Student
Teaching in
Early Childhood Education
ECE 488
Sections 01 & 02
Fall 2012
Table of Contents: ECE 488
Syllabus…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……..……5
Assignments Summary Form.……………………………………………..…………………………………………..………..13
Teacher Candidate Teaching Schedule for Semester………………….………………………………………..………..…14
Teacher Candidate Assignment Rubrics……………………………………………………………………………………15
Preschool Teacher Candidate – Midterm & Final Teaching Evaluation Short Form……………………………………...16
Day to Day Routines: Daily Paperwork & Daily Responsibilities…………………………………………………………...17
Documentation Habits of Mind Rubric……………………………………………………………………………………….....18
Inquiry Investigation Notebook/Log of Communication………………………………………………………………………19
Making Learning Visible – Documenting Work Rubric……………………………………………………………….………20
Communicating with Parents & Guardians: Home Visits Rubric…………………………………………………………....21
Communicating with Family Members: Parent – Teacher Conferences Rubric……………………………………….…..22
Communicating with Family Members: Baseline Portfolio Rubric………………………………………………………..…23
Communicating with Family Members: Midterm Portfolio Rubric………………………………….………………….….. 25
Communicating with Family Members: Final Portfolio Rubric………………………………………………………………27
Reflective Practitioner – Action Research Rubric…………………………………………………………………………….29
Reflective Practitioner – Reflection Journal Rubric………………………………………………………………………….30
Team Evaluation – Midterm………………………………………………………………………………………………….….31
Team Evaluation – Final……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…32
Policies/Procedures for the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education ……………………………………..33
Background of Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education…………………………………………………………….34
Quality of Early Childhood Education Program……………………………………………………………………….………34
History of the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education (ECE)…………………………………………………......34
Program Mission Statement…………………………………………………………………………………………………….34
Program Philosophy……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..34
Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education‘s Conceptual Framework……..…………………………………………34
Values of the Fishback Center for ECE………………………………………………………………………………………. 34
Fishback Center for ECE’s Curriculum Framework…………………………………………………………………………..35
Fishback Center for ECE’s Program Evaluation Process……………………………………………………………………35
Strategic Planning Process Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………35
Fishback Center Parent Advisory Council……………………………………………………………………………………..35
Role of the Teacher……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………35
Role of Documentation…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….36
Role of the Pedagogue…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….36
Role of the Art Studio……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……37
Role of the Mini-Studio/Project Rooms……..………………………………………………………………………………....37
Teacher candidates’ Responsibility in Learning/Teaching in the ECE Program…………………………………………..37
Expectations of Fully Participating in the Teacher candidate Teaching Experience………………………………..…….38
Requirements for all Teacher Candidates Enrolled at the Fishback Center for ECE…………………………………….39
Policy Regarding Being Reported for Child Abuse/Neglect, or Has a Criminal Record………………………………….39
Permission to Fingerprint & Conduct a Criminal Background Check………………………………………………………39
Administrative Rule of SD 76:42:01:05.01……………………………………………………………………………………39
SD Codified Law 26 – 6 – 14.10……………………………………………………………………………………………….40
SD Codified Law 26 – 6 – 14.11……………………………………………………………………………………………….40
State Offender Example…………………………………………………………………………………………………………41
Teacher Candidate Personnel Files……………………………………………………………………………………………41
Name Tag Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………41
Teacher Dress Code Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………….....41
Food & Drink Policy……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...42
Adult Belongings Policy …………………………………………………………………………..……………………....…….42
Time Away from Children Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………..42
Teacher Candidate Illness Policy………………………………………………………………………………………….…...42
Substitute Teachers………………………………………………………………………………………………………………42
School Closing……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……42
Teacher Candidate Evaluation Procedures……………………………………………………………………………………43
Organizational Chart & Responsibilities for Team Members………………………………………………………………..44
Job Responsibilities/Where to Ask Questions………………………………………………………………………………..45
Working with all Members of the Teaching Team……………………………………………………………………………47
Working with Members of the Professional Community…………………………………………………………………….47
Chain of Command Policy & Procedure………………………………………………………………………………….……47
Code of Ethical Conduct Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………47
Observing in the Observation Booths……………………………………………………………………………………..…. 47
Pet & Guest Animal Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………..….....47
Cleaning Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………………….............48
Maintenance & Renovation Policy……………………………………………………………………………………………..48
Smoke-Free Campus, & Outdoor Learning Environment Policy…………………………………………………………...48
1
Air Pollution Policy……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….48
Library Check Out Policy & Procedure……………………………………………………………………………...…………49
Laminator Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….……......49
Classroom Technology Equipment Policy…………………………………………………………………….….……….…..49
Classroom Picture Taking Procedures………………………………………………………………………....….…….……49
Classroom Computer Policy…………………………………………………………………………………….….……….….50
Resource Room Computer Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………......50
Use of Materials & Equipment Policy………………………………………………………………………………………….51
Newsletter Policy & Procedures………………………………………………………………………….…………………….51
Hallway Policy………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...........52
Activity Food Use Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………..........52
Sensory Table Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..…….52
School Snacks Policy……………………………………………………………………………………………………………52
Snack Considerations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..53
Brookings Family Resource Network USDA CACFP Guidelines………………………………………………………….53
Policies & Procedures for Working with Children & Families…………………………………………………………57
Maintenance of Children’s Files……………………………………………………………………………………………….57
Family-Home Connections Policy………………………………………………………………………………………..........58
Family Involvement in the Development of Curriculum Framework……………………………………………………….59
Children’s Identity in the Environment Procedure……………………………………………………………….…….…….59
Development of Individual Goals in the Curriculum…………………………………………………………………………59
Fishback Center for ECE Program Assessment Plan Policy………………………………………………………………59
Creating an Individualized Classroom Assessment Plan……………………………………………………………………61
Parent-Teacher Conference Policy………………………………………………………………………………………...….61
Child Abuse/Neglect Reporting…………………………………………………………………………………………...……61
General Signs of Child Sexual Abuse………………………………………………………………………………………...61
Physical/Medical Indicators…………………………………………………………………………………………………….62
Family Indicators of Sexual Abuse…………………………………………………………………………………………….63
SD Codified Law 26 – 8A – 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………..63
SD Codified Law 26 – 8A – 7…………………………………………………………………………………………………..63
SD Codified Law 26 – 8A – 8…………………………………………………………………………………………………..63
SD Codified Law 26 – 8A – 13…………………………………………………………………………………………………63
Four Types of Child Abuse……………………………………………………………………………………………………..64
Age Dating of Bruises……………………………………………………………………………………………………………64
Authorized Pick Up & Release of Children…………………………………………………………………………………...64
Health Care During the Day Policy………………………………………………………………………………………........64
Hand-washing Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….65
Disinfecting Toys Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………65
Standard Precautions – Wearing Gloves Policy……………………………………………………………………………..65
Diapering Procedures……………………………………………………………………………………………………………65
Diapering Environment………………………………………………………………………………………………………….66
Medication Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..66
Illness………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….…………….66
Communicable Diseases Policy……………………………………………………………………………….………………66
Daily Indoor & Outdoor Safety Check Policy & Procedure…………………………………………………………………68
Accidents, Emergency, & Natural Disaster Procedures…….………………………………………………….……………68
Accidents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….68
Emergency Evacuations…………………………………………………………………………………………….…………..68
Fire Evacuations……………………………………………………………………………………………………..………......68
Bomb Threat Evacuations………………………………………………………………………………………….…………...68
Natural Disaster Evacuations…………………………………………………………………………………..……………….68
Tornado Evacuations……………………………………………………………………………………………….……….......68
Utilities Failure Procedures………………………………………………………………………………………….……….….68
Security Threat Procedures………………………………………………………………………………………….……..……69
Lost/Missing Child Procedure…………………………………………………………………………………………..………69
Safety for Teaching Team Adults Policy………………………………………………………………………………………69
Daily Interactions with Families and Children……………………………………………………………………………69
Daily Health Check Arrival Procedure………………………………………………………………………………..............69
Daily Health Check Departure Procedure………………………………………………………………………………........70
Safety at Arrival and Departure…………………………………………………………………………………………..…….70
Children’s Items from Home………………………………………………………………………………………….….……..70
Supporting Relationships with Children Procedures…………………………………………………………………...70
Teaching Team-Child Ratios…………………………………………………………………………………………………..71
Discipline & Guidance………………………………………………………………………………………………………… .72
Classroom Limits……………………………...………………………………………………………………………..……….72
2
Guidelines to Class Room Management, Speech, and Actions…………………………………………………..………...72
Some Helpful Principles of Guidance……………………………………………………………………………………........73
Principles of Guidance – Things to Avoid…………………………………………………………………………………….73
General Guidelines for Expected Behavior and Limit Setting………………………………………………………………73
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Quiet Story Area……………………………………………….……...............74
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Manipulatives Area……………………………………………….……............74
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Art Area……………………………………………….…….............................74
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Sensory & Science Areas……………………………………………….……..75
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Dramatic Play Area……………………………………………….…………….75
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Block Corner…………………………………………………….……………….75
Large Motor Lab Limits…………………………………………………………………………………………..…..………….75
Safety Limits for Outdoor Play……………………………………………………………………………………….…………76
Playground Clean-Up at the End of Each Outside Time………………………………………………………….…………77
Teacher Candidates’ Day to Day Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………..……..78
Daily Responsibilities………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……78
Preparing the Environment at the Beginning of Each Day……………………………………………………………………78
Teacher Roles………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……78
Classroom Set Up…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......78
Team Meeting…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………78
End of the Day Activities………………………………………………………………………………………………………….79
Safety Checklist ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………79
Family-School Connections………………………………………………………………………………………….………….79
Newsletters…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….79
Daily Journals………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….79
Guide for Daily Evaluation………………………………………………………………………………………….……………80
Laboratory & Classroom Environment Maintenance………………………………………………………………………...81
Safety Checklist Form…………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..82
Rotation of Responsibilities for School Operation & Maintenance………………………………………………………....83
Cleaning & Sanitation Definitions…………………………………………………………………………………..................84
Cleaning & Sanitation Frequency Table………………………………………………………………………………………85
Sanitization Solution (Bleach Solution)………………………………………………………………………………………..86
Weekly Responsibilities……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…86
Rotated Weekly Maintained Areas - Description of Responsibilities………………………………………………………..86
Weekly Cleaning of Assigned Areas – Description of Responsibilities (with Table of Assigned Responsibilities).…..87
Center Budget Description……………………………………………………………………………………………………...88
Weekly Classroom Budget……………………………………………………………………………………………..............88
Format for Friday Morning Meetings……………………………………………………………………………………………88
Topics for Friday Morning Meetings..…………………………………………………………………………………………..89
Collaboration Format for Lab Classrooms……………………………………………………………………………….........89
Pedagogue Format & Expectations…………………………………………………………………………………………….89
Beginning of the Semester Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………………………...90
Guidelines for Home Visits………………………………………………………………………………………………………90
Procedure for Making the Visit…………………………………………………………………………………………………..90
Information to be Shared with Family Members………………………………………………………………………………90
Information & Handouts Given to Family Members…………………………………………………………………………..92
Paperwork to be Collected During Home Visit………………………………………………………………………………..92
Paperwork Collected on During Open House…………………………………………………………………………………92
Welcome-Parent Orientation to Classroom………………………………………………………………………….………..92
Curriculum Night………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….…..93
Family Gathering..…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….93
Planning
Responsibilities……………………………………………………………………………………………..………………….93
South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines Usage……………………………………….………………………….…………93
Reggio Inspired Elements Related to Planning………………………………………………………………………………93
Image of the Child……………………………………………………………………………………………………..93
Listening to the Children………………………………………………………………………………………………93
Image of the Teacher………………………………………………………………………………………………….94
Languages of Children…………………………………………………………………………………….…………..94
Relationships are the Foundation……………………………………………………………………………………94
Environment is the Third Teacher……………………………………………………………………………………94
Documentation Provides Visible Traces of Learning………………………………………………………………95
Negotiated Curriculum………………………………………………………………………………………………...95
Inquiry Investigations…………………………………………………………………………………………………..95
Materials Use in Classrooms & in Investigations……………………………………………………………………96
Developing and Using Effective Questions ……………………………………………………………………………..…….96
Assessment Plan……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...97
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Denver Developmental Screen…………………………………………………………………………….…………97
Collecting On-Going Data for Lesson Planning………………………………………………………………………………..97
Anecdotal Records……………………………………………………………………………………………..………97
Field Notes……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..97
Daily Journals…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….97
Other Daily Assessments Indirectly Assessing the Children………………………………………………………………..97
Planning Logs……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…97
Parent Observation Logs…………………………………………………………………………………………..….97
Confidential Information in Children’s Files………………….…………………………………………………………………98
Communicating Assessments to Families……………………………………………………………………………………..98
Using Media in the Classroom……………………………………………………………………………………………….…98
Planning Forms……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..........98
Multicultural Information & Forms…………………………………………………………………………………....98
Field Trips & Guest Speaker Forms………………………………………………………………………………...98
Reflective Practitioner Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………………………….98
Documenting – Providing Traces of the Work………………………………………………………………………………...98
Conversation Logs & Daily Observations……………………………………………………………………………………...98
Daily Traces…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..99
Daily Journals………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….99
Inquiry Investigation Notebooks………………………………………………………………………………………………...99
Documentation Panels……………………………………………………………………………………………………….….99
Action Research…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….…99
Self Reflections/Journals…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….101
Reflection Notes……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…101
Journal Assignment Description…………………………………………………………………………………………….….103
Mid-Semester Responsibilities:………………………………………………………………………………………………...103
Ongoing Family Questionnaires…………………………………………………………………………………………….….103
Developmental Electronic Portfolios…………………………………………………………………………………………..103
Forms:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….
Fall Home Visit Questionnaire……………………………………………………………………………………………….…106
Spring Home Visit Questionnaire……………………………………………………………………………………………...108
Summary Table of Fall Home Visit Questionnaire Information………………………………………………………….....110
Summary Table of Spring Home Visit Questionnaire Information………………………………………………………....111
Home Visit Information Sheets…………………………………………………………………………………………….......112
Parents and Teachers as Partners Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………………..114
Parent Teacher Conference Report…………………………………………………………………………………………...116
All Parent-Teacher Conference Evaluation Summary………………………………………………………………………118
Parent Teacher Conference Parent Evaluations……………………………………………………………………………..120
Conversation Log………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 121
Revisiting Web Form………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....122
Inquiry Implementation Form……………………………………………………………………………………………………123
Long Term Investigation Form………………………………………………………………………………………………….124
Overall Lesson Plan Form………………………………………………………………………………………………………125
Weekly Ongoing Adjustment Form #1…………………………………………………………………………………………126
Weekly Ongoing Adjustment Form #2…………………………………………………………………………………………127
Lesson Planning Log Form…………………………………………………………………………………………………......130
Possibilities for the Week Form…………………………………………………………………………………..……………131
Toddler Morning Classroom Lesson Plan……………………………………………………………………………………..133
Multicultural Analysis Forms…………………………………………………………………………………………………….136
Guest Speaker Lesson Plan Form……………………………………………………………………………………………..137
Field Trip Lesson Plan Form……………………………………………………………………………………………………138
Field Trip Door Information Form………………………………………………………………………………………………139
Teacher candidate Self Evaluation Form (Week 1)………………………………………………………………………….140
Teacher candidate Self Evaluation Form (Week 2)………………………………………………………………………….145
Abuse & Neglect Information………………………………………………………………………………………………. ….150
Alphabet……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..........151
Teacher candidate Teaching Evaluation Form……………………………………………………………………………….152
4
ECE 488: Student Teaching in Early Childhood Education; Sections 1 & 2 (6 credits)
Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership
College of Education and Human Sciences
Fall 2012
Mentor Teacher:
Office & Office Hours:
Office Phone:
Email address:
Class Time and meeting place:
SDSU Preschool Coordinator: Laura Gloege, (605) 688 – 6477, laura.gloege@sdstate.edu
Fishback Center for ECE Director: Kay Cutler, (605) 688 – 6797, kay.cutler@sdstate.edu
Course Description: Plan and conduct various phases of early childhood programs. Teacher
candidates take increasing responsibility, finally taking complete charge of the program. Weekly
conferences are held with the Mentor Teacher, fellow teacher candidates, and a pedagogue.
Rationale: ECE 488 Teacher candidate Teaching in Early Childhood Education is a course in which the
upper-level ECE majors, as Teacher Candidates, are exposed to the practical experience of working in a
preschool program in the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education (ECE). This course is
cumulative in nature; teacher candidates are expected to use teaching skills developed in previous
courses that are required prior to this course. The Fishback Center for ECE’s philosophy embraces social
constructivism and inquiry-based learning which includes Reggio-Inspired elements. Teacher candidates
use the theoretical assumptions of Gardner, Piaget, Erikson, Bruner, Vygotsky, Bronfenbrennor, Bowlby,
Bandura, Elkind, Kamii, Dewey, Devries, Case, Malaguzzi, and Rinaldi. Teacher candidates take on
increasing responsibility, and, as a team, assume complete responsibility for planning and implementing a
preschool program for young children. Teacher candidates will be exposed to and have a global
awareness of current educational strategies, methods, and issues. Teacher candidates will be exposed
to differences and similarities in growth and development among cultures, as well as relevant issues
concerning children with special needs. In addition to the Monday through Thursday program session
times, the course requires a two one-hour meeting times each week to supplement the preschool
experience, a ½ hour collaboration time with lab teams who share the same space, and an hour meeting
with a pedagogue. During the semester, one of the one hour meetings will occur on Friday mornings at
8:15 am in PC 117 or the art studio (determined first day of class) for the Teaching Team Meetings.
Individual laboratory meetings and pedagogue times will each occur weekly and are scheduled to meet
the needs of the individuals involved.
Course Objectives:
Please note that each objective for this course aligns with a standard from the National Association for
the Education of Young Children’s Pre-professional Standards. The NAEYC standards also align with
the INTASC and NCATE standards..
 National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards,
http://www.ncate.org/standard/m_stds.htm
 Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards,
http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Publications/InTASC_Model_Core_Teaching_Standards_A_Res
ource_for_State_Dialogue_(April_2011).html
 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards,
http://www.naeyc.org/ncate/
Upon completion of this class the teacher candidate will:
1. Demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain positive relationships
with families.
NAEYC Standard 2: Building Family
and Community Relationships
2. Demonstrate effective classroom management skills.
NAEYC Standard 4: Using
Developmentally Effective Approaches
3. Demonstrate the ability to appropriately manage staff relationships.
NAEYC Standard 6: Becoming a
Professional
5
4. Demonstrate the ability to effectively evaluate the appropriateness of
the program and the functioning of self and co-workers.
5. Demonstrate professional characteristics and skills.
6. Identify typical and atypical behaviors and establish settings that
enhance the child’s development.
7. Demonstrate competence in planning, implementing, and evaluating
programs with developmentally appropriate curriculum.
8. Specify goals to meet individual learning needs.
9. Identify and comprehend special needs and their diversity both
individual and family.
10. Comprehend cultural diversity and its implications, support home
language preservation, and promote an anti-biased approach.
11. Use manipulative materials and play as instruments for enhancing
development and learning.
12. Prescribe meaningful integrated learning experiences and activities
by using the central concepts and tools of inquiry in curriculum
content areas including language and literacy, mathematics,
science, health, safety, nutrition, social studies, art, music, drama,
and movement.
13. Facilitate cooperation between home, school, and community to
support the child’s development, learning, and well-being.
14. Link families with family–oriented services based on identified
resources, priorities, and concerns.
15. Use authentic, performance-based assessment to monitor and
report child progress to families and school personnel.
16. Integrate technology into teaching and learning.
NAEYC Standard 3: Observing,
Documenting, and Assessing to
Support Young Children and Families,
and NAEYC Standard 6: Becoming a
Professional
NAEYC Standard 6: Becoming a
Professional
NAEYC Standard 1: Promoting Child
Development and Learning
NAEYC Standard 4: Using
Developmentally Effective Approaches,
Standard 5: Using Content Knowledge
to Build Meaningful Curriculum, and
Standard 3: Observing, Documenting,
and Assessing to Support Young
Children and Families.
NAEYC Standard 3: Observing,
Documenting, and Assessing to
Support Young Children and Families.
NAEYC Standard 1: Promoting Child
Development and Learning, NAEYC
Standard 3: Observing, Documenting,
and Assessing to Support Young
Children and Families.
NAEYC Standard 2: Building Family
and Community Relationships
NAEYC Standard 4: Using
Developmentally Effective Approaches
and NAEYC Standard 5: Using
Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful
Curriculum
NAEYC Standard 5: Using Content
Knowledge to Build Meaningful
Curriculum
NAEYC Standard 2: Building Family
and Community Relationships
NAEYC Standard 2: Building Family
and Community Relationships
NAEYC Standard 3: Observing,
Documenting, and Assessing to
Support Young Children and Families.
NAEYC Standard 4: Using
Developmentally Effective Approaches
6
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT OF TEACHER CANDIDATE LEARNING
A.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Prompt and regular attendance at lab is required to maximize the learning experience for both when the
children are present in the laboratory and during the All Teaching Team Meetings on Friday Mornings. If a
teacher candidate cannot attend lab because of a situation beyond his/her control, it is necessary to
inform the Mentor Teacher and Preschool Coordinator or Preschool Director in sufficient time (ideally at
least an hour before class begins) to make arrangements to cover the assigned tasks. You are allowed 2
EXCUSED absences, such as illness, death of family member, or university approved absences. After
that, you must put in comp. time at the school. Your Mentor Teacher will arrange make up compensation
time. UNEXCUSED or UNREPORTED absences will result in 50 points per day deductions from total
class score. This could adversely affect your grade. You must put in comp. time for all unexcused or
unreported absences. If more than 4 days of class are missed for any reason, a "Fail" grade will
result. Only under extraordinary circumstances would this policy not be implemented.
Teacher candidates are required to maintain a timecard upon arrival. Failure to maintain timecard
routinely will result in deduction of points (1 point per day). For every accumulation of 10 minutes that a
teacher candidate is late, a point (1) will be deducted.
B.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Accept the responsibility of working as team member, either as a supporting member of
the team or a team leader.
Actively engage in the role of teacher researcher by observing and collecting data to
inform your teaching and planning, as well as to complete assigned reports.
Take increasing responsibility for planning and implementing:
a.
activities for particular areas in the classroom.
b.
activities for a portion of a week.
c.
activities for the playground (dramatic play, sand areas, snow areas, hill area).
Provide mentorship to
a.
involve all team members in teaching plans.
b.
involve all team members in observation assignments.
c.
model professionalism to all team members.
d.
integrate all team members into classroom in appropriate ways.
Take increasing responsibility for total operation of the program as assigned by Mentor
Teacher including:
a.
preparation of a written lesson plan (i.e. provocations & evaluation questions,
meeting individual needs/interests, activities within the classroom and for project
experiences, assignment of team duties (teaching and maintaining the
environment), special arrangements, and evaluation of each day).
b.
selection and maintenance of all supplies and equipment used in classroom.
c.
a morning planning session and an ending reflective evaluation session each day.
d.
and other requirements for your particular classroom.
Assist Mentor Teacher in the development of Family Involvement & Home-School
Connections Plan for the semester which includes:
a.
providing observation opportunities for parents.
b.
communicating information about curriculum to parents (Family Curriculum Night,
Material Exploration Nights, and Family Investigation Nights), both formally and
informally, and conducting at least 3 parent – teacher conferences.
c.
communicating information about child's developmental functioning to parents,
both formally and informally.
d.
making available resources that will enhance parents ability to contribute to their
child's development.
e.
visiting the homes of assigned children and completing home visit reports.
f.
actively responding to families’ interests on the Family Involvement Survey by
incorporating them into the curriculum.
7
g.
h.
i.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
C.
completing children's developmental evaluations as assigned.
completing electronic portfolios for assigned children.
participating in family activities – such as the Center-Wide Family Meeting, Family
Curriculum Nights, Family Gatherings, and the Celebration of Learning Exhibit
Reception.
Read all assigned articles, reflect upon them in your journal, and be prepared to discuss
them in your team discussion meetings and the All Teaching Team Meeting on Fridays
mornings.
Complete all assignments.
Participate in the All Teaching Team Meetings on Fridays, weekly meetings with Mentor
Teacher, weekly Collaboration Time with Teams who share each lab, and weekly
meetings with your Pedagogue.
Have a current (within the last two years) physical examination and a TB exam. This
requirement must be met before the first day of children's attendance. This service can
be obtained at Health Service for a minimal charge.
Hold current CPR & Pediatric First Aid certification before the first day of children's
attendance.
ASSESSMENT OF TEACHER CANDIDATE LEARNING:
Teaching
Teaching Evaluation 1 (mid – semester or after)
Teaching Evaluation 2 (final)
Day to Day Routines
Daily Paperwork
Daily Responsibilities
Lesson Planning & Documentation
Lesson Planning & Planning Log Contributions
Documentation Panels
Documentation of Inquiry Investigation Book
Documentation of Investigation Small Books
Communication with Parents
Home visits
Parent - teacher conferences with 2 graded
Daily Journals
Electronic Portfolios (midterm and final grades)
Reflective Practitioner
Action Research Group Contribution
Reflection Journal
Team Group Evaluation
Grading: Demonstrated competency on all assignments is expected and must be completed and
achieved above an 80%. An assignment with a 79% or below will result in redoing the assignment
to meet competency standards. Assignments must be completed by the due date and late work
will only be accepted at the discretion of the Mentor Teacher when the Teacher candidate has
spoken to the Mentor Teacher prior to the due date of the assignment.
If assignments are not turned in, an automatic F for the class will result for the semester.
Repeatedly failing an assignment or particular aspects of Teacher candidate may result in failing
the entire course; this is at the discretion of the Mentor Teacher, the Preschool Coordinator,
and/or the Director.
As noted on the attached check sheet, a teacher candidate’s grade may be affected by his or her
dispositions (behavior and attitudes) related to this class, regardless of academic performance.
Percentages for Grades
93 - 100% = A
85 – 92% = B
77 – 84% = C
69 – 76% = D
68% or below = F
8
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Beaty, J. (2009). Observing Development of Young Child. 7th Ed. Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Merill Prentice Hall.
Allen, K. & Marotz, L. (2010). Developmental Profiles: Pre-birth through eight. (6th Ed.) NY:
Delmar.
Hill, L., Stremmel, A., and Fu, V. (2005). Teaching as Inquiry: Rethinking Curriculum in Early
Childhood Education. New Jersey: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.
Topal, C. & Gandini, L. (1999). Beautiful Stuff: Learning with Found Materials. Massachusetts:
Davis Publications.
Topal, C. (1983). Children, Clay, and Sculpture. Massachusetts: Davis Publications
SUGGESTED REFERENCES:
Chaille, C. (2007). Constructivism across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms : Big
Ideas as Inspiration New Jersey: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.
Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). Anti-bias curriculum: Tools for empowering young children.
Washington DC: NAEYC.
Gandini, L., Hill, L., Cadwell, L. & Schwall, C. (2005). In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from
the Atelier of Reggio Emilia. New York: Teachers College Press.
Harris Helm, J. & Katz, L. (2001). Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early
Years. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hubbard, R. & Power, B. (1999). Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher Researchers.
Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Kolbe, U. (2004). Rapuzel's Supermarket. Australia: Peppinot Press.
Kolbe, U. (2007). It’s Not a Bird Yet: Drama of Drawing. Australil: Peppinot Press.
Smith, D. & Goldhaber, J. (2005). Poking, pinching, and pretending: Documenting toddlers’
explorations with clay. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Starbuck, S., Olthof, M., & Midden, K. (2002). Hollyhocks and Honeybees: Garden Projects for
Young Children. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Worth, K. & Grollman, S. (2003). Worms, Shadows, and Whirlpools: Science in the Early
Childhood Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing.
Honesty Policy:
In written papers and other class projects (electronic format, hard copy, or otherwise), it is unethical and
unprofessional to present the work done by others in a manner that indicates that the teacher candidate is
presenting the material as his or her original idea or work. Cheating, assisting others, or plagiarizing on
tests, quizzes, problems, research papers, or other assignments will result in written notification to the
teacher candidate involved, the academic advisor, the department that offers the course, the appropriate
College or Administrative Dean, and parent/guardian (when teacher candidate is a dependent for financial
aid purposes). Plagiarizing is submitting uncited materials as the teacher candidate’s own work, which
was in fact produced by others. Examples include uncited work from journals, books, work of others, or
electronic sources.*
In addition, the penalty for academic dishonesty may be one or more of the following, at the discretion of
the professor, and based on the seriousness of the situation:
1.
2.
3.
A grade of zero on the test, quiz, homework, problem, or other assignment of the teacher
candidate(s) involved.
A grade of F for the course.
Referral of the matter of the Teacher candidate Conduct Committee or the Graduate School
for disciplinary action.
Teacher candidates have the right to appeal an academic dishonesty charge. Procedures for this process
are available in the College Department Offices and the Dean’s Office. No final course grade will be given
until all avenues of appeal have been completed or the case resolved.
