Hunter College School of Education

Key Assessment/Field Assignment and Rubric

Child Development CEDF 709

Observation Report

This assignment addresses the following components of the Hunter College School of Education Conceptual Framework: Preparation of reflective, knowledgeable, and highly effective teachers, evidence-based practices, and educating a diverse student population)

This assignment addresses the following standards of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI): 1) Development, Learning, and Motivation and NCATE: 1c) Professional and Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills for Teacher Candidates (including the ways children develop and the relationship to learning and the use of research in teaching) and 4a. Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Curriculum and Experiences (including dealing with diversity issues related to developmental levels, learning styles, culture, gender, English language learners, and special needs students.)

As one requirement for this course, you will have a field experience in a public school appropriate to your degree program. You will be expected, as a result of this field experience, to complete an assignment designed to address the following objectives:

·  To prepare teacher candidates to objectively conduct a low-inference observation of a child in a classroom setting.

·  To enhance teacher candidate knowledge and comprehension of how children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds develop within the context of schools and classrooms.

·  To enhance teacher candidate knowledge and comprehension of current research within the field of child development as it pertains to the cognitive, socioemotional, linguistic, and physical development of children in urban settings.

Toward these ends, please complete the following tasks using the format and sequence of the items as they appear below.

Step 1: Identify one issue that you have found notable in your observation of a specific student. The issue can be from any of the domains of child development or may involve a combination of domains. The issue may be positive, for example a child who performs well above average or seems to be well liked by most peers, or negative, for example a child who acts out during class or one who seems to be socially isolated. The issue identified may concern a single child, a small group of children in the class or a large group of children. The issue may involve relationships among children or between children and adults. (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c)

Step 2: Describe what you observed in general, non-interpretive, non-judgmental, jargon-free terms. Provide as much detail as necessary for the reader to grasp with clarity what you observed. Include information about what you observe in regard to diversity in the classroom, including ways instruction was adapted for different developmental levels, learning styles, cultural differences, gender differences, language differences, and special needs. (ACEI 3.2, NCATE 4a)

Step 3: Select 3 empirical journal articles published within the last 5 years (please obtain my permission for earlier studies). The articles must be directly or indirectly relevant to the issue you are analyzing. In either case you will have to explain the relevance between the results of the study and the issue you are analyzing. The most relevant articles will address the variables of interest to you and will include subjects in the general age group (and other demographic and diversity characteristics) of concern to you. Articles from this course's curriculum are welcome. For independent research you can start by identifying the key terms used to refer to the issue in a thesaurus within a database such as Google Scholar (scholar.gooogle.com). (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c)

Step 4: Provide theoretical explanations for what you observed. Your observation should be framed within the context of a theory. For this purpose, important theoretical concepts should be presented, defined, and specifically related to what you observed. Do not assume that the professor knows. Instead, write for an audience that knows very little about the subject. If the issue you identified was a problem, then provide a possible solution to the problem, derived from that theory. If the issue was a positive outcome, then provide one possible strategy for extending that positive outcome to other children, derived from that theory. (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c)

Step 5: Support your theoretical explanations with empirical evidence from your selected research articles. Integrate a summary of the studies into your theoretical analysis of the issue and/or your proposed solution to the problem or your proposed strategy for extending a positive outcome to other children. (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c)

Rubric for CEDF 709 Observation Report

Performance
Outcome / Above Standard
---4 points--- / Meets Standard
---3 points--- / Approaches Standard
---2 points--- / Below Standard
---0 to 1 point---
Description of Classroom Observation / Description is very clear, free of interpretation or jargon, is rich in relevant details and is consistent with later label / Description is clear, free of interpretation or jargon, includes sufficient relevant details and is consistent with later label / Description is somewhat clear, includes some jargon/ interpretation, and some relevant details and/or is somewhat consistent with later label / Description is not clear or objective, includes few relevant details and is not consistent with later label
Diversity in the Classroom (ACEI 3.2, NCATE 4a) / Clear, comprehensive, and compelling description student diversity with strong attention to developmental levels, learning styles, cultural differences, gender differences, and language differences. / Clear description student diversity with attention to developmental levels, learning styles, cultural differences, gender differences, and language differences. / Vague description about student diversity. / Description about student diversity is not clear or includes few relevant details
Identification of Relevant Theories (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c) / Three or more appropriate theories are presented clearly, accurately, and comprehensively. / Three appropriate theories are presented clearly and accurately. / Two appropriate theories are presented / No more than one theory is presented and/or theory presented is not appropriate
Application of Relevant Theories to Developmental Issue (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c) / Relevant aspects and key terms of theories are presented and used to explain the developmental-related issue in an accurate, clear, comprehensive, and compelling manner. / Relevant aspects and key terms of theories are presented and used to explain the developmental-related issue in an accurate and clear manner. / Some relevant aspects or key terms of theory are not presented and/or link of theory to developmental-related issue is not explicit / Important aspects of theory and key terms are not presented and/or are not linked to the developmental-related issue
Proposed Solutions/strategies (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c) / Solutions/strategies are derived from theories and comparison and contrast are presented in an accurate, clear, comprehensive, and compelling manner. / Solutions/strategies are derived from theories and comparison and contrast are presented in an accurate and clear manner. / Solutions/strategies are derived from theory but neither comparison nor contrast are provided / Solutions/strategies are not derived from theory
Use of Research Articles to Justify Conclusions (ACEI 1, NCATE 1c) / Relevant aspects of articles are discussed and used to defend conclusions in an accurate, clear, comprehensive and compelling manner. / Relevant aspects of articles are discussed and used to defend conclusions in an accurate and clear manner. / Discussion of articles is limited and/or explicit link to conclusion is absent / Article is not used to justify conclusion
Identification of Empirical Journal Articles / More than the required number is included.
Articles are highly relevant, empirical, published in the last 5 years (or justification is presented) / Required number is included.
Articles are relevant, empirical, most published in the last 5 years (or justification is presented) / Articles are somewhat relevant, empirical, and many published prior to last 5 years / Articles are not relevant, are not empirical, not recent and/or not published in journals
Performance
Outcome / Above Standard
---4 points--- / Meets Standard
---3 points--- / Approaches Standard
---2 points--- / Below Standard
---0 to 1 point---
Organization of Report / Logical, sequential organization is clearly discernable
Stays on topic
Topic sentences, transitions, headings and subheadings are effectively used
Citations and reference list are APA style / Organization is discernable
Stays on topic
Topic sentences and transitions effectively used
Citations and reference list are generally but not exclusively in APA style / Organization is somewhat discernable
Tangential issues are discussed
Topic sentences and transitions used sometimes
Not consistently APA style / Organization is not discernable
Tangential issues are discussed extensively
Topic sentences and transitions are rarely used
APA style is not used
0 / -1 / -2 / -3
Writing Quality / Meets acceptable standards with respect to spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammatical accuracy, and fluency. / 1-2 errors with respect to spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammatical accuracy, and fluency. / 3-5 errors with respect to spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammatical accuracy, and fluency. / 6-8 errors with respect to spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammatical accuracy, and fluency.

Total: ______out of 32 Points.

Assignment Scoring Scale

A+ / 32
A / 30-31
A- / 28-29
B+ / 26-27
B / 23-25
B- / 21-22
C+ / 19-20
C / 18-16
Below Standard / 0-15