Assessment 2: Assessment Of Content Knowledge In Early Childhood Education: Case Study

Assessment 2: Assessment of content knowledge in early childhood education: Case Study 1. A brief description of the assessment and its use in the program (one sentence may be sufficient) The case study requires candidates to study a child who displays atypical development, and prepare a report that describes the child, the developmental area and nature; describes the child’s background; uses at least three theoretical perspectives to explain possible causes of the child’s atypical development, and includes two individualized evaluation plans (IEP) or IFSP (early intervention) goals and a lesson plan.

2. A description of how this assessment specifically aligns with the standards it is cited for in Section III. As indicated in Section III, this assignment addresses NAEYC standards: 1. Promoting Child Development and Learning 2. Building Family and Community Relationships 3. Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families 4. Teaching and Learning

As the assessment tool (section 5a) and rubric (section 5b) describe, the assignment specifically aligns with the standards by requiring candidates to select and study a child who displays atypical development, to examine the child’s developmental background, such as , and to discern developmental issues. (Standards 1, 3 & 4). In addition, the candidate factors into the analysis the influence of child’s community and family by studying the characteristics of the child’s demographic background (i.e. age in years and months, sex, race and/or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, location of residence and caretaker) and family status (i.e., marital status, single parent, foster family, head of household) (Standard 2). The candidates are also required to use at least three theoretical perspectives to explain possible causes of a child’s atypical development. They further use established milestones charts to observe and assess the child’s functioning in each developmental area: social, emotional, cognitive and physical (Standards 3 & 4) and prepare activities that target issues noted in the observation of the child.

3. A brief analysis of the data findings The data in Section 5c show student performance scores for three semesters. Overall, there were scores for 101 students: 37 in the spring of 2006, 27 in the fall of 2006 and 37 in the spring of 2007. In total, 84% of the candidates performed at or above standard, and 16% of the candidates performed below standard. The data indicates that in the spring or 2006, only 70% of students were meeting the standards. In fall, 2006 that percentage increased to 81% and by spring of 2007, the percentage of candidates at or above standard was 97%. The data therefore show a steady increase in candidate performance over the three semesters. One conclusion is that as faculty became more familiar with the performance measures in the rubrics, so they were able to better prepare the candidates to meet and exceed the standards. Future trends will be examined to decide on any corrective measures.

4. An interpretation of how that data provides evidence for meeting standards The data clearly affirm that the candidates met the standards in section 5c. Overall 84% of the candidates performed at or above standard. It is important to note that the final semester’s at or above standard performance by 97% of candidates was the pinnacle of a three semester increase--starting with 70% at or above standard, growing to 81 percentage points in the second semester, and peaking at 97% in the most recent semester.

5. Attachment of assessment documentation, including 1: (a) the assessment tool or description of the assignment

Case Study Report and Oral Presentation Checklist Step 1.Select a child who displays atypical development ______(e.g., developmental delay, uneven development, pervasive developmental delay or accelerated development) in one developmental area ( i.e., affective-social and emotional, cognitive, language or physical (fine and gross motor.) Please use a fictitious name for the child throughout your case study and oral presentation.

Step 2.Describe the child, the developmental area and nature ______of the child’s atypical development. Include the: a. child’s developmental period (i.e., infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood and middle childhood) b. demographic characteristics (age in years and months, sex, race and/or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, location of residence and caretaker (e.g., parents, grandparents, foster parents, aunt, etc.). c. the developmental area (i.e., affective-social and emotional, cognitive, language or physical (fine and gross motor), d. nature of the children’s atypical development and other information that you think is important to include in describing the child and the nature of his/her atypical development.

Step 3.Describe the child’s background. Include the following: ______a. the child’s birthplace, b. type of birth (e.g., normal vaginal delivery, Cesarean delivery, etc.) with or without complications, c. status of the family (e.g., intact, single headed household, etc.), d. age of onset of the child’s atypical development, e. summary of type and results of any assessments of the child’s atypical development (i.e., psychological test battery, speech-language battery, Occupational assessment,, etc.) and f. interventions or therapeutic services the child is receiving for the area of atypical development (i.e., counseling, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc.).