If repeated offenses occur in either a specific class or in two or more different classes, the matter will be
automatically referred to the Teacher candidate Conduct Committee/Graduate School.
*World Wide Web (www), CD-Rom, video and audio materials, graphic materials, etc.
9
ADA Statement:
This course acknowledges the importance of ADA requirements. Any teacher candidate who feels s/he
may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact, at the beginning of the
semester - if not before, the Coordinator of Disability Services privately to discuss your specific needs.
Please contact Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks, the Coordinator of Disability Services at 605.688.4504 (voice) or
605.688.4394 (TTD), or at the office of Disability Services in Student Union, Room 065 to coordinate
reasonable accommodations for teacher candidates with documented disabilities. For more information,
please see SDSU's website: http://www.sdstate.edu/campus/disability/index.cfm
Child Abuse and Neglect
If a teacher candidate suspects child maltreatment while involved in a field experience associated with a
course requirement, he or she should report such an observation to the supervisor of the setting where
this field experience is taking place. The teacher candidate is also requested to report such an incident to
his or her instructor.
Academic Freedom in Learning
Under the Board of Regents and University Policy, teacher candidate academic performance may be
evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on opinions or conduct in matter unrelated to academic
standards. Teacher candidates should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in
any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, but they are responsible for
learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled. Teacher candidates who believe
that an academic evaluation reflects prejudiced or capricious consideration of teacher candidate opinions
or conduct unrelated to academic standards should first contact the instructor of the course to initiate a
review of the evaluation. If the teacher candidate remains unsatisfied, the teacher candidate may contact
the department head and/or the dean of the college which offers the class to initiate a review of the
evaluation.
Dispositions Review/Rubric Each teacher candidate in the ECE Teacher Education Program will be
reviewed according to the rubric by the instructor. When a full committee review is merited, the committee
will be briefed on the teacher candidate's behavior/dispositions from this course and the committee will
make a decision whether the teacher candidate will continue in the program based upon application
information, disposition review, and portfolio.
Regardless of academic performance, evaluations of a teacher candidate’s behavior with this rubric may
affect his or her academic performance.
 Behaviors listed in the “acceptable” column indicate expectations of teacher candidate behavior.
Observations of these behaviors will not affect a teacher candidate’s grade.
 Observations of behaviors described in the “moderately concerning,” “significantly concerning,”
and “unacceptable” columns will lead to communication with the teacher candidate by the course
instructor during the semester. The teacher candidate’s failure to remedy the concerns raised
will lead to discussion of him or her when the teacher candidate is routinely reviewed by the Early
Childhood Education Committee that assesses teacher candidates for acceptance into the Early
Childhood Education Program and approves promotion to Pre Service Levels 3 and 4.
 Ongoing “moderate concerns” may affect a teacher candidate’s grade. “Significantly concerning”
or “unacceptable” dispositions will affect a teacher candidate’s grade or lead to failure in a course
and arrest progression in the major of Early Childhood Education.
10
Rubric for Dispositions
The South Dakota Department of Education and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education require teacher
education programs to develop and assess teacher candidate knowledge, skills, and “attitudes” or “dispositions.” These attitudes
or dispositions are outlined in ten standards developed by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment Support Consortium (INTASC).
Each of the criteria listed in the below reflects one or more of the INTASC standards. For a complete description of each of these
standards, please see http://www.ccsso.org/intascst.html
Acceptable
Moderately
Significantly
Unacceptable
Concerning
Concerning
Accepts responsibility for
Plagiarism, dishonesty
Integrity
performance
NAEYC Std #6
Is positive and reflective in
Tolerates feedback, but does
Is negative in receiving
Is inattentive and hostile
Response to
response to feedback,
not demonstrate genuine
feedback and discounts
when feedback is provided,
feedback
discusses it with an open
willingness to discuss it with a
what is offered without
resists suggestions and
attitude, and attempts to
focus upon how it may be
considering its potential
does not attempt to
NAEYC Std #6
integrate its observations
useful to future performance,
for improving
integrate them into future
into future performance
shows marginal effort toward
performance
performance
integrating observations of how
possible improvements in
performance may be achieved
Is polite, uses social
Frequently fails to demonstrate
Typically makes demands Usually is abrasive and
Respect and
social etiquette, fails to
without social etiquette
demanding and fails to
courtesy exhibited etiquette in written and oral
expression, demonstrates
productively integrate personal
and responds to others in
demonstrate consideration
in interactions
productive collaboration in
efforts with group projects and
insensitive manner,
of the feelings,
with peers and
cooperative ventures, is
is not timely in meeting
contributes to group
perspectives, and concerns
faculty
respectful of time sensitive
expectations
activities in an
of others with whom
expectations
oppositional manner and
interactions take place,
NAEYC Std #6
impedes progress with
sabotages group
disrespectful response to
productivity and impedes
time requirements
achievement of its goal
Shows eager
Appears interested in meeting
Periodically is abrasive or
Demonstrates negative
Attitude towards
responsiveness and an
minimum requirements for
oppositional to course
response to academic
learning
enthusiastic response to
desired grade
requirements
expectations and subject
material and experiences
matter presented
NAEYC Std #6
presented, expresses
concern in a constructive
manner
Communicates concerns
Evades direct
Expression of
directly with those involved
communication and
concerns
with the difficulty
discusses difficulties with
experienced
those unrelated to concern
NAEYC Std #6
and/or in a manner that
does not accommodate
expeditious remedies
Complies with behavioral
Defies, disrupts, or violates
Demonstration of
standards and norms of
norms of accepted
accepted
responsible citizenship in
expectations of responsible
behavioral norms
the classroom, university,
behavior
of society
community, and society at
NAEYC Std #6
large
Utilizes developmentally
Fails to grasp understanding of
Shows lack of sensitivity
Accepts approaches to
Attitude towards
appropriate approach to
the relevance of
and empathy when
interacting with young
children
education, appreciates
developmental processes
considering or interacting
children that reflect
individual variation among
when considering children
with children
maltreatment
NAEYC Std #6
children, articulates the
significance of early
childhood for the future of a
child, family, and society
Demonstrates interest in
Expresses negative response
Questions relevance of
Refuses involvement with
Commitment to
involvement in activities and
to involvement in opportunities
opportunities for
professional development
Profession
events that foster
for professional development
professional development activities
professional development
required by class expectations
NAEYC Std #6
Approved by ECE Faculty 8/21/03. Revised by ALW 8/29/03
11
Teacher
Education at
South Dakota
State University
We value faculty, teacher candidates and
school and community partners who are:
Responsive: Educators respond to
the unique qualities (strengths,
needs and interests) of the individual
learners and the environment and
broader context in which learning occurs.
Collaborative: Educators work
together with their peers, other
adults, the community and learners
to plan learning experiences, engage
students, and monitor progress.
Innovative: Educators are not
limited or static in their teaching
strategies and approaches. Rather,
their decisions and practices are both
creative and grounded in research.
Committed: Educators recognize
and appreciate the time and energy
needed to plan responsive and
engaging activities for their learners.
The following beliefs guide our practices:
Development in Context: Learning is
responsive to the developmental
characteristics of the learner in a social and
cultural context.
Constructivism: Learning expands upon
previous cognitive understanding through
authentic experiences.
Inquiry: Learning capitalizes on the innate
curiosity of youth as they find answers to
their questions about the world.
InTASC
Model Core Teaching Standards
The Learner and Learning
Standard #1: Learner Development. The teacher understands how
learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning
and development vary individually within and across the cognitive,
linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and
implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning
experiences.
Standard #2: Learning Differences. The teacher uses
understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and
communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that
enable each learner to meet high standards.
Standard #3: Learning Environments. The teacher works with
others to create environments that support individual and
collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social
interaction, active engagement in learning, and self motivation.
Content
Standard #4: Content Knowledge. The teacher understands the
central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the
discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences
that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to
assure mastery of the content.
Standard #5: Application of Content. The teacher understands
how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage
learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem
solving related to authentic local and global issues.
Instructional Practice
Standard #6: Assessment. The teacher understands and uses
multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own
growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s
and learner’s decision making.
Standard #7: Planning for Instruction. The teacher plans
instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous
learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas,
curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as
knowledge of learners and the community context.
Standard #8: Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands
and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners
to develop deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful
ways.
Professional responsibility
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice. The
teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses
evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the
effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families,
other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to
meet the needs of each learner.
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks
appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take
responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners,
families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community
members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the
profession.
12
Assignments Summary Form
Assignments
Teaching in the
Classroom
Teaching Evaluation 1
Teaching Evaluation 2
Day to Day Routines
Daily Paperwork
Daily Responsibilities
Lesson Planning &
Documentation
Lesson Planning &
Planning Log Contributions
Documentation
 Panels
 Inquiry Investigation
Books
 Small Books
Communication with
Parents
Home Visits
Daily Journals
Parent-Teacher
Conferences
Baseline Portfolio Review
Midterm Portfolio Review
Final Portfolio Review
Reflective Practitioners
Reflection Journal
Action Research
Contribution
Team Group Evaluation
Deductions: 50
POINTS/DAY FOR
UNEXCUSED or UNREPORTED
ABSENCES, 1 POINT PER DAY
FOR LATE ASSIGNMENTS,
AND/OR EVERY 10 MINUTES
FOR LATE ARRIVAL 1 POINT
WILL BE DEDUCTED
Total – 935 points
Available
100
200
20
25
60
40 – Process
50 – Making Learning Visible
80 – Log/Notebook
20
30
40
45
52
63
30
50
15 (Midterm)/15 (Final)
Achieved
Comments
TEACHER CANDIDATE TEACHING SCHEDULE FOR Fall 2012
Date
# of days
Teaching Role:
-Lead Teacher
Sept. 5-6
2 DAYS (1 Open
House Day & 1
Full Day)
Mentor Teacher
Sept. 10-13
4 DAYS
Mentor Teacher
Sept. 17-20
4 DAYS
Mentor Teacher &
Sept. 24-27
4 DAYS
Mentor Teacher &
Oct. 1-4
4 DAYS
Mentor Teacher &
Oct. 9-11
3 DAYS
Mentor Teacher &
Oct. 15-18
4 DAYS
Oct. 22-23
2 DAYS
Oct. 29-Nov. 1
4 DAYS
Nov. 5-8
4 DAYS
Nov. 13-15
3 DAYS
Nov. 19-20
2 DAYS
Nov. 26-29
4 DAYS
Dec. 3-4
2 DAYS
Teaching Role:
-Research
Documenter
Teaching Role:
-Research Analyzer
Lead
Teacher’s
Phone #
14
Teacher Candidate
Assignment
Rubrics
15
ECE 488: Preschool Teacher Candidate – Midterm & Final Teaching Evaluation Short Form
Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education
(See Full Teaching Evaluation & Instructions on pg. 152)
Term:_______________________________
Teacher candidate:_____________________________
Group:____________________
Supervising Teacher: _____________________
Classroom/Age
NAEYC Standard #1: Promoting Child Development & Learning
_____ _____ 1a. Knows and understands young children’s characteristics and needs
_____ _____1b. Knows and understands the multiple influences on development and learning
_____ _____ 1c. Uses developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning
environments
NAEYC Standard #2: Building Family & Community Relationships
_____ _____2a. Knows about and understands family and community characteristics
_____ _____2b. Supports and empowers families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships
_____ _____2c. Involves families and communities in their children’s development and learning
NAEYC Standard #3: Observing, Documenting, & Assessing to Support Young Children & Families
_____ _____3a. Understands the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment – including its uses in development of
appropriate goals, curriculum, and teaching strategies for young children
_____ _____3b. Knows about assessment partnerships with families and with professional colleagues to build
effective learning environments.
_____ _____3c. Knows about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and
approaches, including the use of technology in documentation, assessment, and data collection.
_____ _____3d. Understands and practices responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each child,
including the use of assistive technology for children with disabilities.
NAEYC Standard #4: Using Developmentally Effective Approaches
_____ _____4a. Understands and uses positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation for their
work with young children.
_____ _____4b. Knows, understands, and uses effective strategies and tools for early education, including
appropriate uses of technology.
_____ _____4c. Uses a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching/learning approaches
_____ _____4d. Reflects on own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child.
NAEYC Standard #5: Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum
_____ _____5a. Understands content knowledge and resources in academic disciplines.
_____ _____5b. Knows and uses the central concepts, inquiry tools, and structures of content areas or academic
disciplines
_____ _____5c. Uses own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design,
implement, and evaluate developmentally meaningful and challenging curriculum for each child.
NAEYC Standard #6: Becoming a Professional
_____ _____6a. Identifies and involves oneself with the early childhood field
_____ _____6b. Knows about and upholding ethical standards and other professional guidelines
_____ _____ 6c. Engages in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice
_____ _____ 6d. Integrates knowledgeable, reflective, and critical perspectives on early education
_____ _____6e. Engages in informed advocacy for children and the profession
Supervising Teacher Overall Comments:
Midterm - Signed:
Date:
Final - Signed:
Date:
16
Day-to-Day Routines: Daily Paperwork & Daily Responsibilities
(Instructions & Information about Day to Day Routines & Responsibilities found on pg. 78)
Assigned Role
Daily
Responsibilities
Week of:
Points per week
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
17
Documentation – Habits of Mind Rubric
(For Information and Instructions see pg. 95-96)
Documentation Process – Habits of Mind when Using Documentation for Teaching &
Learning:
Daily Collection of Documentation
Discerns well what to document throughout the day
Captures children’s thinking and learning throughout the day
Capturing children’s problem solving & dialogue
Engages in documenting children’s ideas on a regular basis
Takes high quality pictures and videos of children
Captures narrative and provides analysis when appropriate
3
3
3
3
3
3
______
______
______
______
______
______
3
3
______
______
3
______
Engages in Dialogue with Other Teachers
Discusses with others the daily focal point of documentation
3
Incorporates SD Early Learning Guidelines information when appropriate 3
Regularly participates in the inquiry process on Friday mornings
7
______
______
______
Uses Documentation as a Curriculum Development Tool
Regularly revisits documentation with children
Regularly revisits documentation with other professionals
Develops next lesson planning steps based
on documentation of children’s conversations
Habits of the Mind/Process Total:
Making Learning Visible (i.e. panels, small books,
notebooks, theatre production
Documentation Log/Notebook
40
______
50
80
______
______
Total Documentation Points
170
______
Comments:
18
Inquiry Investigation Notebook (Preschool Classrooms)/Log of Communication (Toddler
Classroom):
Teacher Narrative of the Inquiry Investigation/Daily Exploration
6
______
Documentation & Samples of Children’s Work
6
______
Data from the Daily Journals
6
______
Included Conversation Logs Showing Children’s Thinking & Learning
6
______
Took appropriate notes regarding context before & after
Detailed capture of children’s conversation & thoughts
Included Webs & Teacher Reflections from Related Discussions
6
______
Included Individual Teacher Reflections about Work
6
______
Grammar & Spelling
12
______
Process Through Out Semester Check & Shared with Pedagogue in Meetings:
2 Week Check
______________________________
4 Week Check
______________________________
6 Week Check
______________________________
8 Week Check
______________________________
10 Week Check
______________________________
12 Week Check
______________________________
Total:
24
______
Electronic Version of the Notebook Data on CD/DVD
Printer Version to Mentor Teacher
Total Points
4
4
80
______
______
______
19
Making Learning Visible – Documented Work Rubric
Children’s Work
Showed Children’s Thinking, Learning, & Problem Solving
Provides Samples of Children’s Work & Conversations
Shows Evidence of Revisiting Work, Conversations, & Ideas
5
5
4
______
______
______
4
4
______
______
4
4
______
______
Organization & Flow
Organized & Appealing Layout
Easy to Read (Font size, Sentence Lay Out)
High Quality Photos to Show Thinking & Learning
2
2
4
______
______
______
Grammar & Spelling
12
______
Total Points
50
______
Teacher’s Analysis
Selected Teacher Narrative of the Inquiry Investigation
Included Selected Conversation Logs - Children’s Thinking & Learning
Took appropriate notes regarding context before & after
Detailed capture of children’s conversation & thoughts
Includes Teachers’ Interpretation, Thinking, & Learning
Articulated Reflection Analysis which includes SD Early Learning Guidelines
Comments:
20
Communications with Parents & Guardians: Home Visit Rubric
(For Information and Instructions, see pg. 90-92)
Possible Points
Made Arrangements for Home Visits
Arrangements were made to fit the parents’ schedule
1
Pertinent planning information for visit shared with the parents
1
Reports Pertinent Information to Family
Parents’ signed off that they received information
Information related to school
Cultural information summarized
Child’s developmental ability summarized
Points Received
_____________
_____________
4
_____________
Collects All Required Forms at Open House & First Day of School
All forms accurately completed
1
Mentor Teacher does not have to provide extra copies
1
_____________
_____________
Filing Information in Children’s File
Forms turned in to children’s file
Forms organized in children’s file
Form checklist completed to make sure all is turned in.
1
1
1
_____________
_____________
_____________
Home Visit Reflection/Summary Sheet
Parents’ responses to questionnaire accurately noted
Family involvement interests noted
Completeness of information in summary
Used professional terminology
Used accurate spelling & punctuation
Used complete sentence structures/clarity of thoughts
Used correct forms with correct name(s) included
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
Total Points
21
______________
Comments:
21
Communication with Family Members: Parent-Teacher Conferences Rubric
(For Information and Instructions, see pg. 116-120)
Professionalism
Dressed & Had Proper - Body Language
Conference Outline Prepared Prior to Meeting
1
1
____________
____________
Notification to Parents
Sign Up Sheets Available 2 Weeks Prior
Reminder Notes Sent Home
Letter Home of Conference Requirements
Verbal Notification
1
1
1
1
____________
____________
____________
____________
Timely & Accurate Conference Arrangements
Adequate Room Reserved Prior to Conference
Working Video/Audio Equipment In Place Ahead of Time
Back Up Room Arrangements Made
Back Up Equipment Arrangements Made
1
1
1
1
____________
____________
____________
____________
Conversation During Conference
Provides Opportunity for Balanced Conversation
Supports Two-Way Conversation
Responds to Parents’ Concerns
Followed Up with Parents’ Questions
Spoke Professionally in Conversation
Remained Confidential by Not Talking about Other Children
2
2
2
2
2
2
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
Quality of Written Reflection
Completeness
Professional Terminology
Spelling & Punctuation
Sentence Structure/Clarity of Thought
2
2
2
2
____________
____________
____________
____________
Video/Audio Quality
Parent(s) & Teacher can be seen
Audio reception is clear
2
1
____________
____________
Turned In Required Amounts of Assignment
Best & Worst Conferences
(Video & Audio)
Parent Evaluations
1
1
5
____________
____________
____________
40
___________
_____________
_____________
Overall Evaluation
Deductions for Late Work (5 points per day)
Total Points
22
Communication with Family Members – Baseline Portfolio Rubric
Plan for Individual Child
Goals & Dreams collected at Home Visit (revisited in the spring)
Teacher discussion of individual plan
2 points
2 points
Goals – Chosen Individually for Each Child
Expectations for Baseline Observations – Quality photos are used, that are cropped & can see child’s
face, quality observations are made using parent/teacher goals and based on child’s development. The
observations should be dated, there is an explanation for what is happening in the photo & why it is
important to the child’s development. Include work samples when appropriate. It is important that the
baseline data indicates where the child is at the beginning of the semester for each selected area.
Portfolio Introduction Information
Title Slide (include Name of child & date or add date of new semester)
An About Me Slide
Purpose of Portfolios Slide
0 points
Inquiry-Based Learning Philosophy Slide
0 points
Goals (may all be on same slide)
Parents’ Goals Outline
Teachers’ Goals Outline
Reflects Plan for Individual Child (reflects adjustments made at mid-year)
Baseline Data Collected & Shown
Social Emotional Development Domain
Social Emotional Development Definition - Focus for goals
Baseline Data Summary – Description of where the child is developmentally
for this area – this summary should discuss many areas in social emotional
development & then include notes of ways teachers could support this
development throughout the semester.
Baseline Data: observation and description
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to social emotional development
goals – chose 2 from list).
Physical Development Domain
Physical Development Definition – Focus for goals
Baseline Data Summary – Description of where the child is developmentally
for this area – this summary should discuss many areas in physical
development & then include notes of ways teachers could support this
development throughout the semester.
Baseline Data: observation and description
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to physical developmental goals – fine & gross
motor).
1 point
_____________1 point
1 point
1 point
2 points
_____________3 points
3 points
_____________3 points
_____________3 points
3 points
3 points
Cognitive Development Domain
Cognitive Development Definition – Focus for goals – choose one developmental topic for each area
below and create an observation for each developmental topic.
Baseline Data Summary – Description of where the child is developmentally
for this area – this summary should discuss many areas in cognitive
development & then include notes of ways teachers could support this
23
development throughout the semester.
_____________3 points
Early Mathematics
Baseline Data: observation and description
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – mathematics & goals).
Communication & Language
Baseline Data: observation and description
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – communication
& language goals).
Early Reading & Literacy
Baseline Data: observation and description
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – reading & literacy
& goals).
Early Science & Inquiry
Baseline Data: observation and description
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – science & inquiry
& goals).
Does the portfolio capture the child’s current development?
Ordinary moments or important ideas that have risen to the surface included
3 points
3 points
3 points
3 points
2 points
Grammar & Spelling
Sentences are grammatically correct. Spelling throughout the portfolio is correct.
Statements are made in past tense.
________(pts deducted)
Total:
(45 points)
Comments Regarding Portfolio:
24
Communication with Family Members – Midterm Portfolio Rubric (52 points)
Corrections Made from First Review – If not corrected – points will be deducted
_________(deductions)
Second Observations – Chosen Individually for Each Child
Expectations for Observations – Quality photos are used, that are cropped & can see child’s face, quality
observations are made using parent/teacher goals and based on child’s development. The observations
should be dated, have work samples when appropriate, and include 1 video observation (used instead of
a photo). Finally, there should be an explanation for what is happening in the photo & why it is important
to the child’s development. If Mentor Teachers choose to require – Early Learning Guidelines may be
included.
Social Emotional Development Domain
Midterm Data: observation(s) and description(s)
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to social emotional development & goals).
Physical Development Domain
Midterm Data: observation(s) and description(s)
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to physical development – fine & gross motor,
and goals).
_____________6 points
_____________6 points
6 points
_____________6 points
Cognitive Development Domain
Collect one developmental observation for each chosen area for the portfolio plan.
Early Mathematics
Midterm Data: observation(s) and description(s)
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic - mathematics).
Communication & Language
Midterm Data: observation and description
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – communication
& language).
Early Reading & Literacy
Midterm Data: observation and description
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – reading & literacy).
Early Science & Inquiry
Midterm Data: observation and description
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – science & inquiry).
Does the portfolio capture the child’s current development?
_____________1 point
Ordinary moments or important ideas that have risen to the surface included
Does it reflect the changes that have surfaced for the child?
Video Clip is of good quality, appropriate length (at least 30 sec.)
____________3 points
Grammar & Spelling
Sentences are grammatically correct. Spelling throughout the portfolio is correct.
Statements are made in past tense.
________(pts deducted)
Total: _______________(52 points)
25
Comments Regarding Midterm Portfolio:
26
Communication with Family Members - Final Grading Rubric for Portfolios
(63 points)
Corrections Made - Midterm Review – If not corrected – points will be deducted_________(deductions)
Third Observations – Third Observation should connect to second observation and show growth from that
observation
Expectations for Observations – Quality photos are used, that are cropped & can see child’s face, quality
observations are made using parent/teacher goals and based on child’s development. The observations
should be dated, have work samples when appropriate, and include 1 video observation (used instead of
a photo). Finally, there should be an explanation for what is happening in the photo & why it is important
to the child’s development. If Mentor Teachers choose to require – Early Learning Guidelines may be
included.
Social Emotional Development Domain
Final Data: Observation(s) and description(s)
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
_____________6 points
and how it connects to social emotional development & goals).
Growth Slide: Slide should show how the teacher has seen growth over the semester
_____________3 points
Physical Development Domain
Final Data: observation(s) and description(s)
6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
_____________6 points
and how it connects to physical development – fine & gross motor,
and goals).
Growth Slide: Slide should show how the teacher has seen growth over the semester
_____________3 points
Cognitive Development Domain
Collect one developmental observation for each chosen area for the portfolio plan.
Early Mathematics
Final Data: observation(s) and description(s)
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic - mathematics).
Communication & Language
Final Data: observation and description
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – communication
& language).
Early Reading & Literacy
Final Data: observation and description
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – reading & literacy).
Early Science & Inquiry
Final Data: observation and description
_____________6 points
(this includes a high quality image, an understandable description
and how it connects to cognitive development topic – science & inquiry).
Growth Slide: Slide should show how the teacher has seen growth over the semester
_____________3 points
Does the portfolio capture the child’s current development?
_____________1 point
Ordinary moments or important ideas that have risen to the surface included
Does it reflect the changes that have surfaced for the child?
27
Video Clip is of good quality, appropriate length (at least 30 sec.)
Good-bye slide – Teacher candidate’s farewell to family
____________3 points
____________2 points
Grammar & Spelling
Sentences are grammatically correct. Spelling throughout the portfolio is correct.
Statements are made in past tense.
________(pts deducted)
Total: _______________(63 points)
Comments about Final Portfolios:
28
Reflective Practitioner: Action Research Rubric
(Instructions and Information for this assignment are on page 99)
Action Research Data Collection:
Contributed to Action Research Discussions
10
______
Contributed to Data Collection
10
______
Notebook Organization:
Contributed Data in Notebook Sections
5
______
Contributed to Summary and Analysis of Data in the Notebook
5
______
Final Work:
Contributed to Refined Research Question
2
______
Contributed to Final Project (Documentation Panel, Paper, or both) 18
______
Total Points
______
50
Comments:
29
Reflective Practitioner: Reflection Journal Rubric
(Instructions and Information for this assignment are on pages 101-103)
Levels of reflection represented in journal
8
_____
Recitation with Teaching Team Reflections
4
_____
Pedagogue Meeting Reflections
4
_____
Weekly Teaching Reflections
8
_____
Evidence of Reflections Influencing Teaching
6
_____
Total
30
_____
30
Team Evaluation: Midterm
Please list the individuals’ names on your teaching team (Teacher candidates:
Name:
Overall Score (15):
Please give each team member a score for the following (three points total can be allotted for each section):
Participation in Planning and Discussions:
Name:
Score:
Participation in Classroom Teaching:
Name:
Score:
Participation in Action Research:
Name:
Score:
Dependability
Name:
Score:
Commitment & Professionalism
Name:
Score:
31
Team Evaluation: Final
Please list the individuals’ names on your teaching team (Teacher candidates:
Name:
Overall Score (15):
Please give each team member a score for the following (three points total can be allotted for each section):
Participation in Planning and Discussions:
Name:
Score:
Participation in Classroom Teaching:
Name:
Score:
Participation in Action Research:
Name:
Score:
Dependability
Name:
Score:
Commitment & Professionalism
Name:
Score:
32
Policies and Procedures for
the Fishback Center for
Early Childhood Education
33
Background of the Fishback Center for ECE
Quality Early Childhood Education Program
We take great pride in knowing that the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education is a quality
early childhood program. We are accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood
Programs (an office of the National Association for the Education of Young Children) and have
been since 1978. Accreditation is given only to programs who demonstrate substantial
compliance with the Academy's criteria for outstanding early childhood programs.
History of the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education
In 1928, Helen Young, a faculty member in Home Economics, organized an afternoon play group
in order for the Home Economics majors to observe child development principles. In 1929, the
playgroup moved to the basement of East Men’s Hall. It remained there until 1978 when it moved
to its current home in the Pugsley Center. In the mid 1980’s, the toddler program was
implemented. In 1999-2000, the preschool rooms were renovated. In 2004, the kindergarten
program began and in 2006, the parent gathering area, documentation room, conference room,
and art studio were added. Additionally, the center was renamed the Fishback Center for Early
Childhood Education. In 2009, the playground was renovated. Currently, the Fishback Center for
Early Childhood Education serves 94 toddler and preschool children and 22 kindergarten children.
Program Mission Statement
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education is a model of inclusive early childhood
education that:
 Ensures optimum experiences for education and professional preparation of early
childhood professionals who will serve children, their families, on a local, state, and
national levels.
 Provides a unique environment for faculty and teacher candidate research that
contributes to knowledge about child development and quality early educational
experiences.
 Connects with families to form family-school partnerships in order to enrich each
others’ experiences and lives.
Program Philosophy
At the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education, the philosophy is grounded in
social constructivism, in which learning takes place because of the interactions with another or in
a small group, and with inquiry-based learning in which children are capable, competent, and
able to build their knowledge through exploration and discovery.
Relationships with caring and responsive teachers are not only children’s rights, but are crucial to
their growth, learning and development. These relationships help children to nurture, sustain,
develop questions, and hypothesize so that they may make meaning of their world.
We see parents as the children’s first teachers. Teachers and college teacher candidates are
seen as their second teachers and the environment of learning as their third teacher. Special
consideration is given to the materials that are chosen for the children’s opportunities for learning
and how teachers construct the spaces where children will play, learn and interact with their peers
and adults in the center.
Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education’s Conceptual Framework
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education’s Conceptual Framework is one of social
constructivism. Learning occurs through socially constructed inquiries that engage children and
teachers. Children use many different intelligences as they engage in inquiry. The cycle of inquiry
is the basis for experiences in the center.
Values of the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education holds many values as we engage in teaching
34
and learning with teacher candidates, parents, family members, and children. Our values include:
(1) Relationships (2) Respect, (3) Communication, (4) Time, (5) Passion, (6) Creativity, (7)
Sharing, (8) Giving, (9) Learning, (10) Fun, (11) Collaboration, (12) Hope, (13) Competence, and
(14) Joy. We, the ECE faculty, staff, and laboratory teaching team, discussed and developed this
list of values as a group in the spring of 2003. We annually review, reevaluate, and recommit
ourselves to our values.
Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education’s Curriculum Framework
From the conceptual framework of social constructivism and the cycle of inquiry, curriculum is
developed through an overall intent which is then connected to clearly outline and related goals.
These goals must have observable, evaluation objectives. The curriculum framework shall focus
the learning experiences, the materials used, and the schedule which is followed for the
experiences.
Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education’s Program Evaluation Process
The annual program evaluation consists of a review of: (1) the program policies and procedures,
(2) the quality of the program, (3) the process of children’s progress and learning, (4) the quality of
family involvement and satisfaction, and (5) the community awareness of the program and
satisfaction with that awareness.
The stakeholders who give feedback regarding the program include: (1) parents & guardians of
enrolled children, (2) mentor teachers, (3) teacher candidates, and (4) ECE faculty members.
The evaluation data is collected through (1) family questionnaires, (2) teacher questionnaires, (3)
discussions with mentor teachers, (4) Teacher Candidate IDEA surveys, and (5) discussions in
ECE Area faculty meetings. The results of ongoing program evaluation is reported in the center’s
annual report which can be found on the website and is used to inform professional development
and program quality-improvement.
Strategic Planning Process: On an annual basis, the center’s teaching team will engage in
strategic planning to implement the program’s vision and mission statements. The strategic
planning process goals include: (1) achieving desired outcomes for children, (2) achieving
professional development goals, (3) maintaining high quality services for children, families, and
teacher candidates, and (4) reviewing long term sustainability of the program operation. For
teacher candidates, working on desired outcomes for children means developing individual goals
for children with families. Teacher candidate professional development discussions involve
teaching team discussions, selected articles, and selected topics for discussion during Friday
Morning meetings. A conversation about high quality services for all stakeholders occurs
informally throughout the year and includes family feedback on home-visits, family questionnaires
each semester, and teacher candidate questions in spring. In addition, the teaching team reviews
the program’s declaration of intent and goals throughout the year. Planning for sustainability
occurs at the department and college levels.
Fishback Center Parent Advisory Council: Parents and Guardians of children enrolled at the
Fishback Center serve the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) with at least one representative from
each class. The council includes 8 to 12 members. Their role is to advise the director on policy,
provide an avenue of program evaluation and feedback, and to be parents/family member
leaders/liaisons in each classroom setting. The PAC meets about once a month during the
academic year and co-plans two family/school events each year.
The PAC is an advisory body rather than a governing body. Given that the Fishback Center is a
laboratory school, it is overseen by the director, the ECE faculty members, and the Teaching,
Learning, and Leadership Dept. Head.
35
Role of the Teacher
In the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education, the faculty, mentor teachers, and ECE
majors value the roles of:
Teacher as a Learner – As human beings, we see ourselves as lifelong learners. It is only when
we are open to new experiences and opportunities can we take full advantage of them. Be open
to learning from all at the center: all fellow teaching team members, children, family members, all
mentor teachers, and yourself.
Teacher as Researcher – Teaching and learning are intertwined. Teachers as Researchers ask
questions and actively seek answers. Listen, study, inquire, observe, and evaluate teaching
practices along children as they learn. Joining in as co-learners in the process with children is the
hallmark of teacher research. Research extends teaching and teaching extends research. Be
open to studying practices of self and others.
Teacher as a Co-Pursuer of Knowledge – A teacher co-creates knowledge rather than
transmits it to children. Co-creators engage alongside children in the pursuit of knowledge.
Teachers work to listen and to be aware of our own vulnerability, to accept the doubts of others, to
make mistakes, to be curious, and to wonder in the experiences of the world.
Teacher as a Reflective Practitioner - Teachers think about what they do and why they are
doing it. Reflective practitioners make changes based on their thinking processes, both ongoing
processes and thoughts written down to review later. Both aspects of reflection create Reflective
Practitioners.
Teacher as a Member of Our Community of Practice–Collectively the teams form a community
of teacher-researchers sharing ideas and insights with each other, and listening to each other.
We reflect, discuss, co-construct our teaching and learning when we meet together. In order to
construct together, each person needs to be prepared, and have the responsibility to engage in
reflective practices, both verbal and written, in order to share in the community experience.
Teacher as Professional – Each person journeys in order to become a professional teacher.
Being a professional teacher includes reading current literature, actively pursuing others’ written
thoughts regarding a topic in question and engaging in dialogue with others in the field during
conferences and other professional gatherings, writing articles, and publishing works. It also
includes developing a passion, having dedication, and building a foundation of commitment to the
profession.
Teacher as Advocate – Advocates speak out and stand up for those whose voices need to be
heard. For children, being an advocate includes making their learning visible to the community.
Advocacy includes communicating an image of a capable, strong, and competent child. Being an
advocate means building relationships with other professions that will facilitate the community’s
ability to listen to each other and to work together for children.
Role of Documentation
Documentation is a way of making children’s learning visible. It helps to make visible teachers’
thoughts and interpretations of learning. It provides an avenue for many to share their
perspectives on the same experience. It serves as a memory of past events and it provides
children and teachers a spring board for future experiences based on the past. It can take many
different shapes and forms, such as the daily journals, field notes, on-going reflections of revisited
events, teachers’ journaling, panels, logs, and portfolios.
Role of the Pedagogue
A pedagogue is a school teacher or an educator. He or she is a person who educates young
people. The Latin word meant “a slave who supervised children and took them to and from
school.” The Greek work literally means “one who walks along side of”. Your pedagogue is a
resource and a member of your team. He or she is there to walk along side of you throughout the
semester, to listen to you, and to bounce ideas off of and to dialogue about curricular or
behavioral issues occurring in your class. Use your pedagogue to provide an “outside
perspective” on a situation or idea. The pedagogue will be there to ask the hard questions such
as, “Why?”; “Why are you doing or did you do this or that?”; and “How come?”. The pedagogue is
also there to offer suggestions, and to spur you onto greatness. Teaching teams will be required
to meet as a group with your on a regular basis. The expectations for each meeting include:
36
(1) Sending your pedagogue copies of what you are including in your inquiry book as a
weekly update.
(2) Preparing with your pedagogue what you intend to present at the Friday Morning
Meetings.
(3) Discussing with your pedagogue the feedback from your presentations.
(4) Discussing your inquiry investigations, your action research, and your curriculum
development with your pedagogue.
Role of the Art Studio
The Art Studio is part of our school’s environment. The space is inspired by the schools in Reggio
Emilia, Italy. Its purpose is a place to explore the many languages of expression and to support
the work occurring in the classroom. Loris Malaguzzi saw the Art Studio environment as
instrumental in “recovering the image of the child, which we now saw as richer in resources and
interests than we had understood before, a child now understood as an interactionist and
constructivist” (Gandini, Hill, Cadwell, & Schwall, 2006, pg. 7). It is a place to sensitize one’s
senses to the many possible languages. It is a place of possibility.
For the children and teachers, it is a place to explore, touch, invent, create, and dialogue. It is
also a shared space which means that as teachers, scheduled times will need to be made to use
the space, and all members of the community will be responsible for keeping the space clean and
ready to use.
Role of the Mini Studios/Project Rooms
The mini studios or project rooms are also part of our landscape. They are there to support long
term study of negotiated curriculum topics. The mini studios are also there to support children’s
need to “shop” for recycled materials to bring back to their classrooms as they work on a project in
the classroom. There are two mini studios available for the SDSU Preschool Laboratory to use,
Construction Room and the Light Room. For storing ongoing, in-process projects, teaching teams
will need to negotiate among the teams for storage space in their classrooms to store on-going
materials for inquiry investigations materials. Please include the mini studios on your clean up list
each day as these are shared spaces.
Policies & Procedures for Teacher Candidates
Teacher Candidates’ Responsibility in Learning/Teaching in the Early Childhood Education
Program
What does it mean to be a teacher? Teacher candidates are encourages to examine the
Center’s philosophy of education and to develop a personal philosophy of education by using the
inquiry process, asking questions about learning, teaching, and making meaning of knowledge
and experiences. In order to truly understand teaching, one needs to explore the process and
actively find answers to questions regarding what it means to learn. At the heart of understanding
what is means to be a teacher are these questions posed by Carolina in the book, Making
Learning Visible:
What is the meaning of education?
What is the meaning of school?
What does it mean to value education?
What does it mean to be a teacher?
What does it mean to teach?
What is our image of humanity and of children?
What images of families do we hold as teachers?
What images of teachers do we hold for ourselves?
What do we do with differences? How do we value it?
What perspective or perspectives do we hold as we engage in teaching
and learning?
37
How do we give value to these images?
What kind of future can we construct together?
Much of your reflective thinking should focus on the role of the teacher as you experience the role
and work to define it. You will be part of one of the three protagonists in the SDSU Preschool
Laboratory learning community – with children and families as the first two protagonists. The role
of the teacher is very complex. What identities do you see within this role?
In order to understand your role as a teacher, you need to understand yourself as an individual
who is part of the make of our culture of education. Remember that your background and
experiences that you bring to the community is essential to contribute to the dialogue in order for
the entire group of teachers to construct new meanings and understandings.
Consider this semester as a journey of learning. Throughout the journey, carefully consider the
value of multiple perspectives (some may be very different from your own), multiple voices (each
person’s voice is valuable and makes a contribution to the whole), and multiple understandings
(each person’s understanding of a concept, issue, problem adds to the entire group’s learning
process.
Therefore, it is so very, very important to share your thoughts and understandings, to share your
opinions, to share your insights, and to share your reflects on experiences and readings. In doing
so, you may cause the group to experience disequilibrium and bring us toward the next steps in
learning. As you participate in learning and meaning making process, your participation is like a
pebble being tossed into the lake, each becomes a circle of influence that grows wider and builds
deeper meaning or understanding.
Your participation is vital to the entire group’s learning!
Expectations of Fully Participating in the Teacher candidate Teaching Experience
Teacher Candidates who:
 Come prepared for recitation by reading assigned readings, completing assigned
assignments, highlighting/recording in journal key points and/or questions for further
clarification of discussion.
 Come prepared to share your notes, highlighted sections of readings, relevant examples
from classroom experience, and reflections in journals.
 Attend all Friday Morning Meetings, team recitations, and pedagogue meetings.
 If unable to attend, you must inform mentor teacher and director, obtain notes or
information from colleagues, and points will be deducted from overall grade (10 point per
day if over excused absences, 50 points when mentor teacher is not notified).
 Maintain a positive attitude about the class and treats other teacher candidates and
mentor teacher with respect.
 Share ideas, experiences, beliefs, opinions, and knowledge during recitation sessions.
 Question each other, director, coordinator, mentor teachers and other teacher candidates,
for deeper meaning and understanding.
 Use discussion, debate, questioning, evaluation, etc. as a means to gain greater insight
into the content area.
 Remain open-minded as one considers various and multiple viewpoints, especially ones
directly opposed to your own.
 Using active listening, truly listening, when other teacher candidates respond or “piggy
backs” his/her ideas on to previous ideas – we are constructing meaning.
 Willingly engage in creative activities, especially when it takes one out of the comfort
zone.
 Avoid destructive negativity during class and team activities. This is different from
constructive criticism.
 Respect the class environment and work to maintain a clean, relaxing, well organized,
38


and aesthetically pleasing classroom.
Be punctual. Arrive on time and stay until lab is dismissed.
Be conscientious of the opinions of others, allows other teacher candidates an opportunity
to respond to questions or constructive criticism.
Do not answer or pay attention to cell phone during any part of lab time or recitation. Turn off their
cell phones and do not attend to them while meeting with mentor teachers, Teacher candidates,
or pedagogues.
Requirements for all Teacher Candidates Enrolled at the Fishback Center for ECE: As part
of the enrollment process, all teacher candidates need (1) to have passed a criminal record
check, (2) be free from any history of substantiated child abuse or neglect, (3) be at least 18 years
old, (4) have completed high school or the equivalent, (5) have had a TB test and physical exam
in the last two years, and (6) have provided personal references (in PS applications).
Policy Regarding a Teacher candidate Enrolled in ECE 228/488 Being Reported for Child
Abuse &/or Neglect or Has a Criminal Record of Abuse, Neglect, Domestic Assault, or Drug
Offenses
If any teacher candidate enrolled as an assistant teacher in ECE 228 or Teacher candidate in
ECE 488 is reported as an abuser or a neglecter of children and there is an open case of against
a teacher candidate, the teacher candidate’s experience in the laboratories will be suspended until
a decision has been made regarding the reported case. It is against South Dakota State Law to
have a criminal record of child abuse/neglect, sexual assault, domestic abuse, any felony, or any
drug related crime and work with children. Teacher candidates who have such backgrounds will
not be allowed to work with children and will be counseled into a more appropriate area of study.
Efforts to maintain confidentiality regarding the review of the teacher candidate will be made
during the removal process and subsequent time away from the program until the case review is
completed.
Permission to Fingerprint & Conduct a Criminal Background Check
Each person working 10 hours or more a month and who is supervising children within an early
childhood setting is required to have a completed criminal background check on file. In order to
complete the background check, a fingerprint check is needed. Fingerprinting will be a required
in-service at the beginning of the year. A “rap” sheet will be returned to the Director of the
Preschool Laboratory to be reviewed for criminal activities. Employees in an early childhood
educational setting may not have a background of any sexual offenses, domestic abuse, drug
related crimes, or have been involved in child abuse or neglect within a five year period of
employment. If a teacher candidate has a background in criminal activity, the Director of
Preschool will meet with the teacher candidate and the teacher candidate will be counseled out of
an active role of working with children. If a teacher candidate has been involved or is being
studied within a child abuse case, the teacher candidate will be removed from active work in the
classroom until the investigation is complete.
Administrative Rule of South Dakota 67:42:01:05.01 states:
"...For family day care and all other child welfare agencies, the department shall re view
the provider's records to ensure that the criminal records are being secured to detect
convictions for crimes which would indicate harmful behavior towards children, crimes of
violence as defined by SDCL 22-1-2 or a similar statute from another state, or sex
crimes pursuant to SDCL chapter 22-22 or similar statutes from another state, or felony
convictions for spousal abuse or drug related crimes".
22-1-2 (Text of section effective until July 1, 2006) Definition of terms. Terms
used in this title mean:
(9)
"Crime of violence," any of the following crimes or an attempt to commit, or
39
a conspiracy to commit, any of the same: murder, manslaughter, rape,
criminal pedophilia, aggravated assault, riot, robbery, burglary in the first
or second degree, arson, kidnapping, felony sexual contact as defined in
§§ 22-22-7 and 22-22-19.1, felony child abuse as defined in § 26 -10-1, or
any other felony in the commission of which the perpetrator used force, or
was armed with a dangerous weapon, or used any explosive or destructive
device;
22-22 – see attached
South Dakota Codified Law 26-6-14.10 states:
"Prohibition of licensure, registration, or operation by person convicted of child abuse or
other felony, or whose name appears on registry--Failure to report as misdemeanor. No
person who has been convicted of child abuse pursuant to chapter 26 -10; a sex
offense pursuant to chapter 22-22; or, within the preceding five years, any other felony; and
no person whose name appears on the central registry for child abuse and neglect may:
(1) Be licensed to operate a child welfare agency pursuant to § 26 -6-14;
(2) Be registered to operate a family day care home pursuant to § 26 -6-14.2;
or
(3) Operate an unregistered family day care home as defined in § 26 -6-14.8.
Any person who has actual knowledge that some other person is violating this section
and who subsequently fails to report such violation to the state's attorney or local law
enforcement is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."
South Dakota Codified Law 26-6-14.11 states:
"Prohibition of child care by person convicted of child abuse, sex offense, or other
felony, or whose name appears on registry--Violation as misdemeanor. Any person
who has been convicted of child abuse pursuant to chapter 26-10; a sex offense
pursuant to chapter 22-22; or, within the preceding five years, any other felony; or
whose name appears on the central registry for child abuse and neglect is guilty of a
Class 1 misdemeanor if such person resides or works or provides care and
supervision of children in any child welfare agency or any family day care home. Any
person who permits another person to reside or work or provide care and
supervision of children in any child welfare agency or any family day care home
knowing that the person has been convicted of child abuse pursuant to chapter 2610; a sex offense pursuant to chapter 22-22; or, within the preceding five years, any
other felony; or knowing that the person's name appears on the central registry for
child abuse and neglect, is guilty of a C lass 1 misdemeanor.
RECORD SUBJECT IS A SINGLE STATE OFFENDER
**************************************************************************
1) ARRESTED: 10/26/1998 PROCESS CONTROL #: -4836560
CONTRIBUTING AGENCY:" SHERIFF'S OFFICE ORI: SD0490000
CHARGE: AGGRAVATED A SAULT – DOMESTIC ACCOUNTS: 1
COURT: DOCKET-49C98005064A09 XXXX MAGISTRATE SENT/DISP: 11/20/1998
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, SDCL 22 -18-1.1
DISPOSITION: DISMISSED - MOTION BY PROSECUTOR. CLASS -FEL 3
40
-----------------------------------------------------ABOVE DATA BASED SOLELY UPON SOUTH DAKOTA CRIMINAL HISTORY FILES
MAINTAINED BY DCI. THIS DOES NOT PRECLUDE THE POSSIBLE EXISTENCE OF
RECORDS IN OTHER STATES OR FBI FILES. THE USE OF THIS RECORD IS
REGULATED BY LAW . IT IS PROVIDED FOR O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y A N D SHALL
ONLY BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE REQUESTED.
PETTY THEFT-1ST DEGREE-U1OO OR MORE, SDCL 22-30A-17
D I S P O S I T I O N : JUDGMENT ON PLEA OF GUILT X. CLASS -MISD 1 4 7 . 0 0
F I N E 3 0 D A YS J A I L LOC/REGNL, 30 DAYS SUSP
Teacher Candidate Personnel Files: Confidential Teacher candidate personnel files, when they
are actively enrolled in the ECE program, are kept in one of two places. Those who are enrolled
in courses directly related to the Fishback Center for ECE are kept in the SDSU Preschool
Coordinator’s office. Those who are enrolled in the ECE program yet are not taking courses
directly related to the Fishback Center for ECE are kept in the ECE Area Secretary’s office. Then
as Teacher candidates graduate, their personnel files are kept in the ECE Area Teacher
candidate File Archive. Those who do not complete their ECE majors, are not kept.
Name Tags: All teachers will be given a photo name tag at the beginning of the semester (first
two weeks). It will be attached to a lanyard. Please wear it at all times when working in the
laboratory setting. At the end of the semester, please turn in the lanyard to your Mentor
teacher. The name tag is yours to keep.
Teacher Dress Code:
Teachers need to dress in a professional manner. You will be bending and sitting throughout the
day so please wear comfortable, yet clean, clothing. Low cut tops or jeans that would reveal
any private body parts and/or underclothing (i.e. underwear – thongs & bra straps and
body parts) when bent over are not allowed. If revealing clothes are worn, you will be asked to
leave, change, and return with late minutes counted and attendance points taken.
Dress modestly and comfortably. In order to fully explore the media we work with, teachers must
not be concerned with spills, spots, or the potential for rips. The general rule is that you will get
messy! Wear closed-toed shoes that you are comfortable wearing while running and changing
directions quickly. As teachers, you are expected to go outside each day and be a role model for
young children, it is expected that warm jackets, hats, scarves, and mittens will be worn outside
by teachers. Wearing hats inside is allowed at the discretion of your Mentor Teacher.
Please see a list of acceptable and unacceptable clothing below.
Acceptable Clothing
Shirts/Tops
 T-Shirts without sayings
 T-Shirts with saying that you would be ok –
if a young child read, or your grandmother
read.
 Crew neck sweat shirts or hoodies
 Polo shirts
 Turtle necks
 Button down shirts
 Long sleeved shirts/sweaters over an
Unacceptable Clothing
Shirts/Tops
 T-Shirts with beer advertisements
 T-Shirts with crude sayings
 Deep V-neck sweaters
 Dress shirts that are v-necked or plunging
necklines
 Tank tops under other shirts for the
layered, revealing ‘look’
 Tight sweaters that are revealing
 Shirts that reveal the mid-drift
41

acceptable quality shirt
Shirts that are extra-long which cover the
waistline of the pants
Acceptable Pants
 That have a beltline – at the waist
 Khakis
 Jeans without tears
 Jeans that aren’t excessively faded
Unacceptable Pants
 Low riders
 Sweats
 Not wearing a belt
 Jeans with holes in them
 Worn thin, faded jeans
 Saggy jeans
Food & Drink:
As a Teacher candidate, it is imperative that you take care of yourself. Please take time in your
schedule to eat meals throughout the day. We realize that, at times due to course schedules,
some teachers may not have time for breakfast or lunch before school begins. You may bring
food to eat during set up time but it must be finished or thrown away before the children arrive.
Gum chewing is prohibited in the classroom. Also, no food or drink will be permitted in the
observation booths.
Adult Belongings
All adult/teacher belongings should be kept in the stairwell hallway teacher lockers. If there is
something that needs to be kept closer for access during the day, it may be kept in (1) the entry to
the playground between the 3 & 4 Year Old and Toddler Rooms, (2) in the observation booth
(although this is not a secure place), or (3) in the classroom closet.
Time Away from Children Policy: Given that the toddler and preschool children are present for
only 2 hours and 15 minutes, Teacher candidates are not provided with 15 minute breaks after
working with children for 4 hours or more. Out of School teachers shall have 15 minutes breaks
away from children if working more than 4 hours at a time.
Yet it is important to note that in a teaching team, if a teacher is needed temporary relief from
his/her current task, the teacher may ask for it.
Teacher Candidate Illness Policy: You are allotted two excused absences from the semester’s
work. This includes absences for illness. If you are ill and have determined that you will not be
able to participate in lab, please call your Mentor teacher and Preschool Coordinator, Laura
Gloege. Give sufficient time for them to cover the positions that will need to be covered in your
absence. That is, call as soon as you know you will not be participating (at least an hour before
the laboratory day begins). The Preschool Coordinator’s phone numbers are: (605) 688-6477
(office), (605) 661-2915 (cell). If you cannot reach your Mentor Teacher and/or the Preschool
Coordinator, please call the Director, Kay Cutler, at: (605) 688-6797 (office), or (605) 629-4141
(home). Please only call home phone numbers in emergency situations, including illness, or when
you have been given permission by the person to contact her at home.
Substitute Teachers: When teacher candidates need to be absent from school, they are
responsible for communicating to others (Mentor teachers, Preschool Coordinator, and Center
Director) about their responsibilities for the day and how to cover for the absence.
School Closing: The SDSU Preschool Laboratory follows the university holiday calendar and
following the Brookings School District for weather closings. Listen to the local radio stations
(KBRK and others) for weather closings. When the Brookings School District closes, this means
that the children will not attend school that day due to the weather.
42
Teachers (Mentor Teachers and Teacher Candidates) are expected to come to the center to plan,
unless the university also closes due to weather.
Teacher Candidate Evaluation Procedures
All teachers are evaluated twice throughout the semester. Both are overall evaluations with all
elements of teaching – both leading and supporting teaching taken into account. Complete a selfevaluation of your teaching using the teaching evaluations given to you for both mid-term and final
evaluations. Add reflections to support your evaluations. The Mentor teachers will do the same.
When you meet with your Mentor teacher, you may discuss your reflections of your teaching as
well as discuss their perspective of your teaching. The Teaching Evaluation forms can be found
on pages 140 – 162.
43
Organization Chart & Responsibilities for Team Members
Fishback Center
Parent Advisory Council
Director of the Fishback Center for Early
Childhood Education
SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory
SDSU Kindergarten
Teacher
SDSU Preschool Laboratory
Fishback Center
for ECE Assistant
Assistant
Teacher
2 Work Study Students
Kindergarten
Practicum Students
OST Coordinators
Toddler AM Mentor
Teacher
OST Head
Teacher
Teacher
candidates
OST
Teachers
SDSU Preschool
Coordinator
Research Coordinator
Pedagogues – 1 hour each
week with classroom teams
3 & 4 PM
Mentor Teacher
3 & 4 AM
Mentor Teacher
4 & 5 PM
Mentor Teacher
4 & 5 AM
Mentor Teacher
Teacher
candidates
Teacher
candidates
Teacher
candidates
Teacher
candidates
Assistant
Teachers
(1-day a week)
Assistant
Teachers
(1-day a week)
Assistant
Teachers
(1-day a week)
Assistant
Teachers
(1-day a week)
44
Job Responsibilities/Questions to Ask to Whom
…about vision of the lab
…upholding mission of
the lab
…planning professional
development
…monitoring research
activity
…liaison to community
agencies
…budget
…becoming a GTA
…about pedagogical
team
...contents of 488 packet
…contents of 228 packet
…reviewing curriculum &
newsletters
…daily operation
Director of
Center
Preschool
Laboratory
Coordinator
Kindergarten
Laboratory
Teacher













(overall)











Faculty
Mentor
Teacher


Graduate
Student
Mentor
Teacher


Laboratory
Kitchen
Assistant



(weekly)






(weekly)







45
…licensing &
accreditation
…maintenance/Facilities
& Services requests
…enrollment or waiting
list
…inventory requests


…personnel files
...children’s files
…health & safety/liability
insurance
…work study positions
…computers in resource
room
…library check out
system
…snack/cooking
…cooking in the
classroom
…first aid
help/emergencies







































46
Working with all Members of the Teaching Team: Teacher candidates and Assistant teachers are
equal members of the teaching team. It is not appropriate to give one member of the teaching team
unequal amounts of cleaning or “not treasured” work. Distribute treasured jobs and “not treasured” jobs
equally among the entire teaching team. Consider pairing assistant teachers up with Teacher candidates
to shadow specific tasks at the beginning of the semester to help establish the routines valued in the
classroom.
Working with Members of the Professional Community: In an inclusive fashion, the Fishback Center
teaching teams welcome and work with members of the professional community including specialized
consultants and support staff in order to meet the needs of children and family members at the center.
Support staff and members of the professional community are invited to work within the classrooms and
schedules with children who have disabilities or early intervention needs.
Chain of Command Policy & Procedure: As part of a teaching team, if you have an issue with another
member of the team, please try to work through the issue together using open communication. If you
continue to have an issue, a problem, or would simply like to discuss something, the proper chain of
command begins with your Mentor teacher. If you have spoken at length to your Mentor teacher, and
would like to bring it forward to the next level, then it will be appropriate to discuss the circumstance with
the Director of the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education. If you wish to discuss something of a
sensitive nature that doesn’t immediately relate to your classroom, you may bring that to the Coordinator
of the SDSU Preschool Laboratory.
It is always best to discuss an issue with your most immediate supervisor, your Mentor teacher, before
discussing it with the next level of supervisors or administrators which is the Coordinator, the Director, the
Dept. Head and then the Dean of the College.
Code of Ethical Conduct: The National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC)’s Code of
Ethical Conduct will serve as guidelines for the Fishback Center’s teaching team. The Code’s Core
Values include: (1) Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stag of human life cycle, (2) Base our
work on knowledge of how children development and learn, (3) Appreciate and support the bond between
the child and family, (4) Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of
family, culture (including ethnicity, racial identity, economic level, family structure, language, and religious,
and political beliefs), community, and society, (5) Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each
individual (child, family member, and colleague), (6) Respect diversity in children, families, and
colleagues, and (7) Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of
relationships that are based on trust and respect. The NAEYC Code of Ethics has four sections that
include (1) Ethical Responsibilities to Children, (2) Ethical Responsibilities to Families, (3) Ethical
Responsibilities to Colleagues, and (4) Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society. For more
information about the Code of Ethics visit http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/ethical_conduct.
Observing in the Observation Booths:
Parents and authorized teacher candidates/visitors are invited to observe at any time. Please whisper
while in the booths, voices do travel into the classrooms. Because of the audio and video equipment
in the observation booths, no food or drink is allowed in the observation booths.
