NAEYC Standard 1

Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact
Rationale/Reflection

NAEYC Standard: STANDARD 1. PROMOTING CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING

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Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs are grounded in a child development knowledge base. They use their understanding of a) young children’s characteristics and needs, and b) multiple interacting influences on children’s development and learning, to c) create environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for each child.

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Brief Description of Evidence:

During the summer semester of 2021 during my ECED 120-Child Growth and Development course, I worked one on one with a preschool aged child. Over the course of the summer, I met with, observed, and implemented activities with this child. The purpose of this project was to help a family identify where the child was developmentally according to guidelines and checklists. Through several tasks and activities, we established his level of development such as cognitive, motor skills, self-help and more. Based off those findings, I worked with the child's mother to establish goals to work on over the summer. From there, I met with the child several times to work on different activities and lessons in hopes to help progress toward his overall goals. By the end of the project, I could then offer valuable resources to help the family continue to thrive in their strengths and grow together to reach not only the goals of the child but family goals as well. Like most projects, family collaboration was a key in this project. I learned that respecting, and listening to the family created a reciprocal relationship of transparency and trust. Spending time with the family helped me to build a relationship with the child. Our time together also helped me to personalize goals and resources. In the end, the child improved on more than one milestone and made extreme progress in pressing toward meeting his summer goals.

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Analysis of What I've Learned:

While preparing for this project I reminded myself that as an educator, working alongside family is beneficial for not only the children but for everyone involved. This project helped me to build a relationship with this family while helping to meet goals that mom felt she was failing at. All the while, helping mom to understand that children develop at different levels. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through different stages of development and these states do not have a small timeframe. There are years of development in just one stage. I have learned the importance of understanding cognitive development and that not all 4-year-olds will have met the same milestones and achievements at the same time. And that is OK.  Being able to introduce this family to the knowledge that comparison is not a healthy practice when observing child development was enlightening. 

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How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:

My competence in child development knowledge is proven by my dedication to not only the child's needs but the needs as a family as well. I understand that child development includes outside factors such as family dynamics, learning environments, what they eat, how they spend free time, and more. 

While observing this child's milestones, strengths, and weaknesses I was reminded of the nature vs. nurture debate. This child is where he is developmentally because of hereditary factors as well as environmental factors. For example, the pediatrician measured this child taller than most his age. His height seems to help with his stamina and gross motor skills. His above average height is most likely because his mother and father are both tall. 

I have gained information on how nature and nurture intertwine to influence a child's development and how this information can support families in several ways. As parents, it’s easy to take credit or to blame ourselves for every aspect of our children’s behavior and where they are developmentally. As a mother, I have done this. The mother of the child that I observed this summer was guilty of this as well. We cannot completely control a child’s development because part of it is influenced by the genes in their cells. As a matter of fact, Theorist, Jean Piaget believed that children go through four developmental stages. According to this theorist, every child will go through these stages but at their pace. Remembering that every child learns differently can help parents understand that not all children learn and grow at the same speed. Knowing this was important because I could pass this information on to the mother. By understanding this information, it may help her look at her child's development and not blame herself for where he is not and begin to celebrate where he is developmentally.