Recommend a resource

Books:

• Cohen, D., Stern, V., & Balaban, N. (1996). Observing and Recording the Behavior of Young Children. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Curtis, D., & Carter, M. (2002). The Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
• Dale-Easley, S., & Mitchell, K. (2003). Portfolios Matter: What, Where, When, Why and How to Use Them. Markham, Ontario, Canada: Pembroke.
• Gober, S. (2002). Six Simple Ways to Assess Young Children. Cheshire, England: Delmar Press, Ltd.
• Gullo, D. (2004). Understanding Assessment and Evaluation in Early Childhood Education (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Harris, J., Beneke Helm, S., & Steinheimer, K. (1997). Windows On Lerning: Documenting Young Children’s Work. Early Childhood Education Series. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Jablon, J. R., Dombro, A. L., & Dichtelmiller, M. L. (2007). The Power of Observation for birth through eight. 2nd ed. Florence, KY: Delmar Thomson Learning.
• Losardo, A., & Notari-Syverson, A. (2001). Alternative Approaches to Assessing Young Children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
• Marion, M. (2004). Using Observation in Early Childhood Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall-Person Education.
• McAfee, O., Leong, D., & Bodrova, E. (2004). Basics of Assessment: A Primer for Early Childhood Educators. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Articles/Tools:

• Buell, M.J. & Sutton, T.M. (2008). Weaving a web with children at the center: A new approach to emergent curriculum planning for young preschoolers [PDF]. Young Children 63, 100 – 5. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/tyc/file/YCBuell.pdf.
• Colorado Department of Education. (2011, June). Writing Effective Observation Notes.[online module] Results Matter Online Learning Opportunity. Retrieved from http://www.cde.state.co.us/media/ResultsMatter/trainingmodules/
  WritingObservationNotes/player.html
• Division of Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children. (2007). Promoting positive outcomes for children with disabilities: Recommendations for curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation [PDF]. Missoula, MT: Author. Retrieved  from http://www.dec-sped.org/uploads/docs/about_dec/position_concept_papers/
  Prmtg_Pos_Outcomes_Companion_Paper.pdf
• Foreman, G., & Hall, E. (2005). Wondering with children: The importance of observation in early education (Electronic version). Early Childhood Research & Practice. 7(2): 1-11. Retrieved on  from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v7n2/forman.html
• Kroeger, J., & Cardy, T. (2006). Documentation: A hard to reach place. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 389-398.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children, (2004). Resources on Assessment [PDF]. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200401/PrintResources.pdf
• National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). All Children Need Friends Handout 1: Two ways to plan [PDF]. NEXT: The Teaching Young Children Staff Development Guide Vol 2 No 3. Washington DC: Author.  Retrieved March 24, 2011 from http://www.naeyc.org/files/tyc/file/Handout1TwoWaystoPlan.pdf.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Where We Stand on Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation [PDF]. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved  from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/StandCurrAss.pdf
• National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning (NCQTL) 15 minute In-Services: From the Office of Head Start these 15-nimute in-service suites were designed as a resource for professional development in busy, active early childhood centers and programs. The in-service suites are organized around one topic or big idea and address effective teaching and assessment practices that map on to the NCQTL HOUSE Framework. Each in-service consists of a short video supplemented with handouts. A trainer version is also available and includes a PowerPoint presentation, learning activities and other training materials. Currently the in-service topics for ongoing child assessment include: Collecting and Using Anecdotal Notes; Ongoing Assessment Overview; Collecting and Using Video; Planning for Assessment; Collecting and Using Work Samples. Available online at http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/center/practice/ISS
• Project TACTICS Module 1: Routine based assessment. Module provides strategies, supporting materials and simple forms such as; “Getting to know your child”, “Identifying child care / classroom routines & activities” and “Observing the care provider routines”. Retrieved from http://tactics.fsu.edu/modules/modOne.html.
• Seitz, H. (2008). The power of documentation in the early childhood classroom. Young Children, 63(2), 88-93.
• Topics in Early Childhood Education Child Centered Planning: Individualizing for Success. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ecedirectory/.
• University of Kansas, Circle of Inclusion Project. (2002) MAPS Process: Seven Questions. Retrieved from http://www.circleofinclusion.org/english/guidelines/modulesix/a.html.
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension (last update 1/21/10) “My director says we need to start doing observations in our child care program. I watch the children, but what does she mean?” Retrieved  from http://www.extension.org/pages/37519/my-director-says-we-need-to-start-doing-observations-in-our-child-care-program-i-watch-the-children-b

Videos:

• Colorado Department of Education. Results Matter Video Library - These videos have been produced to help providers better understand ways to use observation, documentation, and assessment to inform practice. You can watch the clips online or download QuickTime versions of the videos for use in educational and professional development activities. Retrieved from  http://www.cde.state.co.us/resultsmatter/RMVideoSeries.htm#05

Topics include:

• Focus on Early Care and Education
• Focus on Early Intervention
• Clips for Practicing Observation, Documentation and Assessment Skills
• General Interest
• Tips for Using Video

Growing Ideas Tipsheets related to Assessment Basics:

• Confidentiality: Respecting the Privacy of All Families (PDF) available online at http://ccids.umaine.edu

Websites:

• Council of the Chief State School Officers. Early Childhood Education Assessment Consortium. Website offering information on assessment at  http://events.ccsso.org/projects/SCASS/Projects/Early_Childhood_Education_
  Assessment_Consortium/
• Merrill Education’s Link to Early Childhood Education Resources. (n.d.) Topic 8: Assessment in Early Childhood Education. [On-line curriculum] Pearson Prentise Hall website http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_childhood_cluster_1/0,6413,497909-,00.html
• National Association for the Education of Young Children. Position Statements of NAEYC. NAEYC Position Statements adopted by the Governing Board to state the Association’s position on issues related to early childhood education practice, policy, and/or professional development for which there are controversial or critical opinions from http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions.asp

Updated: 01/03/13

Funding for the 2011 update of the Growing Ideas Resources for Guiding Early Childhood Practices has been provided by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Child and Family Services, Early Childhood Division.