Pet & Guest Animal Policy
At the SDSU Preschool Laboratory, we respect life in all forms and strive to convey the importance of that
respect to the children. Therefore, when guest animals attend the laboratory, teachers and children will be
appropriately prepared for their visits. All animals must be in good health and have documentation from
their veterinarian of their full, up-to-date immunizations. Teaching team members must supervise all
interactions between children and animals. They must give instructions to children on safe handling
procedures, what to expect that the animal may do, and how to be safe when in close proximity to the
animals.
If a child is allergic to an animal, an alternative location other than the classroom will be used to visit with
the animal. Children will have discussed how to care for the animal before the animal enters the room.
47
Children will also have discussed if and how to hold or pet the animal before the opportunity to do so
occurs. Very young animals, such as chicks or animals that will be harmed by being held, such as
fish/minnows will not be repeatedly picked up or held by children. It is the responsibility of the teachers to
keep the children and the animals’ safe at all times.
All animals that enter the laboratory will be in a safe, prepared environment for them. Introducing
minnows into the sensory table which is bleached regularly is not safe for the fish and is prohibited.
Housing reptiles (lizards, turtles, snakes, iguanas, and geckoes) within the classroom is also prohibited
due to their risk for carrying salmonella.
Pets at the SDSU Preschool Laboratory are a part of our curriculum for teaching respect for life. When
possible encourage the children to respect, to care of the animals, to take the animals’ perspectives when
deciding as a group the best way to interact with the pet and to keep it safe in the environment. For the
classroom fish, this includes refraining from introducing new water animals into the fish tanks (i.e. turtles,
minnows, and other abandoned fish) without permission from the Preschool Coordinator. It also includes
putting foreign objects into the fish tank.
Cleaning Policy
It is the responsibility for all individuals who use the laboratory to keep it clean and orderly. It is a fire
hazard to keep things stacked in the bathrooms or in the playground entry between the two classrooms.
These areas must be kept clean. Daily cleaning of the classroom and the weekly rotation responsibilities
must be completed each week in order for the laboratory to function properly. All individuals who use the
laboratory are responsible for it. Try not to fall into the trap of blaming the teaching team who uses the
same space your teaching team uses for messes that are present. This doesn’t help the situation, it only
makes it worse. If you have conflicts regarding cleaning, coordinate meeting times with the mentor
teachers and have all team members present for solution discussions. Waiting will only allow the issue to
build into a greater issue and make everyone cranky on cleaning day.
Two cleaning days are set aside at mid semester and at the end of the semester. On these days, wear
clothes that you can get dirty. Arrival times for these days will be the same as days when children are
present. Each teaching team will have assigned area(s) outside the classroom to clean, as well as the
classroom. The Mentor teacher together with the team will decide who will clean what areas. Each
classroom will receive a cleaning list with jobs on it. When each job is completed, and has been
checked by the Mentor teacher, the individual(s) who completed the task shall initial the box in the
completed column next to task description.
When the assigned responsibilities are completed for a particular teaching team, it is the team’s
responsibility to go to other teaching teams, in a timely manner, to assist them in cleaning tasks remaining
on their cleaning list. The preschool coordinator or the preschool director shall be consulted for
remaining cleaning tasks each day before teaching teams are given permission to leave for the
day. The Mentor teachers will directly supervise and clean on cleaning days. It is not a day for
indirect supervision and other tasks.
Maintenance & Renovation Policy
Scheduled maintenance and/or renovation will occur during the summer months when the program is not
in operation. When maintenance needs to occur during operating months, proper ventilation of chemical
or paint odors will occur prior to using the newly renovated spaces with children and teachers.
Smoke-free Campus & Outdoor Learning Environment Policy
All buildings on the SDSU Campus are nonsmoking environments. In addition, the Outdoor Learning Lab
Environment is smoke-free. No smoking may occur within 50 feet of the Outdoor Learning Lab, or the
entrances of the Pugsley building.
Air Pollution Policy
When needed, teaching teams will keep children and adults from exposure to high levels of air pollution,
48
or smog by limiting outdoor or physical activity. Given the rural nature and low air pollution percentage in
South Dakota, this policy seems unrealistic. However, if ever an air pollution alert is given, teachers and
child shall stay indoors.
Library Check Out Policy & Procedures
Each Teacher candidate will be issued a library card that will give him/her the ability to check out the
laboratory’s books and use them in the classroom or for planning. “Luci” is the computer that will check
out books. She’s located in the Resource Room, the first computer. Resource Mate is the library
software. It is possible to search for books by topic using the software as well as checking out books.
The checkout period is for two weeks at a time. Only teacher resource books that are checked out may
leave the Resource Room. The work study teacher candidates monitor the system for overdue books.
To check out a book: Go to the Transactions drop down menu and highlight, bar code – lend items. Then
read the bar code on the borrower’s library card with the scanner. Next scan the bar code on the book.
When the scanner beeps, the transaction step has been noted. The screen should say, “Borrower –
SDSU-name of person, and the Item, “title of book”.
To return a book: Go to the Transaction drop down menu and highlight, bar code – return items. Then
scan the book’s bar code. The screen should read, “Return Date: (give date), then show the Borrower’s
name and the title of the book. Then click on Exit and the book is returned.
Laminator Policy
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education has three laminators to be used for laboratory
purposes. The small laminators are located in the back part of the Resource Room. The large 27”
laminator (located in the Documentation Room) should only be used by the Mentor teachers, the
Coordinator & the Director. Please give all items to be laminated to the Mentor teachers. The 12” hot &
cold laminators are available for small items that need to be laminated. All items to be laminated need to
be approved through the Mentor teachers. All individuals who use the 12” hot laminator need to receive
training before using it.
Classroom Technology Equipment Policy
Each laboratory has at least one digital camera and a digital camcorder for its documentation use. Most
digital cameras use memory sticks. Please transfer all digital images and video clips daily to your
classroom’s designated computer.
Please use the equipment every day to capture the interactions your teaching team has predetermined
that need capturing (i.e. “look for block building interactions or problem solving interactions today”).
At the end of each laboratory session: (1) remove your class’ memory stick from the digital camera or
attached the transfer cord to camera in order to transfer images, (2) remove rechargeable batteries if less
than half of the battery power remains and put into the charger, (3) remove digital camcorder card from
the camcorder and transfer videos to computer, and (4) plug in the camcorder for recharging.
At the end of the day: (1) make sure technology equipment is out of sight, in a locked cabinet. We have
had a great deal of equipment stolen and it’s important for the equipment to not be readily seen from the
hallway classroom door.
Classroom Picture Taking Procedures
Prior to taking pictures of the day, consider the activities & experiences.
When taking pictures get down on the children’s level and take the picture on an angle level with the
children. Taking pictures from an adult height angle will create pictures that “tower” over the children.
Work with your Mentor teachers on developing a picture organization system that will help all to organize
classroom pictures so that they are readily available.
49
Here are some picture-taking tips:
Get as close to the subjects of the photo as possible and on their level.
Consider what the “story” of the photo is prior to taking the picture.
Always try to have facial or frontal perspectives rather than backs of individuals.
Try to eliminate as much background clutter as possible.
Try shooting from different positions: standing, sitting, kneeling, and lying down.
Place a reflecting shield on your flash (white sheet of paper) to soften the light on faces.
Make a written note about when and why the photo was taken and what was happening at the moment.
Make sure every photo has a clean, clear center of interest.
Try to have all heads in the photos at least the size of a dime when printing the photos.
Classroom Computer Policy
For the children, the computers should be part of the children’s day. As part of the inquiry process, the
computer should be used as a tool. Together with adults, the children may use the internet to find
information to answer questions. It can also access the library system and children may look up
resources and go on field trips to the library to pick up books that may help answer questions. Also, the
children may use email to send email to their parents and family members, or experts across campus that
may be able to answer questions the children may have. Please guide the children to use the computer
as a tool. Try to emphasize the tool aspect of the computer as well as use it for literacy, science, and
math activities.
Each classroom computer is connected to the internet and it available during out of session hours to work
on laboratory related assignments. Please do not use the instant messaging software because that is a
form of personal use rather than laboratory use and it takes a lot of memory that should be used for
laboratory work. There will be a sign up sheet available for teaching teams to use in the classrooms to
facilitate its use, if this computer becomes heavily used.
Resource Room Computer Policy
Each computer is connected to the internet and is available to work on laboratory related assignments
(ECE 361/362, ECE 228, ECE 488) or ECE 488 K-2 teacher candidate teaching assignments only. It is
not for general use or other ECE coursework. Please do not use the instant messaging software because
that is a form of personal use rather than laboratory use and it takes a lot of memory that should be used
for laboratory work. If found using instant messaging software, the individual will be asked to leave and
computer usage privileges will be revoked.
Each computer is connected to a printer. The printers are for documentation and laboratory and K-3
teacher candidate teaching assignments only. The printers should not be used to print off
assignments for other classes. If printer ink cartridges are needed, contact the preschool coordinator, the
center director, or a Mentor teacher to assist you. Notice that the “ink cartridge ink low” appears when the
ink cartridge is 1/3 full, so there is some ink left. Try to empty the ink cartridge as much as possible
before changing it. Please recycle ink cartridges by placing the old cartridges in the ink cartridge-recycling
container found in the Resource Room Cabinet above the computers.
Storing files on the computer: Only files directly related to ECE 488 (B-5 or K-3) may be stored on the
computers in RM 121. Each laboratory teaching team will have a designated computer to use to store
their files & pictures. For K-3 teacher candidate teaching please make a file on the C: entitled with your
name and store the files inside. Storing single files on the desktop is not permitted and will be
erased at 12:00 AM each night. Please put all files in a correctly labeled folder.
Please use the following set-up for your pictures and documents from teacher candidate teaching in the
preschool laboratories.
This will allow everyone to find files easier and know who they belong to. The system is as follows:

Make a folder for each semester. (Laura’s 4 & 5 AM Lab – Fall 2011, etc.)
50






Within each semester folder, create folders for documents, student e-folios, pictures, portfolios,
investigations and action research. Include another folder for other miscellaneous files if you want.
The documents folder should contain folders for daily journals, lesson plans, newsletters, open
houses, portfolios, web-related files, and another for other files.
The e-folios folder should be separated by teacher candidate name, and then by children’s
names.
The folder including pictures of preschool kids should be divided by date.
The portfolio folder should contain artwork by the preschool kids. Create a folder for each child’s
name.
The investigations folder should store information related to inquiry investigations.
Use of Materials and Equipment in Classrooms & Re-shelving Equipment Policy
The materials and equipment for the classrooms are housed in many places around the laboratory. An
inventory list is located in each classroom. Here is a summary of the materials and equipment places
throughout the center (1) Construction Mini Studio: recyclable construction wood, woodworking tools,
items related to building, (2) Light Mini-Studio: translucent materials, mirrors, reflective materials, and
items that use light or make shadows, (3) Large Motor Lab: large closet has upper body and large motor
equipment, white shelf has gross motor small equipment and materials, 2 wooden cabinets nearest
hallway door have musical instruments, and last wooden cabinet holds sensory materials, (4) Resource
Room: teacher planning books, equipment for cooking with children, math materials, literacy materials
(big books, books on tape, puppets), science materials, manipulatives, block accessories, puzzles,
games, and dramatic play materials. (5) the Out of School Time and Assessment Mini Studio: OST
inquiry materials, and developmental assessments, (6) Documentation Room: Laminator, die cue
machine, paper cutter and rotary cutter, and materials for documenting (i.e. tag board, mat board & blank
tapes – equipment for documenting, like cassette tape recorders & card readers may be checked out in
the Director’s office, (7) The Reading Room: K-3 Literacy Resources, Guided Reading Library, and Other
Literacy Resources, (8) Art Studio: Paper, paint supplies, roll paper, construction paper, clay, clay
materials, recyclable materials, light table, and easels, (9) The Gathering Space: Children’s books,
dramatic play clothes, and puppets, (10) Toddler Classroom: Toddler toys, and (11) The Kindergarten
Classroom: 5 and older supplies and games. Upstairs in the storage rooms (314A & 316) is extra
equipment that may be used in the classrooms.
It is imperative to survey, look at, and dig through the cabinets and storage areas (in an organized, clean
way – of course!) at the beginning of the semester to see what types of materials and tools are available
for you. Every single semester on final cleaning days, it is heard, “Geez, I wish I would have known this
______ was here. I could have used it when we _______!!!” The only way of preventing this is to know
what is available to you.
The materials and equipment are available for you to use. The planning books, big books, and K-3
materials, and children’s books may be checked through the library system and have a two week loan
period. The system is monitored. Unreturned and missing items will be fined to the person noted on the
system. Please check out books through your mentor teacher. Re-shelving of equipment and materials
shall occur when finished using the products in the classroom. Please do not leave items un-shelved or
not put away in the resource room as this leaves all of us working in an unkempt environment which isn’t
fun at all. Please put items away on a weekly basis and if it isn’t something you used, but you find it and
know where it goes – please put it away. You’ll receive hidden reward points from the “SDSU Preschool’s
Hidden Rewards Angels”.
Newsletter Policy & Procedures
Newsletters shall be sent out to parents on a weekly basis (either through hard copy or via email – please
ask during the home visit which parents may prefer). Each should contain information regarding: (1) high
points of last week’s activities (perhaps referring back to daily journal) and how the activities have shaped
this week’s direction, (2) questions the children have been proposing, (3) teacher framed potential
directions for the curriculum, (4) invitation for parent input, and specific contribution requests, and (5)
current information regarding issues or perhaps an article of interest.
51
Goals & Early Learning Guidelines may be stated in the newsletter, Think about our philosophy of
constructivism, inquiry-based learning when wording goals or provocations at all times, but especially in
the newsletters. Each newsletter should be numbered to indicate the order of publishing. For example: 3
& 4 Morning Lab, Volume 1 (Fall Semester), Issue 1 (this number would change each week). Keep a hard
copy in the classroom binder.
All newsletters must be edited and proofed by the Mentor teachers and Preschool Coordinator or Director
of the Center before going to the print lab or sending out to parent via email. Writing errors must be
corrected. Use the preschool account number to make copies, which can be obtained by the Mentor
teacher. Do not post or advertise the preschool account number to others in any way. Mentor teachers
and Teacher candidates should only use it. A copy of each week’s newsletter and lesson plan should be
given to the SDSU Preschool Coordinator each Monday.
Hallway Policy
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education hallway space is premium space that requires well
planned displays of documentation and work engaged by all involved. In order to facilitate thoughtful,
intentional, well planned displays that are somewhat uniform to provide the school with an appealing, not
overcrowded look; please talk with your mentor teacher and obtain permission from the coordinator or
director prior to putting addition materials in the hallway.
Sensory Table Policy
When using water in the sensory table, clean, new water will be used for each classroom. This is a
precaution so that water play does not spread infectious disease. The sensory table shall be supervised
to ensure that children do not drink the water. Children who have open sores on their hands shall not be
permitted to use the sensory table until their sores have healed. After each laboratory session, the water
table shall be drained and new water put into the table for the next session. The sensory table shall be
emptied and sanitized at the end of each day.
Activity Food Use Policy:
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education teaching teams follow the tenant that food should be
used wisely, rather than something to waste. All food use not intended for consumption is prohibited.
Any exception to this policy must be pre-approved by the SDSU Preschool Coordinator. Exceptions may
be given in the area of science, art, or sensory when no other nonfood substitute can be established.
Unapproved food use discovered after the activity has occurred will constitute a deduction of points or
failure, depending on the situation.
School Snacks: The snacks at the Fishback Center for ECE follow the USDA Child and Adult Care
Food Program (CACFP) guidelines for development, preparation, food storage, and serve practices.
Nutrition: Each day a nutritious snack is served. Nutritious means low-sugar, low-fat, low-preservatives,
whole grains, and fresh whenever possible. It is of utmost importance that Mentor teachers, Teacher
candidates and assistant teachers enforce this policy. Exceptions will not be made for birthdays or other
celebrations, such as end of the year gatherings. If parents would like to bring a snack for their child’s
birthday, sugar must not be listed in the first three ingredients of the recipe. Talk with parents about
bringing in low-sugar, low-fat, low-preservatives, whole grains and fresh types of snacks.
If anyone brings in a snack that is high in sugar, it will not be served. It will be provided at the end of the
day to go home with the families and the children. Then parents have a choice of giving it to their children
or not.
Snack Safety - Snack Preparation Assistance: When a teaching team member is assigned to assist Deb
in the kitchen, the team member will assist as needed or instructed by Deb. When preparing foods that
require refrigeration, after preparing the snack, it will need to be stored in the refrigerator until it is ready to
be served.
On routine basis, Deb will discard food with expiration dates. Assistants, please check foods taken from
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refrigerator for expiration dates.
Snack Considerations:
Type of Milk Served: The Fishback Center for ECE when serving milk, serves only whole milk or 2% to
children under age two & 1% for children 25 months and above.
Choking Hazards: The following food items are not served to children under age 5 because they are
choking hazards: hot dogs, whole grapes, nuts, popcorn, raw peas, hard pretzels, spoonfuls of peanut
butter, chunks of raw carrots, or large chunks of meat.
Toddler Considerations: When eating & drinking – such as during snack, all children are seated.
Toddlers do not carry bottles, sippy cups, or regular cups with them while crawling or walking.
For toddlers, teachers/snack assistants cut food into pieces no larger than ½-inch square (may be as
small as ¼”) according to each child’s chewing and swallowing capability.
Preschool Considerations: When eating & drinking – such as during snack, all children are seated.
Kindergarten Considerations: When eating and drinking – all children are seated. Children who are
present for at least two or more meals/snacks, the children brush their teeth.
Peanut-Sensitive Environment: In addition, the Fishback Center is a peanut-sensitive environment,
meaning that although we cannot control all peanuts from entering the Pugsley building due to the high
traffic of college students, the Fishback Center team will actively work to serve snacks which are peanut
free and will work to keep the environment as peanut-free as possible by actively making decisions about
peanut-free food/meal choices in the center.
Food Allergy Accommodations: Each child who has a medically documented food allergy will have
individualized snack care plan developed in consultation with family members and specialists involved in
the child’s care. For each individual plan, each child’s snack accommodations will be individually
negotiated between the family members and the center cook in order to ensure that each child’s needs
are met.
The individualized care plan will then be posted in the kitchen/snack preparation area and be attached to
the attendance chart in the classroom, if family members give consent.
Children’s allergies to any foods or other materials must be noted on the snack allergies form. Teachers
also must have a conversation with the cook outlining the allergy.
Each teaching team must assign a member to check the snack cart for non-allergic snack alternatives or
there is a designated snack available for the child.
Brookings Family Resource Network: USDA Child and Adult Care Food
Program Guidelines
Creditable foods are those foods that may be counted toward meeting the requirements for a meal.
“Other foods do not meet the requirements for any components in the meal patterns, and may supply
calories which help meet energy needs of participants and may contribute additional protein, vitamins, and
minerals. They can be used to supplement the required meal components to improve acceptability, and to
satisfy appetites. If you have any questions about the credibility of a food, please call 688-5730 or 1-800354-8238.
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Meal Service
The two meal service styles that can be used in the CACFP are pre-portioned and family style. Preportioned means that the minimal requirement (or more) of food for each required component is
prepared by an adult and given to each child on a plate or tray.
Family style mean service means that the food is placed on each table for each child to help him/herself.
Children may select the foods they want and the amount of each food they want. Minimum portions (or
more) of each required component for all children must be available for the children at the table.
During the meal, it is the responsibility of the provider to encourage each child to accept the full required
portion for each food component of the meal pattern. For example, if a child does not want a food
component, or does not want the full required portion of a meal component, the provider should offer the
food component to the child again. If minimum portions are not available to each child, the meals will be
disallowed.
Definitions or Explanations
1. Component – A food grouped in a certain category according to the CACFP Meal Pattern: milk
component, meat/meat alternate component, fruit/vegetable component, and the bread/bread alternate
component.
2. Combination foods – any single serving of food that contains two or more of the required meal
components.
3. There must be at least a 2 hour time period between each meal and a snack.
4. Fish, Game, and Home Canned Foods – not creditable under the CACFP. Can be a safety hazard
because of the danger of pollution and contamination.
5. Honey – should not be given to or used in food for infants under 1 year of age because it can cause
infant botulism.
6. Medical Exceptions – substitutions may be made for medical or dietary reasons when supported by a
statement from a recognized medical authority. The statement should specify the food or a food to be
omitted from the child’s or adult’s diet, and a choice of foods that may be substituted.
7. Serving size and portion – is described by the weight, measure, or number of pieces or slices.
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Common Combination & Commercially Prepared Food
Meal Pattern Component
Meat/Cheese
Sauce
Crust
Goulash
Meat
Tomatoes/Sauce
Macaroni
Tuna Hot Dish
Tuna/Cheese
Noodles
Tator Tot Hot Dish
Tator Tots/Vegetable
Hamburger
Spaghetti
Meat
Sauce
Spaghetti
Scalloped Potatoes/Ham
Ham/Cheese
Potatoes
Chili
Meat/Cheese
Beans
Beef Stew
Stew Meat
All vegetables count as one serving
Tacos
Meat/Cheese
Lettuce/Tomatoes-must equal ¼ cup
Lasagna
Meat/Cheese
Sauce
Noodles
Tuna Helper
Tuna/Cheese
Noodles
Hamburger Helper
Hamburger
Noodles
Sheppard’s Pie
Meat/Cheese
Potatoes
Submarine Sandwiches
Meat/Cheese
Bread
Menu Item
Pizza
Milk
With the exception of snack, fluid milk must be served at every meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Fluid
milk is also one of the options for a snack.
Fluid mild served to children two years of age and older must be: Fat-free or low-fat milk. Whole milk or
reduced fat (2%) milk may not be served to participants over two years in age.
MILK MAY NOT BE CREDITED FOR SNACK WHEN JUICE IS SERVED AS THE OTHER
COMPONENT.
Water
Throughout the day, including at meal times, water should be made available to children to during upon
their request, but it does not have to be available for children to self-serve. Although drinking water must
be made available to children during meal times, it is not part of the reimbursable meal and may not be
served instead of fluid milk.
Providers should serve water with snacks when no other beverage is being served, and instead of other
high calorie, sweetened beverages (juice drinks, soda sports drinks, etc.).
55
Substitutions
Providers may make food substitutions when one allowable food item from the planned menu is replaced
by another food from the same food component category. For example, cottage cheese may replace
hamburger or peaches replace orange slices. These substitutions are permitted to meet a child’s food
preferences, food allergies, or other health concerns, or when a menu item is not available. Substitutions
must be documented on menus when the provider decided to make the substitution.
Special Diets
Providers are required to make substitutions to the meal patterns for children whose disability restricts
their diet; they may make substitutions for other participants who are not disabled but are unable to eat
regular meals because of medical or other special dietary needs. Only a licensed physician, or recognized
medical authority, can determine whether or not a participant has a disability that restricts a child’s diet.
A medical statement is required for all substitutions and has to describe:
 The child’s disability,
 How the disability limits the child’s diet,
 The food(s) the child may not have, and;
 The food(s) that must be substituted.
Providers must make sure they understand the difference between food intolerance and a medical
disability. Providers may make substitutions (except for milk) because of intolerance or preference.
Providers must make substitutions because of a disability. Food intolerance is when there is a reaction to
a food, such as a stomachache. A medical professional might recommend that the food is avoided, but
does not order that the child cannot have it. A disability is a condition where a medical professional finds
that impairment limits a life activity (such as breathing) to the extent that the food should not be eaten at
all by the child, and orders it by addressing the above points. The written request must identify the
medical or other special dietary needs that restrict the diet of the child.
Milk Substitutions
Parents or guardians may ask for non-dairy milk substitutions without providing a medical statement. For
example, if a parent has a child who follows a vegan diet, the parent can submit a written request to the
child’s caretaker asking that soy milk be served in lieu of cow’s milk. A parent can make a request in
writing for a milk substitute without receiving a medical statement, as long as the substitute meets the
nutritional requirements.
Child Meal/Snack Requirements
Food Components
1. Milk
Milk, fluid (1% for older than 2, 2%
or whole for 2 and younger)
2. Fruits/Vegetables
Two or more kinds of vegetables or
fruit or full-strength juice or
combination
3. Bread/Bread Alternatives
Bread, or
Cornbread, biscuit, roll, muffin, or
Cooked pasta or noodle products, or
Cooked cereal grains or an
equivalent quantity of any
combination or bread or bread
Children
1 and 2 years
Children
3 through 5 years
Children
6 through 12
years
½ cup1
¾ cup
1 cup
¼ cup combined
½ cup combined
¾ cup combined
½ slice
½ serving
¼ cup
¼ cup
½ slice
½ serving
¼ cup
¼ cup
½ slice
1 serving
½ cup
½ cup
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alternatives
4. Meat/Meat Alternatives
Lean meat, poultry, or fish, or
Alternate protein product, or
Cheese, or
Egg (large), or
Cooked dry beans or peas, or
Peanut butter, soy butter, or other nut
or seed butter, or
Peanuts, soy nuts, or tree nuts or
seeds, or
Yogurt or an equivalent quantity of
any combination of meat or meat
alternatives
1 ounce
1 ounce
1 ounce
½ egg
¼ cup
2 Tbsp.
1 ½ ounces
1 ½ ounces
1 ½ ounces
¾ egg
3/8 cup
3 Tbsp.
2 ounces
2 ounces
2 ounces
1 egg
½ cup
4 Tbsp.
½ ounce
¾ ounce
1 ounce
4 ounces or ½ cup
6 ounces or ¾ cup
8 ounces or 1 cup
1 It
is NOT required to serve whole milk to one year olds, although it is highly recommended. The only
requirement is that any child 2 years of age or older be served 1% or skim milk.
Juice may not be served as second choice if milk is served as the first choice.
Possible nutritious snack ideas:
Fruits:
Vegetables:
Sliced Grapes*
Celery Sticks
Melon Slices
Carrot Sticks*
Berries
Cherry Tomato Slices
Apple Wedges*
Cucumbers
Orange Wedges
Cauliflower
Bananas
Broccoli
Peaches
Avocado
Whole Grain Foods:
Wheat Breadsticks
Cornbread
Rice Cakes
Bite-sized Cereals
Muffins
Granola
Crackers
Protein Foods:
Cheese Sticks
Stuffed Eggs
Cottage Cheese
Cream Cheese
Yogurt
Milk
*These foods present the potential for choking and must be carefully prepared and served. Also avoid
the use of nuts, hot dogs (whole or sliced into rounds), popcorn, raw peas, hard pretzels, and large
chunks of any type of food.
Policies and Procedures for Working
with Children & Families
Maintenance of Children’s Files:
Beginning of the Semester – Outside Cover of File Folder - While conducting home visits at the beginning
of the semester, children’s files should be made (if the child is new to the preschool) or updated (if the
child is returning). As a licensed facility, we have special folders for children’s information. They are
labeled, “Child Record Folder”. The information that needs to be written (in spaces provided) on the
outside of the folder includes:
(1) Child’s Date of Admission,
(2) Name of Child,
(3) Date of Birth,
(4) Child’s Address,
(5) Home Phone Number,
(6) Parent(s) Name,
(7) Parent(s) Employer(s),
(8) Emergency Contact Name & Phone,
(9) Child’s Physician and Phone,
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(10) Allergies,
(11) Immunization Record Dates for each immunization the child has had,
(12) check the boxes of “Copy of Current immunization record included in file”, if the copy is
present and “File contains written permission for emergency medical care”, if the permission form
is present. If the child’s immunizations are behind schedule due to a medical condition or for
religious reasons, please check the box next to that statement.
Beginning of the Semester – Inside the File Folder – Each child’s file should contain the following forms for
information and should be put in the file in this order:
(1) Emergency Form,
(2) Immunization Verification Form,
(3) Immunization Record,
(4) Physician’s Report,
(5) Parent Permission Form,
(6) Web Site Permission Form,
(7) Photo Release Form,
(8) Developmental History,
(9) Family Involvement Survey,
(10) Professional Portfolio Consent Form,
(11) NAEYC Child File Checklist
A copy of each child’s Emergency Form and the Class Snack/Allergies Form needs to be given to the
Preschool Coordinator and it will be kept in her office. All children’s information needs to be complete by
Sept. 10th of the fall semester or Feb. 1st of the spring semester and turned into the Coordinator’s office for
file review.
End of the Year: Each child’s folder must be organized and straightened and information from the
classroom folder needs to be transferred into the children’s file on file in the SDSU Preschool Laboratory
Coordinator’s office. If the child is leaving the program at the end of the semester, write in the “Date
Enrollment Terminated:” on the upper left hand corner of the front of the child’s file. Then make two piles
a “non-returning” pile and “returning” pile. Give both piles to your Mentor teacher.
Family – Home Connections Policy:
At the SDSU Preschool, parents and family members are considered the children’s first teacher. This
remains to be true after children are enrolled in the preschool setting. Therefore, it is our policy that
families and parents remain as central protagonists in their children’s education. It is one of our goals to
actively work to seek parental input.
