Meeting Pattern

Description

Explore observation and assessment instruments, as well as recommended practices and available resources for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Welcome to Early Childhood: Observation & Assessment, an interactive distance learning course. Content includes an emphasis on observing young children and on authentic assessment of their development and early childhood learning programs.

This computer-based instruction course is a self-supporting program that provides instruction, structured practice, and evaluation all on your home or school computer. Technical support information can be found in the Help section of your course.

Syllabus, Objectives, and Outcomes

Syllabus:

Review Syllabus: Early_Childhood_Observe___Assess_Marrea_Winnega_VESi.pdf - COURSE MUST BE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED BY DECEMBER 12, 2025.

Objectives:

You will:

• Become aware of your own biases to become skilled in objective observation.
• Describe the cycle and functions of observation and assessment in early childhood settings.  Learn best practices for observing and assessing the development of young children.
• Identify a variety of observation recording tools for developmental screening and program assessment.
• Learn advantages and disadvantages of each tool and guidelines for choosing the most appropriate choice for different goals.
• Understand how to summarize and interpret observation data to assess children and programs.
• Apply observation data to planning for individual children and programs.
• Develop formats for documenting, sharing and explaining observation and assessment practices and information to parents and colleagues.
• Design a personal strategy for gathering information and keeping records in a specific early childhood setting.

Materials:

Course materials are available online as part of the course.

Title:  Early Childhood: Observation & Assessment, Dr. Marrea Winnega & Darcie Donegan