Reflection Question
After reading the article “Reflections on the Relationship Between Documentation and Assessment in the American Context: An Interview With Brenda Fyfe” by Lella Gandini and Judith Allen Kaminsky I learned that Brenda Fyfe was the Dean of Education at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. According to her answers to the question on documentation and assessment I was able to learn more about what it really means for teachers to use documentation everyday and making it a part of the daily routine, instead of using it only for projects or at the end of a certain period of time. Doing assessment often favors the process of learning in children. I agree with her because documentation made daily will help me as a teacher to be on top of the knowledge and progress of my students.
According to Brenda Fyfe, using assessment to evaluate children is a tool to compare students by a rating scale and to determine the level of competence or development. The assessment tool helps teachers know when a child needs to stay in the class or be sent to the next grade. She emphasizes the importance of making learning visible and that documentation in one way or another makes learning visible by allowing teachers to listen to the child and document their words and thoughts. Teachers can do this by making notes and videos of what children are doing or saying. Teachers can gather information from the children and create a path to make their learning visible by reflecting on their learning.
Brenda Fyfe expressed during the interview that she “ was concerned that some documentation practices in the U.S. still have the tendency to narrow and limit the image of the child” (Gandini &Kaminsky, 2004). This really means that observ...
... middle of paper ...
...t children express ideas truthfully and without thinking too much about what they are going to say. I agree with her about the importance of talking to children to getting their insights because I believe this will give us a better understanding of who the child is.
Reading this article helped me reflect on my way of gathering information about the two children I observed this week. I was not sure if I was allowed to interact with them to get to know them better. I believe the process of getting to know children is a long process that takes more than taking notes and videotapes. Teachers need to consider others methods to understand who the child really is. The whole idea of documentation and observation is to know the child as an individual, how he learns best, and what I can do as a teacher to make his learning meaningful and to enrich the areas of concern.
Second, she counters the thought provided by a founder of the group called Action For Children’s Television, which was parents have the right to ask that programs aimed at the young should meet the specific needs of children by stating that education programs are an illusion for the parents. She attempts to reason by stating that the real needs of children isn’t just amusement. She states that the real needs are opportunities to
As adults, we have trouble representing children because, having once been children ourselves, we claim authority on the topic even though we no longer live as children nor do we see the world through their eyes. Even though we were once children, we cannot assume that we inherently know what it is like to be a child (Wilkie 100).
different situations. As well, it is important for children to see all types of perspectives as it will help them understand how to behave, and make the choices they would like to make. It is important however for children to have many different experiences, in order to learn about themselves. Also, the more children will interact with their peers, the easier it will be for them to empathize with others. An encouragement should always be provided to the children in order to learn more about themselves and others.
Through her recollection, she has paved a path for me to understand that one could judge, but a mother’s action speaks louder than what one might perceive her to be. When doctors told her one thing, Beth asked other professionals for their opinion of her daughter, knowing what her daughter was capable of. Melanie was able to perform and develop well because Beth pushed for her with all her power. With this in mind, an educator must not underestimate the parent’s knowledge of their own
...lighted this feature because I value respect and feel that a very important aspect of working with children is engaging their families which invites opportunity for respect to be demonstrated. Dietze & Kashin (2012) explain the importance of engaging families when they state “Including the input of others is essential in a reflective practice and families have a right to be included” (p.411). In one of my placements I saw the positive impact that including a parent had on a young boy when his mother came in to read a story to the. The boy’s self-esteem seemed to increase and could be seen in the way that he beamed the whole time she was there. This experience highlighted to me the importance of family involvement in an early childhood program. These three highlighted statements all reflect values that are important to me and which are important parts of my practice.