Classrooms are to develop a Family-Home Connections Plan at the beginning of the semester. The
purpose of it is to increase family-teacher communication & involvement with each other. Ideally, it would
be developed with the families at a parent meeting, reviewing the family involvement questionnaires, and
through conversations with families at home visits. The following are characteristics of the program to
keep in mind as your lab is developing its plan: (1) Parent/Family Open Door Policy, (2) Using daily
communication & the documentation of daily communication in curriculum development, (3) Information
about family’s wishes for children’s individual goals, (4) documentation from formal Family Curriculum
Nights, and (5) Family Discussions.
(1) Parents are welcome in the classrooms at all times.
(2) Seek parental input through the use of daily communication, a daily communication notebook (if
used), the family questionnaires, parent observation notebook, the newsletters,
(3) Information about individual children’s goals
(4) Documentation from all family events/activities, including the Parent Advisory Council, parent
curriculum/webbing nights, family materials exploration nights, family investigation nights, and
parent-teacher conferences.
(5) Documentation from family discussions from home visits and parent-teacher conferences as well
as emailed discussions.
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Document all parental curricular input and add this information to the class’s planning log/binder. When a
suggestion is offered, try by all means to use the suggestion. If it is not used, acknowledged, or validated
in any way, that is a sign that parents/family members are not protagonists and we are merely providing lip
service our value, rather than acting on it.
Family Involvement in the Development of Curriculum Framework:
Teachers and families must meet at least once a semester to discuss program and curriculum planning,
and operations within the classroom.
Children’s Identity in the Environment:
At the SDSU Preschool Laboratory, we seek to reflect the children’s identities within the environment
throughout the school. We do this through pictures of the children, their work, documentation of their
learning, and softer, home elements that are also found within their homes.
Children’s Identity through Pictures: Each child should have a picture(s) taken during his/her home visit
that will be used on their name tag, at their coat hook & back pack locker, and on their identity card In
addition to the photo, a short interview with answers to questions asked of all children should be posted
with the child’s photo on the identity block. This should be mounted on gray paper.
Children’s Identity in Action Figures: Children love to use action figures for pretend, creative play. Each
child should have a full body picture taken on the home visit or one of the first days of school. These
pictures can then be shrunk to a variety of sizes (action figure, coat hook size, or any size in between) and
mounted on foam core to be used for dramatic, pretend play throughout the classroom.
Children’s Family Photos: Each child’s family has been asked in a summer enrollment letter to provide a
framed family photo to be placed in the classroom either on top of shelves, on the classroom wall, or other
places around the room. The photos will be in the classroom all year and will then go home with the
children at the end of the year.
Development of Individualized Goals in the Curriculum:
During the home visit, teacher candidates should involve family members in creating individualized
children’s goals as part of the plan for their child’s individualized plan. After family members have given
their ideas to the teacher candidates, mentor teachers and teacher candidates will jointly develop
individualized goals for the children. Then these individualized children’s goals will be shared with families
as the final step of the creation process.
These individualized goals should then be incorporated into the classroom’s curriculum framework, and
then brought back into the Parent-Teacher conferences as part of the developmental progress discussion.
The Fishback Center’s Program Assessment Plan: The Fishback Center teaching teams assess
children’s development and learning on an ongoing basis as part of the children’s experiences while
attending the Fishback Center for ECE. The assessment process consists of daily observations and
documentation of overall development, of the children’s individualized goals, and of their experiences
within a small group, developmental screenings, developmental checklists, and Brookings School District
standard kindergarten indicator assessments.
Children will be assessed during their typical daily schedule. Taking a child to a small, quiet room will only
occur when assessing children using developmental screenings, using standardized developmental
checklists, or using standardized curriculum indicator assessments in Kindergarten.
Timeline:
Type of assessment
Denver Developmental Screen
When does it occur
This screen occurs within the first 90 days that a
child is enrolled in the preschool program or when
the child turns three.
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Individual & Small Group Developmental Baseline
Data – based on individual children’s goals & class
goals
Daily observations of Individual, Small Group &
Class goals
Developmental Ages & Stages Screen/Checklists
Kindergarten Standard Indicators
During the first three weeks of the school year and
then for the preschool – during the first three weeks
of the second semester.
Occurs on a Daily Basis
When needed – discussed with family
Quarterly (Sept., Dec., and May)
Developmental Screening: Developmental Denver Screenings purpose is to determine a child’s growth
regarding developmental milestones. It is used to determine if a child may benefit from more in-depth
developmental assessments. Mentor teachers will discuss screening outcomes & possible potential
benefits with family members including the purpose, the scoring, and the training process for teacher
candidates, and interpretation of the screening for their child.
If a developmental delay is suspected, the mentor teacher will discuss the possibility of an additional
developmental screen, such as the Ages and Stages screen or a selected checklist or work sampling may
be used as a second tool in determining the benefit for early intervention. Communicating the possibility
of further screening is something that needs to be communicated to families in a sensitive, support and
confidential manner which also includes documentation and explanation of the concern from the first
screen, suggested next steps, and information about resources for further assessment in the early
intervention B-3 services system or the school district system if the child is older than 3 years.
Individual & Small Group Baseline Data: This data’s purpose is to determine children’s interests and the
quality of development with the aim of refinement and planning for developmental opportunities while
present at school. Areas of children’s development and learning include: cognitive development,
language development, social-emotional development, approaches to learning (such as learning
dispositions and life-long learning skills), health, and physical development (including self-help skills).
Daily Observations & Documentation – Individual, Small Group, and Class: The Daily Observations’
purpose is to capture and describe daily developmental progress and learning of children. It is to capture
their insights, thinking, and developmental achievements in order to make them visible to teaching team
and family members. Observations and documentation are also used to improve curriculum, to adapt
teaching strategies, to adapt environments, and finally to make overall program improvements.
Kindergarten Standard Indicators: The SDSU Kindergarten follows the South Dakota DOE curriculum
standards for kindergarten. The Standard Indicators assessment’s purpose is to assess children’s
learning and progress regarding selected standards.
Development of Individual, Small Group, and Class Goals: Individual, Small Group, and Class goals are
based on conversations with family members, conversations in teaching teams, the SD Early Learning
Guidelines, and the SD DOE Kindergarten Standards.
The individual goals and baseline data should be shared informally with families prior to Parent-Teacher
conference time. Teachers need to encourage families to raise concerns, help make decisions for next
steps, and collaboratively find mutually satisfying solutions that will be incorporated into classroom
practices.
Individual, Small Group, and Class goals and outcomes are discussed with family members at the
beginning of the year during the goal planning process; progress is incorporated into preschool children’s
portfolios and kindergarten children’s report cards, and discussed during fall and spring parent-teacher
conferences. Informal conversations with family members also occur as needed throughout the year.
Children’s individual goal information will be kept in their record files and only used in the curriculum
planning log, and individual portfolio development.
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Difficulties During Interactions with Families: While communicating with family members, listen to the
family members’ requests, write their requests down, and discuss the possible actions that may occur to
bring these requests into practice in the classroom. If difficulties arise when discussing a concern or
issue, notify your mentor teacher immediately so that he/she is aware of your ongoing communication with
family members. If necessary, offer to have a discussion with the mentor teacher to discuss the concern.
If the family member does not speak English and difficulty is occurring through a family member
translating because of the dual role of that family member (being a concerned member and a translator),
offer to have a translator present when meeting with the mentor teacher.
Creating an Individualized Classroom Assessment Plan: Family member conversations and teaching
team discussions (of individual, small group, and class baseline data) facilitate the individualization
process of the Fishback Center’s Program Assessment Plan. Outcomes from these conversations should
then be used to create a classroom plan for class goals, small group goals, and individual goals for each
child.
Parent-Teacher Conference Policy:
Families are invited to schedule a parent-teacher conference each semester, yet are only required to have
one a year. Parent-Teacher Conferences will be scheduled approximately two-weeks in advance with
families. Each lab will be assigned a particular day for conferences. Each Teacher candidate should
personally speak to their families about conference times and work with them individually to find a
convenient time on the assigned day if at all possible. Try to schedule most conferences in the evening as
the rooms are more available. There are a limited number of spaces available for conference during the
day. Once scheduled, the conference times may be posted in the hallway on the parents’ bulletin board
for parental reference, however, balance confidentially with providing information. Once a conference
time is secured, add the time to the Parent-Teacher Conferences Master List located in the center’s main
scheduling book at the front desk. The Master List serves as the method of assigning the conference
location. It will be on a clip board, near the computer sign-up clip boards. If there is a conflict with the
number of conferences scheduled at one time (i.e. lack of location for a conference), those scheduled and
on the Master List take precedence over those not scheduled on the Master List.
Mentor teachers and Teacher candidates shall work together to equip parent-teacher conference rooms
with a lap top computer to show the e-folios, a video camera or cassette tape recorder to capture the
conference interaction. When possible, record the conferences digitally as this method gives more
detailed information regarding how the conference went.
Child Abuse/Neglect Reporting Policy
In accordance with state law, lab staff will report any suspected incidence of child abuse and/or neglect to
the Department of Social Services, Child Protection Services. If you suspect that you have witnessed
possible abuse or neglect of children, the following information is vital when reporting this suspected
abuse or neglect to authorities:
1. The name and address of the child you suspect is being abused or neglected.
2. The age of the child.
3. The name and address of the parent or caretaker of the child.
4. The name of the person you suspect is abusing or neglecting the child.
5. Why you suspect the child has been abused or neglected.
6. Names and ages of other additional children in the household.
7. Location where the incidents occurred.
8. Primary language of the family.
9. Family composition.
10. Nature and extent of suspected abuse or neglect.
11. Any other helpful information.
The Department of Social Services Office is located at 1310 Main Avenue South, Suite 101, in Brookings.
The phone number for the child abuse reporting intake worker is 1-866-847-7335. The Mentor teacher is
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responsible for making the call to Child Protection. If the child is in immediate danger, call the
Department of Social Services (688-4334), or call the police department (692-2113) immediately.
Any other reports must be made within 24 hours of occurrence.
If there are some suspicions of possible abuse or neglect, and you are not at the point of reporting the
case to Child Protection, the school will maintain a “red flag” file to document any potential ongoing
concerns.
General Signs of Child Sexual Abuse
Type of Behavioral Indicator
Drawings, pictures, or stories with a strong, unusual, or bizarre
sexual theme
Overt sexual behavior (individually and/or with peers
Withdrawal from peer interaction
Aggressive behavior
Extreme fear of being alone with men or boys
Extreme fear of showers and restrooms (these are common places
for sexual abuse to occur)
Poor attention span or daydreaming
Poor self-concept
Aggressive behavior, poor peer relations
Reluctant or fearful about going home after school
Frequent absences, low regard for the child’s school performance
Appearance of behavior often seems more mature or older than
their age mates.
Manipulative behavior
Refusal to dress for physical education
Unwillingness to participate in recreational activities
Repeated attempts to run away from home by a child who does not
have other behavioral problems
Drug Use
Prostitution
Frequent absences from school that are justified by a parent only.
Ages 0-8
Ages 9 &
Older
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Physical/Medical Indicators
A. Venereal disease in young children
B. Evidence of physical trauma to genital area
C. Complaints of pain around the genital area
D. Unusual and offensive body odors
E. Bruises in external genitalia, vagina, or anal regions
F. Bleeding from external genitalia, vagina, or anal regions
G. Swollen or red cervix, vulva, or perineum
H. Positive tests for gonococcus, spermatozoa, pregnancy
I. At the hospital
1. A parent’s reluctance to give information
2. A parent’s inappropriate response to the abuse or injury
3. Disagreement between parents as to the cause of the injury
4. Clinical finding which do not coincide with the story the parent relates
5. The child’s medical history indicates visits to various hospitals for treatment of similar
injuries
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Family Indicators of Sexual Abuse
A. Families characterized by extreme paternal dominance
B. Extreme over-protectiveness toward the child, particularly by the (step) father
C. Families characterized by a marked role reversal between the mother and daughter
D. Families who severely over-react to their child receiving sex education
E. Families who are socially isolated from the rest of the community and attempt to isolate their children
F. Prolonged absence of one parent from the home
G. Loss of one parent through death or divorce
H. Overcrowding in home – insufficient sleeping space
I. Alcoholism
26-8A-3. Persons required to report child abuse or neglected child – Intentional failure as
misdemeanor. Any physician, dentist, doctor of osteopathy, chiropractor, optometrist, mental health
professional or counselor, podiatrist, psychologist, religious healing practitioner, social worker, hospital
intern or resident, parole or court services officer, law enforcement officer, teacher, school counselor,
school official, nurse, licensed or registered child welfare provider, chemical dependency counselor or
coroner, who have reasonable cause to suspect that a child under the age of eighteen has been abused
or neglected as defined in 26-8A-2 shall report that information in accordance with 26-8A-6, 26-8A-7 and
26-8A-8. Any person who intentionally fails to make the required report is guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor. Any person who knows or has reason to suspect that a child has been abused or
neglected as defined in 26-8A-2 may report that information as provided in 26-8A-8.
Punishable by 1 year and/or $1,000 fine
26-8A-7. Child abuse or neglect reports by school personnel – Failure as misdemeanor – Written
policy required. Any person who has contact with a child through the performance of services in any
public or private school, whether accredited or unaccredited, as a teacher, school nurse, school counselor,
school official or administrator, or any person providing services pursuant to 13-27-3 shall notify the school
principal or school superintendent or designee of suspected abuse or neglect. The school principal or
superintendent shall report the information in accordance with the provisions of 26-8A-8. Any person who
knowingly and intentionally fails to make a required report is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Each
school district shall have a written policy on reporting of child abuse and neglect.
Source: SL 1984, ch 192, 6; 1985, ch 215, 3: 1991, ch 217, 116B; SDCL Supp, 26-10-11.1.
Cross-References. Penalties for classified misdemeanors, 22-6-2.
26-8A-8. Oral report of abuse or neglect – To whom made – Response report. The reports required
by 26-8A-3, 26-8A-6 and 26-8A-7 and by other sections of this chapter shall be made orally and
immediately by telephone or otherwise to the state’s attorney of the county in which the child resides or is
present, to the department of social services or to law enforcement officers. The state’s attorney or law
enforcement officers, upon receiving a report, shall immediately notify the department of social services.
Any person receiving a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect shall keep the report confidential
as provided in 26-8A-13, except as otherwise provided in chapter 26-7A or this chapter.
The person receiving a report alleging child abuse or neglect shall ask whether or not the reporting party
desires a response report. If requested by the reporting person, the department of social services or the
concerned law enforcement officer shall issue within thirty days, a written acknowledgment of receipt of
the report and a response stating whether or not the report will be investigated.
26-8A-13. Confidentiality of abuse or neglect information – Violation as misdemeanor – Release to
certain parties. All investigative case records and files relating to reports of child abuse or neglect are
confidential, and no disclosure of any such records, files or other information may be made except as
authorized in chapter 26-7A or this chapter. Any person who knowingly violates the confidential nature of
the records, files or information is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The department of social services
may release records, file or other information to the following parties upon the receipt by the department of
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a request showing that it is necessary for the parties to have such information in the performance of
official functions relating to child abuse or neglect:
1. The attorney general, the state’s attorneys, law enforcement agencies, protective services
workers and judges of the courts investigating reports of known or suspected child abuse or
neglect;
2. The attorney or guardian of the child who is the subject of the information;
3. Public officials or their authorized representatives who require the information in connection
with the discharge of official duties;
4. Institutions and agencies that have legal responsibility or authorization to care for, treat or
supervise a child who is the subject of the information or report;
5. An adoptive parent of the child who is the subject of the information or report and a licensed
child welfare agency for screening of applicants;
6. A state, regional or national registry of child abuse and neglected cases and courts or record of
other states;
7. A validly appointed and registered child protection team under 26-8A-17; and
8. A physician who has before him a child whom the physician reasonably suspects may be
abused or neglected.
The receiving party shall hold information received by an authorized receiving party confidential. However,
the court may order the release of the information or any portion of it necessary for the determination of an
issue before the court.
1.
2.
3.
4.
FOUR TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE
PHYSICAL
SEXUAL
NEGLECT
EMOTIONAL - Victims of sexual abuse will most likely be victims of emotional abuse
AGE DATING OF BRUISES
AGE
0-2 days
0-5 days
5-7 days
7-10 days
10-14 days
2-4 weeks
COLOR
swollen, tender
red, blue, purple
green
yellow
brown
cleared
Authorization to Pick Up Child/Authorized Release Policy
Children will only be released to parent or an authorized person. Authorized people are listed on the
Emergency Forms. Authorized people are those who may pick up a child from school without prior notice
to the teacher. Become familiar with the authorized people for your assigned children. Under no
circumstances will a child be released to anyone not on this form without written authorization from the
parents. The staff recognizes that it is legal for either parent to pick up a child unless we have a copy of a
court issued protection order.
Health – Care During the Day Policy
Dressing for Outside: To protect against the different types of South Dakota weather, teachers and
family members will work together to help children have optimum protection. During winter months,
children will wear clothing that is dry and layered for warmth.
On sunny days, when parents/guardians have given written permission, children will have UVB and UBA
protection through sunblock with is SPF 15 or higher applied to exposed skin before going outside.
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When public health authorities recommend the use of insect repellents due to high risk times, and when
parents have given written permission, teachers will apply insect repellent, (but not more than once a day).
Hand-washing: Teaching team members and children who are developmentally able to learn personal
hygiene are taught and then practice appropriate hand-washing procedures. For teachers, volunteers,
and children hand-washing is required. Teachers always monitor hand-washing with young children and
assist as needed to have successful completion of the process.
Children and teachers wash their hands:
*at the beginning of the day
*after diapering or toileting has occurred
*after handling body fluids (e.g. blowing or wiping nose, coughing on hand/arm, or touching
mucus, blood, or vomit.
*before snacks
*before preparing or serving food
*after handling any raw food that requires cooking (e.g. meat, eggs, poultry)
*after playing in water that is shared by two or more people
*after handling pets and other animals or surfaces that might be contaminated by contact with
animals
*after touching sand or dirt
*when moving from one group to another (e.g. visiting the toddlers)
Teachers/adults also wash their hands:
*before and after feeding a child
*before and after administering medication (including sunblock)
*after assisting a child with toileting
*after handling garbage or cleaning an area
Proper hand-washing procedures to be used by adults and children include:
*Using liquid soap and running water
*Rubbing hands vigorously for at least 10 seconds including back of hands, wrists, between
fingers, under and around any jewelry, and under fingernails
*Rinse well
*Dry hands with a paper towel, using a single use towel – avoid touching the faucet with justwashed hands
*Turn off faucet using a paper towel
Disinfecting Toys Policy: A toy that a child has placed in his or her mouth or that is otherwise
contaminated by body secretion or excretion is either to be washed by had using water and detergent and
then rinsed, sanitized, and air dried or washed and dried in a mechanical dishwasher before being used
again.
Standard Precautions - Wearing Gloves Policy: Standard precautions are used when touching
surfaces that may come in contact with potentially infectious body fluids and are used to reduce the
spread of infectious disease. Gloves must be worn when handling blood or body fluids that might contain
blood, including when diapering, when spills of body fluids occur (which are cleaned up immediately with
detergent and rinsed with water), when sanitizing nonporous surfaces, when spot cleaning rugs with
detergent-dis-infectant, and when disposing of contaminated materials and diapers in plastic bags.
Diapering Procedures: For children who are not yet able to use the toilet consistently, teachers will
check at least once every two hours (and when awakening – if ever napping) and change diapers when
needed. When changing – at all times, the teacher has a hand on the child when the child is being
changed on an elevated surface.
For diapering, teaching teams will only use disposable diapers, unless the child has a medical reason to
not use disposable diapers.
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For children who require cloth diapers, the diaper must have an absorbent inner lining completely
contained within an outer covering made of waterproof material. Both the diaper and the outer covering
are changed as a unit. Cloth diapers (and any clothing) that are soiled by urine or feces are immediately
placed in a plastic bag (without rinsing or avoidable handing) and sent home that day for laundering.
Diapering Environment: In the changing area, changing procedures (as outlined in the Cleaning and
Sanitation Frequency Table) are posted and followed. The changing table is cleaned and sanitized after
each use.
The surfaces used for changing are not used for other purposes, including temporary placement of other
objects. Containers that hold soiled diapers and diapering materials have a lid that opens and closes
tightly by using a hands-free device (step can). The containers are kept closed and are not accessible to
children.
Teachers do not use hand-washing sinks for bathing children or for removing smeared fecal material. If a
hand-washing sink is used in this fashion, it must be cleaned and sanitized before hand-washing may
occur again.
Medications Policy: Prescription or over-the-counter medicines will not be given to children while at
school. Please ask about children’s allergies to any foods or other materials on the home visits.
Illness: The teacher who greets each child upon arrival will also do an observational health check of the
children. Children may be sent home if they look too ill to be at school. If a child becomes ill at school,
contact the parents immediately. If called, parents are responsible for picking up the child immediately.
Parents are asked to carefully consider the wellbeing of their child and teachers when deciding how soon
after an illness their child should return to school. Also, teachers recovering from an illness should
consider the wellbeing of the children and other staff members before returning to work. We expect that
children, and staff, will fully participate in the school day. If parents prefer their child to not be outside
due to illness, their child is not ready to return to school.
We suggest these guidelines when parents question if their child should stay at home, or if staff should
return to work:
*Has a fever or has had one during the previous 24-hour period
*Has just started taking an antibiotic. Ask a doctor when the child’s condition
will no longer be considered contagious (usually 24-48 hours).
*Has a heavy nasal discharge
*Is fussy, cranky, and generally out of sorts
*Is just tired. Rest at such times may prevent the development of serious illness
*Has vomited or had loose stools more than once in the past 24 hours.
*Has an unexplained rash.
*Has symptoms of a possible communicable disease
If a child becomes ill at school, a teacher or staff member with whom the child is comfortable will provide
care for the child excluding him or her from the regular classroom activities. There is an “Illness Tub”
located in the supply cabinet across from the washer and dryer that has a blanket, pillow, and a mat if the
child needs to lie down. The child and teacher should go to a quiet, calm spot to rest or read books until
the child’s parent arrives. Each time the materials in the “Illness Tub” are used, they should be washed.
Please give to Deb or leave a note on her desk requesting that the washing of the materials.
Communicable Diseases Policy:
If children are exposed to or break out with a contagious disease, parents are asked to let the Mentor
Teacher know the date of exposure so other parents and teachers can be made aware of the possibility of
exposure.
Teaching teams will alert families and other center teaching teams verbally and in writing about any
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unusually level of an exposure to a disease, signs and symptoms of the disease, mode of transmission,
period of communicability, and control measures that the program is implementing and control measures
that are being implemented at the program and that individuals should implement at home to help prevent
further spread and to help take the steps needed for treatment.
When CMV (Cytomegalovirus), Rubella, Chicken pox, or Fifth Disease are reported to be present at the
center, expectant parents and individuals on the teaching team who are pregnant will be told immediately
in order to take steps to control exposure to the disease.
Following is a list of some common communicable diseases, their symptoms, and control measures.
Communicable Disease
Symptoms
Control Measures
CMV (Cytomegalovirus)*
Mainly a silent infection, when
present symptoms may be like cold
symptoms. Detected by a blood
test.
Spread by contact with bodily
fluids. Control: Hand wash,
control for surface to surface
contact. Separate to minimize
exposure.
Chicken Pox*
Fever, red rash with blister like
scabs.
Incubation/ 2-3 weeks after
exposure. Control: Exclude
children 5-6 days after first
eruptions.
Conjunctivas (Pinkeye)
Swelling of the lids, yellow
discharge from eyes, and redness
of white portion of eye.
Incubation/1-3 days after exposure.
Control: Exclude until treated and
no discharge is apparent.
Impetigo
Infection of skin. Forms crusty,
moist lesions on face, hands, nose,
and ears
Highly Contagious! Incubation/210 days after exposure. Control:
Control: Exclude until lesions have
been treated for 24-48 hours.
Lice
Itching of scalp, behind ears, and
base of neck.
Incubation/Nits hatch in 1 week.
Control: Exclude until treated. All
nits must be eliminated before
returning to school.
Fifth’s Disease*
Bright red rash on face, especially
cheeks.
Contagious before rash appears.
Control: Exclude child if known
exposure to Fifth’s Disease.
Common Cold
Slight fever, chills, runny nose,
fatigue, muscle and headaches.
Control: Exclude first day or two.
Watch for further complications:
earaches, bronchitis, croup,
pneumonia
Ringworm
Infections of skin, scalp, or nails.
Oval lesions that may be moist and
crusted or dry and scaly.
Control: Exclude until treated with
a fungicidal ointment.
Scabies
Burrows under the skin, especially
between the fingers, around wrists,
elbows, waist, buttocks, and thighs.
Incubation/1-4 days. Control:
Exclude child until anti-parasitic
treatment is started
Rubella*
Rash on skin.
Spread through air or close
contact. Contagious 1 week before
rash appears until 1 – 2 weeks after
the rash disappears. Control:
Exclude children during
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contagious period.
Strep infections
High fever with sore throat. May
experience vomiting, headache,
white patches on tongue, and
enlarged glands.
Incubation 1-4 days. Control:
Exclude child for 36 hours after
antibiotic treatment is started.
* Diseases can be life-threatening to fetuses. Pregnant women will be immediately informed of cases when present.
Daily Indoor and Outdoor Safety Check Policy & Procedure:
Each day an indoor and outdoor Safety Check will occur. Teaching teams will actively protect children and
adults from hazards including electrical shock, burns, or scalding, slipping, tripping, or falling. Floor
coverings are secured to keep all from tripping or slipping. The Daily Safety is documented by completing
the Daily Safety Check form.
An Indoor Safety Check includes: (1) Locking bleach in cupboard – away from child’s accessibility, (2)
checking electrical cords for fraying or broken protective material – report any findings, (3) remove any
potential for burns or scalding (always have 1:1 supervision for cooking activities), (4) check all rugs for
secure anti-slip material, and (5) check all doorways for slippery floor or obstruction – clear and clean
when needed.
An Outdoor Safety Check includes: (1) do a perimeter check for trash (including glass, large sticks,
paper/cans, animal feces, dead animals, or other safety hazards - pick up if found), (2) check hanging bar
and remove any large blocks or rocks from around the space, (3) check tunnels and remove any rocks or
blocks from around them, and (4) check gates to make sure they are securely closed.
Accidents, Emergencies, and Natural Disaster Procedures
Accidents
In case of accidental injury of a child, a teacher will provide immediate first aid. First aid kits are located in
each classroom, in the large motor lab (on white cubby unit), on the playground (in green storage shed),
and in the resource room – first aid back pack for field trips is located in the cupboard above Luci – first
computer on the left. Additionally, a teacher from the same team (mentor teacher or asst. lead teacher)
will make an immediate attempt to contact the parents, or the designated contact person that is listed on
our Emergency Form. This Emergency Form asks for emergency contact persons and for a listing of
physicians authorized to call in case medical attention or dental attention is needed and parents cannot be
reached. The Parental Permission Emergency Form informs parents of possible steps and obtains
permission for authorized personnel to take whatever steps may be necessary to obtain emergency
medical care if warranted. The school keeps up to date phone numbers, emergency numbers, and other
pertinent information by the phone in the kitchen.
If lab staff is unable to reach the parents or contact person, we will call the child’s physician. If necessary,
we will call the Brookings ambulance service. Until the arrival of a parent, physician, or an ambulance, the
Mentor Teacher or Preschool Coordinator will be in charge and make all decisions about the care of the
child. The children are covered by Class II accident insurance if injured while at school. This insurance
will cover costs that family’s insurance will not.
Emergency Evacuations
Each classroom has periodic evacuation drills to prepare the children to follow appropriate procedures.
 Fire: Should a fire occur, the children will be taken to the Lincoln Music Hall’s Schultz Room, the
building just north of the school. Fire drills are practiced monthly for each classroom.
 Bomb Threat or Natural Disaster which constitutes leaving campus/building: In event of a
bomb threat (or natural disaster which constitutes leaving campus) to the University,
children will be taken to Bravos Restaurant on 6th Street and Medary Ave. The provisions of water
and food will be taken along using a utility cart.
 Tornado: should a tornado occur, the children would be taken to the inner hallway of Pugsley,
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



near the elevator. Tornado drills are performed once per year (in the spring).
Utilities Failure: If the failure is deemed to be temporary via information from the Director or
Coordinator through the Physical Plant staff, then staff and children may continue the remainder
of the day, using emergency flashlights in each room and moving to areas with greater windows
(art studio or gathering space). If the failure is long term or also has affected the heating system,
mentor teachers will contact parents to inform them of program closing due to utilities failure.
Security Threat: The University is a weapon-free educational environment, if there has been a
sighted security threat, the person making the sighting shall inform the director and the
coordinator. The Director and the Coordinator shall inform university police and inform mentor
teachers. The teachers and the children shall remain in the classrooms with locked doors. The
mini-blinds on classroom windows will be closed in order to lessen the ability to view classrooms.
The children shall be engaged in quiet activities away from direct sight of classroom doors
windows if possible.