1 All three components of the assessment – as identified in 5a-c – must be attached, with the following exceptions: (a) the assessment tool and scoring guide are not required for reporting state licensure data, and (b) for some assessments, data may not yet be available. Step 4.Use at least three theoretical perspectives discussed ______in class to explain possible causes of the child’s atypical development. (Cite sources or references.)

Step 5.Critically review two recent (last five years) research ______articles on the child’s particular atypical development. Describe the following: a. purpose of the study, b. subjects/participants used in the study, c. type of research design and methods used, d. results or major findings of the study, and e. limitations of the study (e.g., Are the findings valid for the research methods used? To what extent are the findings generalizable? The instructor must approve the articles selected.

Step 6.Use Berk’s developmental milestones (Note: ______infant-toddler-pp. 284-285; early childhood- 398-399; middle childhood-512-513) to observe and assess the child’s developmental functioning. Based upon your observations using Berk’s developmental milestones, briefly summarize the child’s level of developmental functioning in each developmental area (i.e., cognitive, language, affective-social and emotional and physical-gross and fine motor). Include the following: a. behavioral evidence as indicated in Berk’s developmental milestones, b. category of child’s general level of developmental functioning in both the particular area of atypical development and all other developmental areas as either uneven development, developmental delay, pervasive developmental delay, accelerated development or in accordance with developmental age expectations and c. category of the level of severity of child’s level of developmental functioning in all developmental areas as either severe, moderate or mild.

Step 7.Using the Anecdotal Observation technique ______discussed in class, observe and record two observations of the child’s particular area of atypical development and all other developmental areas ( i.e.., cognitive, language, affective-social and emotional and physical-gross and fine motor) for at least ten minutes.

Step 8. Prepare two IEP or IFSP (early intervention) Goals ______(one long term and two short-term for each). Describe at least two educational, parental and therapeutic interventions you would recommend for the child’s particular area of atypical development.

Step 9. Prepare a lesson plan, with the format discussed ______in class and based upon one of the IEP/IFSP goals indicated in Step 8, as an intervention for the child’s particular area of atypical development.

Step 10 Prepare a five minute presentation, on 4 x 6 ______index cards, summarizing your case study report. Make your presentation during the last two weeks in class. Note: Items marked with an asterisk on the Instructors’ Assessment form are to be included in your oral presentation.

Step 11. Attach the Instructor’s Assessment Form to your ______case study report.

(b) the scoring guide for the assessment 1. Completeness of Assignment 1. includes all parts of the assignment: table of contents, targeted child with atypical development, description of child, description of child’s background, at least three theoretical perspectives, critical review of two research articles, observation and assessment of developmental milestones, anecdotal observation, two IEP goals, lesson plan. 5 4 3 2 1

2. *Description of child, developmental area and nature of child’s atypical development *2. states child’s developmental period (i.e. infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood and middle childhood). 1 Yes 2 No *3. describes demographic characteristics of child (i.e. age in years and months, sex, race and/or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, location of residence and caretaker.) 5 4 3 2 1 *4. states developmental area (i.e. cognitive, language, affective-social and emotional, physical- gross and fine motor).

*5. describes nature of child’s atypical development. 5 4 3 2 1 6. includes additional information (optional). 1 Yes 2 No

3. *Description of child’s background *7. states child’s birthdate and birthplace. 1 Yes 2 No *8. states type of birth (e.g., vaginal, Cesarean, breech, with or without complications). 1 Yes 2 No *9. states status of family (i.e., marital status, single parent, foster family, etc.). 1 Yes 2 No *10. states age of onset of atypical development. 1 Yes 2 No 11. summarizes type and results of formal assessments of child’s atypical development. 5 4 3 2 1 12. describes intervention or therapeutic services the child receives. 5 4 3 2 1

