CLDV 04: Observation Assessment Introduction

1. CLDV 04: Observation & AssessmentIntroduction Dr. Marian C. Fritzemeier, Ed.D. Fall 2010

2. Intro to CLDV 04 Handout: Get to Know Your Classmates Get to Know Your Professor Get to Know the Course CLDV 04 Syllabus Handout: Syllabus Search

3. Guests: All lead teachers will be here for introductions

4. Learning Styles & Class Format Answer Key Questions: Why does the instructor use various teaching methods? What’s my learning style? Methods: Individual: journal writing, self-checklist, critical thinking Partner share Small group discussion Graphic organizers People-o-meter – What do you think? Class discussion Role playing/drama Benefits: Match your learning styleMethods: Individual: journal writing, self-checklist, critical thinking Partner share Small group discussion Graphic organizers People-o-meter – What do you think? Class discussion Role playing/drama Benefits: Match your learning style

6. Sensory Learning Styles - Visual Likes to go from big to small Prefers pictures to words Learns from photos, charts, graphs Writes or draws about what he/she is learning Adapted from: Susan Winebrenner (1996). Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom. Free Spirit Publishing Inc.: Minneapolis, MN

7. Auditory Analytical, logical & sequential Follows directions Plans Learns facts, dates, specifics Learns in small, logical steps Looks at details Adapted from: Susan Winebrenner (1996). Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom. Free Spirit Publishing Inc.: Minneapolis, MN

8. Tactile-Kinesthetic Hands-on activities Learns by doing Develops own system of organizing information May move around while thinking Is playful, enjoys humor Is spontaneous Adapted from: Susan Winebrenner (1996). Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom. Free Spirit Publishing Inc.: Minneapolis, MN

9. Learning Styles Benefits How do the various activities benefit students? On your own, complete Learning Styles Inventory Turn in results to professor next class & get a copy of interpretations Then apply information to learn & study

10. Quote of the Week “We walk around believing that we see with our eyes is real, when, in truth, each of us constructs our own understandings of what we are seeing.” Donald Hoffman

11. Practice with a Favorite Childhood Memory Gather your thoughts & recall a favorite memory from your childhood. Use the following questions to help you explore the details: Where did this memory take place? What was in the environment? What were the sensory aspects of this place? What did it look like, smell like, sound like, feel like, taste like? Who was there? What feelings do you associate with this memory? What was your sense of time? What skills & competences were a part of this experience that have influenced who you are today?

12. Consider the Possible Themes Spending time outdoors with nature and/or animals Inventive, transforming objects into props for play Taking risks, wanting power, adventures, & physical challenges Explore without adult interference Getting messy, dirty, & into mischief Working alone & with others, solving problems & resolving conflicts Involved in meaningful work, often with adults Enjoying celebrations & family and/or community gatherings

13. So What? Themes come up over & over again for adults Some of the most significant experiences of childhood Influence children’s development & learning Important for teachers to recognize & value them Remember the value they had for you See the value of these experiences for the children you observe Remembering our own childhood helps us keep it at the center of our thinking & planning Helps us uncover the child’s point of view in observations Adapted from: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, pp. 25-26.

14. General Information About Lab Observations Manual, pp. 3-4 Sign Confidentiality Agreement, p. 5 Lab Hours Verification, p. 6 (August)

15. Listening, Observing, & Documenting is a Pedagogy Pedagogy Defined: A way of thinking about learning & teaching that mirrors our vision for children, not the existing one of the popular culture From: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, p. xiii.

16. Pedagogy Shifts Wanting children to be who we want them to be Move away from commercially packaged activities Focus attention away from clocks & checklists Value who children are Make time to develop curriculum collaboratively with coworkers, children & families See what is going on with the children themselves From Change to:

17. Benefits of this Approach Come from a place of curiosity Believe in children’s capabilities Know they are engaging in a process that is unfolding, not static Teaches us more about child development

18. Benefits Continued, p. 2 Learning involved in self-chosen play Components of curriculum shaped around childhood See the influence of cultural patterns Learn more about ourselves, our preferences, our biases, & our blind spots

19. Benefits Continued, p. 3 See things from others’ perspectives Create a collective context for mutual respect & learning from each other From: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, pp. xiii-xvii.

20. Documentation Gathering observation notes & other forms of documentation & broadcasting them as stories of children's pursuits Gives them more visibility, meaning, & respect Learning process enhanced for children & adults From: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, p. xiv.

21. Quote & Partner Share “We know that making children's ideas visible is an important goal. It helps children convert an activity into a learning encounter. Therefore, if documentation helps children make their own feelings, patterns of behavior, theories, & rules more visible & explicit, then documentation could become the primary means of educating young children.” College teacher & author George Foreman From: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, p. xiv.

22. Busy vs. Bored Vivian Gussin Paley, author of 10 books Makes visible the richness of children’s perspectives; & Thinking process of an evolving teacher Read Quote From: Art of Awareness, p. xv From: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, p xv.

23. Becoming a Keen Observer What will it take for our early childhood classrooms to be filled with teachers who view children & their work with this mind set? Become a keen listener & observer is the foundation of the art of awareness Keen defined: “showing a quick and ardent responsiveness; enthusiastic, eager, delighting in the chase, intellectually alert, extremely sensitive in perception” From: Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, Deb Curtis & Margie Carter, Redleaf Press: Columbus, OH, 2000, p. xvi.

24. Journal Response What kind of teacher observer do I want to be & why? How will this class help me become a keen observer?