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Teacher Orientation. THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT. Objectives of the EDI Orientation. Describe the Early Development Instrument (EDI) Review steps for teachers in completing the EDI Walk through how to use the EDI software Provide contact information for questions. National Effort.
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Teacher Orientation THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT
Objectives of the EDI Orientation • Describe the Early Development Instrument (EDI) • Review steps for teachers in completing the EDI • Walk through how to use the EDI software • Provide contact information for questions
How is the EDI different? • It is a population level assessment • Does not report results on the individual child • The EDI is not a tool to assess schools’ or teachers’ effectiveness. • Results show the proportion of children who are vulnerable, at-risk, and on track in each developmental domain, by neighborhood • It provides information for the community to look back to identify how it can improve conditions for young children before they reach kindergarten • Takes onus of school readiness off the teachers
What Does the EDI Measure? Social Competence Physical Health & Well-Being Emotional Maturity Communication Skills Language & Cognitive
How Data are Reported • Confidential school report shows how children are doing developmentally in that school • Community Profile Report shows how children are doing developmentally by neighborhood
Using the Data- Physical Health and Well-being • Physical Health and Well-being: Absence of disease or impairment, access to adequate and appropriate nutrition, and gross and fine motor skills. Necessary gross and fine motor abilities to complete common kindergarten and first grade tasks, including items such as controlling a pencil or turning pages without tearing the pages. Nutrition Classes for students, teachers and parents; Food Fairs and Produce Fairs; Working with local Farmers Markets; Healthy options for breakfast and lunch at school; Access to medical and dental offices as well as vision screenings
Using the Data- Social Competence • Social Competence:Children need to meet general standards of acceptable behavior in public places, control their behavior, cooperate with others, show respect for adult authority, and communicate feelings and needs in a socially acceptable manner. Training for teachers on referrals for mental health issues and cues; Parent trainings and classes on acceptable behaviors and milestones for children
Using the Data- Emotional Maturity • Emotional Maturity: Emotional maturity is characterized by a balance between a child’s curiosity about the world, an eagerness to try new experiences, and some ability to reflect before acting. A child who is fearful and reluctant to engage in new activities misses learning opportunities that are seized upon by a child with a positive approach to life. Training for teachers on referrals for mental health issues and cues; Parent trainings and classes on acceptable behaviors and milestones for children; Opportunities for parents and children to engage in activities in and outside of the classroom; Out of School time activities such as opportunities to attend museums on free admission days, visits to the library, park visits
Using the Data- Language and Cognitive Development • Language and Cognitive Development: Language skills refer to vocabulary size and a child’s ability to name letters and attend to the component sounds within words. Cognitive skills involve the ways in which children perceive, organize, and analyze information. Working with local organizations to gain access to books for children to have in the home to benefit the elementary school students and students who are below 5 and will be attending that school in the coming years; Trainings for parents about the importance of language and development; Assistance programs to help parents with furthering their own education; Ready Rosie and other technology programs; Library visits or having a children’s librarian come to the school
Using the Data- Communication Skills & General Knowledge • Communication Skills and General Knowledge: Children must be able to understand verbal communications with other adults and children and to verbally communicate experiences, ideas, wishes, and feelings in a way that can be understood by others. Parenting Classes; working with First Book and local organizations to gain access to books for children to have in the home to benefit the elementary school students and students who are below 5 and will be attending that school in the coming years; Trainings for parents about the importance of language and development; Assistance programs to help parents with furthering their own education; Ready Rosie and other technology programs
Other Ways to Use EDI Data: • Request overlays for the data; examples include overlaying VIA bus routes with data to determine transportation access; overlay after school programs with the data to show areas of high saturation; overlay parks and libraries to show access and relation to the data • Focus teacher trainings over the summer and on PD days (emphasis on Pre-K and Kinder teachers but beneficial to all) on the domains that are the highest in vulnerability; ask the teachers for suggestions on how to improve vulnerabilities • Compare school reports to determine areas of strengths and vulnerabilities to begin to pair up schools to help one another (example: One school may be doing great in physical health and well-being but another may be showing high levels of vulnerability. The schools could start having conversations about the different programs on each campus and determine if there could be positive changes made to school showing high levels of vulnerability to increase the readiness in that domain) • Begin to look at the Childcare Centers, Head Start/Early Head Start Centers, and Pre-K Centers in the area to determine if children who are coming from those centers are showing up on track or ready compared to those who are not; work with the centers to create parent messaging to increase quality early learning opportunities • Bring the data to the School Board to discuss important social issues in relation to the impact that it has on the students entering kindergarten ready to learn or not ready (policy implications)
Before you Begin Gather and review essential materials • Class list for each class you teach from district • Teacher Instruction Sheet for US-EDI Software • Note: After you log in to the US-EDI Software, you should also download the Teacher Guide
General EDI Guidelines • EDIs are completed online • Each EDI takes an average of 15 minutes to complete • The EDI is based observational recall and on the teacher’s perception of the child’s development • EDI is completed on every student, including children with special needs, except • If teacher has known this child for less than 1 month • If child is no longer in the class • Other, such as the parent “opts out” • If any of these exclusions exist, you will document it in question 14 and the survey for that child will end
Accuracy • It is very important that the EDI is answered in an accurate and consistent way across the country • When completing the EDI, please consider the following: • Your observations of the student should reflect his/her CURRENT developmental status unless otherwise noted • Base your answers on expected skills/behaviors for this phase of development rather than how the child is doing relative to peers • Focus your observations on the specific skills or behaviors listed • Be guided by your first impressions when the checklist does not allow you to give a qualified answer • Use “I don’t know” as a last resort only. • Use the teacher guide
Section B Language and Cognitive Skills • Read this section of the guide carefully! • Focus on acquisition and use of language (not grammar) • When language of instruction is English, assess child’s English abilities, regardless of child’s primary language. • However, for dual language programs where English is not the primary focus, if teacher is unfamiliar with child’s English language abilities, can base assessment on how child is doing in the language of instruction.
Cultural Influences • Teachers and children alike come from diverse cultural backgrounds • Your personal culture, values and perceptions may influence your expectations for your students • To help you avoid cultural bias in your EDI responses, items that require a heightened level of cultural sensitivity are indicated with a flag • The teacher guide provides supplemental information on the flagged items regarding how to answer these questions in a way that avoids cultural bias
The EDI: Simple to Use Step 1: Log in Step 2: Agree to Consent Form Step 3: Create Permanent/Confidential Password Step 4: Check Class Roster Step 5: Add/deleting Students (if necessary) Step 6: Complete EDI Questionnaires Step 7: Ensure all Records are Locked Step 8: Fill Out Teacher Feedback Forms
Step 2: Agree to Consent Form Before you can enter the system, you must consent to the terms.
Step 4: Check Class Roster • Your Class List
Step 5: Adding Students Enter student ID
Step 5: Deleting Students • Delete a student if: • He/she was never in your class • You accidentally clicked the “Add Child” button • Do NOT delete students for the reasons below. Complete questions 1-14 for these children and then stop. • In class less than 1 month • Moved out of class • Moved out of school • Parents opted out
Step 6: Complete EDIs • Navigating to unanswered questions
Step 6: Complete EDIs • Locking EDI record
Step 7: Ensure Records are Locked Green = Done Yellow = In progress White = Not started
Questions • For questions about how to complete the EDI or use the US-EDI software, contact USEDI@mednet.ucla.edu • For all other questions, including questions about deadlines, stipends and parent letters, please contact Kasi Cox McCormick 210.352.7147 kcox@unitedwaysatx.org