Lost or missing children: All mentor teachers will do a head count of the children prior to
leaving their classroom to ensure that the number matches the emergency number of children
posted that day. The mentor teacher will do a second head count to ensure all children are
present. IF a child is missing from the group when the group arrives at designated location, the
mentor teacher will inform the Coordinator or Director of the program and the Coordinator or
Director will re-trace the route to search for lost child. If Coordinator and Director are not present,
the mentor teacher will designate a teacher to be “in charge” of the class, tell the teacher of the
intended search route, and then go in search of the child.
In the case of emergencies: families will pick up children from the above locations instead of
inside the classroom.
Safety of Teaching Team Adults: In order to reduce back strain, squat down or sit on the floor when
interacting with children. Use legs to lift rather than back muscles. When in doubt of lifting, ask another
for help. Team work can lessen the load rather than carrying something alone.
Daily Interactions with Families and Children
Daily Health Check Procedure
Arrival Procedure: When children arrive at the SDSU Preschool Laboratory, they should proceed to their
classroom area and if early wait in the hallway outside the classroom. The parent or adult authorized to
transport the child must remain with the child until the child has been welcomed into the classroom. If you
see children wandering about, ask them where their parent is and remind them that they need to be with
an adult.
The greeting teacher should ask parents or authorizing adults to provide information about how the child is
doing that day. Ask questions about the child’s routine and daily interactions that relate to the questions
below:
*How the child slept the night before
*The child’s mood and demeanor that day
*If the child had eaten well, or what he/she has eaten so far that day
*If there had been any change in routine/activities for the family at home which
*may impact the child
*If there had been any sign of illness: fever, skin eruptions, vomiting, diarrhea,
discolored mucus with frequent sneezing or coughing, extreme fatigue, swollen
glands, discharge from eyes, or sore throat
This information constitutes our Daily Health Check. Its extremely important information as it can
influence the child and his/her day.
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Parents or authorized adult must accompany their child to the classroom each day, and greet the
welcoming teacher to let the teacher know that the child is now in the teacher’s care. When leaving the
classroom, parent or authorized adults must say good-bye to their child so that the child knows the parent
or authorized adult is leaving the classroom. If a parent anticipates that the child may have a difficult time
with separation, the Mentor Teacher or Teacher candidates should be asked to offer support and
suggestions to help the parent’s departure.
Departure Procedure: When children are getting ready to leave and parents are coming in, greet each of
your parents and tell EACH PARENT/ADULT CAREGIVER some information about their child’s day
(i.e. an achievement that they have been working on for a long time, a play theme they participated in, the
children they played with or seem to be developing a friendship with, their energy level that day, or
something you noticed about their development that day). In addition, always tell parents about an injury
or accident their child was involved in if the parent was not called immediately
Safety at Arrival and Departure
The SDSU Preschool Laboratory recognizes the less than ideal conditions for parking and walking young
children in and out of the laboratory. Because of the concerns associated with parking lots and walking
through a building with many halls, we ask that parents observe all of the safety recommendations below.
The safety and well-being of the children is always our number one concern.
For Children:
1. Once the car is parked, children should stay in the car until an adult helps them out. Children
must not be left unattended in cars when dropping off siblings.
2. Children should stay near their car until an adult accompanies them into the laboratory.
3. Children should walk or be held, rather than running, into the building and down the halls.
Walking increases awareness and lessens the chance of tripping or falling.
4. Children should be near an adult until safely in their classroom. Although children are anxious
to practice their growing independence, we ask that parents help ensure their child’s safety by
remaining with them at all times as they enter and leave the building.
5. For children who use wheelchairs, the east entrance of the Pugsley building is ADA
accessible. The ramp is located in the Family Gathering Space.
6. For children who arrive using the Brookings Area Transit Association (BATA) bus, at arrival a
teacher will meet the child(ren) at the west entrance of Pugsley, make eye contact with the
driver and greet him or her as a way to transfer care from driver to teacher. At departure, a
teacher will walk out and stay with the child(ren) until their bus arrives. The teacher will make
eye contact with the driver and greet him or her as she/he assists the child onto the bus.
Please help parents and family members remember to use these safety guidelines by gently reminding
them at the open house, through newsletters, or one – to - one interaction.
Children’s Items from Home
In the event that children bring items from home, the toy or object will remain in their locker during the
majority of the day. “Security objects” such as blankets or teddy bears are sometimes needed to facilitate
the transition from home to school. Children families may be encouraged to bring items to school as it fits
with the curriculum. Remember include notes in the newsletters and in the Family Involvement binder
when you would like to encourage this type of activity.
Supporting Relationships with Children
Interaction with others – friendship building:
Teachers facilitate children’s friendships by supporting children as they enter into play, coaching children
as they sustain their play with others, and building on children’s play to help enhance it. Teachers also
assist children in resolving conflicts by helping them identify their feelings, describe problems at hand, and
try alternative solutions. Teachers do this by using the problem solving method taught in ECE 228.
Teachers also guide children who are bullying, isolating, or hurts others to see the other child’s
perspective and how it hurts the other person. Finally, teachers need to facilitate children how are socially
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reserved by coaching or supporting their interactions in order to provide opportunities to fully engage.
Interaction with others – countering bias:
Teachers should counter act potential bias and discrimination by treating children with respect and
consideration, by initiating activities and discussions that build positive self-identity of all children and that
teach the value of differences. Teachers should counter potential events of teasing or rejection by
supporting children’s interactions and pointing out each other’s perspectives when teasing or rejection
could potentially occur. Teachers also help to prevent rejection and teasing by providing models and
visual images of adult role models, and by avoiding using stereotypes when speaking to children.
Addressing Persistent Challenging Behavior:
When working with children who have persistent, challenging behavior, please document and discuss
concerns with Mentor Teacher who will then take the concerns to director to discuss a possible referral for
further team intervention. Teaching teams will work with family members and director to try preventative
strategies and will work with community professionals if early intervention is needed.
Challenging behavior is defined by “…any behavior that (1) interference with children’s learning,
development, and success at play, (2) is harmful to the child, other children, or adults, [or] (3) puts a child
at high risk for later social problems or school failure.” (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2007, p.8). Persistent is
defined by continuing over time, worsening, or not responding to preventative measures.
Teaching Team-Child Ratios
Developmentally appropriate teaching staff-child ratios will be maintained throughout the day in a group,
and small group including indoor time, outdoor time, transitions, and small group times as guided by the
table below. For small group investigations, teacher-candidates must always be present when small
groups participate in ECE 361, 362 or 365 activities with methods students. This is to ensure the small
groups have one teacher who is CPR and First Aid certified at all times.
For fieldtrips, a ratio of 1 adult to 2-3 children needs to be met. For walking field trips it is recommended
to have a ratio of 1 adult to 2 children.
Age Group
Infants
Toddlers
12 to 28
months
Toddlers
21 to 36
months
Preschool
2.5 to 3
years
Preschool
4 years
Preschool
5 years
Kindergarten
6
1:3
1:3
Teacher-Child Ratios Within Group Size
Group Size
10
12
14
16
18
20
8
1:4
1:4
1:4
1:4
1:4
1:5
1:6
1:6
1:7
1:8
1:9
1:8
1:9
1:10
1:8
1:9
1:10
1:10
22
24
1:11
1:12
When possible, children and mentor teachers move together throughout the Toddler and Preschool
programs. This encourages relationship building, trust, and stability while children are enrolled at the
laboratory school.
Discipline & Guidance
Discipline/guidance is used in the classroom to help the children understand limits in the class, and to help
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the children learn how to set their own inner self-controls. Appropriate discipline/guidance allows children
to respect themselves and others and to cultivate respect for each other within the classroom setting.
Teacher will never use physical punishment, shaking or hitting, psychological abuse or coercion, or
withhold food as a form of discipline.
Discipline/guidance begins even before the children arrive through thoughtful planning of appropriate
environments and placement of materials within the classroom to prevent potential problems.
When working with children, our approach to discipline and guidance will be characterized by: (1)
consistency, firmness, and benevolence, (2) clear, consistent limitations that are gently enforced, (3)
encouragement of internal, self-discipline, (4) modeling and teaching positive behaviors, (5) facilitating a
positive self-esteem by accepting children’s feelings, and (6) modeling problem-solving techniques.
Positive reinforcement, encouragement, offering choices, redirection, limit setting, and joint problem
solving are most effective tolls of discipline. The teachers within the classroom evaluate and decide the
most appropriate form of discipline/guidance to use with each situation.
Discipline/guidance is not equated with punishment. Isolated time out practices are not utilized. Children,
when their bodies are out of control, may be directed to sit down with a teacher to take a break, calm their
bodies, and discuss appropriate choices or how to use calmer bodies while inside.
In handling some behaviors, Mentor teachers may ask parents for information on how they deal with
behavior at home. The teacher will strive to incorporate successful and appropriate family guidance
strategies into the classroom. Likewise, parents are encouraged to ask information from the Mentor
teacher and/or teachers concerning different approaches to handling their child’s behaviors.
Classroom Limits
Each classroom is responsible for establishing a set of limits that are enforced through positive discipline
techniques. Limits are individualized based on the dynamic characteristics of the specific group of children,
their ages and stages of development, and teaching styles of the Mentor teachers and teachers. All staff is
responsible for ensuring that limits are set, understood, and enforced. At a minimum, children must show
respect for themselves, other people, the property of other people, and school property.
Guidelines to Classroom Management, Speech, and Actions
Classroom Management:
1. Limit Setting: State suggestions or directions in a positive form.
2. Limit Setting: Clearly define and consistently maintain limits when they are necessary.
3. Provide Choices: Give children a choice only when you intend to leave the situation up to them.
4. Internal Motivation: Help children set personal standards based on their own past performance,
rather than on comparisons with peers.
5. Building Self: Use methods of guidance that build children’s confidence and self-respect.
6. Redirection: Find a focus for a redirection that is consistent for the child’s purpose and interest.
7. Positive Reinforcement: Make your directions effective by reinforcing them in a positive way.
8. Problem Solving: Learn to foresee and support children’s problem solving. Scaffold children’s
attempts rather than solving the problem for them.
Actions:
1. Use your voice as a teaching tool.
2. Time directions and suggestions for maximum effectiveness.
3. Observe the individual way children use art media, explore the materials yourself, but avoid
making models for children to copy.
4. Give children the minimum help in order that they may have the maximum change to grow in their
skills/abilities.
5. Use the most strategic positions for supervising.
6. Make health and safety of the children primary concern.
7. Increase your research abilities and awareness by observing and taking notes.
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Adapted from: Read, K., Gardner, P., & Mahler, B (1993). Early childhood programs, human relationships and learning (9th
Ed.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Some Helpful Principles of Guidance
1. Have self-confidence in your ability to handle the children in your care.
2. Try to see the child’s point of view & view the child as capable and competent.
3. Learn what to expect of children at different stages of development.
4. Accept each child as he/she is. Guard against preference for any one child.
5. Cultivate a distinct but low, pleasant speaking voice.
6. Speak to each child individually rather than to the group – to the child, stoop to his/her level and
speak to him/her directly rather than call across the room or yard
7. Avoid the use of “don’t” – make directions positive such as:
“You need to do”…, “It’s time to”, “At school we” .
However, avoid the “royal we”. Avoid “We need to use the balls close to the ground”,
when you really mean “You need to use the balls close to the ground”. Only include
yourself when you are really participating in the activity.
8. Offer only two choices, and always choice of which either would be acceptable.
9. Encourage and safeguard the child’s self-reliance and self-confidence – avoid creating fear.
10. Convey to the child that you disapprove of what he/she has done, but not of him/her personally.
11. Give the child the benefit of the doubt, when there is doubt.
Principles of Guidance – Things to Avoid
1. Never use physical punishment, shaking or hitting.
2. Never use psychological abuse or coercion.
3. Never withhold food as a form of discipline.
4. Avoid using threats or derogatory remarks.
5. Avoid discussing a child with another adult or child in his/her presence.
6. Avoid pushing children beyond their limits – this usually causes frustration.
7. Avoid putting too much stress on being “good” or “bad”.
8. Avoid comparing on child against another.
9. Avoid using “I like the way…….” statements.
10. Avoid ridiculing or shaming a child.
11. Avoid raising your voice in irritation or disapproval – instead be firm and positive.
12. Avoid hurrying a child.
13. Avoid deceiving a child.
14. Avoid exploiting a child.
15. Avoid needlessly interrupting or interfering with a child’s play.
16. Avoid having children wait – boredom broods problems.
17. Avoid forcing children to say they are sorry. This will not build empathy. Rather request the child
be actively involved in caring for hurt child.
18. Avoid frightening a child.
19. Avoid teasing a child.
General Guidelines for Expected Behavior and Limit Setting
1. Observe, anticipate, and intervene at the appropriate level before play becomes out-ofbounds.
2. Maintain limits that have been established for the area. Check with the head teacher for
clarification of the limits.
3. Use appropriate guidance techniques:
a. Positive statements
b. Redirection
c. Clear choices
d. Problem-solving techniques
e. Reinforce pro-social behaviors
f. Provide for the safety of children at all times
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4. Help keep the area attractive and functional by helping the children to keep the area picked up
and uncluttered.
5. Encourage children’s participation by commenting on the process, that is, what they are fixing
and how they are doing it. Comment on their effort, concentration, perseverance, problemsolving, and satisfaction.
6. Use comments and questions thoughtfully and judiciously.
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Quiet Story Area
Focus of Interventions: The teacher focus in this area should be on facilitating language development
through the use of books, puppets, flannel-board stories, and quiet games and on creating a quiet
retreat from the more active areas of the room.
Specific Guidelines
1. The teacher’s level of involvement in this area will vary according to the children’s interests
and needs. Appropriate teacher behaviors include reading stories, conversing, watching a
puppet story, signing quietly, and modeling appropriate behaviors
2. Help children maintain a quiet and calm level of activity.
3. Children frequently retreat to this area when tired or distressed. Be aware of signs of
emotional neediness and physical illness.
4. Monitor the amount of time children spend in this area; some children may need help reentering the more active areas. Perhaps after reading a maximum of 4 stories, encourage
children to find something else to do. Some children will need a teacher’s suggestions and
presence to make the transition.
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Manipulative Area
Focus of Interventions: The teacher focus in this area should be on helping children to select and
complete tasks, to enhance fine-motor skills and eye-hand coordination, and to extend concepts of
color, shape, size, number, etc.
Specific Guidelines
1. Encourage children’s mastery of materials by suggesting strategies and problem solving
techniques.
2. Children may need brief instructions or demonstrations on new materials but then should be
allowed to explore materials at their own pace.
3. Avoid modeling a step-by-step process of how to make something.
4. If children have finished a construction project and choose not to put it on the saved shelf,
assist the child in disassembling the materials and returning the pieces to appropriate
containers before leaving the area.
5. If children have finished a construction project and choose to keep it up, assist them in
moving the project to the “saved projects” area.
6. If children have not finished a construction project and would like to return to it at another time
point, assist them in moving the project to the “projects in - process” area.
7. Encourage children to help each other; this is an area where a lot of peer teaching can occur.
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Art Area
Focus of Interventions: The teacher focus in this area should be on children’s exploration the
materials in a free, unstructured, and creative manner.
Specific Guidelines
1. When commenting on children’s art, focus on the process rather than the product.
2. Avoid making step-by-step models for the children to copy exactly.
3. Provide real life examples for children to use as inspiration for their drawing, painting, or
construction.
4. Label all children’s artwork with their names and dates.
5. If children are finished with a project, they are to place all dry artwork on the art projects shelf.
Assist children in finding a place for wet artwork to dry.
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6. If a child is not finished with a project, assist the child in finding a spot on the “projects inprocess” shelf.
7. Encourage children to clean up their workspace before leaving the area.
8. Ready the space for the next child by putting out fresh paper, paints, etc
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Sensory & Science Area
Focus of Interventions: The teacher focus in this area should be on encouraging children to explore
the materials, to develop problem-solving skills, to enhance their observation skills, to explore concepts
through concrete experiences, to expand their vocabulary, and to release tension.
Specific Guidelines
1. Facilitate children’s exploration of materials through the use of pertinent questions and
comments
2. The teacher’s role is more interactive in this area than in others; provide children with needed
and requested information; help children to integrate newfound knowledge into familiar
knowledge; and model problem-solving or information-seeking behaviors
3. Children are to return all materials to appropriate containers before leaving the area
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Dramatic Play Area
Focus of Interventions: The teacher focus in this area should be on facilitating child-child
interactions, dramatic play, exploration of familiar and new roles, and interpersonal language
development.
Specific Guidelines
1. Position self down-low and outside the boundaries of the dramatic play area
2. Be very unobtrusive in your observations
3. Remember, your role is to help facilitate play rather than actively participate
4. When children invite you into their play, respond to their overtures, and then, when
appropriate, gracefully exit from this level of involvement
Guidelines for Teacher Intervention in the Block Corner
Focus of Interventions: The teacher focus in this area should be on providing children with
opportunities to experiment with numerous math concepts, construction skills, creative expression,
spatial awareness, dramatic play themes, vocabulary building, and the appropriate release of physical
energy and emotional expression.
Specific Guidelines
1. Block play is very active and requires constant and close supervision
2. Position self down low but be ready to move
3. Help children maintain a clear space around the block shelves by building structures away
from the shelves
4. Help incoming children to find an empty space to build
5. Assess the activity level and amount of space in use; it may be necessary to redirect incoming
children to another area to avoid overcrowding
6. At times, dramatic play and block corner play will be integrated
7. Encourage children to use the blocks as they select them from the shelves rather than dump
big piles on the floor before building
8. Maintain safety limits
9. Participate in clean up
Large Motor Lab Limits
The Large Motor Laboratory will be used for large group activities, small group activities, and as an
alternative for outside time during inclement weather.
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The limits for the room include:
(1) When using the climber, mats need to be placed under the area.
(2) Soft balls can be used inside. Harder balls are for outside play.
(3) Balls may be only tossed or rolled.
(4) Kicking skills are only practiced in-group activities in the room.
(5) Inside voices.
(6) Limited running: ask Mentor teacher for guidance.
Teacher placement in this room should include at least one individual near the playscape/slide.
Safety Guidelines for Outdoor Play
Outdoor play is part of the daily curriculum whenever weather permits. Preschoolers must spend
time outside as part of the school day when the air temperature and wind chill temperature exceed
0 degrees F. Toddlers must spend time outside as part of their day when temperatures exceed
20 degrees F. Extra clothing is available for use by the children when their attire is not conducive
to outdoor play. Outdoor play is not required when it is raining or snowing. Participation in
outdoor play when these conditions are not met is at the discretion of the Mentor Teacher and
head teacher. Children are to spend at least 30 minutes outside every day.
Safety of the outdoor environment requires attention at all levels of supervision. Every two years
the outdoor environment is inspected by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector. The inspection
includes checking for safety of equipment, reviewing maintenance of fall zones, and mulch depth
and accessibility of outdoor equipment.
Safety at the next level includes checking daily for safety through the Daily Safety Check. When
conducting a Safety Check, (1) do a perimeter check for trash (including glass, large sticks,
paper/cans, animal feces, dead animals, or other safety hazards - pick up if found), (2) check
hanging bar and remove any large blocks or rocks from around the space, (3) check tunnels and
remove any rocks or blocks from around them, and (4) check gates to make sure they are
securely closed.
Supervision of children’s activities on the playground requires each teacher’s total concentration.
This means that the teachers must place themselves strategically across the entire playground so
that all areas can be supervised. A teacher must be placed at the “L” in order to monitor both
areas of the outdoor space. A teacher needs to be near the playhouses to monitor the interaction
in the houses. A teacher needs to be placed by the little playhouse to monitor the interaction in
the little house. A teacher needs to be placed near the tunnels to monitor/prevent climbing on the
tunnels and help balance when needed. A teacher needs to be placed near the trike path to
monitor movement around the circle. The safety and wellbeing of the children is always our
primary concern.
General Guidelines
1. Children should be dressed comfortably for the winter. This may include head coverings and
mittens. Extra jacket, hats, and mittens are available for use.
2. If a child is to be taken into the classroom, the Mentor Teacher must be informed. A Mentor
Teacher must handle all major accidents and/or injuries. Further, the Mentor Teacher must
be informed of all minor, “Ouch Report” injuries.
3. Running is for the grassy area or trike path areas. Check with the Mentor Teacher to see
where the designated running area is located.
4. Avoid overcrowding by restricting the number of children allowed on the equipment. Redirect
them to other activities or areas and/or start a waiting list.
5. Children may not climb on the fence.
6. Sticks and other pointed objects may not be used in active play.
7. When possible, remind children of limits before beginning an activity. They need to know
what is expected of them.
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Trikes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Trikes need to be ridden on the path in the direction of the arrows
Feet should stay on the pedals unless the child is walking the trike
One person per trike, sitting on the seat
Running is for the grassy area, the trike path is for trikes and walking feet.
Trikes are to be returned to the “parking lot” when a child is finished riding
The use of trike helmets should be encouraged, and when finished, helmets should be put in the
large basket
Trike Depot/Playscape
1. The children climb up the stairs and go down the slide
2. Recommended: Children need to slide down the slide on their bottoms, feet first. It is generally
recommended that children slide one-at-a-time, although Mentor teachers may decide on this limit
for the group.
Sand Box
1. The Mentor teacher determines the limits and us of sand toys. Recommended: Children use
walking feet when carrying garden tools and that sand toys remain on the ground
2. Sand is to be dug or shoveled, not thrown
3. Sand needs to stay in its original area
Appropriate Teacher Behavior
1. Teachers are to be strategically placed throughout the playground and remain in that area unless
a change has been prearranged or other teachers on the playground know about the teacher’s
changed position. It is important to be a moving shield and cover all areas of the playground at all
times.
2. Teachers are not to engage in play: (e.g. slide down slide alone, chase children, and sit on
equipment – unless the goal is to facilitate a child’s play in a limited manner, or the child asked for
teacher to engage). Teachers are to observe a child’s play and facilitate children playing with
other children whenever possible. When the child asks, limit your play and facilitate other children
to join in whenever possible.
3. Teachers should move over to child to converse with child, rather than yelling across the
playground. Sounds of children playing should dominate most often.
4. If a teacher and child need to go inside, the Head Teacher must be informed. A ratio of 1 teacher
to 5 children must be on the playground at all times.
Playground Clean-Up at the End of Each Outside Time
1. When each classroom is finished outside, the equipment needs to be put back where it was
found when entering the playground area.
a. The trikes need to be put near the trike dept.
b. The sand toys need to be put back in the sand box.
c. The playhouses need to be swept out, and the materials straightened.
d. If there is a group game set out for the entire school to use, please put the items back
in a neat manner so the next group may use it.
e. Reset loose parts – for example - like balls, hula loops, or blocks.
2. If your group is the last group on the playground, at the end of the playtime, with the children
present, clean up in the areas mentioned above, yet because it is the end of the day,
a. Put away the trikes in the trike depot.
b. Put away the sand toys and sand trucks in their storage containers in the trike depot
storage.
c. Clean and sweep out the playhouses.
d. Put the cover on the sand box. The sand box cover should be taken off and put back
on daily.
e. Put away all loose parts in appropriate storage containers and in their appropriate
storage sheds.
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Teacher Candidates’ Day to Day Responsibilities
Daily Responsibilities
Each Teacher candidate will be given a role for the week. The roles rotate weekly. The roles (although
they vary among labs mainly due to the number of Teacher candidates assigned to each lab). They may
include: Head Teacher, Supporting Teacher Documenter, and Analyzer. Mentor teachers and Teacher
candidates will negotiate and set up responsibilities assigned to each role based on the number of
Teacher candidates in each laboratory.
Preparing the Environment at the Beginning of Each Day
Teacher Roles
To facilitate the teaching team functioning, different roles have been created to lead certain aspects of
teaching. These roles are then rotated throughout the semester at the Mentor Teacher’s discretion. The
roles are: (1) lead teacher(s), (2) documenter, and (3) analyzer. When there are two Teacher candidates
within the lab, the documenter and analyzer roles are combined. The Mentor Teacher will provide you
with more details regarding the roles.
Classroom Set Up
The classroom set up should be divided up equally and an area should be assigned to each team
member. At the beginning of the semester consider working in small groups so that individuals may get to
know the location of materials and equipment. The classroom set up should consist of: (1) preparing each
area of the classroom, (2) preparing inquiry investigation materials, (3) conducting a safety check of the
playground and setting it up or checking it, (4) daily communication, and (5) a team meeting.
Preparing each area of the Classroom: Team members should have prepared to hand out a materials list
for each classroom area and for the long term projects. Each project group materials list should be
developed by the Teacher candidate in charge of that group), divide the list so that each individual on the
team has an assigned area to set up.
Conducting the Safety Check: Each day, one team member needs to conduct the safety check in the
classroom and outside on the playground. One team member should conduct the playground safety
check to ensure that the playground is trash free, hazard free, and the equipment is in good shape. Put
up the fire number inside the doorway. The fire number is the number of children and adults who are in
attendance on that day. This number is taken with the class when evacuating the building to ensure that
everyone is out of the building in case of a fire.
Fire drills must be completed 2 times a month.
First Aid Kit Inventory: Contains adhesive bandages, steri-pad gauze bandages, bloodstopper, CPS
Reusable Cold/Hot Packs, Towelettes, Blood Clotting Spray, Collurium Eye Wash & Cup, Bandage
Scissors, CPR Micromask Kit, Bloodborne Pathogens Poster/Information, Universal Precautions Kit, RedZ
Fluid Conrol Solidifier, and Rubber Gloves.
Fanny Pack Inventory: Fanny packs should be stocked regularly. Items to be put into them include:
Kleenex pack, band aids, anti-bacterial hand wash, anti-septic swabs, and gloves.
Daily Communication: One team member needs to put out items (flyers, newsletter, etc.) in the family
mail boxes and also to write the opening message on the white board outside the room. The opening
message should greet the children, alert parents to any upcoming events or needs, and to tell the children
about something that will happen during the day. Be sure to ask another person to proof the message
before family members arrive.
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Team Meeting: The teaching team needs to sit down to discuss the events of the day, assignments for
the day, issues that need attending regarding the children, the goals/provocations that will be happening
that day and to discuss what to focus on regarding action research.
End of the Day Activities:
At the end of each day, each area needs to be cleaned and straightened. Then the team should sit down
to discuss (1) the day’s events, (2) the results from the provocations, (3) observations made regarding
children’s development and learning, and (4) elements of the action research project seen that day.
Safety Check List
The safety checklist forms are found in the gray filing cabinet in the Resource Room (also found on page
76). Each lab completes the checklist daily and needs a new copy each month. Turn in the completed
Safety Checklists to the SDSU Preschool Coordinator. Documentation is needed for licensing and
accreditation.
Family-School Connections
As teachers, Teacher candidates form relationships through interactions with families throughout the
semester. The role of the teacher includes a commitment to attend family-school related events. These
events include: home visits, parent/family curriculum nights, parent meetings, parent-teacher
conferences, and the Celebration of Learning at the end of the semester.
Newsletters
Each week a newsletter should be developed describing the events and happenings in the classroom.
The content of the newsletter needs to be approved of and the written organization needs to be proofed by
the Mentor Teacher & the Director of the Center before the newsletter is copied at the printer.
Each Friday or early Monday, the newsletter may be taken to the printers in the Central Printing Office.
The account number to use for the printing may be obtained by from the Mentor Teacher.
Consider sending out the newsletter via email to cut down on copy costs. Your classroom family emails
are on the enrollment list. Discuss with the families in your classroom if they would consider receiving the
newsletters by email rather than through the children’s cubbies.
Please give a copy of each newsletter to the Preschool Coordinator. Please post one on your classroom
bulletin board. Please put a third copy in your classroom newsletter binder.
Newsletter Guidelines
Newsletters should be typed on disk in the following the style format.
Title:
XXXX's Lab - Newsletter for the Week of date, include a volume number after the date and sequence
these within each lab.
Greeting/Introduction: Introduction of your self and a friendly "summary of your week".
Activities for the week: May include goals in "parent" friendly language, describe the long term investigation,
and give a few activities for the week but do not lock yourself into many in case you change them.
News for the week: menu, holiday, special events, schedule changes etc.
Songs or recipe section: Include any new song you plan to teach the child and it you can find an appropriate
recipe parents would enjoy it.
Educational Notes: A piece trivia that you think the parents would like to know.
Correct grammar and punctuation: please have someone else proof your letter.
Format and clip art: Newsletter should follow basic content format and clip art should include the School Logo
and NAEYC Accreditation Torch in the upper or lower part of the front page.
Daily Journals
Each day the daily journal should capture the highlights of the day in pictures, in children’s narrative, and
in descriptive writing. A copy of the daily journal should be placed outside the classroom in the clear
plastic holder for parents and family members to read. A second copy should be placed in the classroom
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daily journal section of the classroom binder (This could be the same binder as the newsletter – just a
different section). If the daily events covered in the journal relate to the lab’s action research question, put
a third copy of the daily journal in the research binder.
As appropriate, involve the children in developing and writing the daily journal using the classroom
computer and digital cameras.
Guide for Daily Teaching Evaluation
In the SDSU Preschool Laboratory, evaluation of the planning and implementation of the program is
necessary at the end of each session. Post-session discussions should assist teacher candidates in
carefully assessing the effectiveness of their plans, the effectiveness of their supervision, the
effectiveness of their staff, and the needs of the children in their group.
