Category 3: Observing, Documenting & Assessing To Support Young Children and Fam

Category 3: Observing, Documenting & Assessing To Support Young Children and Families
Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs understand that child observation, documentation, and other forms of assessment are central to the practice of all early childhood professionals. They know about and understand the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment. They know about and use systematic observations, documentation, and other effective assessment strategies in a responsible way, in partnership with families and other professionals, to positively influence the development of every child.
Key elements of Standard 3:
a) Understanding the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment – including its use in the development of appropriate goals, curriculum, and teaching strategies for young children
b) Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and approaches, including the use of technology in documentation, assessment, and data collection.
c) Understanding and practicing responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each child, including the use of assistive technology for children with disabilities.
d) Knowing about assessment partnerships with families and with professional colleagues to build effective learning environments
Directions: Develop a 2-3 page document (minimum 500 word per page).
1. Write an introduction paragraph describing how your teaching practices with infants and toddlers meet this Standard.
2. Then, write at least 1 to 2 paragraphs on how you facilitate each of the following in your daily teaching practice:
a) Understanding the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment – including its use in the development of appropriate goals, curriculum, and teaching strategies for young children
b) Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and approaches, including the use of technology in documentation, assessment, and data collection.
c) Understanding and practicing responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each child, including the use of assistive technology for children with disabilities.
d) Knowing about assessment partnerships with families and with professional colleagues to build effective learning environments
3. Include 1-3 Artifacts documenting your competency in this Category.
Each category must have at least 1-3 artifacts present which you feel shows your understanding of the standard Artifact can include (but are not limited to): • Interviews • Photos • Evaluations • Examples of children’s work • Lesson Plans
4. Reflective self-assessment addressing the category.
· Reflections should explain why the artifact was selected for each standard, and how the artifact demonstrates your proficiency in the area outlined by the standard.
· Reflections should help the evaluator understand how you have grown in your role as an educator within the standards area.
· Reflections should be approximately 2 pages each.
· Each reflection should include an overall introduction to the category, supporting topic paragraphs, and a conclusion.
· Your reflection is required to be supported with in-text citations and a reference page in APA formatting.