Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact Rationale/Reflection

NAEYC Standard: NAEYC Standard 3: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing To Support Young Children and Families Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs understand that child observation, documentation, and other forms of assessment are central to the practice of all early childhood professionals. They know about and understand the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment. They know about and use systematic observations, documentation, and other effective assessment strategies in a responsible way, in partnership with families and other professionals, to positively influence the development of every child.

Brief Description of Evidence: The Piaget and Vygotsky child observation which I documented as part of my ECED 243 course is an assessment done on three children as a means to become knowledgeable in regards to their cognitive abilities. This assessment documents the different methods used in order to promote the children to the next stage of development. As part of the assessment I observed the childrens actions within eight of Piagets abilities and documented which stage the childrens abilities fell into. Analysis of What I Learned: While doing this observation I learned that a childs age does not indicate which cognitive stage he/she is in. Each childs ability can be enhanced by the use of Vygotskys scaffolding technique. I also learned that if the child is given the necessary supplies to complete an activity and becomes discouraged, a little guidance in building upon what he is able to accomplish will lead to his ability to grasp the concepts needed to move to the next phase of development. How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard: The Piaget and Vygotsky observation demonstrates my competence in this standard by illustrating my understanding for the need to observe certain behaviors in children in order to assess their level of development. My ability to document responsibly in a manner in which affords me the opportunity to set reasonable goals that will benefit the childs development is evident in this artifact. This observation demonstrates my ability to conduct systematic observations and to use the information gained from the assessment in a way allows me to adjust my lesson plans and teaching style to meet the learning style of the child. This observation further demonstrates my competence in this standard by illustrating my ability to assess the child after observing, document my findings, share what I have observed with other professionals, set goals for enhancing the childs development, and explain my findings with the childs family so we may work together to positively influence the development of the child.