gortega_Observation and Assesment Methods and Models_012322
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School
Rasmussen College *
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Course
315
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
7
Uploaded by LieutenantKnowledge11394
Gianni Ortega
Department of Education, Rasmussen University
Observation and Assessment Methods and Models
EC315/EEC3015 Section 01 Observation and Assessment for Effective Curriculum Planning
Professor Theresa McKay
01/23/2022
Introduction
I will be conducting my observation and assessment on a little girl who is about to turn
four years old and is currently enrolled in our three to four years old pre-k program. The reason
for this is because in order to continue effective teaching practices based on developmental needs
of the students in our care one needs to be able to take the time to observe and assess the children
that they will be tasked to not only look after but also help reach developmental milestones as
well. The girl is of mixed race being half-French and half-Spanish, her father being from France
and her mother being from Spain. The observation took place in a private school that has an
infant program accepting children for at least three months old all the way to children who are
five, the school has 13 classrooms and is located in New York City. Being a pre-k program the
ratio for the classroom in regards to teacher to student ratio is 12 students for every one teacher,
and in total there are 19 students in the class with two to three teachers depending on the day.
The observation took place during the morning which is when we typically do our morning
academic centers with the children, specifically during an cognitive art activity which involved
cutting and going over shapes. The classroom is a very diverse class containing children from
different backgrounds. For the purpose of doing a proper overall observation we will be utilizing
the three methods of Ages and Stages Questionnaire for screening. Highscope for assessment. In
regards to observation, the Anecdotal method.
Methods and Models
Screening Tool
The screening tool chosen was the one that I was able to find and the resources being the
ages and stages questionnaire. I find this one to have been most affected because it breaks down
according to age what the children might be able or might not be able to do depending on their
age and what stage they are in regarding that development. It puts certain things they should be
doing in writing and it gives not only Educators but parents something to follow as well. I found
that to be quite helpful.
Assessment Tool
In regards to the assessment tool I found myself leaning towards High/Scope Child
Observation Record. I found it to be most effective because it covered and touched upon all the
major domains in regards to child development. When doing an effective assessment it is
important to touch upon all aspects of the development and that's exactly what high scope does.
It allows for the educator to do their assessment while being able to focus on individual
developmental milestones by providing a thorough breakdown of what “should be” expected by
the child's age in regards to their abilities. It can also be related to parents who may want to work
on the same things at home with their children that are being worked on at school.
Observation Tool
In regards to actual observation I find anecdotal records to be very efficient, especially
when they cater specifically to the abilities of the individual child. It allows for parents and
educators to go through and focus on a specific scenario and specific abilities depending on the
situation in which the child is being observed. It makes effective assessment easier. “Effective
assessment of young children is challenging. The complexity of children’s development and
learning—including the uneven nature of development and the likelihood of children fully
demonstrating their knowledge and skills in different contexts—makes accurate and
comprehensive assessment difficult (NAEYC, 2022).” Despite sometimes being challenging, an
anecdotal record makes it easier to complete an effective assessment.
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Observation Data and Assessment
For this part of the assignment, I have included the data that could be collected on the
observed child for each instrument.
Ages and Stages Questionnaire
According to the Ages and Stages Questionnaire screening tool used for this observation
and based on what was observed the child is quite capable in her fine motor skills regarding
coloring within the lines when provided instructions of coloring in certain objects and shapes.
She was able to color in her shapes, selecting her own colors by herself and for the most part
stood within the lines. When it came time to cut the dotted lines that served as the border for the
shapes she did pretty well with the shapes with defined corners and sides like squares, triangles,
and rectangles, but she needed some assistance when training to cut out her circle given the the
circular cutting required due to the nature of the shape. Using this method for the child, if one
were to do an all day observation you can bse your findings and notes based on the questions in
the questionnaire.
High/Scope Child Observation Record
According to High/Scope in regards to creative art and her fine motor abilities the child
can manipulate small objects with quite ease, such as scissors, crayons and glue when she was
working on her cognitive art project. When asked how many shapes she had in front of her, she
had understood the concept of how many and was able to count on her own that she had the
different shapes in front of her. She was also able to distinguish each shape from each other
without any additional help or support. She also utilizes her tripod grasp (fingers) when she uses
her crayons, markers, and pencils (for tracing, although she is begging to copy the letters she’s
traced without tracing.
Anecdotal Record
According to the Anecdotal Record method, which was quite helpful given that the child
was observed while doing a specific activity, she displayed the skills and traits one should have
by her age. See displayed fine manipulation of small art materials. The child also displayed
decision making skills by selecting different colors for each shape and did her best to stay within
the lines, displaying awareness for boundaries. She also displayed high cognitive function once
she had to paste them on the outlines the shapes belonged in, correctly matching all the shapes.
She also displayed good social skills as she interacted with the kids in her learning center, even
helping one friend she saw who needed help.
Similarities and Differences
Using the three methods and models to conduct an effective observation I notice a lot of
similarities and very slight differences. Compared to my first two choices the one I found to be
most different and surprisingly my favorite was the
anecdotal record
. This was due to the fact
that it allowed me to focus on a specific subject area and observe the individual child and that
element and see which developmental goals were met or needed more work towards. However I
find that
High/Scope
and
ASQ
did a great job in breaking down every single developmental
domain as well as the skills and traits included for each and in a very comprehensive manner. It
was because of this I found that these two were the most similar of the three that I chose.
Conclusion
The purpose of this assignment was to not only observe the skills and traits relating to art
and fine motor skills for a specific child but to also get in the habit of conducting effective
assessments and observations that can contribute to effective teaching processes. It is important
because part of being a great effective teacher is also observing the children in our care every day
as well as giving us estimates relating to their academic and developmental progress. We cannot
expect children to develop properly if they're in the care of a teacher who doesn't even bother
taking the time to observe them. If one does not invest in the time to observe the child how can
they expect themselves to be able to do an effective assessment guarding their development. At
the end of the day it's what makes an effective teacher affected not only in their practices but
how they utilize those to benefit the children in their care.
Resources
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National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.).
DAP: Observing,
documenting, and assessing children's development and learning
. NAEYC. Retrieved
January 21, 2022, from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-
statements/dap/assessing-development