From the Top Down and From the Ground Up: Getting Everyone on the Same Page Through Professional Development

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From the Top Down and From the Ground Up Getting
Everyone on the Same Page Through Professional
Development

• Bev Engel
• Vicki Rexroat

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Oklahoma Authentic Assessment

• History of State Projects
• Nationally Recognized Program to Develop a
  Framework for Programs
• Focused Portfolios
• Visionary Leaders
• Implementation of Leadership Academy II
• Investing in people

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Introducing Authentic Assessment through Entry
Level CDA Courses

• Early Education Pathway to CDA
• Online CDA Classes
• Oklahoma Department of Career Technology
  Educations Early Care Programs (Daytime Programs)

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Leadership Academy II Prerequisite for Focused
Portfolios

• In-depth education opportunities for Directors to
  move beyond the basics
• Requiring Directors to accompany their Teachers
  to learning sessions
• Everyone uses the same language
• Everyone has the same basis for understanding
  child development, documentation, and
  implications for curriculum

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Introducing Teachers to Observation Assessment

• Accessible and User Friendly Methodology
• Does not overwhelm learners
• Allows time to interact with children
• Encourages asking questions to expand childrens
  experiences
• Helps teachers step back from continuous
  interaction with children to see what children
  KNOW and CAN DO
• Observing is not a separate task it relates to
  all aspects of classroom decision-making
• Anecdotal notes inform the planning of activities
  and family/teacher communication

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Breaking Down the Big Assessment Picture

• Understanding that milestones and benchmarks are
  not achieved all at once
• Dissecting milestones
• Getting more skillful at using milestones in all
  aspects of program planning
• Teachers documentation and intentional planning
  based on recognizing partial achievement of
  milestones

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Working on Milestones

• When you stop focusing on themes, you start
  focusing on development
• Focusing on development gives the teachers a
  better feel for individual needs and the class as
  a whole ensures developmental appropriateness
• Planning of experiences becomes intentionally
  tied to observed interests and developmental
  levels
• Behavior management decreases when curriculum is
  individualized and children are known to be
  interested in the activities provided

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Portfolios as Basis for Staff Development
Philosophy to Practice

• Observations, anecdotal notes, and resulting
  portfolios give teachers and directors concrete
  samples to compare to program philosophy
• Identifying practices that do and do not support
  the programs philosophy provides a basis for
  reflection and discussion of appropriate
  classroom and teacher practices.

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Dissecting Milestones

• Engages in dramatic play easily, cooperating with
  other children, and showing lots of imagination
  and interest. (5s)
• Interacts with one other child, each pretending
  within the same scene or context.
• Engages in dramatic play with one other child,
  verbalizing what the scenario is and what is
  going to happen.
• Engages in dramatic play with one other child,
  making suggestions and listening to the other
  childs suggestions about what will happen.
• Engages in dramatic play with more than one
  child, making and listening to suggestions,
  adding content, and bringing in new props as play
  unfolds.
• Engages in dramatic play with others, bringing in
  scenes/themes from previous days and building on
  them.

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Moving Beyond the Basics of Authentic Assessment

• Observing and Creating Portfolios
• Focused on Milestones
• More intentional (not a scrapbook)
• Demonstrating a Greater Depth in Understanding
  the Evolution of Childrens Competence and Skills
  Mastery
• Helps teachers at all levels develop
  professionally

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A Planning Matrix Using Developmental
Milestones3 4 year old groupGoals
Milestones that children are working on.
Themes may be used alongside milestones, but not
in place of them.
Thinking, Reasoning, Problem Solving Milestones Us
es one object to stand for another (3) Groups
objects - 2 or more attributes (4)
Small or large group Activities Pretend you are
going to the beach what could you use to play in
the sand instead of a pail and a shovel? Look
around the room.
Outdoors Uses cardboard tubes from wrapping paper
for fire hoses. Children use platform on the
climber as deck of their pirate ship.
Put all the objects that go together in a pile.
Collects pebbles, rocks, shells and sorts them
into self-selected categories.
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Teacher/Child Interaction

• Questioning during observation to deepen
  understanding of the childs thinking process
• Enhances teachers comprehension of what it is
  that they are seeing

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Bev Engel, Early Childhood and Organization
Development Consultant engelschrodt_at_earthlink.net
and Vicki RexroatCoordinator and Instructor of
Early Care and Education ProgramCaddo-Kiowa
Technology CenterFort Cobb, Oklahomavrexroat_at_cad
dokiowa.comAll Power Point slides used in this
presentation can be found at www.focusedportfoli
os.com
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• Focused Portfolios
• A Complete Assessment for the Young Child
• and the accompanying CD-ROM
• Focused Portfolios Electronic Companion
• are available from
• Redleaf Press www.redleafpress.org