Assessments are an important part of teaching. Assessments are a good way for teachers to monitor students’ learning and understanding. Knowing students’ level of understanding can help teachers improve students’ learning and guide their instructions. In the future, I plan to continue assessing students in multiple ways such as, asking questions, illustrations and writing to adjust my instruction. I also plan to encourage students to assess their own work so they are involved in their own learning as well as look for ways to “employ technology to support assessment
Assessment, in the context of education, was defined by Lambert, D (2000, pag 4) as the processs of gathering, recording and using information about pupils' responses to educational tasks. Despite some can consider that assessment is separated from the learning process, assessment is, in fact, an essential part of the learning proccess. Maguire, M. and Dillon, J. (2007, pag 213) pointed out that assessment is intrincately bound-up in the teaching-learning cycle.
...the blue print to their future characteristics and skills in adult life, this is observed by Dr Elizabeth Kilby, Dr Sam Wass and Psychologist Paul Howard Jones to have more of an understanding on how the children learn through their own experiences and not being adult led. Their home life and adult influences have a huge impact on their development and skills.
The location of the observation was at the Community Center (Early Childhood education program) at 11:00am to 12:30pm on April 15, 2014. The meaningful experiences in early childhood education can positively shape children's development. With a teacher is guidance authentic child-art activity can educate enrich young students' learning abilities, encourage positive attitudes toward other children, and more importantly, learn to interact with people around them in the contemporary world. However, art for young students often takes many diversified approaches and emphasizing questionable practices. Observation is a part of meaningful and authentic early childhood art education. Observation enriches children’s experiences in their environment, gives them motivation to study, interact with other children and follow the practices of their adult models. Moreover, they develop strategies and skills to represent objects in their environment.
Observation is important as the practitioner can find out what the child is interested in and what motivates them to learn alongside their progress and how they behave in certain situations, additionally at the same time it identifies if children need assistance within certain areas of learning or socially (DCSF, 2008). Furthermore the observations check that the child is safe, contented, healthy and developing normally within the classroom or early years setting, over time the observations can be given to parents as they show a record of progress which helps to settle the parent and feel more comfortable about their child’s education. Observations are not only constructive within learning about an individual child, they can be used to see how different groups of children behave in the same situation and how adults communicate and deal with children’s behaviour (Meggitt and Walker, 2004). Overall observations should always look at the positives of what children can complete within education and not look at the negatives and all observations should become a fundamental part of all practitioners work alongside reflection (Smidt, 2009).
“…we do believe that how we bring up out children has a most profound effect upon how our society is behaving and how we deal with each other as human beings.”
Assessments allow for teachers to monitor the progress and growth of his/her students, help engage students and help guide teachers as well as students in their decision making. Teachers should know that tests are not the only way to assess students in the classroom. It is important for educators constantly assess their students on comprehension and progression.Teachers can take use of both formal and informal assessments so that they can engage students in their own learning, as well as monitor their comprehension and progress.
As teachers, we have to monitor the progress our students make each day, week, quarter and year. Classroom assessments are one of the most crucial educational tools for teachers. When assessments are properly developed and interpreted, they can help teachers better understand their students learning progress and needs, by providing the resources to collect evidence that indicates what information their students know and what skills they can perform. Assessments help teachers to not only identify and monitor learners’ strengths, weaknesses, learning and progress but also help them to better plan and conduct instruction. For these reasons, ongoing classroom assessment is the glue that binds teaching and learning together and allows educators to monitor their efficacy and student learning.
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
As I reflect on my past assessment process, I realized how much my assessments have changed over the years. In my early years, I used tests for informational recall as my assessments. I felt these were appropriate guidelines in which I needed to follow in order to substantiate a student’s grade. Every assignment or tests was given a point value and then based on the amount of points, a grade was given. Every student’s assessment was exactly the same, and the assessments did not contain any subjectivity. I felt confident in giving the grade based on a valid point system. However reflecting back, I see that I did not include any performance-based assessments or individual learning styles in my early assessment. I also did not take into consideration the individual needs of my students. My assessment approach was awful. I am embarrassed that I use to assess students in this manner.