NAEYC Standard 7

Brief Description of Evidence:

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During my time at Ivy Tech as an Early Childhood Education student I have had the opportunity to observe and student teach younger and older preschool, virtually, within a Head Start program, and at two different preschool facilities.

More specifically during Fall 2021 in my ECED 255- Generalist Practicum course, I worked one-on-one with a 2-year-old girl enrolled in Head Start. I worked alongside the child's mother and teachers to create goals lining up with Indiana Learning Foundations. We worked toward these goals by implementing lesson plans, observations and coordinating at-home activities.

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Analysis of What I Learned:

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The purpose of assessment in early childhood is to determine students’ strengths and set goals for instruction. Assessments in early childhood support the ability to provide individualized activities for students across areas of development.

Through all of my  field experience and my Head Start experience I learned how to effectively collaborate with families and other educators to agree upon and create goals and plans for the children. Once the goals were chosen, the assessments began. I used anecdotal observations, running record observations and photographs/videos daily to keep track of the child's progress and strengths.

From there I could see strengths and interests which helped build a successful lesson plan that was engaging to the student while also working toward goals.

moving forward something I would do differently is focus more on the foundations instead of just finding the ones that seem to match the lesson. Implementing lesson plans that are creative enough to meet multiple foundations through one activity would be a nice accomplishment to keep track of class-wide.

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How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:

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Through my field experience at Ivy Tech  which has consisted of more than 500 classroom, observation and assessment hours, I have learned what it looks like to be a professional. A professional is simply defined as a qualified person. Before I began working the classrooms, I was not confident in my abilities and didn't feel as qualified as the teachers around me. Through daily interaction, my mentality began to change.

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"Educated caregivers are more involved and affectionate with the children in their care. They are less authoritarian – restricting children less and encouraging them more. They implement more developmentally appropriate practices in the classroom and provide richer literacy environments." (Berk, 1985; Dunn et al., 2000; Love et al., 1992).

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This quote is one that I hold dear. Through field experiences, I have learned hands-on what it takes to be an educator, and the rewards that come with the position.

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Piaget viewed children as active learners who, through interactions with their surroundings, developed key concepts and understandings through meaningful implementation.

As my knowledge in the field of Early Childhood Education grew, I began observing and assessing the children in my classrooms daily. From these assessments, I was able to implement meaningful and inclusive set of lesson plans and activities. Helping children to become more active learners.

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With each lesson plan implementation, I grew more confident in my skill-set. As children's' goals were being met, I felt more qualified. While studying the student's strengths, I was silently building upon my own. At the end of my time at Ivy Tech, I will have worked within three entities with children ranging from 0-5 years old. I have also completed over 500 classroom, observation and assessment hours, implemented more than 20 lesson plans and more. I have been able to gain the knowledge to promote developmentally appropriate learning and curriculum for children.