screening into programs and services for young children. Ounce of Prevention Fund.