Program Report for the Initial Preparation of Early Childhood Teachers

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Option C

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ACCREDITATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION

COVER SHEET

1. Institution NameEdinboro University of Pennsylvania

2. StatePennsylvania

3. Date submitted

MM DD YYYY

09 / 15 / 2010

4. Report Preparer's Information:

Name of Preparer:

Dr. Sandra Waite-Stupiansky

Phone: Ext.

( ) -814 732 1334

E-mail:

swaite@edinboro.edu

5. NCATE Coordinator's Information:

Name:

Dr. Lisa Brightman

Phone: Ext.

( ) -814 732 1328

E-mail:

lbrightman@edinboro.edu

6. Name of institution's programEarly Childhood Education

Early Childhood Field Experiences

Semester

Courses

Field Experiences/Age/Grade

Second Semester Freshman Year

ELED 180 Child Studies I

5 hours of observation of young children. The purpose is to become familiar with typical and atypical development of young children (0-12 years old).

First Semester Sophomore Year

ELED 220 Child Studies II

5 hours of observation of elementary school age children. The purpose is to become familiar with typical and atypical development of elementary children.

First Semester Sophomore Year

ELED 240 Childrens Literature

1 hour of participation in an early childhood setting. The purpose of this experience is to provide an opportunity to read to young children.

Second Semester Freshman Year

ELED 275 Introduction to Early Childhood Education

5 hours of participation and observation in early childhood settings. The purpose of this experience is to provide an opportunity to observe and assist in an early childhood settings.

First Semester Sophomore Year

ELED 341 Integrated Curriculum I: Language and Literacy

5 hours of participation in early childhood settings. The purpose of this experience is to provide an initial opportunity for candidates to plan and implement lessons in language and literacy for individual or small groups of young children.

Second Semester Sophomore Year

ELED 342 Integrated Curriculum II: Math, Science and Social Studies

5 hours of participation in early childhood settings. The purpose of this experience is to provide an initial opportunity for candidates to plan and implement lessons in math, science, and/or social studies for individual or small groups of young children.

First or Second Semester Junior Year

ELED 425 Field Experience

75 hours. The purpose of this field experience is to provide candidates with an opportunity to plan and implement lessons with individual, small, and large groups of young children. This experience provides opportunities over the semester.

First or Second Semester Senior Year

ELED 580 Assessment and Evaluation in Early Childhood Education

25 hours of observation/participation in early childhood setting. This experience is designed to provide candidates with an opportunity to complete a case study through observation and interaction with an individual student.

First or Second Semester Senior Year

ELED 495 Student Teaching

15 weeks. This is the capstone experience in education (K-6th grade).

Early Childhood Field Experiences Chart

ASSESSMENT 2: Section IV

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

PROGRAM REPORT: SECTION IV

EVIDENCE FOR MEETING STANDARDS

#2 Assessment of content knowledge

CASE STUDY ANALYSES

1. Description of Assessment.

ELED 180 Child Studies I is a required course for all candidates in the initial certification in the early childhood education program. The emphasis of the course is on acquiring content knowledge of child development from prenatal through age 12 in the physical, cognitive, language, and social/emotional domains. Factors that influence development are stressed during the course. Candidates begin to make links between development and the behavior of effective facilitators of learning to support childrens development.

This initial assessment is designed to have teacher candidates start to apply the theories and research they are learning to one persons development. The subject of the case study was selected by the faculty members teaching the course. The subject selected was Antwone Fisher, as portrayed in the full length movie named after him. The movie, which is based on a real person, follows a young mans development from the age of six into his twenties. The candidates view the movie several times, then apply the theories of physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development to the main character in the film. They also apply Bronfenbrenners Ecological Systems theory to the subject. The directions and rubric for the case study analysis are in Assessment 2 directions and Assessment 2 scoring guide tables. This assessment has been substantially changed to better address the content knowledge in early childhood education. It provides evidence of a candidates ability to link development and behavior of effective facilitators of learning to support childrens development.

2. NAEYC Standards Addressed in this Assessment.

NAEYC Standard 1 receives the most emphasis in this assessment, especially key elements

1a: knowing and understanding young childrens characteristics and

1b: knowing and understanding the multiple influences on development and learning.

Candidates are asked to identify significant relationships in Part II of the assessment, significant indicators of development in three domains in Part III. These portions of the assignment address 1a. In Part IV of the case study analysis, they are to identify influences on development, which addresses 1b. Although candidates are not expected or asked to use their knowledge in classrooms at this point in their program, they are asked to use the knowledge theoretically by applying theories of child development to a particular case. Later in the program, specifically in ELED 575 Field Experience in Education and ELED 495 Student Teaching, candidates will apply this knowledge in the classroom.

3. Summary of data findings.

Data Table 2A presents the data from Spring, 2009 (N = 32) and Spring, 2010 (N=13) from the LIVETEXT submission of the case study analysis. Candidates were not required to collect the data for this assignment in the field, but gathered the data from a feature-length film. The main objective of the assignment was for the candidates to demonstrate that they could apply theories of child development to a developing person. As indicated by the data table 2A, 21%-84% of the Spring, 2009, and 38% - 100% of the Spring, 2010 were in the target area for application of the Ecological Systems theory in the case study. When examining specific areas of the Ecological Systems theory, the section on application of the macrosystem posed the most difficulty for the candidates, with 52%-56% (2009) and 22%-30% (2010) scoring in the developing or unacceptable range for the two items addressing the macrosystem. Considering that this assessment is usually administered in the freshman year, these scores are not entirely surprising since application of the Ecological Systems theory demands a higher order thinking skill on the part of the candidates.

When examining the data for application of theories of child development in specific domains, the following findings were reported: For physical development in the subjects early childhood years, the candidates scores range from 68% target and 18% acceptable in Spring, 2009 and 61% target and 15% acceptable in Spring, 2010; for cognitive development (which includes language development), the scores were 50% target and 25% acceptable in Spring, 2009 and 71 % target and 14% acceptable in Spring, 2010; in the area of social/emotional development, the scores were 59% target and 34% acceptable in Spring, 2009 and 71% target and 7% acceptable in Spring, 2010. Overall, when both target and acceptable scores are combined, the percentages range from 75% - 93%.

The part of the assessment that requires candidates to analyze the influences on the subjects development, the scores are as follows: 34% target and 50% acceptable (Spring, 2009) and 57% target and 35% acceptable (Spring, 2010). Thus, 82% and 84% of the candidates were at least within the acceptable range for analyzing influences on development.

Interpretation of how data provides evidence that NAEYC standards have been met.

As noted above and in Data Table 2A this evaluation addresses NAEYC Standard 1, especially 1a and 1b. The results of this assessment provide convincing evidence that our candidates have met the identified elements of Standard 1. This is a difficult assignment that builds throughout the entire semester as the candidates not only learn a wide range of theories about child development, but attempt to apply them to a case in common.

In other sections of the report we provide additional evidence of our candidates performance in relation to Standard 1. During the ELED 425: Field Experience in Education and ELED 495 Student Teaching, candidates apply their knowledge of childrens development when planning and implementing lessons, as assessed in ELED 425 on Assessment 3: Final Field Evaluation, and during ELED 495 on Assessment 4: PDE-430, and Assessment 5: Instructional Assessment Plan. Student teaching and field experience offer candidates opportunities to interact with parents and identify influences on development. Evaluation of candidates at the field and student teaching levels is done by two independent ratersthe university supervisor and the cooperating teacher. Candidates are also