Assessment (page 1 of 3)
Knowing how to watch children and how important it is to make frequent assessments based on observation is a necessity at the preschool level. My belief in ongoing formative assessment is firmly rooted in my time as a preschool teacher.
When my preschool decided to use the Creative Curriculum® as our instructional framework, we evaluated our current methods of assessment. Historically, each teacher team took anecdotal records daily on a sheet of paper that listed the children in the room, which was convenient during class time. Unfortunately, when it came time to find the notes for a particular child or to produce evidence for a parent meeting, it was difficult to find the appropriate information quickly because the notes were organized by date rather than child. Adding to this organizational difficulty was that each teacher team used their own assessment forms to prepare for parent-teacher conferences. Teachers could not help each other interpret their observations into usable meeting notes.
Using the four developmental domains specified in the Creative Curriculum® and borrowing from its forms, I created a new anecdotal record sheet that was sized to fit columns of standard sticky notes. Sticky notes were kept around the classroom or in a pocket for quick notes during the day. After class, the sticky notes were added to the appropriate child's record sheet, kept in a binder. At convenient times, one teacher could type the information up using a template form so that it could be searched later for specific information. Because notes were categorized into developmental domains, patterns of development could be seen more easily than they could with the previous record system.
Below is a blank form (sized to fit this document rather than sticky notes) and one after several notes had been added.
When my preschool decided to use the Creative Curriculum® as our instructional framework, we evaluated our current methods of assessment. Historically, each teacher team took anecdotal records daily on a sheet of paper that listed the children in the room, which was convenient during class time. Unfortunately, when it came time to find the notes for a particular child or to produce evidence for a parent meeting, it was difficult to find the appropriate information quickly because the notes were organized by date rather than child. Adding to this organizational difficulty was that each teacher team used their own assessment forms to prepare for parent-teacher conferences. Teachers could not help each other interpret their observations into usable meeting notes.
Using the four developmental domains specified in the Creative Curriculum® and borrowing from its forms, I created a new anecdotal record sheet that was sized to fit columns of standard sticky notes. Sticky notes were kept around the classroom or in a pocket for quick notes during the day. After class, the sticky notes were added to the appropriate child's record sheet, kept in a binder. At convenient times, one teacher could type the information up using a template form so that it could be searched later for specific information. Because notes were categorized into developmental domains, patterns of development could be seen more easily than they could with the previous record system.
Below is a blank form (sized to fit this document rather than sticky notes) and one after several notes had been added.
Our classroom team (which was comprised of two teacher teams, one for each class that used the classroom) elected to test a version of the Creative Curriculum®'s more formal Classroom Observation sheet for in-depth observations and as a summary of a child's development for parent meetings. By having the anecdotal records organized in a similar fashion to the observation sheet, creating one and adding comments could be done swiftly and allow us to focus on what we wanted to discuss with each family rather than on filling out forms.
Even now, I often carry around sticky notes or a clipboard in order to keep anecdotal records of my students. I find that having those records helps me to clarify the ongoing needs of each child and where I need to focus my instructional efforts. I also use assessment materials provided by the current curriculum guide my content decisions.