Too often, evaluation sessions tend to be a superficial examination of the events of the day that focuses
on such questions as: "How did things go in your area?" or "Did you have any problems today?" While
these questions may produce results, they tend to either elicit comments which are not specific enough or
which focus on the negative aspects of the day. Another pitfall of evaluation is to only evaluate the
program in terms of accomplishment of goals. In some cases, the events of the day which caused
problems were not related to the selection or implementation of curriculum goals. It is also insufficient to
only consider the behavior of the children in evaluating the effectiveness of the program. While individual
children's needs and behavior must be observed and discussed, the behavior of the children is often the
result of inadequate planning and supervision rather than the source of classroom problems.
The following checklist is designed to be used as a guide in evaluating the effectiveness of a preschool school
session. The questions are designed to be asked by the person who had major responsibility for planning the
session. It may not be possible to explore each question after every session, but over a period of time, each
of the questions should be considered.
SCHEDULING THE ALLOTED TIME
1.
Did the amount of time allowed for preparation, set-up, and clean-up effect the day?
2.
Did the time schedule suit the needs of the children and the goals for the day?
3.
Did transition activities occur at appropriate times?
4.
Were suggestions and limits well-timed?
5.
Was there enough time for independent functioning during toileting, dressing, and snacking?
6.
During special event days, did children accept change? Report problems?
ACTIVITIES & PROJECTS - PROVOCATIONS & GOALS
1.
Were the activities appropriate for the group? Why or why not?
2.
Was there evidence that the long-term projects were challenging and interesting?
3.
How did the children use the provocations? What connections did they make regarding them?
4.
How did the children respond to the planned questions?
5.
What did we see regarding children learning in comparison to the Early Learning Guidelines or
Outcomes Document? Describe.
6.
How much assistance did the children request? Explain?
7.
Did the children have successful experiences? Who-how-where?
INTERACTION AND PARTICIPATION
1.
Did interactions guide the children toward discovery learning? How?
2.
How effective were the open-ended questions?
3.
Were children assisted in sharing their experiences with each other?
4.
What frustrations were experience by children and teachers?
5.
What misconceptions were observed?
CHILD MANAGEMENT
1.
Did the children understand what behaviors were expected of them?
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Were limited used effectively?
Was the environment safe and comfortable?
Were children assisted in verbalizing their feelings?
How effective were attempts to redirect behavior?
How would you describe the relationship between children and staff?
Was the atmosphere of the classroom constructive and cooperative?
EFFECTIVENESS OF STAFF
1.
Did the staff understand what was expected of them?
2.
Was enough assistance and direction given to each staff member?
3.
How responsive was the staff to the children?
4.
Did the staff communicate their needs to each other?
5.
Were positive comments made to parents?
6.
Were special situations noted to parents?
Laboratory & Classroom Environment Maintenance
The SDSU Preschool Laboratory views its environment as a third teacher for its ECE majors and for the
families and children enrolled in the laboratory. In addition, we strive to create and maintain an
environment that is aesthetically pleasing, homey, warm, and welcoming. As a team, it is our shared
responsibility to ensure that the environment is all of the adjectives above. It is not helpful to keep a
record/track of “all the work” a particular lab has accomplished or “what a particular teaching team hasn’t
completed/kept clean.” As we build a community each semester, it is really important to communicate
about our value of keeping the environment aesthetically pleasing and to strive toward putting and
maintaining this value into our practice.
Each laboratory teaching team will be assigned two areas of our environment in addition to their
classroom to clean and maintain. They will be assigned to a specific indoor environment area to daily
clean for the semester and an assigned rotating area of the environment to weekly maintain. Each week,
the assigned rotating area must be cleaned/maintain by Thursday.
Each Mentor Teacher and the Coordinator has a particular responsibility for overseeing the maintenance
of a section of our environment. On Fridays, they will review their section of the environment to ascertain
if the lab team has cleaned and maintained the area. If it has not been completed or if the area needs
more attention, the Mentor Teachers & Coordinator will contact the responsible lab team and they will
need to take time after ECE 465 to address the concerns/issues. If it there is an ongoing reviews
concern, it will be addressed personally with the lab team by the Coordinator or the Director.
With approximately 65 + individuals work within our setting, concerns about ongoing maintenance do
periodically arise. Rather than harboring a “record of ongoing wrong doings”, please use the following
procedure to air concerns. First discuss concern with your Mentor Teacher, who will bring the concern to
the Coordinator. Depending on the situation, the Coordinator will (1) request the involved Mentor
Teachers meet with the individuals who are involved with the maintenance concern, (2) meet with the
individuals who are involved with the maintenance concern, (3) put the concern on the Friday Morning All
School Teaching Team Meeting agenda to discuss as a group, or (4) attend to the situation in a situationspecific manner.
Please note the descriptions of the responsibilities on the assignments table, pages 86 & 87.
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REMINDERS:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(See Recommendations on next page & make comments/concerns on next page).
Only release children to an authorized person.
Incorporate safety rules into the curriculum and teach regularly.
Watch for children’s demonstration of safety rules and if not demonstrating-incorporate into curriculum again.
One adult for every five to eight children is the safety ratio.
Lead teachers need to be able to verbally account for every child at any given time during the day.
Children are to be with an adult at all times—whether inside or outside.
Toys that need to be repaired are repaired through alerting Laura Gloege, Preschool Coordinator, Deb Schaefer. Cook, or Kay Cutler, Director. The toys must be in good safe condition to
be used in classroom.
Mats must be placed under indoor climbers.
SAFETY CHECKLIST
CLASSROOM
MONTH
TEACHER
Daily: These items/tasks should be completed before children arrive.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
X=Yes O=N
M
T
W
T
M
T
W
T
M
T
W
T
M
T
W
T
M
T
W
Inspect the playground and equipment daily before the
children arrive. – Visually everything is in place: loose
parts, trikes are out, sandbox cover is rolled back, sand
toys are in place, books are on blanket, and houses are
set up.
The playground is checked for glass, large sticks, rocks,
trash, animal feces, dead animals, or other safety hazards.
The playground gates are checked to ensure that they are
locked before the children arrive.
Inspect for insect/wasp nests around eaves of building and
logs.
Blocks or other items are not under the hanging bar on
the playground.
Personal belongings are stored in a safe place out of
children’s reach (including all drink and food items).
Throw rugs are placed and secured on slippery floors.
Doorways kept clear – all exits including the fire exit in the
art studio.
9.
Dangerous substances (bleach) are in a locked cupboard –
inaccessible to children at all times.
MONTHLY:
(Inspection should be done at the first of every month).
Playground inspection: Check the following for repairs and
1.
There is an approved working fire extinguisher, and teaching teams know how to use it without having to read
safety:
the full set of directions.
Fence and gates:
2.
Emergency exits clearly marked for children as well as adults.
8.
Play Houses:
3.
Emergency phone numbers posted for adults to see.
Storage Sheds:
4.
5.
Fire drills and emergency directions are written and hanging in clear view.
All the stationary equip. is sturdy enough to support an adult & secured in the earth.
6.
Fire Drills conducted 1 month: DATES: __________________
7.
First aid kit is quickly available to staff
82
T
ROTATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SCHOOL MAINTENANCE
DATE
Length of
Week
Sand
Box
AM
Pick Up
Trash
PM
Pick Up
Loose
Parts
Outside
Storage
Units
Play
Houses
Sept. 5-6
2 DAYS (1
Open House
Day & 1 Full
Day)
A,D
A
E
B
C
Sept. 10 - 13
4 DAYS
B,E
B
D
C
D
Sept. 17 - 20
4 DAYS
C,D
C
E
D
E
Sept. 24 - 27
4 DAYS
A,E
A
D
E
A
Oct. 1 - 4
4 DAYS
B,D
B
E
A
B
Oct. 9 - 11
3 DAYS
C,E
C
D
B
C
Oct. 22 - 23
2 DAYS
A,D
A
E
C
D
Oct. 29 – Nov. 1
4 DAYS
B,E
B
D
D
E
Nov. 5 - 8
4 DAYS
C,D
C
E
E
A
Nov. 13 - 15
3 DAYS
A,E
A
D
A
B
Nov. 19 - 20
2 DAYS
B,D
B
E
B
C
Nov. 26 - 29
4 DAYS
C,E
C
D
C
D
Nov. 28 - Dec. 1
4 DAYS
A,D
A
E
D
E
Dec. 3 - 4
2 DAYS
B,E
B
D
E
A
*NEED TO REPORT ANY MISSING BOOKS IN WRITING – FORM ON THE PAGE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTIONS OF
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE.
A = Toddler AM Lab Team, B = 3 & 4 AM Lab Team, C = 4 & 5 AM Lab Team, D = 3 & 4 PM Lab Team, E = 4 & 5 PM Lab Team
Description of Responsibilities: For more detail see page 85 & 86.
Sand Box: Daily - rolling the sand cover back in the morning and then in the afternoon – rolling it back.
AM Pick Up Trash: Daily – travel the entire playground area, outside fence line and sign area (when not covered with snow) and
pick up the trash.
PM Pick Up of Loose Parts: Daily – pick up the ‘Loose Parts” like pieces of the bark, or hollow blocks, or small rocks that are
83
under or around the hanging bar, tunnel entrances, or near the logs and put away. These areas need a fall zone for safety.
Weekly – if there are loose parts that are not in the three bins, tidy up the area by picking up the loose parts and putting them in
the bins or near the last bin on the left.
Outside Storage Units: Weekly (Thursday) – Inspect and return items to their proper places according to posted pictures.
Houses: Weekly (Thursday) – Sweep out, and return items to their proper places according to posted pictures.
Cleaning and Sanitation Frequency Table
Cleaning: is removing direct and soli with soap (or detergent) and water. Cleaning
includes wiping dust or other visible dirt from objects with a clean rag that has been
dampened with a mixture of water and soap. Wiping with a second rag dampened only
with water may be needed to remove excess soap. The friction of cleaning removes most
germs and exposes any remaining germs to the effects of a sanitizer or disinfectant used
later.
Sanitizing: is removing dirt AND certain bacteria so that the number of germs is reduced
to such a level that the spread of disease is unlikely. Sanitizing c an be achieved by using
a spray bottle of bleach solution made fresh daily. Sanitizing products that have an EPA
Reg. # on the manufacturer’s label may also be used if they are used as instructed on the
label.
Disinfecting: is destroying or inactivating most germs on any inanimate object, but not
bacterial spores. Disinfecting can be achieved with an unscented, household grade (5 10% solution of ½ - ¾ cup of bleach and 1 gallon of cool water or 1-3 tablespoons of
bleach and 1 quart of cool water.
Hats in the dress up area should be cleaned after each child’s use, such as with use of a
sanitizing wipe. Alternatively, child may wear disposable shower cap before putting on a
hat.
When children brush their teeth after a meal, the sink may be sanitized aft er all the
children in the group have finished brushing.
Cleaning staff clean and sanitize toilet seats, toilet hands, and toilet bowls, Teaching
team members will clean and sanitize these areas immediately if needed. They will also
clean and sanitize doorknobs and floors daily.
84
Areas
Plastic
mouthed
toys
Pacifiers
Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting Frequency Table
(see criteria 5.A.08, 5.C.01, 5.C.02 and 9.C.06)
Before
After Each
Daily (At
Weekly
Monthly
Each Use
Use
the End of
the Day)
Child Care Areas
Clean
Clean,
Sanitize
Clean
Clean,
Sanitize
Hats
Clean
Door &
Cabinet
Handles
Floors
Clean,
Disinfect
Machine
washable
cloth toys
Dress-Up
Clothes
Play
Activity
Centers
Drinking
Fountains
Computer
Keyboards
Phone
Receivers
Comments
Reserve for use
by only one child;
Use dishwasher
or boil for one
minute
Clean after each
use if head lice
present
Clean
Clean
Sweep or
vacuum, then
damp mop,
(consider micro
fiber damp mop
to pick up most
particles)
Launder
Clean
Launder
Clean
Clean,
Disinfect
Clean,
Sanitize
Use sanitizing
wipes, do not use
spray
Clean
Source: Adapted from American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, National Resource
Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (2011). Caring for our children: National health and
safety performance standards; Guidelines for early care and education programs. 3rd Edition. Elk Grove Village, IL:
American Academy of Pediatrics; Washington, DC: American Public Health Association. Also available at
http://nrckids.org
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN
WWW.NAEYC.ORG
85
51
Sanitization Solution
Each day, bleach solution is to be made up in the morning and dumped out from the spray bottles in the
afternoon. Please use the solution amounts below to make the bleach solution.
Bleach Solution
Purpose: Diaper Changing Area
Bleach Amount
To make 1 quart (32 oz) of 2 Tablespoons or 6
solution
teaspoons or 1 oz.
To make 1 pint (16 oz) of
1 Tablespoon or 3
solution
teaspoons, or ½ oz.
To make 1 cup (8 oz) of
1 ½ teaspoons or ¼ oz.
solution
To make ½ cup (4 oz) of
¾ teaspoon or 1/8 oz.
solution
Purpose: Tables, other surfaces, and toys
Bleach Amount
To make 1 quart (32 oz) of ¼ teaspoon
solution
To make 1 pint (16 oz) of
1/8 teaspoon
solution
To make 1 cup (8 oz) of
1/16 teaspoon
solution
Water Amount
1 quart, or 2 pints, or 4
cups, or 32 oz.
1 pint, or 2 cups, or
16 oz.
1 cup or 8 oz.
½ cup or 4 oz.
Water Amount
1 quart, or 2 pints, or 4
cups, or 32 oz.
1 pint, or 2 cups, or 16 oz.
1 cup or 8 oz.
Weekly Responsibilities
Rotated Weekly Maintained Areas – Description of Responsibilities
Outside Storage Units: Weekly (Thursday) – Sweep out, and return items to their proper places according
to posted pictures.
Houses: Weekly (Thursday) – Return items to their proper places according to posted pictures. Sweep out
sand from floors and window sills; put furniture back in an ordering fashion. In the winter, check sidewalks in
front of playhouse doors for ice, spread salt and clean off if needed.
Play House: Return kitchen baking pans to stove, dishes to cupboard, set table with plates and cups,
and return natural items to baskets.
Dress Up House: Remove clothes and take into center to be laundered. Put in resource room near
washing machine. Put second set of dress up clothes outSweep out house. Disinfect hats with
sanitation wipes.
Art Studio: Wipe down table and chairs, sweep out house, restock paper & writing materials, and set
up new activity for next week.
Sand Box: In the fall and spring when snow is not present, roll the sand box cover off and on again. Sweep
off the sand from sidewalks, pull weeds in sand areas. In the winter, check for ice build-up near doors and
86
storage units and put salt on any area that needs it, clean of snow from sidewalks, spread salt on sidewalks
when needed.
AM Pick Up Trash: Daily – travel the entire playground area, outside fence line and sign area (when not
covered with snow) and pick up the trash. Visually inspect entire playground for trash, dead animals,
cigarette butts, sticks, and rocks. Pick items up and throw away.
PM Pick Up of Loose Parts: Daily – pick up the ‘Loose Parts” like pieces of the bark, or hollow blocks, or
small rocks that are under or around the hanging bar, tunnel entrances, or near the logs and put away.
These areas need a fall zone for safety. Weekly – if there are loose parts that are not in the three bins,
tidy up the area by picking up the loose parts and putting them in the bins or near the last bin on the left.
Storage Units: In playground storage units, take out all equipment, sweep floors or bottoms of the storage nit.
Put all equipment back in orderly manner.
Play Houses: On a weekly basis – Inspect the play houses, If needed, take all furniture from playhouses,
Weekly Cleaning of Assigned Areas – Description of Responsibilities
Semester Assigned Area
Resource Room (Library, Computers, & Back
Room)
Large Motor Lab (Vacuuming, Closets, & Cabinets)
Art Studio
Mini Studios (Construction & Light Rooms)
Documentation Room, Conference Room, Reading
Room, & Assessment Room
Laboratory Responsible for Daily Cleaning
Resource Room: Straighten resource room furniture. Dust the shelves around the time clock. Dust
computer equipment, and clean computer monitors with Electronic Windex and a paper towel (located in
kitchen, in cabinet under sink). Straighten the computer sign-in sheets, replace if needed (at the end of
the month). Straighten books, return resource books to numbered order and report missing books (in
writing on a form on one following pages), and return children’s books to alphabetical order. In the back
part of the room, straighten and correctly re-shelve all the materials tubs (colored labels). Complete
Midterm & End of the Semester Inventory Form (found in filing cabinet).
Large Motor Room & Closet: Straighten all equipment on high impact flooring. Sweep and vacuum the
rug and the high-impact flooring. Arrange equipment in closet according to labels on the shelves and use
the picture taped to the wall or door to make sure things are put away as they should be. Arrange tubs in
correct order in cabinets. Check if sensory mediums are low, if any need reordering, give reordering sheet
to Coordinator of the Preschool Laboratory (form found in Resource Room Filing Cabinet).
Art Studio & Outer Gathering Area: Wipe off tables. Straighten materials on shelves. Re-shelve
materials, if needed. Sweep floors. Check, straighten, and re-shelve paper. Refill half sheets of
construction paper in paper rack, when needed. Clean paint splatters on easels. Clean sink. In outer
gathering area, straighten materials around loft and theatre. Straighten seating area.
Mini Studios: Sweep floors, clean tables and sinks. Straighten shelves. Take an inventory of ongoing
projects by communicating with classroom teaching teams. Put away unneeded materials.
Documentation Room, Conference Room, Reading Room, & Assessment Room: Straighten
Documentation Room, Conference Room, Reading Room, and Assessment Room. Put away items that
were taken out and not put away. Wipe down table, if needed. Check all leveled books and return all
items to correct plastic folders in Reading Room & Assessment Room. Clean off the top of the shelf, if
cluttered in Assessment Room.
87
Center Budget: The Fishback Center operates on university & college funds for faculty salaries and
overhead expenses, on teacher candidate fees for resource supplies, and on tuition funds for operation
supplies, and ancillary position salaries. An operating budget is made up yearly. The university has an
outside auditing system and the centers accounts come under its audits.
Weekly Classroom Budget
The table below shows the items each lab session receives at the beginning of the semester. In addition,
it shows the funds available each week for cooking activities or nonfood supplies needed in planning.
Orders need to be on Deb Schaefer’s desk by noon on Thursday. See filing cabinet for the cooking order
form and the supplies order form.
ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR EACH GROUP OF TEACHERS AND FAMILIES
Items
Amount
Comments
Glue
1 gallon
To be shared with other group.
Glue sticks
4 sticks
Contact Paper
1 roll
Masking tape
2 rolls
Tag board
20 Sheets
*Others are available at .50 per sheet, order with weekly
order.
Video tapes
3 per
There are for recording your lead days and may become part
Teacher
of your portfolios.
candidate
Weekly Money (supplies You may carry this over to other weeks. Expenditures
nonfood)
$15
include snacks costing more than the $5, Other specific
groceries or items from Walmart.
Snack/Cooking
$10
Daily limit – if other than planned snack.
Start Up Money & Other
Special Events
$50
Please indicate when you are spending this $$ on your
order.
Format for Friday Morning Teaching Team Meetings
The Friday Morning Meetings will be a time to engage in discussion with others. Remember we have a
constructivist, inquiry-based philosophy, meaning that in order to learn, one needs to actively participate,
discuss, and build one’s own knowledge. It is expected that everyone will read the assigned articles,
reflect on those articles in their journals (when required) and be ready to discuss important aspects or
things that stood out for them and things that they can apply. The first few meetings will be group
discussions on particular background topics. Then we will move to a collaboration discussion using
pedagogical documentation in a group reflection format. The discussion will focus on what the children
are learning and how we are responding to it. Each group will present twice on their children, their inquiryinvestigation(s), or events in the classroom. The format and schedule for the Friday Morning Meetings are
below.
Because we build our knowledge and learning as social constructivists, six Friday mornings are set aside
to use a pedagogical documentation process together. It is also expected that you will use this format in
your own teaching team meetings to become familiar with it and to use it for your individual benefit.
Expectations: During these sessions, it is expected that all teachers contribute, share ideas, and think
together about what the artifacts may mean. It is also expected that the meeting will move along at a fairly
quick pace, thinking and pauses of silence are ok, but contributions that are given and built upon are best
when the pace of the conversation is moving.
When preparing for your presentation morning, put some thought into selecting artifacts and pictures that
88
you are wondering about, that you would like the whole group to think together about. Select the artifacts
carefully with your mentor teacher & pedagogue. Discuss your selections in your pedagogue meetings
prior to the presentations. Also, discuss the outcomes and conversations that occurred during the
presentations in order to inform and influence your classroom’s curriculum development.
Topics for Friday Morning Meetings
This is a tentative schedule of Friday Morning Meeting topics. It is subject to change as needed. The
articles will be distributed a week prior to the morning meetings.
Aug. 31st: Philosophy Discussion
Article:
New, R. (2004). Reggio Emilia: New Ways to Think About Schooling. Annual Editions.
Sept. 7th: Communication with Families - Discussion of Family-School Connections Plan – bring Family
Involvement Surveys
Article:
Fyfe, B., Hovey, S., Strange, J. (2004). Thinking with Parents About Learning. Next steps
toward teaching the Reggio way: Accepting the challenge to change. (Hendrick, J., Ed.).
Merrill Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Sept. 14th: Role of Photography/the Method of Documentation
Sept. 21st: Pedagogical Documentation
Articles:
Cagliari, P. (2007). The role of observation, interpretation, and documentation in
understanding children’s learning processes. Innovations in early education: The
international reggio exchange.
Giacopini, E. (2007). Observation, documentation and interpretation as strategies for
knowledge. Innovations in early education: The international reggio exchange.
Sept. 28tht: Discussion of Friday Morning Meetings, Process Overview
Oct. 5th: 3 & 4 AM Lab & Kindergarten
Oct. 12th: 3 & 4 PM Lab & 4 & 5 AM Lab
Oct. 19th: 4 & 5 PM Lab & Toddler Lab
Oct. 26th: 3 & 4 AM Lab & OST
Nov. 2nd: Parent/Teacher Conferences Discussion
Nov. 9th: 4-5 AM Lab & 3-4 PM Lab
Nov. 16th: 4-5 PM Lab & Toddlers
Nov 23rd: Thanksgiving Break
Nov. 30th: Topic TBD
Dec. 7th: Teacher candidate Teaching Breakfast - Potluck
Collaboration Format for Labs
Each week, the labs who share the room space shall meet to discuss aspects of the space sharing
process. In addition each teaching team should be prepared to discuss potential lesson planning ideas
and provocations in directions that they are hoping to take with the children. As these are discussed try to
maximize areas of the rooms that can remain the same throughout the day, in order to free up teaching
team members to focus on other things such as field note observations, or preparing a particular
provocation and to take notes regarding how the children worked with it. This will maximize teacher
resources rather than being less productive spending time taking down and setting up different
environments in the same room. The teaching teams in each classroom should set aside at least 30
minutes each week to meet with each to collaborate on the usage of the shared space.
Pedagogue Format & Expectations
Each teaching team should set aside 45 minutes to an hour each week to meet with an assigned
Pedagogue. Consider this person a resource to help you and spur you on to great things. Expect this
person to ask you a lot questions regarding your practices in your classroom. Expect this person to give
you a goal to shoot for regarding a particular issue or focused upon practice. Expect this person to
encourage you to push, stretch, and grow a bit more. Pedagogue meetings are times to think a bit more
outside the box and to help you focus on an issue from a different perspective.
89
It is expected that you will:
(1) Meet with your pedagogue on a weekly basis.
(2) Share weekly updates of inquiry investigation reflections/additions with pedagogue.
(3) Discuss what to present for your Friday Morning Meeting presentations with your pedagogue.
(4) Discuss the feedback from the Friday Morning Meeting presentations with your pedagogue.
(5) Discuss your action research project with your pedagogue.
(6) Discuss directions for your classroom’s curriculum development with your pedagogue.
Beginning of the Semester Responsibilities
Guidelines for Home Visits
Purpose of Visit:
Developing a close, personal relationship with each child in the group is the goal of most preschool teachers.
In the midst of the activity, which is typical in most classrooms, this personal contact is sometimes difficult to
establish, particularly in a group where the ratio of children to adults is very high. Special attention and/or
recognition from the teacher often contribute greatly to a child's feeling of self-worth, which directly affects
responses to the classroom situation. A home visit is one way to further the interpersonal relationship of the
child and teacher while also communicating that the child is an important person. Some teachers make home
visits to "learn" more about the child's home environment in order to understand functioning in the classroom.
While this may be an acceptable reason for visiting, it seems necessary to caution against making judgments
based on only one brief observation as a guest in a child's home. If possible, it is recommended that teachers
refrain from discussing the child's progress during the visit and encourage parents to come to your classroom
or office at a time when you can share information without the child being present.
Procedure for making the visit:
1.
Call parents to make arrangements for visit
a.
arrange time - not too far in advance, as anxiety builds in
child and parents.
b.
explain purpose - to spend time with child in the home
environment.
c.
explain length of time you are planning to stay (30 min. - 1
hour).
d.
identify people you would like to be present.
e.
explain philosophy of discussing child's progress in a
conference at your office.
2.
Ask the parents to prepare the child the day before the visit that you are
coming to the child's home.
3.
Go to the home on time. Allow the child to conduct a tour of the home. Be
careful to pay attention primarily to the child without making parents and/or
sibling feel left out.
4.
Prepare child for your leaving by alerting to the fact that you will be leaving in
just a few minutes.
5.
Record any impressions of child's reaction to your visit.
Information to be shared with family members:
1. Welcome & Invitation into Classroom: Family members are welcome to
observe at any time when the SDSU Preschool Laboratory is in session. If
they intend to stay longer than drop off times, they will need to get a visitor
parking permit from the Preschool Coordinator or Preschool Director.
2. Classroom Characteristics: General information about the teachers and
the children in the classroom. For children, share only the number of children
enrolled, age ranges, number of boys and girls.
3. Family Handbook & Permission Forms: Provide a Family Handbook &
walk through the information within it. Outline the Required Permission
Forms with the family members. Parents may choose not to sign the photo
release and internet release forms if they do not want their children to be
90
photographed or information to be put on our web site.
A. Philosophy & Curriculum goals/objectives
B. Program’s commitment to welcoming families – family involvement,
communication, types of family gatherings, and joint ownership in program.
C. Guidance and discipline policies & procedures.
D. Strategies teachers will use to communicate in an ongoing fashion with
families.
E. Strategies teachers will use to address IEP/IFSP objectives if appropriate.
F. All health and safety precautions: arrival & departure, medications,
including/excluding sick children, emergency plans & evacuations.
G. Discuss a variety of techniques that will be used to negotiate difficulties and
differences that arise in interactions between families and program staff.
H. Discuss tuition payment at the beginning of each semester and enrollment
details regarding enrollment for the entire year – unless arrangements are made
with Coordinator for only a ½ year.
I. Discuss confidentiality, how the program ensures confidentiality regarding
child and family information. Its access is only for specific teachers and the
administrative staff - Coordinator/Director.
J. Discuss how and when field trips are scheduled, who plans for them, how
parents may be involved. If they have ideas for field trips, invite them to share
them with you.
K. Outline safety precautions that will be used on fieldtrips including
communication devices, first-aid supplies, and alternate transportation
arrangement.
The completed permission forms should be brought to school on the Open House
day.
4. Assessment Information: Provide family members with the following
information –
A. Screening Information: All children newly enrolled in the program who
are 3 years old or older will receive a developmental screen, given by
a Teacher candidate. Typically, we use the Denver Developmental
screen, however, other screening measures could be given at family
request.
B. Assessments Given: All children who are enrolled will be part of the
following assessment processes. Daily observations are taken on
developmental growth & content skills/abilities. Daily pictures & video
recordings are used to document developmental growth & content
skills/abilities. In addition, individual electronic portfolios are
developed via collecting daily documentation, work sampling, and
using the SD Early Learning Guidelines as a guide to determine
growth & development.
C. Training of Assessors: Given that the SDSU Preschool Laboratory is
a training facility, all Teacher candidates are provided with initial
training on an instrument and then the application process is also
considered part of the Teacher candidates’ training. All results from
formal assessments (i.e. the Denver Developmental Screen) will be
reviewed by an instructor. If developmental “red flags” appear, a
second opinion will be obtained via an ECE faculty member. A
consultation with the family member will also occur and together, the
next steps will be planned.
D. Access to Screening and Assessment Tools: All family members
have access to the screening and assessment tools used within the
laboratory. If a family member would like a copy of any tool used,
please contact the Coordinator or the Director to obtain a copy of the
91
tool.
5. Confidentiality & Access to Children’s Files: All information in a child’s file
is confidential and will not be released to anyone without family member’s
permission. The child’s Mentor Teacher, Teacher candidate, the Coordinator
of the Program and the Director of the Program are the only individuals,
besides immediate family members, who have access to the child’s file. They
have access to the child’s file for planning, academic, and administrative
reasons. While the child is enrolled, the child’s file will be kept in a locked
office. When the child is no longer enrolled, the file will be kept in a locked
storage room. Screening and assessment results will only be used as
developmental information to make curriculum and planning decisions.