4. Explanation of Theoretical Perspectives 13. includes at least 3 theoretical perspectives to explain possible causes of the child’s atypical development. 1 Yes 2 No 14. explains each of the three theoretical perspectives, citing sources or references. 5 4 3 2 1 15. uses theoretical perspectives to explain possible causes of child’s atypical development with citations. 5 4 3 2 1

5. Critical reviews of two recent research articles on child’s particular atypical development 16. describes the purpose of the study. 5 4 3 2 1 17. describes the subjects used in the study (i.e. number of children and demographic characteristics-sex, socioeconomic status, age, location, race and/or ethnicity). 5 4 3 2 1 18 describes the type of research design used (i.e. cross-sectional, longitudinal, experimental, correlational, case study, etc.). 5 4 3 2 1 19. describes the results or major findings of the study (i.e., type of statistics used and obtained findings). 5 4 3 2 1 20. describes the limitations of t he study (e.g., external validity-to what extent are the findings generalizable to other groups, internal validity-are there any confounding variables?). 5 4 3 2 1 6. *Assessment of child’s developmental functioning through observation of developmental milestones 21. uses developmental milestones to assess child’s developmental functioning in all areas of development (i.e. cognitive, language, affective-social and emotional, physical-gross and fine motor). 5 4 3 2 1 22. uses developmental milestones to assess child’s level of functioning in particular area of atypical development. 5 4 3 2 1 *23. categorizes the child’s general level of developmental functioning in all areas as either uneven development, developmental delay, pervasive developmental delay, or in accordance with developmental age expectations. 1 Yes 2 Yes *24. categorizes child’s level of developmental functioning in the particular area of atypical development as either sever, moderate or mild).

7. Anecdotal Observation 25. observes and records child’s particular area of atypical development 5 4 3 2 1 26. uses appropriate format for anecdotal observation (recorded observation and inferences). 1 Yes 2 No

8. Preparation of IEP/IFSP Goals 27. writes two observable and measurable IEP/IFSP goals as an intervention for the child’s particular area of development. 5 4 3 2 1 *28. describes at least two educational, parental and therapeutics interventions recommended for child’s particular area of atypical development. 5 4 3 2 1

9. Preparation of lesson plan for child’s particular area of atypical development 29. uses IEP/IFSP goal as basis for lesson plan. 1 Yes 2 No 30. writes lesson plan with appropriate format. 1 Yes 2 No 31. writes lesson plan as intervention for child’s particular area of typical development. 5 4 3 2 1 (c) candidate data derived from the assessment.

Format of Academic Key Assessment 1 Program Candidate Performance Ratings Data Year

Below At Above Grand Standard Standard Standard Total With Case Study Number Certification Spring 2006 1 2 3 With Case Study Percentage Certification Spring 2006 33% 67% 0% 100% Without Case Study Number Certification Spring 2006 10 20 4 34 Without Case Study Percentage Certification Spring 2006 29% 59% 12% 100% Total Spring Subtotal Number Candidates 2006 11 22 4 37 Total Spring Subtotal Percentage Candidates 2006 30% 59% 11% 100% With Case Study Number Certification Fall 2006 1 1 2 With Case Study Percentage Certification Fall 2006 0% 50% 50% 100% Without Case Study Number Certification Fall 2006 5 9 11 25 Without Case Study Percentage Certification Fall 2006 20% 36% 44% 100% Total Subtotal Number Candidates Fall 2006 5 10 12 27 Total Subtotal Percentage Candidates Fall 2006 19% 37% 44% 100% With Case Study Number Certification Spring 2007 2 4 6 With Case Study Percentage Certification Spring 2007 0% 33% 67% 100% Without Case Study Number Certification Spring 2007 1 7 23 31 Without Case Study Percentage Certification Spring 2007 3% 23% 74% 100% Total Spring Subtotal Number Candidates 2007 1 9 27 37 Total Spring Subtotal Percentage Candidates 2007 3% 24% 73% 100% Total Total TOTAL Number Candidates Semesters 17 41 43 101 Total Total TOTAL Percentage Candidates Semesters 17% 41% 43% 100%