Form 3b: New Course Thoughts

Ruth Chvojicek January 201 !escri"tion: #hat wi$$ this course be about% #here&how wi$$ it be taught% This course is on Assessment in Early Childhood Settings. The course will cover the different types and purposes of assessment across a variety of early childhood settings, use of formal assessment tools, authentic assessment practices, etc. Over the years I have done various activities for half-day and whole-day wor shops that will !e included in this course including a !rief asynchronous on line module. "ut, there is need for everything to !e put together into a full course. The activities I#ve done previously have all !een designed for use in faceto-face settings, with the e$ception of the one self-directed, narrated module. Additionally, there is a !oo I want to incorporate into the course as a te$t. I#ve considered framing the course as a !oo study !ut I !elieve the !oo will !e more of a resource te$t. The challenge for me will !e turning these things into activities appropriate for the on line environment. %y intent is to ma e this a full on line course done via %oodle &which is the platform availa!le through my wor '. I have considered offering this as a !lended or hy!rid course in which several sessions would !ring participants together face-to-face. I find it valua!le to !uild relationships through face-to-face activities !ut !ecause I would !e offering this statewide I don#t thin it is realistic, and I#ve also come to learn that relationship-!uilding can !e done (uite effectively in an on line environment. 'earners: #ho are the $earners% #hat (o you know about them that might make a (i))erence in what you (esign% *Think about age+ "rior know$e(ge+ )ami$iarity with techno$ogy, The learners are personnel who wor in settings such as )* classrooms, within early childhood special education, +ead Start, child care and private preschool. They could currently !e wor ing as teachers, assistants, speech-language pathologists, or even occupational and physical therapists or school psychologists. The ma,ority would li ely !e in the teaching role. The ma,ority will have )-year degrees and are also licensed teachers !ut there could also !e masters level teachers who are doing the class to o!tain credits for renewing their license or for their -.&-rofessional .evelopment -lan'. There could potentially also !e child care or +ead Start teachers who have a /-year degree and are wor ing on a )-year degree. There could !e teachers who are licensed to teach another age-level and need a license to teach )* in 0I. The ma,ority of learners will fall in the /1 2 31ish year age range. The
Form adapted from Smith, R. M. Conquering the Content. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

ma,ority will !e English spea ing although there could !e some learners who are !i-lingual in Spanish also. There could possi!ly !e learners who are non-English spea ers, and there is also the possi!ility of some learners who have a disa!ility who may need accommodations e.g. visual or hearing impairments. The participants will have a range of familiarity with technology. In 0isconsin there are numerous courses and credentialing programs offered in the early childhood field that are solely on line and I have !een told they are !ecoming more and more popular. I anticipate there will !e a large range of capa!ilities. At one end of the continuum there will !e some with limited nowledge of !asic technology s ills such as how to attach or save a document and at the other end of the continuum there will !e some who will !e more s illed in technology than the instructor and have prior nowledge of on line course platforms such as "lac !oard, ./4 or %oodle.

Things that you want to accentuate in your course- This can be re$ate( to what or how you teach+ how stu(ents res"on(+ or about the techno$ogy- #hat (o you want to see ha""en in this course% One thing I would love to foster is the potential for some learners in the course to form a community of practice in which they could continue to support each other in the role of assessment following the completion of the course. In 0isconsin there e$ists a regionally !ased system &0isconsin Early Childhood Colla!orating -artners' that could serve as an organi5ing factor to support this happening. I could possi!ly influence this happening !y how I set up small groups, how participants are teamed together and possi!ly even intentionally set up pro,ects with that long-term goal in mind. I would want to use the discussions as a way to !uild this community of practice also. I want much of the learning to come from the discussion so that students are learning from each others# e$perience and not relying of the nowledge of the instructor. I would need to e$plore the use of technology for discussion !oards outside of %oodle for the Community of -ractice to continue after the completion of the course. I would also li e to !uild in readily availa!le technology such as using an I-A. to do a video clip so that participants would have a vehicle to share their e$periences in assessment and !e a!le to view and offer feed!ac to others in the course.

.rob$ems that you/( $ike to avoi( in your course- 0ase( on "ast e1"erience+ what wou$( you "re(ict wi$$ (rag you (own% 2t cou$( be techno$ogy+ (isintereste(
Form adapted from Smith, R. M. Conquering the Content. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

stu(ents+ $ack o) (iscussion+ etc-art of this course will involve participants trying out a variety of assessment tools. 6etting the assessment protocols to participants will !e pro!lematic and even more foundational than that will !e getting the copyright permissions from pu!lishers for using protocols in the course. "ecause assessment of real children would !e most !eneficial it may !e challenging for some participants finding or having a child to assess &e.g. if the course is offered when school isn#t in session'. Confidentiality will need to !e discussed and considered, especially if video clips of real children are shared within the course. "oth of these areas will need advance planning and advance notice to the participants to plan for. #hat might be the most "rob$ematic as"ect o) this course as you teach it% Other than participants with ery !imited techno!o"y s#i!!s, one of the most pro!lematic aspects would !e the participants# !ac ground and previous e$perience with the process of assessment. E$perience has shown me that people trained in special education have a different perspective of assessment than those trained in general education. There are two completely different perspectives and it is a paradigm shift for some 2 particularly for those trained in special education evaluation procedures 2 to learn a new assessment paradigm. If the course includes participants from !oth general education and special education it will re(uire thoughtful, careful discussions. I have also learned from e$perience that many people in the special education arena tend to !e very left-!rained linear type thin ers. It#s their strength in providing the services they do !ut it also can !e very challenging to teach an assessment process that is not linear 2 that is more 7glo!al8 and su!,ective. That will ta e careful consideration in the design of the course activities. The most time consuming as"ect o) this course as you teach it wi$$ be: One wo$!d %e the time spent faci!itatin" the disc$ssions. &nother wo$!d %e the time spent teachin"'s$pportin" !earners with techno!o"y cha!!en"es and a!so to teach a!! participants $se of the techno!o"y too!s that wi!! enhance the co$rse s$ch as how to do a ideo $sin" an ()&* or phone and then how to post it for others to iew. Fina!!y, %eca$se (+ e not ta$"ht any of these acti ities pre io$s!y within a co$rse the de e!opment of "radin" r$%rics and a!so the time spent in "radin" ( anticipate wi!! %e more time cons$min".

Form adapted from Smith, R. M. Conquering the Content. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008.