THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT (EDI)

1. THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT (EDI) e-EDI Teacher Information & Training Session

2. Today’sPresentation 1. Developmental Health at School Entry 2. Early Development Instrument (EDI) 3. Using e-EDI system 4. Completing the questionnaires

3. EARLY YEARS MATTER: They set the stage for further development

4. ‘Sensitive periods’ in early Brain Development Binocular vision Central auditory system Habitual ways of responding Language Emotional control High Symbol Peer social skills Relative quantity Sensitivity Low 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Years Hertzman , 2007

5. EARLY YEARS MATTER: • Child’s experiences in the early years of life are pivotal for how the genes that govern many aspects of neurobiological development are expressed • Child’s capacity to learn when they enter school is strongly influenced by the neural wiring that takes place in the early years

6. Trajectories - Continuation of Differences Hypothetical growth trajectories Simple continuation of differences Increasing differences

7. Target for interventions Hypothetical growth trajectories School-based interventions Desired results

8. Target for interventions Hypothetical growth trajectories School-based interventions Frequently-achieved results

9. Target for interventions Hypothetical growth trajectories Pre-school-based interventions Desired results

10. Trajectories Established Early - Vulnerability on EDI and Grade 6 outcomes N of domains with low scores: Percentage of Grade 6 students not meeting provincial standards in relation to number of vulnerabilities in Kindergarten (EDI) TDSB, 2007

11. Trajectories Continue…. • Of those children scoring vulnerable on 2 or more of the EDI domains in Kindergarten approx 65% failed to meet provincial EQAO standards in Reading, Writing and Math.

12. Key Principles… • The later you attempt to change a trajectory the more energy that is required • Therefore a major effort has to be made in the early years when neural systems are most plastic and compromises or constrictions are most readily overcome

13. Readiness to learn concept Children are born ready to learn: the neurosystem is pre-programmed to develop various skills and neuropathways, depending on the experience it receives.

14. Developmental Health at School Entry Refers to the child’s ability to meet the task demands of school, such as: • being comfortable exploring and asking questions, • listening to the teacher, • playing and working with other children, • remembering and following rules. In short, it is the ability to benefit from the educational activities that are provided by the school.

15. Developmental Health at School Entry • School – understood as Grade 1 • Many marked differences between curriculum in Kindergarten and Grade 1 • Kindergarten provides transition between play-based preschool and home environment to the academically-based environment of grade school

16. What is developmental health? • Context of early experiences • Reflects developmental outcomes and milestones achieved during the first five years of life • A measurable holistic concept involving several developmental areas • Child’s ability to benefit from the activities provided by the school

17. A large number of children at a small risk for school failure may generate a much greater burden of suffering than a small number of children with a high risk (Based on Rose 1992, Offord et al. 1998)

18. Readiness for school… Ready Schools Ready Children Ready Parents Ready Policy Ready Government Ready Communities

20. What is the EDI? • The EDI is teacher-completed checklist that assesses children’s readiness to learn when they enter school. • In other words, it measures the outcomes of children’s pre-school (0-6 years) experiences as they influence their readiness to learn at school. • As a result, the EDI is able to predict how children will do in elementary school.

21. A Population-Based Measure • The EDI is designed to be interpreted at the group level. • The EDI does not provide diagnostic information on individual children.

22. Teacher Perception Data • Perception is good • Teachers are educated experts • Teacher intuition is extremely accurate • Grades, report cards, parent-teacher conferences • Scientific evidence, both from the EDI and other studies, that teachers’ rating of children are actually more reliable in predicting children’s future academic success than direct tests

23. EDI Benefits Results from the Early Development Instrument (or EDI) will enable us to: • Look forward – adjust school programs to meet the current needs of incoming students (schools). • Look backward – adjust early childhood programs to help ensure children are ready to learn and make it easier for them to make the transition to school (community).

24. Benefits cont’d… • Schoolsuse EDI data by itself for program planning and resource allocation • Communityuses EDI data in conjunction with other information (e.g., EQAO results, population statistics, other community information) to identify neighbourhoods where additional early years supports may be required. • Advocacy for families and children.

25. How the EDI works The EDI assesses children’s readiness to learn when they enter school by looking at five key areas of child development:

26. 1) Physical health and well-being

27. 2-3) Maturity 2) Emotional health and maturity 3) Social knowledge and competence

28. 4) Language development and thinking skills

29. 5) Communication skills and general knowledge

30. The EDI is…….. A population (or large group) measure A way to understand trends in the development of kindergarten children The EDI isnot…….. An individual child or diagnostic measure A way to evaluate teachers or individual programs

31. COMPLETING THE e-EDI QUESTIONNAIRES

32. Implementation Timelines & Deadlines • - Today! • - Today until XXXXX • Today until XXXXX 1. Teachers receive e-EDI Training 2. Teachers complete EDI questionnaires on-line 3. Teachers “lock in” each child’s questionnaire as they are completed

33. Time • It will take approx 20 minutes to complete each questionnaire. • However, once you have completed a few, it should take closer to 10 minutes per questionnaire. • Best students and struggling students completed quickly….middle ground students require more thought.

34. Tip # 1 • Due to the “learning curve” involved, it is considerably more efficient to complete all the questionnaires in one sitting. One sitting may involve 2 or 3 consecutive days, depending on the number of students you have.

35. Getting Started: Your EDI Package You will receive an EDI packagecontaining the following items: • EDI Guide – 1 per teacher • ClassList from OCCS – 1 per class • Local Class List – 1 per class • e-EDI Instruction Manual – 1 per teachers

36. EDI Guide • Intended to facilitate completion of the EDI; based on comments from teachers. • Please read the whole Guide once before starting to complete the questionnaires. • While completing the e-EDI you can click on the Guide button and a pdf version of the EDI Guide will pop up

37. Tip # 2 • Read the entire EDI GUIDE once before starting on the questionnaires. • After you have read the EDI Guide, consult it if in doubt.

38. e-EDI Teacher Manual • Provides information – steps to guide the on-line completion of EDI questionnaires • Open to further comments: If you have comments pertaining to either of the guides, please write them on a separate sheet of paper and enclose with your completed questionnaires.

39. Before you Begin the e-EDI • Review the e-EDI questions • Get your login and password • Have your class lists available • Ensure that all the children in your class(es) have a ASN ID and are included on your list • Review any background materials • If applicable, list student’s whose parent’s/guardians have declined permission • Good luck and thank-you!

40. Accessing the e-EDI In your Internet browser type in: www.e-edi.ca

41. Signing In Teacher’s email here Ensure that ENGLISH is chosen The initial password is the Teacher’s EDI ID

42. Teacher Menu

43. YOU ARE NOW READY TO TACKLE THE QUESTIONNAIRES!

44. General Instructions • Responses to the questions should be based on your observations of the students reflecting his/her CURRENT developmental status. (The child does not need to be present) • Use ‘I don’t know’ as a last resort only, especially in the student demographic page (page 1). Questionnaires received with too many ‘I don’t knows’ cannot be used in the final analysis.

45. EDI Questionnaires

46. Class List AM Class PM Class

47. Step 1: Identify the child • At the top of every questionnaire page there is an 11-digit child identification number (generated by McMaster University) called the EDI ID#.

48. Local Class List Match the corresponding Local ID# (ASN #) with the Local Class List (which contains children’s names)to ensure you are thinking about the right child.

49. Enter into the Questionnaire

50. Child Demographic Page