Integrating assessment into early childhood daily routines

¶ … EC Assessment & Intervention

Mission Statement

Partial Portfolio

Background Information Related to Diagnostic Test

Diagnostic Test -- Developmental Area of Concern

At the Playground.

At Home.

Developmentally Appropriate Instructional Goals

Cognitive Instructional Goal

Motor Instructional Goal

Physical Instructional Goal

Language Instructional Goal

Mission Statement

The purpose of early childhood assessment is to document the present status of the child with regard to developmental milestones and to identify any developmental areas that require follow-up assessment or follow-along. Assessment of very young children needs to be integral to their daily activities. Children change very rapidly and it is too easy to assume that they have reached developmental milestones in all areas: marked development in one area can distract caregivers and therapists from a deficit or an area in which development is occurring at a slower rate than typical. Recording the developmental progress of children is not an onerous task if it is integrated into the daily routine and becomes a habit. Steps to prepare for this integration of assessment in daily routines includes making recording sheets readily available, review the assessment records weekly, and communicate with other staff and parents on a monthly basis about the observations. An important reason for communicating with others about a young child's performance is that they may exhibit a skill in one area but not in another. That is to say, that a child may successfully demonstrate a skill at home, but not at the play centers, and so on.

When ever possible, it is beneficial to record a child's performance using different media. Paper documentation can be converted to digital form thereby increasing its portability, permanence, and distribution for sharing. Photo images of children's performance can serve the same purpose; for example, when the images are of a child's artwork or block construction or posture when sitting on the floor at circle time, the photo can communicate much more easily the points that a teacher or therapist is making when talking with parents or when consulting with other professionals or specialists. For gross and fine motor activities, the use of videotaping is a tremendous way to record developmental progress -- and to identify any particular areas of development that may be problematic. By recording gross and fine motor development on video, a teacher or therapist can easily view particular parts of the video, repeating the viewing process until they are satisfied that they have accurately evaluated the performance and identified an appropriate intervention, or have reached a wait and see attitude that they can comfortably defend.

It is critically important to incorporate activities, objects, and language that are indicative of children's keenest interests and responsive to their ideas when conducting assessment. In order to obtain maximum effort and performance from a young child, it is most productive to integrate the activities with their typical preferences in any given situation and to align the language with their developmental levels regarding receptive language. These considerations are crucial for the accurate assessment of children with developmental delays whose experiences in new environments may not have been particularly successful, thereby imparting a degree of reticence in their willingness to cooperate with adults who are not their usual caregivers and to participate in the assessment process. Conducting assessments with young children who have developmental delays requires a high degree of patience and remarkable levels of creativity. Very often, a teacher or therapist may need to approach assessment from a sideways position so as to minimize any appearance that the activities are of substance, and to give every indication that the activity is play and playful, rather than a serious attempt to conduct deep and highly accurate assessment.

Partial Portfolio

The instruments used to assess the child during observations include the following: the Developmental Checklists Birth to Five, The Early Childhood Direction Center, and from the Week Three Observation Assignment, the following forms: Running Record or Anecdotal Record and Time Sampling or Event Sampling, as appropriate to the setting and activity.

Background Information Related to Diagnostic Test

Mark Anthony is inconsistent in his stair climbing performance. He scored lowest on the screening instrument on the item about going up and down stairs without support. In several contexts, he capably demonstrates the ability to climb both up and down the stairs. In his home environment, Mark descends the stairs easily but has repeated exhibited difficulty going up the stairs. He characteristically hesitates at each stair step, and persists in looking down with great concentration. Mark's mother has been observed to carry Mark up the stairs when he seems to be stuck in this routine.

The purpose of the diagnostic assessment is to determine if the motivating factor for Mark's hesitancy in stair climbing is a result of the assistance that he obtains from his mother, rather than some underlying physical contributor. It should be noted that Mark exhibits levels of energy, balance, and muscular strength typical of normally developing children his age when he is in the playground environment. Recall that on the playground, Mark does not hesitate on stairs he is climbing, nor does he solicit any help from adults to go up and down stairs.

Developmentally Appropriate Instructional Goals

The following instructional goals have been selected for Mark on the basis of his current functioning and according to the guidelines for creating scaffolding for learning by utilizing the zone of proximate development described by Vygotsky (1934, 1987).

Cognitive Instructional Goal

1. Mark will count 10 or more objects in 7 out of 10 tries following one verbal cue to "Count the ____(name of objects) by June 15, 2014.

2. Mark will correctly name 4 out of 8 colors following one verbal cue to "Name the colors you see" by June 15, 2014.

3. Mark will participate in small group activities for 8 to 10 minutes 4 out of 5 days each week through June 15, 2014.

Corresponding classroom activities:

1. Mark will practice one-to-one counting at the math learning station each day.

2. Mark will match and name colors at the color learning station each day.

3. Mark will participate in the morning opening activities (e.g., calendar, weather, sharing) and the read aloud story circle time each day.

