ECE-520 – Instructional Planning, Assessment and Reporting in Early Childhood Entire Course
In-service meetings create opportunities for early childhood educators to work and learn collaboratively with their administration and instructional teams. Teachers are often asked to share professional strategies or to facilitate topic-specific trainings with the rest of the staff. Therefore, it is important for new teachers to be comfortable with facilitating such in-service opportunities.
For this assignment, imagine you are a teacher in an early childhood center, and you have been tasked with leading a professional development session. Select one of the variations of the child assessment cycle you feel is most effective to present as a professional development session.
Create a 12-15 slide digital presentation that includes the following:
Describes each stage of the child assessment cycle.
Communicates the purpose and benefits of the child assessment cycle for students, teachers, parents, and the entire school as a system.
Defines pre-assessment and post-assessment and how each is used in the learning environment.
Identifies why having an intended purpose for an assessment prior to starting the child assessment cycle leads to collecting informative data.
Includes an original graphic (created by you) describing at least one activity and associated teacher responsibilities of each stage of the cycle.
Identifies resources for staff who would like to learn more about child assessments and how to utilize data to inform teaching practices.
The digital presentation should include presenter’s notes, title page, and reference slides, and be supported by 2-4 scholarly resources.
While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
ECE 520 Topic 2 Assignment Clinical Field Experience A: Data Informed Lesson Planning
Using multiple sources of student data helps educators develop lesson plans best suited to their students’ individual needs. Observing, assessing, and analyzing data is a part of the learning cycle.
Allocate at least 2 hours in the field to support this field experience.
Observe a lesson in a K-3 classroom. After your observation, collaborate with your mentor teacher to discuss the assessment cycle. Keep your data from your clinical field experiences, as it will be used in the benchmark assignment in Topic 5.
Ask your mentor to identify a student who would benefit from targeted teaching. Targeted teaching provides an opportunity to intervene and support the learning of one student more closely.
Discuss with your mentor teacher how anecdotal data for creating targeted teaching strategies (intervention activities) for students have been collected and organized. Important information to consider might include strategies the teacher has used in the past, students’ responses to the teacher’s selected strategies, level of students’ engagement, and things that motivate the students. This information will help you develop appropriate strategies to enhance the learning of identified students.
Use any remaining field experience hours to Help the mentor teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.
For this assignment, write a 250-500 word narrative explaining how the teacher uses data-informed decision-making and data organization systems to create lessons. Describe how your mentor teacher collects data on individual students to create instruction to meet their needs. Discuss the benefit of creating lesson plans that are aligned to the learning objectives and serve the learning needs of students.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Document the locations and hours you spend in the field on your Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.
Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form to the LMS in the last topic. Directions for submitting can be found on the College of Education site in the Student Success Center.
ECE 520 Topic 3 assignment Clinical Field Experience B: Targeted Teaching Plan
Targeted teaching plans are developed with the use of observational data. It is important to consider a student’s level of engagement and motivation when developing plans, which are collected through anecdotal notes, as well as informal and formal assessments. A targeted teaching plan is created based on standards and learning objectives.
Allocate at least 3 hours in the field to support this field experience.
Observe your mentor teacher delivering a literacy or math lesson. Take observational notes on the student you identified in Clinical Field Experience A, with the purpose of using this data to develop a targeted teaching intervention. Include information on the student’s level of engagement, what motivates him or her, any potential distractions, and any strategies or modifications to curriculum that would support and engage the student.
After your observation, arrange to meet with your mentor teacher to discuss your observations. Based on your observations and your discussion with your mentor teacher, identify at least two state literacy or mathematics learning standards that might be appropriate for the identified student with whom you will use your targeted teaching plan. Note that your mentor teacher might want to decide which standards you address during your one-on-one time with the identified student.
Based on feedback from your mentor teacher, create at least two learning objectives that align to the standards you have chosen, as well as create one activity aligned to the learning objectives that you might use to support the identified student’s learning and engagement. Develop a plan with your mentor teacher to administer your activity with the identified student during your next visit.
Submit your observation notes, two learning objectives, and activity.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Document the locations and hours you spend in the field on your Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.
Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form to the LMS in the last topic. Directions for submitting can be found on the College of Education site in the Student Success Center.
ECE 520 Topic 3 Assignment Family Informational Pamphlet
Teachers are often asked to support families in understanding a variety of topics related to their child’s education. One such area is supporting families in understanding the differences between state learning standards and curriculum along with the importance of both.
For this assignment, create a double-sided, folded pamphlet that can be distributed to families of Pre-K to Grade 3 students at the beginning of the school year to support their understanding of how curriculum is tied to the state learning standards.
Your pamphlet should include:
Definitions of standards and curriculum, and an explanation of the difference between the two.
An explanation of the purpose behind having learning standards guide curriculum development.
How teachers use the standards to begin developing lesson plans and the purpose of instructional planning.
An overview of the role of the teacher in the curriculum process, and how curriculum is used to support student learning.
Information about individualization so that parents can better understand how their child will be supported in the classroom.
Definitions of pre-assessments and post-assessments and their influence on instructional strategies.
