Assessment Basics: From Observation to Instruction - Virtual Toolkit - Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

Assessment Basics: From Observation to Instruction – Virtual Toolkit

Professional Development Activity

Begin by reading the Growing Ideas: Assessment Basics: From Observation to Instruction Tipsheet (PDF) and completing the Growing Ideas Into Action Handout (PDF) – A resource to use as you read and use the tipsheets.

Training Materials to use right away:

Observing Young Children video from Eastern Connecticut State University, Center for Early Childhood.
Weaving a Web with Children from the Center: A New Approach to Emergent Curriculum (PDF) from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Available from ResearchGate at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242523279_Weaving_a_Web_with_Children_at_the_Center

Try, Review, Reflect and Plan:

The Observing Young Children video discusses the importance of thinking about and planning observations, and how to use that information to help children learn. Weaving a Web with Children from the Center: A New Approach to Emergent Curriculum describes a child-centered webbing approach to observing, documenting and planning that considers the interests of the child as well as the developmental needs.

Click on the first website link above to view the video Observing Young Children.
Click on the second website link above to download the PDF Weaving a Web with Children from the Center: A New Approach to Emergent Curriculum.
Select and try out some of the strategies shared in these resources in your program.
Use the Assessment Basics: From Observation to Instruction Self-Reflection Guide and Documentation Sheet (PDF) to:
- Review, reflect and plan your work with children.
- Document your training hours.

Highly Recommended Resource:

Jablon, J. R., Dombro, A. L., & Dichtelmiller, M. L. (2007). The Power of Observation for birth through eight, 2^nd ed. Florence, KY: Delmar Thomson Learning.

From Publisher’s website: This resource explores the vital connection between observing and effective teaching, offering guidelines and specific strategies to help teachers and caregivers transform observing into an essential component of their teaching practices. Much more than just a set of skills, observation is a mindset of openness and wonder that helps teachers and caregivers get to know more about each child in their care. In this new edition, the authors have added extensive, up-to-date examples to help teachers apply what they learn about children as well as a study guide for use in staff development and college courses. Co-published with Teaching Strategies.

Children’s Book Selection:

Lyon, G. (2010). The Pirate of Kindergarten. Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Hardcover).

Book Description: “Doubles are good for lots of things — double scoops of ice cream, double features at the movies. But double vision is NOT a good kind of double. In fact, it can make kindergarten kind of hard. Ginny sees double chairs at reading circle and double words in her books. She knows that only half of what she sees is real, but which half? The solution to her problem is wondrously simple: an eye patch! Ginny becomes the pirate of kindergarten. With the help of her pirate patch, Ginny can read, run, and even snip her scissors with double the speed!…”

Interested in additional information on this topic? Visit our Assessment Basics: From Observation to Instruction — Selected Resources page.

Have a professional development plan? As you read the Growing Ideas Tipsheets, and use the Virtual Toolkit training materials be sure to place your handouts/documentation of this work in your personal professional development portfolio.

Updated: 11/13/2017