Motor Instructional Goal

1. By June 15, 2014, Mark will successfully stand on one foot for 10 seconds or longer each day while participating in the Move It station at the learning center.

2. By June 15, 2014, Mark will hop up and down on two feet for 4 jumps each day at the Move It station at the learning center.

3. By June 15, 2014, Mark will be able to swing back and forth unaided for 6 to 8 times by using his legs to "pump" the swing.

Corresponding classroom activities:

1. A Move It station will be set up at the learning center with different gross motor activities that, once successfully accomplished, will be recorded in a travel-type passport. The passport will include a page for standing on one foot.

2. A Move It station will be set up at the learning center with different gross motor activities that, once successfully accomplished, will be recorded in a travel-type passport. The passport will include a page for hopping on two feet.

3. Each day that outdoor recess is scheduled, Mark will be encourage to or helped to swing. Mark will be shown how to "pump" his legs to make the swing move.

Physical Instructional Goal

1. Mark will demonstrate the ability to go to the bathroom independently with reminders for 4 out of every 5 days by June 15, 2014.

2. Mark will demonstrate the ability to use a child's spoon to scoop food independently with reminders 7 out of 10 tries each day at breakfast or lunch by June 15, 2014.

3. Mark will demonstrate the ability to unbutton and unzip his coats and sweatshirts without assistance following outdoor recess for 4 out of 5 days by June 15, 2014.

Corresponding classroom activities:

1. Mark will have opportunity to use the restroom several times each day following and preceding certain activities when reminded.

2. Mark will participate in-group snack activities during which he will have opportunity to practice using a spoon. Mark will engage with science station challenges at the learning center in which he practices scooping objects with spoons of different sizes.

3. Mark will have opportunity to and be encouraged to independently unbutton and unzip in order to take his coat and sweatshirts off following outside recess and upon arrival at the center.

Language Instructional Goal

1. Mark will be able to recall parts of a story 4 out 5 times when retelling stories in the group read aloud circle, as measured each week until June 15, 2014.

2. Mark will be able to tell his full name and street address 4 out 5 times each day for 6 weeks when participating at the Information station at the learning center, by June 15, 2014.

3. Mark will be able to use future tense 7 out of 10 times when engaging in the story telling station at the learning center by June 15, 2014.

Corresponding classroom activities:

1. The story telling circle will provide opportunity for Mark to listen to a story and then take turns retelling parts of the story.

2. The Information station at the learning center will provide Mark frequent practice telling and writing his complete name and his street address.

3. The story telling station at the learning center will provide opportunity for Mark to dictate a story for an adult to record in a paper "book" that contains prompts such as: "What will you do tomorrow?" "What will you do on your birthday?" "What work do you want to do when you grow up?"

Recommendation Plan

Since Mark's mother has been included in the diagnostic test for the stair climbing skill, she will be familiar with the some parts of the assessment process. The primary objective of this pre-consultation is to inform Mark's parents about developmental milestones and reassure them that some spotty progress across the different domains is quite typical.

Mark will be able to practice many of the activities in his instructional objectives with support from his parents at home. Mark will bring supporting materials home in order to help his parents reinforce his new skills. In particular, Mark's parents will be encouraged to do the following:

Ask Mark to say his full name and address.

Encourage Mark to use spoons when helping to prepare food or when eating with family.

Ask Mark what his plans are for the weekend and special occasions in order to encourage use of future tense.

Encourage Mark to consistently remove his outer wraps when coming come by unbuttoning and unzipping fasteners, and then putting away his garments in the appropriate place.

Early Intervention Programs

The HighScope Curriculum is based on years of exacting research and has evolved as evidence-based research pointed to better ways of instructing and interacting with preschool children. The collaboration between HighScope and universities across the nation has been high since the inception of the program, and it continues today.

Characteristics of HighScope preschool programs include active teachers who are highly engaged in the classroom environment, responding to the needs and attributes of individual children. All the materials, planned activities, and conversation with children are designed to support and challenge the thinking and development of preschoolers. HighScope curricular and instructional activities are designed to be child-centered -- based on the natural curiosity and activity of children. Both the children and the teachers engage in active participatory learning to shape the activities and opportunities in the classroom in a way that is developmentally appropriate, matched to the current and emerging abilities of the children, and compelling with respect to inviting interaction.

The HighScope Curriculum has been proven to be effective with preschool children and there are federal funding requirements of administrators that the center provides evidence that the HighScope Curriculum is being used. This means that the administrator must show that an appropriate set of teaching practices are being used, that there are specific learning objectives that children must meet, that research tools are being used to measure the degree to which the program is meeting the needs of children, and that a model of staff training is being used to ensure that teachers understand how to use the curriculum correctly and understand why they are required to teach in the manner stipulated by the HighScope curriculum.