Support your assignment with scholarly 2-3 resources.
While APA style format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
ECE 520 Topic 4 Assignment Assessment Types
When planning for a lesson, it is important for teachers to include how they plan to monitor student understanding as they move through the lesson. Being able to quickly determine if students are ready to continue with learning or need more support is a critical teaching skill that depends on constant monitoring and formative assessment throughout the lesson/unit. Most teachers have multiple formative assessment activities they can adapt to any lesson content to check for understanding.
For this assignment, select a grade level K-3 and a state standard.
Use the “Assessment Types” template to list three learning objectives aligned to the state standard you selected. Keep in mind, learning objectives are designed to identify what the teacher intends to measure during learning. These must be aligned with the standard. When creating objectives, an educator must consider who the audience is, what action verb will be measured, and what tools will be used to meet the learning.
Once you have finalized the objectives and they align to the standard, create two formative assessment strategies, and one summative assessment strategy for each learning objective aligned to the state standard. At least one of the formative assessment strategies should include the use of technology and provide immediate guided feedback for the student on his or her learning.
In a 250-500 word reflection, justify and evaluate how the assessment strategies developed will check for understanding and measure learning success during instruction to support instructional planning and practices in the growth and development of young children.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
ECE 520 Topic 5 Assignment Clinical Field Experience D: Targeted Teaching Activities
Objectives, learning activities, and assessments are all aligned to a standard. It is important to align these components so teaching can be targeted to meet the students’ needs. The data collected from the pre-assessment drives the creation of targeted learning activities. As always, reflection on these practices is a key element in improving practices. Use the data collected from your pre-assessment to determine an appropriate targeted teaching activity to implement during this field experience.
Allocate at least 3 hours in the field to support this field experience.
Prior to teaching your targeted activity, discuss with your mentor teacher your objectives, activities, and assessments. Use any feedback to improve the targeted teaching plan. Implement the targeted teaching activity and related assessment with the same student you have been working with during your field experience. Then debrief the experience with your mentor teacher.
Use any remaining field experience hours to Help the mentor teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.
In a 250-500 word summary, discuss the results of your targeted teaching activity. Describe the conversation you had with your mentor teacher regarding the objectives, activities, and assessments. Reflect and explain how you designed, delivered, and assessed your targeted teaching activity. Indicate how you plan to implement what you learned in your future teaching practice.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Document the locations and hours you spend in the field on your Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.
Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form to the LMS in the last topic. Directions for submitting can be found on the College of Education site in the Student Success Center.
ECE 520 Topic 6 Assignment Culminating Project Assignment
Summative assessment of self-directed student learning is more than just giving students a list of culminating projects from which to select. Allowing students to select a project to demonstrate their mastery of concepts, supports the idea of self-directed learning, gives students ownership of how they grasp the material presented in class, and is an effective strategy for differentiation.
Teachers need to plan how culminating projects will assess learning objectives that are tied to state learning standards. Teachers also need to plan how they will guide students in understanding the learning objectives on which they will be assessed, and how they can provide students with meaningful feedback on their learning. It is also important for teachers to consider methods for assessing the same learning objectives across a variety of culminating projects.
For this assignment, select a grade level K-3 and create a project information sheet to be distributed to students and their families. Because the deliverable will be completed in the home environment, the information sheet must be complete enough for students and families to use as a guide.
The project information sheet must include the following in child-friendly language:
Explanation of the purpose of the culminating project.
A minimum of three learning objectives students will need to demonstrate in their projects. The objectives must align with your state’s learning standards in either literacy, mathematics, science, or any combination of the three content areas, for the grade level selected.
A list of four possible culminating projects from which students can select. At least one must include technology.
Expectations of the project deliverable including the use of technology.
Explanation of how students will present the project to their peers during class time.
A student-friendly rubric that aligns with the expectations, including a line for the presentation deliverable. The rubric must address how you will formatively check for understanding during the student presentation and a summative overview of the project as a whole.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
ECE 520 Topic 6 Assignment Clinical Field Experience Verification Form*
Candidates must complete all programmatic requirements, including practicum/field experiences hours defined in their coursework. Additional information about practicum/field experiences can be found on the Student Success Center.
To earn credit for this assignment, all required course hours must be completed and submitted by the assignment due date.
Access the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form in the My Documents section in the Student Portal.
Complete all required fields on the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.
Submit by clicking “click to sign.” An email will be sent to the classroom teacher/mentor to complete and verify the practicum/field experiences.
Communicate with the classroom teacher/mentor to request he or she verify the practicum/field experience. Once verified by the classroom teacher/mentor, an email will be sent to the candidate’s primary email address on file with the final completed document.
Save a .pdf copy of the completed Clinical Field Experience Verification Form to your computer.
Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form to LoudCloud.
*The data entered into this document is subject to a verification audit. Candidates who engage in fabricating, falsifying, forging, altering, or inventing information related to practicum/field experiences, internships, clinical practice, and/or any associated documentation may be subject to sanctions for violating GCU academic integrity policies, which may include expulsion from GCU.
