Why are you here?

REALLY…..

Praxis I test ~ NEW testPre K 4 ~

1. Pre-service Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA) Reading, Writing, & Math ***(starting 4/2/12) Replaces Praxis I (but Praxis I can be used for current students if test has already been taken. After 4/2012 all students should be advised to take the PAPA).

2. Praxis II: Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (#0511)   

3. ***Pennsylvania Educator Certification Tests (PECT) Grades PreK-4: Core and Professional Knowledge (Modules 1, 2, 3)

Pre K 4 & Special Education1. Pre-service Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA) Reading,

Writing, & Math ***starting 4/2/12 Replaces Praxis I (but Praxis I can be used for current students if test has already been taken. After 4/2012 all students should be advised to take the PAPA).

2. Praxis II: Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (#0511) 

3. ***Pennsylvania Educator Certification Tests (PECT) Grades PreK-4: Core and Professional Knowledge (Modules 1, 2, 3)

4. ***SPED Specialty Test: Modules 1 & 2

The candidate will prepare a two (2) page, well written and grammatically correct, word processed

essay that includes the following components:

A statement of the candidate's reasons for wanting to be part of the teaching profession.

A description of the candidate's  "teacher identity", highlighting relevant experiences and personal strengths.

A description of the candidate’s beliefs about teaching and learning and the theories that support those beliefs.

A discussion of how the candidate will be an intentional teacher of diverse students, incorporating ways to meet the needs of all learners.

A description of the candidate's goals for continued professional development to be completed prior to student teaching.

BEO: Beginning Educator Outcomes

BEO Checklist

4 ARTIFACTS (B,C,D) BEO listed – Is this the

correct match?? Rationale –

1) What is the artifact, when, where?

2) How did this artifact help you understand or demonstrate your understanding of the BEO above??

What is important to know and be able to

do….everyday as a Teacher!

Understanding and Applying Developmentally Appropriate

PracticesChapter 3

Developmentally Appropriate

PracticeFramework for organizing basic knowledge about early childhood education

Evolved over time

Defining principles and guidelines

What is DAP?Developmentally appropriate practice is

teaching that is:Attuned to children’s ages, experience, abilities

and interestThat helps them attain challenging and

achievable goals

Focus on how children develop and learn optimally:Age-related Individual human variation

Position Statement

• Summary of the field’s best thinking

• A defense of its valued practices

• An advocacy tool for improving programs for young children

Meeting Children where they are

• Continuous Observations

• Decision making: • Plan curriculum

• Adapt teaching strategies

• Continual progress

• Reaching Challenging and Achievable goals

Intentional teachersHave a purpose for everything that they do

Are thoughtful and prepared

Can explain the rationale for their decisions and actions to other teachers, administrators, or parents

An Intentional ESU Pre K 4 teacher is a Reflective and Deliberate Decision Maker

Making Informed Decisions

1. Age appropriate ~ Consider what is known about development and learning of children within a given age range

2. Individual Child ~ Consider what is known about each child individually ~ personality, strengths, interests, abilities ~ each child takes away something different

3. Culturally appropriate ~ Consider what is known about the social and cultural contexts in which children live

Knowledge is substantial and changes over time!

Knowing ChildrenWhat is it about children that should inform our teaching practice?Study Groups: Read # & # - Make sure you understand meaning!

Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice

1. All the domains of development and learning are important, closely interrelated and one domain influences what takes place in other domains.

2. Many aspects of children’s learning and development follow documented sequences, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already acquired.

3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as at uneven rates across different areas of a child’s individual functioning.

4. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous interaction of biological maturation and experience.

Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice

5. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed, on a child’s development and learning; and optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning to occur.

6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or representational capacities.

7. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive relationships with peers.

8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts.

Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice

9. Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them, children learn in a variety of ways; a wide range of teaching strategies and interactions are effective in supporting learning.

10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition, and social competence.

11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve just beyond their current mastery, and when they have many opportunities to practice new skills.

12. Children’s experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning, such as persistence, initiative, and flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and behaviors affect their learning and development.

Role of the ECE Teacher Five interrelated dimensions:

1.Creating a caring community of learners

2.Teaching to enhance learning and development

3.Planning curriculum to meet important goals

4.Assessing children’s learning and development

5.Establishing reciprocal relationships with families

“Widening the Lens”Move beyond either/or thinking

To BOTH/AND THINKING when solving problems or making decision about practiceRejects simple answers to complex questionsRequires diverse perspectivesConsider several possible correct answers

Complexity and interrelationship among the principles that guide ECE practice

Research baseWell grounded research forms the basis of

NAEYCs position statements on developmentally appropriate practice

Provides a solid guidance for early childhood educators

DAP Research show gains in: Social-Emotional DevelopmentLearning

Knowing children +Knowing how to teach +Knowing what to teach +

= EFFECTIVE PRACTICE