Effective Observation And Assessments In Early Childhood Classroom

It is an important part of a practitioner’s job to observe and assess children in order to establish where a child is at with regards to their development, health and well being and if they require extra support. The factors that need to be taken into account when assessing development are:

Assessment is a valuable tool to measure students learning and achievement. It is an essential element for teacher to reflect on what and how they teach. To assess students is to collect evidence of their learning. Teachers use the information to modify their lesson plans and adjust their instructional methods; students need feedback on their performance to concentrate on their vulnerable areas. Assessment is necessary for parents to reinforce their children strength and assist them where extra attention is required. The data collected will inform school

Observations and assessments can help the teacher plan activities that take into account the individual needs of the children. They also show how a child is developing. In my setting the teacher uses observations when planning and we complete narrative observations on a daily basis.

The North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program, formerly known as More at Four, is geared towards bettering the lives for At-Risk 4-year-old children. Exposing children to an early learning experience that will promote a positive learning environment to ensure Kindergarten readiness is what drives the program. Upon arrival, each child is screened using the Brigance 4-year-old tool to assess and determine the child’s developmental skills and abilities. According to the text, “Classroom tests and assessments play a central role in the evaluation of student learning. They provide relevant measures of many important learning outcomes and indirect evidence concerning others” (Miller, Linn, Gronlund, pg. 139). While many educators and families

The observation of children is performed by teachers and educators, to help understand each child, and their characteristics. Along with assessment and evaluation, educators are able to understand each child’s development, and make decisions about appropriate activities and experience to offer each child, to help foster their individual development. (Veale, A. and Piscitelli, B. 1988) This essay will discuss the Value of the Observation Process in Planning for early childhood settings, and the role of each teacher in facilitating children’s individual learning and development.

The early childhood are the most vital time for learning, therefore observations, assessments, planning and evaluation are an important part of the curriculum for children’s

In an early childhood setting, being observant gives professionals and family members a helpful portrait of the children in their care, and as future professionals it helps us see how intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development occurs in children. Observing, documenting, and assessing young children shows how they progress from one stage to the next or when there is a delay in progression. The reason we observe young children is that “there is so much that demands attention and response; at the same time, by building in systematic observation, teachers can improve their teaching, construct theory, assess children, assist families, and solve problems” (Gordon and Browne, p.180). It gives dynamic information about each child’s learning styles, interests, abilities, and needs. Observation helps teachers improve teaching by making them become more objective and self-aware of biases they may have. It encourages us to remember that early childhood development is highly individualized, so customizing activities to benefit each child will help them utilize their abilities to their fullest potentials, and through this we will be able to recognize what behaviors are typical of various age groups. The reason we document our observations is so that we can keep records and show proper evidence of each child’s individual growth and participation in classroom activities. With good documentation, family members will able to see the progression made by their child.

Assessments and evaluations play a key role in providing developmentally appropriate activities and learning opportunities. Lesson plans should be well thought out and based on the particular group of children in your care. In order for lesson plans to be effective, teachers must use observe and assess their students. The information gained from observations and assessments can be used to plan for the class as a whole and for children individually. Once activities are implemented, teachers should evaluate the outcome and success through observations. Evaluating children’s learning is a great way to determine whether an activity should be used again or changed in any way.

The fifth characteristic of the checklist is oral language. This area is a strength in the classroom. While talking, the teacher supplements her words with a lot of hand gestures. She checks the children’s understanding through open-ended questions, which engages the children in conversation. She provokes the children’s analysis and reasoning skills by asking them to explain further. She also repeated a child’s answer during a discussion regarding transportation and asked more questions to extend upon the students’ response. The teacher provides opportunities that support oral language development by a game called “nice to meet you”. During this game, one child would shake another child’s hand and say, “I am ____. How are you doing

I did my observation of a Kindergarten Teacher at Meadow View Elementary, on Wednesday the 8th. I had the pleasure of observing Mrs.T she has been teaching for 15 years. Mrs. T is how I am going to refer to her in this paper. Mrs. T has been teaching kindergarten for 10 years and taught first grade for 5 years. The students in her classroom are in the range of being high to low with their reading level. Mrs. T graduated from the UNCW with her B.A and earned her Masters at ECU. The activity that the children were doing was reviewing sight words and letter sounds. I was amazed at the children on how they were sitting and very much engaged in the lesson.

The observation began in the hallway, as Robert and his class was heading to the library to have their school pictures done. Robert was in line with his class as they were given instructions to stay in line and proceed to the library. As the teacher turned to walk with the class, Robert was in the mid back of the line and he proceeded to run and maneuver his way to the mid front of the line. He was pushing students to get to the front of the line.

This observation was conducted in a class of the after school program at Hope Gardens Community Center in Brooklyn. The class consisted of five to six-year-old children. Two children aged six and eight children aged five were in the class with one teacher and two middle school student volunteers. The class proceeded to do homework, coloring, outside activity, and dancing. This paper focuses on observation of ML who was the one of the children in the class.

One of the most common ways that assessment is achieved is through a mix of teacher observation and parent

The main focus of this report is the use of assessments in Early Years Education. These assessments are of different kinds depending on the purpose for which they are conducted. Assessments for high stake purposes test the feasibility of programs in achieving state goals and are usually required by government agencies and funding bodies. The other more common assessment is undertaken to observe a child's progress. It helps to determine the most effective mode of instruction for him/her and for notifying parents of their children's development. This report focuses on the latter and highlights programs that have been implemented in different school settings and the learning outcomes from each program. It is hoped that this report will provide readers with some best practices that can make learning assessment even more effective consequently ensuring that the objective of the No Child Left Behind program i.e. to reduce learning gaps between children from different backgrounds is achieved.

Assessment is an important part of a high-quality, early childhood program (NAEYC, n.d.). Teachers need to assess student’s learning throughout the school year in order to monitor their progress. With this information, educators can plan developmentally appropriate curriculum and individualized instruction for each child. Assessments help to identify students who may need additional support and determine if they need intervention or support services. Kiddie Academy utilizes both formal and informal assessments of children. Each has benefits and limitations depending on what information the teacher is looking for. Early childhood educators often use informal observation methods to collect data on their students as these methods are easier to use and more appropriate for program planning (Radecki, Sand-Loud, O'Connor, Sharp, & Olson, 2011). Informal assessments can be used more often. They are not data driven, but rather performance and content driven (Appl, 2000). And, they can be used to gather information about a child’s development in their natural environment. Overall, assessments of young students help to keep teachers and the program curriculum responsive to the needs of each child.