Reflective Narrative #1
CECE Standard of Practice: “Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence
B: Practice: Early Childhood Educators observe, assess, evaluate, document and report on children’s progress along all domains of child development. As they work with children, families and other adults, Early Childhood Educators set goals, make decisions, resolve challenges, decide on developmentally responsive activities and experiences, provide behaviour guidance and work collaboratively in the best interest of the children under their professional supervision” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p. 19).
Reflective Narrative #2
CECE Standard of Practice: “Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence
C: Early Childhood Educators build a climate of trust, honesty and respect in the workplace. They respect the privacy of colleagues and handle information with an appropriate level of confidentiality. Early Childhood Educators support experienced colleagues, those who are new to the profession and those students aspiring to the profession” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p. 20).
Reflective Narrative #3
CECE Standard of Practice: “Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence
B: Early Childhood Educators ensure that their decisions and actions in their professional practice are appropriately supported by a credible body of professional knowledge in the field of early childhood education. Early Childhood Educators are able to explain the foundations of their practice and their decision-making processes and to communicate to parents and other professionals the benefits of play for child development” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p. 20).
CECE Standard of Practice: “Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence
B: Practice: Early Childhood Educators observe, assess, evaluate, document and report on children’s progress along all domains of child development. As they work with children, families and other adults, Early Childhood Educators set goals, make decisions, resolve challenges, decide on developmentally responsive activities and experiences, provide behaviour guidance and work collaboratively in the best interest of the children under their professional supervision” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p. 19).
Artifact: Excerpts from an observational portfolio: cognitive and social profile.
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As an Early Childhood Education student in third semester, I have been given the opportunity to practice professional knowledge and competence in placement settings in two childcare centres and one full day kindergarten classroom. My understanding of Standard IV is that, when working with children, it is the responsibility of the educator to provide the necessary provocations that will encourage children’s development. Through observation and evaluation, educators are able to scaffold their daily programs and the classroom environment, and provide materials that cater to each child’s individual needs. Documentation of children’s interests, strengths and opportunities for growth enable educators to effectively determine what activities and experiences would benefit the children in supporting their development.
In Understanding Children Through Observation, I learned several different methods of observing and assessing children throughout their daily experiences. From the different observations I learned, discussed and put into practice during my placement experiences, I have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of observation and documentation. Only through these various methods can educators gain a thorough understanding of a child’s developmental needs, as well as their needs as an individual who requires care and support. A professional and competent educator is able to observe a child’s behaviour over time, find the patterns and possible concerns and work with their family to address any challenges the child may face and what strategies can be used to support the child through those challenges. A professional and competent educator is also able to recognize a child’s strengths and cater to their individual needs through lesson planning and daily interactions.
While working with children at my various placements, I have observed and documented their progress in all domains of development. At placement, I have been writing daily contributions which outline a specific, spontaneous event that occurred during the day which I responded to in the moment. Daily program contributions have allowed me to recognize many different teaching strategies that can be used to scaffold children’s learning as well as allowing me to pay closer attention to the different interactions that children have with each other in which they could be further supported by an educator. A large part of daily contributions is observing the children’s behaviour throughout the day. I have observed children in my placements every day, always paying close attention to the various skills they are developing.
The artifact I have included are the two developmental profiles created for a child I observed during one of my placement experiences. I chose this artifact because I believe it displays my ability as an educator to observe a child’s specific strengths and skills to be developed within a particular developmental domain. I was given the opportunity to observe a particular child for an extended period of time and create this observational portfolio which focussed on the child’s behaviour during morning free play. I observed the child interacting with other children, interacting with the educators in the room, and moving throughout the room to various centres. I observed the child eating snack, engaging socially, and confronting another child who bit her. The portfolio included two developmental profiles highlighting the child’s cognitive and social strengths and areas for growth.
Using the information from my observational portfolio, I planned several experiences for the particular child I observed as well as for the classroom as a whole. As I observed, the child had yet to engage in pretend play during the day. She often engaged in social play with others and often visited the room’s dramatic centre, but did not engage with the materials provided except to take them out of their place and put them back in the same manner she found them in. Using the observations I made and the profiles I created, I designed a responsive plan that invited the child to a pretend play experience that she could engage in alone or with other children. From the same observations and profiles, I designed a responsive plan for the class as a whole that involved me reading “Where the Wild Things Are” and encouraging the children to wear dress up materials that allowed them to be “wild things” while I read. We then acted out the book as a group.
CECE Standard of Practice: “Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence
C: Early Childhood Educators build a climate of trust, honesty and respect in the workplace. They respect the privacy of colleagues and handle information with an appropriate level of confidentiality. Early Childhood Educators support experienced colleagues, those who are new to the profession and those students aspiring to the profession” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p. 20).
Artifact: Comments from a cooperating placement teacher on a detailed program plan.
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My understanding of Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence is that childcare professionals who have experience in the field are role models and leaders for students such as myself to learn from. Although I am enrolled in classes which provide me with endless information and resources, experiencing childcare in practice allows me to gain further knowledge in the field I will soon be working in as a Registered Early Childhood Educator. Educators provide support to their colleagues, as well as others within the profession by sharing information, ideas, resources, and providing each other with encouragement. The relationship between established professionals, students, and educators who are new to the profession is an important one.
