Reflection

As you have been learning, all child development professionals need to understand the assessment process as it can provide information and insights critical to supporting children’s healthy development and learning. Reflection is an important component of this process.

Week 6: Reflecting on Observation and Assessment

Introduction

During this course, you have learned a great deal about observation and assessment. As a vital tool in supporting young children’s healthy development and learning, foundational knowledge of observation and assessment is an essential skill for all professionals in the field of child development. Developmentally appropriate assessment respects each child’s individual culture(s), language(s), and abilities, and recognizes the vital role that families play in all aspects of the process as well as their child’s development and learning.

You have learned about various ways to gather assessment data, and the role of the environment and appropriate methods in ensuring authentic assessment results. You have also learned about the varied uses of assessment, i.e., a means of identifying children in need of early intervention, a tool for planning curriculum, or as a way to learn more about how a child processes and interacts with his or her world. And, you have learned about ways to compile, summarize, and share assessment results, keeping in mind that the effectiveness of the process depends both on the data collected and how it is used.

As this course wraps up, your goal is to reflect on the ways in which your knowledge of observation and assessment has grown. You will also consider how you will integrate this new knowledge into your understanding of child development and in your role as an early childhood professional.

Learning Objectives

A student will:

• Reflect on what you have learned and experienced in the course, explain new insights, and apply new knowledge

Reflection

As you have been learning, all child development professionals need to understand the assessment process as it can provide information and insights critical to supporting children’s healthy development and learning. Reflection is an important component of this process.

Wiith this in mind, complete the following:

• Describe 3 or more ways that your knowledge of observation and assessment has deepened and expanded due to your participation in this course. Cite specific examples that relate to the Learning Resources and assignments to substantiate your thinking and ideas.

• Summarize 3 or more insights that you gained about observation and assessment from participating in and completing the Child Observation Project.
  
  
• Were you to design and implement a second Child Observation Project, what would you do differently? What new insights have led you to this conclusion?
  

Assignment length: Approximately 1–2 pages