ECE 354 Week 1
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Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation.
- The Assessment-Learning Process
As you read in Chapter 1 of your course text, the assessment-learning process consists of a continuous cycle of assessment, planning, and teaching. It is important to consider that the cycle both begins and ends with assessment. “In between assessment there is continuous planning, teaching, and learning” (Howard, V. F., & Aiken, E., 2015, p. 16). In order to be effective caregivers and educators, we must first understand the purpose of assessment. Once we understand the “why,” we can then focus on the “how.” For this discussion you will reflect on the why, and begin to plan how to move forward in the assessment-learning process.
To prepare for your first discussion, view the Early Childhood Assessment Purposes video. For a transcript of the video, please click HERE. Include the following in your discussion post:
- According to Pretti-Frontczak (2015), there are six main purposes of assessment: Developmental and Behavioral Screening, Eligibility under IDEA, Planning Instruction, Revising Instruction, Program Evaluation, and Accountability. For this discussion you will choose one of these six purposes of assessment and locate a scholarly resource that provides a rationale for this purpose of assessment.
- Discuss why your chosen assessment purpose is important for young children and what some of the detriments or problems are, if any. Support this portion of your post with the scholarly resource you located in the step above.
- Identify how you know where to begin when using assessments with children. Provide specific examples.
- Analyze the importance of goal setting. What are the implications for improper goal-setting?
- Explain what the next steps are if an assessment does not yield comprehensive results.
- Defend why using multiple measures of assessment is considered a best practice. Include at least two reasons and support your rationale with the text and at least one scholarly resource.
Guided Response: Review several of your peers’ responses. Respond to at least two of your peers who chose a different assessment purpose than you did for the first bullet point. Respectfully comment on their points regarding this purpose, stating what you agree with and why, or by adding further relevant information or examples to support their point.
Though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you. Remember, continuing to engage with peers and the instructor will further the conversation and provide you with opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with this topic.
- Assessment in Early Childhood
Include the following in your discussion post:
- Explain why it is necessary to approach assessment in early childhood differently than assessment with older children.
- In what ways are assessments similar, regardless of the age of the children?
- In what ways are assessments in early childhood different?
- Identify how play-based, project-based, and child-directed learning support the implementation of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood.
- Compare and contrast your personal stance on assessment with that of either NAEYCor the Division for Early Childhood (DEC). In what ways do they align? In what ways do they differ? Use Chapter 2 of the course textbook to support your response.
- Determine what, in your opinion, the role of families is in the assessment-learning process. Thinking about the age of children you desire to work with and the unique needs of that age group, how do you envision working with families during the assessment process? Provide specific examples.
Though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you. Remember, continuing to engage with peers and the instructor will further the conversation and provide you with opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with this topic.
Journal
journal
To complete the following journal entry, go to this week's Journal link in the left navigation.
Guess the Meaning
As you have discovered throughout this first week, “assessment is an essential educational tool that complements curriculum and instruction” (Howard, V. F., & Aiken, E., 2015, p. 11). In order to effectively utilize this essential tool, it is helpful to have an understanding of the language most commonly used in assessment. To begin this journal you will need to complete “The Language of Assessment” interaction that is located within the Summary and Resources in Chapter 2 of "Assessing learning and development in young children." After completing the activity, reflect on the following questions:
To complete the following journal entry, go to this week's Journal link in the left navigation.
Guess the Meaning
As you have discovered throughout this first week, “assessment is an essential educational tool that complements curriculum and instruction” (Howard, V. F., & Aiken, E., 2015, p. 11). In order to effectively utilize this essential tool, it is helpful to have an understanding of the language most commonly used in assessment. To begin this journal you will need to complete “The Language of Assessment” interaction that is located within the Summary and Resources in Chapter 2 of "Assessing learning and development in young children." After completing the activity, reflect on the following questions:
- How did the activity help to increase your knowledge of vocabulary related to assessment?
- What assessment terms are you still confused about?
- How did completing this activity help you to feel more confident about the content you will be learning in this course?
etermining the Observation Site
For Weeks Two and Five of this course, you will be asked to complete an assessment as well as a developmental screening on a young child. For this Learning Activity, you will find a child to observe for both of these assessments. Before selecting a child to work with, ensure he/she will be available during the next five weeks, as you will need to observe them on more than one occasion. If you are currently working with children, you may request permission to observe and work with a child in your class or center. If you are not currently working with children, or do not have children of your own (one to eight years of age), you will need to use the videos provided below for your observations. To access the videos, go to The Colorado Department of Education’s Results Matter Video Library and scroll down the list to find the titles of the videos for the child you choose from the table below. To locate transcripts for these videos, please click HERE. Please make sure to watch all of the videos listed in the table below for your chosen child.
You must ensure that you can observe and assess the child on multiple occasions. You will need a minimum of two different assessment times, three is preferable. You also must ensure that you are working with the same child for all required assessments during this course.
For this activity you will need to complete the Determining the Observation Site document. Once you have completed the document, you will need to submit to Waypoint for evaluation no later than Day 7.
For Weeks Two and Five of this course, you will be asked to complete an assessment as well as a developmental screening on a young child. For this Learning Activity, you will find a child to observe for both of these assessments. Before selecting a child to work with, ensure he/she will be available during the next five weeks, as you will need to observe them on more than one occasion. If you are currently working with children, you may request permission to observe and work with a child in your class or center. If you are not currently working with children, or do not have children of your own (one to eight years of age), you will need to use the videos provided below for your observations. To access the videos, go to The Colorado Department of Education’s Results Matter Video Library and scroll down the list to find the titles of the videos for the child you choose from the table below. To locate transcripts for these videos, please click HERE. Please make sure to watch all of the videos listed in the table below for your chosen child.
Child to Observe | Video(s) to Watch |
Davana | Davana and Sidney Painting Together Davana and Jozlynn at the Sand Table |
Kyrill | Kyrill and Kira at the Easel Kyrill and Dylan at the Water Table |
Austin | Austin and Sander at the Breakfast Table Austin and the Broken Bridge |
Alicia | Alicia in Several Activities |
You must ensure that you can observe and assess the child on multiple occasions. You will need a minimum of two different assessment times, three is preferable. You also must ensure that you are working with the same child for all required assessments during this course.
For this activity you will need to complete the Determining the Observation Site document. Once you have completed the document, you will need to submit to Waypoint for evaluation no later than Day 7.
10 years ago
ECE 354 Week 1
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- reflection11.docx
- assessment_in_early_childhood.docx
- the_assessment-learning_process.docx
- ece_354_determining_the_observation_site.docx