Educators who have been in the field for a very long time can provide new professionals and students with a wealth of knowledge stemming from the various experiences they have had with children, other educators, and the early childhood profession in general. Experienced professionals can provide useful strategies regarding organization, routines, and teaching styles. However, students and newcomers are in a unique position to provide information to experienced educators as well. Because the field of Early Childhood Education is constantly evolving, students are able to provide new information and resources as they have recently been exposed to them. New professionals also bring a fresh outlook and perspective to the childcare profession. Although there is much to learn from experienced educators, there is a lot to learn from students as well. The relationship between professionals is important as early childhood educators have to work professionally with one another whether on a daily basis or in an occasional manner. Respecting each other enough to share information and support each other will make the experience of working together positive, healthy, and enjoyable.
In field experiences as well as in the classroom, I have practiced this professional standard by showing respect to those I work with. Whether I am engaging with other students, my teachers, my cooperating teachers, or other educators in the centres I have worked in, I treat each person with kindness, respect, and understanding. I look to the experienced professionals for advice and guidance, and work collaboratively with my peers to gain new understanding and knowledge of the field. When I am in classes at Humber, I provide assistance to those who need it, knowing that if I am facing challenges in my studies, I will be able to ask for help from other students. When I am at field placement sites, I look to my cooperating teachers and field supervisor for guidance. Whether I am struggling with a task or excelling at something, I believe it is important to discuss your progress with those you work with. Asking questions and having discussions with those who are more experienced than I am has provided me with meaningful insight into the profession. Collaboration can only happen when colleagues respect each other and are willing to work together. By showing that I respect those I work with, I have gained their trust and have, in turn, been able to approach them for help.
The artifact I have included is a comment from my cooperating teacher on a detailed program plan I created and implemented. The plan was a newsletter I sent home to parents that outlined an experience the children participated in in the classroom (making ice cream from scratch). The newsletter also served as my introduction to the parents. My cooperating teacher commented that the newsletter would make me more approachable to parents, and that providing the recipe for ice cream allowed the children to repeat the experience at home, which she enjoyed. This feedback serves as a significant artifact because it represents the feedback that is provided from my cooperating teacher, a much more experienced educator than myself. I had previously discussed the newsletter with my teacher before sending it out, and created a draft she could approve. We discussed various changes that could be made and I altered the document to include the details she thought would be more beneficial to parents. The final copy of my newsletter was a collaboration between myself and my cooperating teacher. She provided me with very helpful suggestions and helped me create a newsletter that parents responded positively to.
This artifact demonstrates the level of respect and collaboration I have developed with my cooperating teacher in just a short amount of time working together. Early Childhood Educators are expected to work together. I was confident in my first newsletter but did not take offense to the suggestions my teacher made. Knowing that she has more experience both in the field and with parents allowed me to understand her perspective. She provided me with suggestions that I would not have thought of on my own and guided my work to help me create something even better than what I had already done. This shows me that although I was confident and thought my newsletter would be an instant success, having another person look at it and give me feedback actually helped me improve.
CECE Standard of Practice: “Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence
B: Early Childhood Educators ensure that their decisions and actions in their professional practice are appropriately supported by a credible body of professional knowledge in the field of early childhood education. Early Childhood Educators are able to explain the foundations of their practice and their decision-making processes and to communicate to parents and other professionals the benefits of play for child development” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p. 20).
Artifact: Excerpt from Article Response to Paying Attention to Play.
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My understanding of Standard IV: Professional Knowledge and Competence is that professional educators are required to have the knowledge and understanding of their practice in order to explain to others why their methods of teaching are beneficial to children. Some parents and families may question why their children “play all day” and may not see the importance of play based learning as it does not give direct, clear results in literacy and mathematics. Families may not be able to recognize developmental growth if it is not attached to a report card or some assessment of how much their child can read and write. As educators, it is important to know the science behind the importance of play in order to explain that although growth and development cannot be measured by asking children to solve math problems, early childhood education provides the basis for all literacy and math skills that children learn later in life. Early Childhood is the foundation that those skills develop from. Having knowledge of the research and information behind play based learning is crucial when interacting with parents and families.
In field experiences, as well as in my personal life, I have come across several instances of people not understanding the value of play based learning. Parents and families have questioned the educators I have worked with; one parent asking a previous cooperating teacher of mine why their child was unable to read. The educator responded that at 18 months, her child was unable to verbally express herself, however she responded non-verbally to stories she had heard before and recognized words and phrases that were read out loud to her. The child may not have been able to read the words on the page, but was able to recognize images, pointing to a cat in a book and making meowing noises. The parent did not seem convinced until the educator explained to her how her child was developing at that age and the typical development patterns children at her age displayed. Personally, I have explained to many of my friends and family the importance of play. I do not want to go as far as saying I have had to defend my chosen profession, but people have often expressed skepticism that children should be allowed to play all day instead of instilling literacy and math in them at an early age. Explaining that Early Childhood does give them those skills has often proved to be a daunting task, however I have done a lot of research that can support my statements.
The artifact I have chosen is an excerpt from an assignment I completed in first semester. The assignment was a response to an article about play which highlights my understanding and comprehension of the general idea of the article, terms within the article, and asked that I write a paragraph using those terms to explain why play is important. This artifact is significant because I completed this assignment in first semester, and after all of the knowledge and understanding of Early Childhood Education that I have gained, I believe the points made are still valid. My beliefs about play based learning have not changed; I believe it is the best form of curriculum that an Early Childcare Centre can provide for children. Of course, my professional knowledge has only grown, and I am able to recognize that play based learning and teaching is deeply embedded in professional standards of practice, however I believe this only helps explain to parents and families the importance of this way of teaching. Educators are asked to explain their methods and support their teachings with research and fact. All of the research and information I have gathered over three semesters of study have provided me with the necessary tools I need to communicate to parents and families the importance of what I believe in. I have been able to express to others why these practices are important and I believe that I will be able to express the same to parents when I am in the field.