My Passion for Learning and Teaching Little Minds

Impacts of the Course Content Upon reflecting upon how the content of this course might impact what I do in the early childhood education profession, many things come to mind. Assessments and evaluations are necessary for student growth and development. Through the knowledge of evaluations obtained throughout this course, I plan to utilize that information to increase my understanding of developmentally appropriate evaluations. This acquired knowledge of evaluations will be used to enhance and guide my instruction in the classroom. I also plan to utilize the content of this course to possibly introduce new evaluations to my administration in hopes of utilization in the future.     In terms of how the content of this course will impact who I want to become in the field of early childhood, I feel this course will benefit me in many ways. Through the course content, I feel I will ultimately not only be able to enhance my knowledge of appropriate program evaluations but also l...

Assessing for Development, Emerging Knowledge, Intervention, and Modification: Using Assistive Technology As educators, understanding that all children learn at a different pace through the use of various learning strategies is crucial.   For example, learning which takes place for autistic children and other children with disabilities should look quite different from those who do not have a disability. Assistive technology devices and programs have been created to assist with meeting the modifications and accommodations of children who require assistance with learning.              According to Chukwuemeka and Samaila (2020), assistive technology is defined as a variety of technologies, specifically created to assist, adapt, and rehabilitate students and professionals with disabilities. Nsofor and Bello (2015) share that assistive technology is categorized into three groups, with those groups being low, medium, and high. L...

The use of assessments is essential to child development and growth. Assessments should be culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate for students. For effective teaching and learning to occur, assessments must be implemented. Purposefully planned authentic assessments allow students to see modeling firsthand. Purposeful assessments are meaningful, planned assessments that guide instruction (Cobb, 2003).   Assessments provide valuable information to educators, such as areas of learning and areas which may need further improvement. Results and data from assessments should be used to drive instruction.   The following two scenarios are separate events in which assessments are necessary for the students involved. Please take a moment and read each scenario and propose an assessment that could be utilized for the students involved. Scenario #1 Cason is an 8-year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. Although Cason is a hea...

The state of Georgia assesses students in various ways, aiming to measure student achievement of the standards utilized to improve education. For the pre-kindergarten program in Georgia, which is lottery funded, the Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) are used. Also implemented in Georgia are the Georgia performance standards, Georgia standards of excellence, as well as the adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes, 2016). These performance standards aim to insulate and identify the necessary skills to communicate, reason, form connections, and solve problems (Georgia Performance Standards, 2020). These standards also provide vital information to educators concerning the extent of assessment in reference to each individual student. According to the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE)(2020), the state of Georgia adopted the CCSS in an effort to improve the learning and teaching, which takes place in the educational...

Fostering Classroom Communities: School Leaders Who Cultivate a Mutually Reinforcing Learning Environment in Schools with Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners This dissertation study focuses on instructional leadership and effective evidence-based instructional teaching practices for English Language Learners. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze both the formal and informal effective leadership practices that help foster a positive learning environment in Spanish-speaking English language learner schools in a manner in which teachers, students, and leaders share a mutual respect. The participants selected for this qualitative case study are exemplar leaders chosen from two different school locations, both located in a large urban city in the midwestern region of the United States. Nine individuals from East School, a prekindergarten through eighth-grade school, were selected, consisting of the principal, vice-principal, instructional coach, and six teachers. From...