6. Expectations for Home visits & Conferences: Family members are
expected to participate in conferences and home visits each semester.
1. Parking Information: Remind family members when parking, not to park in
RESERVED spaces. Parking is available in visitor spaces or unmarked
spaces. The drop off and pick up parking is located on the east side of
Pugsley, along the playground fence and in the cul-de-sac.
Information & Handouts Given to Family Members:
1. “Important Information for My Family” cards and complete the phone number for
the Mentor Teacher on the card.
2. Written Information regarding Parking
3. Parking Permit Hangers
4. Family Handbook
5. Family Involvement Information and Survey
Information to be Collected During Home Visit:
1.
Take a picture of the child with a favorite object/person for nametag &
identity card. Take another picture with the child in an action pose to make
classroom action figures to use in the block, sensory, or other areas in the
classroom.
2. Fall only, request a framed picture of the child’s family and complete a dictation
of the child’s description of his/her family. The families have received the family
photo request in the summer enrollment letter.
3. Any designated information for the child’s hallway identity card.
Paperwork Collected During Open House:
(1) Emergency form (make 2 additional copies –one for mentor teacher, one for
coordinator)
(2) Immunization Record – signed by physician
(4) Physician’s Report – signed by physician
(5) Parent Permission Form – signed by parents for present semester
(6) Web Site Permission Form – signed by parents or no permission given by parents
(7) Photo Release Form – signed by parents or no permission given by parents
(8) Developmental History –completed or updated
(9) Family Involvement Survey - completed
(10) Professional Portfolio Consent Form – signed or no permission given by parents
Beginning of the Semester Parent Connections:
Welcome – Parent Orientation to the Classroom
About a week or two into the semester, hold a Welcome Orientation in the classroom for parents and
family members. During the Orientation, the parents should be introduced to the following:
(1) Introduced to the Teacher candidates
(2) Short discussion of the philosophy of the preschool
(3) Introduced to the communication methods around the classroom including:
92
i. the family mailboxes
ii. the message board outside the classroom
iii. the bulletin board with the newsletter spot
iv. the daily journal,
v. the working documentation panel area, and
vi. the Parent Observation Notebook located in the booth.
(4) Introduced to the action research bulletin board in the classroom.
(5) Discussion of family involvement in the classroom (which can include indicators from the
family involvement survey).
Curriculum Nights:
Types of parent-family nighst could be a Curriculum Discussion Night, an Investigation Discussion Night,
or a Materials exploration night.
Curriculum Discussion Nights: During a Curriculum Discussion night, this is a time to request family input
on topics, your initial ideas, and potential family resources. The curriculum night is a time to partner with
families as you develop the curriculum for the semester. If a true discussion is held, a partnership is
formed and true give and take can occur regarding what will occur in the classroom. It’s always a good
idea to include food of some sort.
Inquiry Investigation Nights: During an Investigation Discussion night, this is a time to discuss with family
members the idea of long term study, ongoing projects, and/or inquiry explorations (and how this concept
is implemented based on the children’s ages). This is a time to education family members on the inquiry
process and why it is important for children as they learn.
Materials Exploration Nights: During a Materials Exploration night, this is a time to explore materials that
the children are also exploring when they are at school.
Family Gatherings
This type of parent-family night is an evening to socialize with families, to provide a small portion of parent
education, to have families engage in some of the activities that are part of the classroom, or to enlist
family member to help out with the long term project (i.e. planning a part of the project that children have
the idea and the parents/families can engage in making or building parts that the children could not do on
their own). A potluck is always a good way to begin or end the evening, but should not be the sole event
for the evening.
Other types of family events may be planned. These are a few types that usually occur as part of the
preschool culture.
Planning Responsibilities:
South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines Usage
The Fishback Center for ECE uses the SD Early Learning Guidelines as a guideline to reflect upon when
developing curriculum and when evaluating the children’s learning.
Teachers are encouraged to use the document as a reference, become familiar with what is in the
document, and routinely compare the children’s experiences and learning to the guidelines to see if the
children are on track in their learning. But do not use the document as the sole resource of information
when developing lesson plans. Doing so would misuse the guidelines and the spirit of intent for which
they were created.
Reggio – Inspired Elements Related to Planning – Reflection Elements
Image of the Child – The child is viewed as a competent and capable individual, rather than a needy
individual. Each child is equipped with the tools and potential for learning.
Ask yourself – Does our planning reflect children as capable and competent?
Listening to the Children – As competent and capable individuals, children will show others what content
motivates them. They will show others what their inquiries are all about. They will actively engage in
learning and the process of understanding their environment. Often, adults may miss their indications of
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inquiry if they are not listening. Amelia Gambetti once said to a group of teachers, “Why are you focusing
on the ants when there are elephants stomping through your classroom?”
Ask yourself – Are we listening to the children or are we ignoring the children’s indicators and laying out an
adult agenda for planning?
Image of the Teacher – The image of the teacher is closely tied to the image of the child. There are
several great chapters about this in the Hill, Stremmel, and Fu text.
Ask yourself –
 What image of the teacher am I holding?
 What roles am I playing within the classroom?
 What image of the teacher do our plans reflect?
Languages of Children – Loris Malaguzzi described children as having “100 Hundred” Languages and
the education system stripping children of most of those languages in the poem, 100 Languages of
Children. This concept is similar to Howard Gardner’s idea of Multiple Intelligences. In order for children
to learn a concept in a full and complete manner, they need to represent it in many different ways. This
assists them in constructing their own knowledge about the topic. It also facilitates generalization and the
ability to take multiple perspectives regarding the content because they have represented it in many
different ways. Each time helps to build greater schema, connections, and mastery of the content, issue,
or topic.
Ask yourself –
 What languages does our lesson plan include?
 Are we offering the children multiple opportunities to represent the same concept (i.e. drawing,
clay, painting, constructing, kinesthetically, etc)?
 Are we offering the children opportunities to cycle back and represent the same concept using a
previous language?
 Are we focusing too much on one language?
 Are we moving too quickly and not offering repetitive opportunities to represent a concept in
multiple ways?
Relationships are the Foundation – Social constructivism means that knowledge is built while
interacting with others.
Ask yourself –
 Are we fostering relationships that add to the learning process?
 Are we interacting with the children only for guidance/discipline?
 Are there opportunities to engage socially in learning?
 Is there a balance of control with the children and teachers?
 Are the ordinary moments in the day honored or ignored?
Environment is the Third Teacher – The environment should be a comfortable, culturally relevant for the
children who are present in the classroom. Is should be a non-institutional looking/feeling space.
Ask yourself –
 How does our space have an institutional feel to it?
 How can it be changed to have a more comfortable, home-like feeling?
 How does it reflect home environments that you viewed on home visits?
 How does it reflect the community of Brookings?
 How does it reflect the children who live there?
Children seek to understand their environment. Learning is influenced by what is offered to children in the
environment. Provocations or offerings (e.g. a novel material or interesting set-up) often spark or re-spark
learning to occur that then can be observed, documented, and studied to assist in further lesson planning.
Ask yourself –
 Do we offer provocations in our environment that tap into children’s motivations and cause them to
question more?
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Or do we answer the children’s questions verbally without setting up an environment for them to
explore the concept?
How may we use the environment as the third teacher?
Documentation Provides Visible Traces of Learning – In order for children to think about what they are
learning, it needs to be made visible to them, to be given back to them. This facilitates children’s meta–
cognitive processes. When children think about how they think, it builds their schema and facilitates the
development of their abilities to reflect. In addition, it helps to jog their memory of what they did and spurs
them on to additional thinking/experiences with the same concepts. It helps them to ask more questions
about their experiences.
Ask yourself –
 How do we offer pictures taken earlier, or field notes taken earlier to children by showing or
reading the notes to them to help them recall experiences from previous days?
 How do we help the children summarize their learning/thinking about a topic through the collected
documentation?
 How do we assist the children to ask further questions about experiences that have happened in
the past through viewing documentation?
 How do we engage children in the process of documentation with us?
Like the children, documentation jogs our memories of specific events and helps us to focus on what has
occurred in the classroom. It helps us to look for directions in which to re-launch a project or a study of a
topic.
Ask yourself – How do we use our documentation (observations, field notes, daily journals, and
documentation panels) for planning and re-launching?
For parents and other family members, documentation helps to share specific events, studies, and
learning occurring in the children’s lives while in the classroom.
Ask yourself –
 How do we encourage parents and family members to see what the children have been learning
in the classroom?
 How do we engage parents and family members in conversations centered around documentation
in and outside the classroom?
Negotiated Curriculum – Curriculum is something that is “built from within rather than poured on from
the outside.” Children, family members, and teachers are all provocateurs of curriculum development.
They all take an active role. Curriculum is not something that is developed solely from outside standards.
It is not solely developed from children’s ideas and interests. It is not solely developed by teacher’s ideas.
It is not solely developed through parents’ ideas. It is developed through a combination of all of the
actors. Children’s ideas, parents’ ideas, teachers’ ideas, and curriculum standards are all taken into
account. Everyone’s ideas will lead to potential study topics and content standards are woven into the
process. Children’s ideas help guide the direction taken in the classroom, while parents’ and teachers’
frame the curriculum through environmental set-up and interactions. This is how content standards are
woven into the process.
Ask yourself –
 How do we negotiate the curriculum development?
 How are children’s ideas taken into account?
 How are parents’ ideas taken into account?
 How are teachers’ framing the curriculum and guiding the direction?
 How are the content standards woven into the curriculum?
Inquiry Investigations – Children are encouraged to inquiry about their environment. From these
inquiries, investigations arise to guide children through the knowledge construction process. Questions
asked are closely listened to and then experiences are carefully developed to facilitate children in finding,
discovering, and developing the answers through experiences. An inquiry investigations may include and
often cycle through several times: developing questions, exploring, investigating, and utilizing knowledge
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for a purpose which often leading to more developing questions and exploring.
Ask yourself How are we facilitating children’s inquiry process?
 Are we picking up on the questions (verbal and nonverbal) that children are asking?
 Are we engaging in long term investigations in appropriate ways, given our children’s ages?
 Are we attempting to re-launch existing studies before assuming that the children are no longer
interested and move onto a completely different subject?
Inquiry Investigation planning forms found on pages 122-123.
Materials Use in Classrooms & in Investigations:
Consider the following five recommendations that Rachel Schumacher found as Big Ideas from her thesis
work when selecting and using materials in your classrooms.
Big Ideas: (1) Influence on Amount of Materials – Too many is overwhelming.
(2) Children need time to Explore Materials
(3) Previous Experiences influence New Experiences – Consider the implications
(4) Teacher Scaffolding, Discussing, and Asking Questions builds Children’s Understanding of
Materials and what they can do with the materials
(5) Children are able to use many different types of materials as Referent Materials
(6) Pairing Familiar Materials with New Materials can be Beneficial.
Developing & Using Effective Questions
Effective teaching centers on how and when teachers formulate and ask questions, as well as how to
encourage children to formulate and ask questions. George Foreman (not the maker of the grill)
emphasizes discovering children’s misconceptions and developing experiences and questions that
challenge the children’s misconception in a non-threatening way. There is an article included in the packet
that delves into this concept.
One way to categorize questions is found on Project-Approach.com. The types of questions include:
Information questions, Explanation questions, Discussion questions, Speculation questions, and
Philosophical questions. These question categories vary on a scale of knowledge, opinion, and belief.
Information
Knowledge
Explanation
Discussion
Opinion
Speculation
Philosophical
Belief
Information Questions: “one right answer”, trivia, researchable, either/or, can look up in an
encyclopedia, can be answered through investigation of primary or secondary sources of information,
What?, Who?, When?
Explanation Questions: If-then?, reasoning, logic, How? questions that relate different ideas about how
information fits together, involving calculation
Discussion Questions: Views, feelings, perspectives, promotion, persuasion, argument, defence,
values, and politics.
Speculation Questions: “What if?” Prediction, anticipation, imaginative, creative, elaborate processes
of thought.
Philosophical Questions: Questions for which it is not possible to prove the answers, but about which
many people are most sure of the answers for themselves, based on attitudes, ideology, culture, and
religion.
Ask yourself –
 What types of questions am I using?
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How are we using children’s current misconceptions within curriculum development?
How are we challenging their thinking processes?
How are we developing and using questions that focus in on their misconceptions and potential
opportunities for learning?
Assessment Plan
The SDSU Preschool Laboratory uses assessment in many different forms (both formal and informal) to
take note of children’s growth as a group & individually. Staff at the SDSU Preschool Laboratory use both
on-going, daily assessment methods (outlined below), and formal screening assessment tools.
Denver Developmental Screen: At the beginning of the enrollment process, children are given a Denver
Developmental screen to determine current developmental growth at time of entry. These are given in the
fall of the initial enrollment year. If the child’s developmental growth is typical, the results will go into the
child’s file. If the child’s developmental growth has a “red flag(s)”, then the results will be discussed
initially with the ECE assessment instructor and the director to determine its validity and reliability. Next, if
determined reliable and valid, the results will be shared with family members in a conference to determine
the next steps, whether that may be a re-screen with a ECE faculty member who knows the child, or to
refer to the Early Childhood/Child Find process for further developmental assessment and diagnostic
evaluations.
Collecting On-going Data – Lesson Planning, Individual Children’s Development & Growth:
Children are assessed daily through the use of the informal methods of data collection.
Anecdotal Records: Anecdotal records are observations taken by teaching team members regarding
events or behaviors the teaching team has noted as events to be observed. These notes are snap shots
of interactions, behaviors, or events that can serve as evidence for determining children’s interests &
needs, planning, and individual portfolios.
Field Notes: Field notes differ from anecdotal records in that they are ongoing, day to day notes on the
same topic or long term investigation. They attempt to capture children’s thinking about the topic that is
occurring and examine potential misconceptions that they may have, in order to revisit the notes with the
children and pose conversations, activities, or experiences that directly challenge the misconception.
Another use of field notes is to revisit with the children conversations they have had in order to clarify their
thinking processes (i.e. “Remember yesterday when you said, ‘the block is blue because it’s falling?’ Tell
me more about that. Or- What did you mean by that? Could you tell me more?). These notes are used to
inform the planning process, are used to document children’s thinking in terms of the long term
investigation, and are used to note children’s thinking within individual portfolios.
Daily Journals: Daily Journals highlight the day’s events for the class through pictures and narrative.
Quotations of children’s conversations that highlight learning or thinking about the topic may be added. A
copy of each day’s journal entry should be put outside the door for families to read. A second copy should
be put into the classroom’s Daily Journal Log. A third copy may be placed in the Action Research Binder if
the contents of the Daily Journal relates to the Action Research question being studied. Journal entries
should be considered when planning for potential future activities, when noting individual development
and/or group understanding of an event.
Other Daily Assessments indirectly assessing the children:
Planning Logs: The Planning Log is a 3-ring binder used to keep together teaching teams’ lesson plans
and ongoing notes regarding curriculum development. It should contain teaching teams’ webbing notes
(as a team and with parents), copies of weekly lesson plans, weekly ongoing adjustment forms, and
suggestions from parent observation log when related to planning.
Parent Observation Logs: The Parent Observation Log is a 3-ring binder located in the observation
booth for parents’ to record observations and contributes ongoing planning suggestions. These notes are
used when planning.
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Confidential Information in Children’s Files:
Assessment information in children’s files will be kept confidential. Only Mentor Teachers, Assigned
Teacher candidates, the Coordinator & the Director of the program have access to the information in
children’s files. All children’s files shall be kept in a locked office only accessible to Mentor Teachers and
Administrators. Teacher candidates shall have limited access when needed throughout the semester,
particularly when developing children’s individual portfolios. All electronic versions of portfolios need to be
returned to Mentor Teachers, unless parents’ have given permission for an unidentified version to be used
in a Teacher candidate’s Professional Portfolio.
Communicating Assessment Information to Families:
All assessment information is available to families to view. Current assessment information (formal and
informal) will be shared with family members at the parent teacher conferences. All formal assessment
information will be prefaced with the notation that Teacher candidates were gaining experience giving the
formal tool, so reliability and/or validity may be called into question.
Using Media in the Classrooms
Movies & TV’s should be used sparingly. All videos must be reviewed by the Mentor Teacher for content.
All viewing must be approved by the Preschool Coordinator.
Planning Forms
Planning forms include the Conversation Log Form for observations, Webbing forms, the Inquiry
Investigation form, Long Term Investigation Form, the Overall Lesson Plan Form, the Weekly Ongoing
Adjustment Forms #1 & #2, the Lesson Planning Log, the Possibilities for the Week Form, the Toddler
Lesson Plan, the Multicultural/Diversity form, the Field Trip Form, and the Guest Speaker form. These are
found on pages 121- 139.
Multicultural/Diversity Information & Forms
As each team plans for the children in the classroom, keep in mind the cultural diversity that makes up
each child’s background. Consider how you may reflect the children’s backgrounds and families’ cultural
practices within your lesson plan. Use the multicultural forms to analyze and reflect upon your planning.
Not all elements of multiculturalism need to be present in the environment as you analyze your planning.
All the sections of the form serve as a reminder to think about if there are potential types of multicultural or
diversity activities that could be considered while planning. This form is found on 135 and in the gray filing
cabinet.
Field Trips & Guest Speakers
When planning field trips or inviting guest speakers, teachers need to inform the preschool coordinator of
the classes’ travel or visitors coming into the school. Please complete the field trip form and place copies
of it on the classroom door and on the preschool coordinator’s office door.
When the event is completed, please complete a review form of the field trip or guest speaker. The
review forms are in the filing cabinet in the Resource Room. The field trip & guest speaker review binder
is located on the teacher resource books. These forms are found on pages 137 - 139 and in the gray
filing cabinet.
Reflective Practitioner Responsibilities:
Documenting – Providing Traces of the Work
The process of documenting is one that is ongoing, continual, and is something that needs to occur
everyday. Similarly the evaluation of this is an ongoing process that Mentor Teachers will also engage in
daily. It is not based upon a single documented work or a single point in time, but it attempts to capture
your “habit of documentation”. That is, how engaged are you with the process of documentation. Below
are examples of documentation that should be engaged in daily and used regularly throughout the
semester.
Conversation Logs & Daily Observations
Knowing what is truly worthwhile to write down or to “capture” is really important. Each day, note ideas,
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concepts, or behaviors that you hope to capture as “focus points” for the day. Then each person set out to
look for those selected events.
Capturing children’s thoughts necessitates capturing their conversations. Be prepared to capture
conversations related to how children are thinking about a particular event, situation, or problem they are
working on. Consider using audio tapes to help capture the details. This can then be reviewed to write
down missing details.
Daily Traces
Each day, events occur that should be documented for later via pictures, video tape or notes. The
process of collecting daily traces includes: selecting events, happenings that were noted as important and
kept for reviewing, revisiting, looking at again, and studying. Written notes and pictures may be combined
to provide a narrative.
This is not a summary of the day; it is not a highlights page. But what was important that
happened today to illustrate the children’s thinking about a problem, situation, event, or
relationship.
Daily Journals
This is similar to Daily Traces in that it captures what has occurred that day. The purpose of a daily
journal is to share it with adults who were not present in the classroom. Therefore, it would have a more
descriptive narrative – if needed.
Inquiry Investigation Notebooks (Rubrics can be found on page 19).
One inquiry investigation per Teacher candidate should be documented via a notebook/binder. Often a
classroom may have many investigations occurring. Choose the best to document in an Inquiry
Investigation Notebook.
Although the format of the Inquiry Investigation Notebook is flexible, it may consist of:
(1) a narrative of how the investigation occurred, (2) a PowerPoint of the narrative of the “story”, (3) the
children’s documentation (scanned or copied), (4) pictures & notations from the Daily Journals that relate
to the Long Term Investigation, (5) collecting Webs & Notes from Teacher Related Discussions, (6)
potential “stories” that could be told regarding the investigation, and (7) a CD or CDs with all the data in
the notebook in an electronic version.
Documentation Panels
Documentation panels are one way traces may be provided, in order to revisit with children, planning
purposes, and sharing the children’s learning with others. The panels may illustrate a long term
investigation, an ongoing classroom exploration, or a series of ordinary moments.
Documentation Panel Specific Instructions:
1. Each documentation panel should have a title. Please use letters that are computer generated or hand
written rather than using the die cut letters. The die cut letters are rather large and take up too much of
the documentation panel space when used.
2. Use large pictures when illustrating events or aspects of children’s learning (4X6 or larger).
3. If appropriate, consider using black and white pictures.
4. People in the pictures should be looking toward the center of the panel rather than off the panel.
5. Provide captions/descriptions of the pictures.
6. Provide interpretations of the learning/interactions you choose to illustrate. Teachers should make
assumptions, interpretations about the children’s behaviors and interactions to analyze and make
conclusions about their learning.
7. Include an articulated reflection either on the panel or on a separate document that will accompany the
panel. Examine the work from the standpoint of the SD Early Learning Guidelines. For each area, identify
which standards were met through the inquiry investigation and add narrative from assessors’
perspectives regarding how the standards were met. Finally add a summary of the “Big Ideas” of learning
that occurred in the inquiry investigation. This Articulated Reflection will accompany the documentation
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panel when it is displayed at the Celebration of Learning, in the hallways, and in the classrooms. When it
is taken down/put into storage, the Articulated Reflection will be attached to the back of the documentation
panel.
8. Consider graphic arts details when constructing the documentation panels. For example, use at least
an 18 point font size and a font that is a serf font, such as Times Roman or Print Clearly font.
9. Consider the layout for the panel. Discuss it with others on your teaching team.
10. Make sure the layout is straight and things are not pasted on crooked.
11. Before pasting anything down, ask the preschool coordinator, preschool director, or another Mentor
Teacher to read over your panel as an “outside set of eyes”.
12. Do not use a lot of extraneous, decorative elements – otherwise known as “eye candy”.
13. Presented information must be free of grammar and spelling errors.
14. Provide the classroom name and date on the back of the documentation panel.
15. At the end of the semester, discuss with the Mentor teacher where each panel will be placed, in the
hallway, in the classroom, or in a common space.
Action Research (Rubric can be found on page 29).
The Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education teaching teams hold research as a part of their
mission & role as teachers. Mentor teachers, with Teacher candidates input, will identify a research
question based on some aspect of teaching/learning within the classroom. The question should focus on
something that is an issue for the teachers, something about which the teachers want to more fully
understand, or something the children are doing/showing them and they want to learn more about it.
Teacher candidates will engage in collaborative research culminating in a formal documentation
panel/notebook presentation during the Research Forum which is held during finals week.
Specific Guidelines for Collecting Data in the Classroom:
1. With your Mentor teacher, discuss and narrow down your research question. This should be a team
decision display this also on the bulletin board. The bulletin board is there to help keep a visual reminder
of your daily research and data collection focus.
3. With your Mentor Teacher, create a notebook to organize your data collection including the following
sections: (1) Declaration of Intent for Research (yellow tab), (2) Inventory of Possibilities (green tab), (3)
Notes of Actual Happenings (red tab), (4) Related Daily Journals (orange tab), and (5) Reflections (blue
tab).
4. Each section may include the following types of information.
A. Research Declaration of Intent section may have the following: (1) A statement of the center’s
research declaration & the classroom’s declaration (if modified at all), (2) Notes from any discussions of
Potential Research Topics, (3) Possible Research Question notes, (3) Decided Upon Research Question,
(4) Related concepts notes, (5) Definition of Related Words (e.g. Dramatic Play vs. Role Play), (6)
Research Findings on the Topic – collected articles, collected information, and Hypotheses surrounding
the research question. For example if the research question is ‘How do the children engage in Dramatic
Play?’ Possible hypotheses may be: ‘Children will extend roles throughout the learning centers,’ ‘If we
offer provocations based on dramatic play, play will begin to shift throughout the room.’
B. Inventory of Possibilities section may have the following: (1) Lesson planning webs, and notes
related to research question, (2) Lesson plans related to research question, and (3) Notes from
discussions related to possible ideas to use in the classroom, (4) Articles from the field literature that
relate to your research question.
C. Notes of Actual Happenings section may have the following: (1) Actual lesson plans with
related activities circled or noted, (2) related anecdotal records, (3) related field notes, and (4) related
observations made by parents.
D. Daily Journals section may have the following: Related parts or whole daily journals
E. Reflections section may have the following: (1) Related questions to continue or re-launch
study, (2) notes from watching classroom video segments, (3) notes from discussions with pedagogue, (4)
general reflections and summaries regarding what is being found regarding the research question, and (5)
future research questions.
Potential Timeline for Action Research Project:
1. First two-three weeks: Developing a research question & research design.
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2. Weeks 3 – 6: Begin to collect data and review the literature for important research articles.
Review research question, and maybe make adjustments – if needed.
3. Weeks 6 – 9: Continue to collect data and use constant comparison methodology to review
your notes, data, and discuss common threads, stages, or issues you are seeing in the data.
4. Weeks 10 – 12: Continue to collect data, discuss information gleaned from data, and begin to
collect ideas about presentation and paper.
5. Weeks 13 – 14: Finish collecting data. Continue to review notes. Write initial part of paper –
introduction, literature review, and outline of research question. Discuss findings from data and
draw conclusions.
6. Weeks 15 – 16: Complete paper – methods, results, discussion & conclusion section. Design
documentation panel to outline action research work this semester.
Specific Guidelines for Making Presentation: This presentation & paper is written as a team – including
your Mentor Teacher.
1. After several weeks of research using multiple methods of documentation (at least three different
forms), your teaching team will prepare and present a formal presentation including a summary paper and
a visual presentation (i.e. documentation panel).
2. Your team’s documentation panel, paper, and notebook will become part of the Fishback Center for
Early Childhood Education’s archive.
3. Documentation Panel should include: (1) Declaration of Intent and Research Question, & Literature
Review (summary of collected information from articles), (2) Research Design: Description of how the
team selected the question & Possible Hypotheses – if applicable, (3) Methods Section: Types of data
collected, Descriptions of how data collected and recorded, (4) Results Section: Summary of findings,
and (5) Discussion Section: Conclusions and/or summaries. The documentation panel should include
transcripts, pictures, and other potential examples of related work to help illustrate the action research
process.
4. Written Summary Paper should be: Typed, double-spaced, and no more than five pages in length and
in APA format. Paper Format (1) Begin by stating your declaration of intent for research and research
question, including any revisions to this question or sub-questions that have developed. (2) Literature
Review: Provide a summary of collected information from important articles, (3) Research Design:
Description of how the team selected the question, possible hypotheses, and how it was decided to
measure them. (4) Methods Section: Describe the methods you used to obtain your collected data. That
is, “subjects” – who collected it, “procedures” – how it was collected, and “measures” what was collected
or describing the types of data collected. (5) Results Section: Summarize your conclusions. Take a
position in your summary and use the results as evidence to support this position. (6) Discussion Section:
Discuss the significance and meaning of these findings. Finally, apply this cycle of inquiry (the process of
developing a question (wondering) and utilizing methods of discovery) to future teaching. Reflect on how
the summarized results and their significance may be used by you to enhance your teaching and
developing curriculum. (7) Conclusion: Summarize or end the paper.
5. Again, this is a team project that includes the role of the Mentor Teacher. Everyone is expected to
contribute while taking on the teacher as researcher role.
6. The presentation & paper assignments are due the day of the Research Forum.
Self Reflection/Journals (Rubric can be found on page 30)
Mentor Teachers may have additional self-reflection questions that will be given to you to think about,
discuss, and write about in your journals. These questions may be used daily in conjunction with the
recitation questions used weekly as a team reflection on the week.
Reflection Notes
Whether one is a primary grades teacher, a preschool teacher, a childcare provider, or a college
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professor, all teachers, like their teacher candidates, learn by doing, particularly as they reflect upon their
experiences in the classroom. Writing meaningful reflections is the key to improving teaching.
Going Beyond Description: Reflecting on Experience
Most of the time, it is easy to describe experiences; that is to write or to talk about what we did or what
happened in the classroom. It is more difficult to reflect on the significance and meaning of these
experiences to improve teaching and learning for the children and for our future teaching. To reflect
means “to think”, but it carries the broader connotation of deliberation, making choices, and decisionmaking about alternative courses of action. Reflection involves the careful consideration of one’s
experiences.
Several dispositions and skills are needed in order to reflect (Dewey 1933):
 Introspection – the thoughtful reconsideration of all that happens in a classroom with an eye
toward improvement
 Open-mindedness – the willingness to consider new and conflicting evidence (unexpected
occurrences and new theoretical knowledge), and to synthesize opposing views in forming new
thought and belief systems.
 The abilities to – (1) view situations from multiple perspectives, (2) search for alternative
explanations, and (3) use evidence to support & evaluate a decision or position.
Levels of Reflection:
Description: is the first level of reflection, one simply describes an action or event. The focus is on “what
occurred”.
Description & Justification: At this second level of reflection, description includes provision of the logic,
rationale, or theory associated with an action or event. The focus is on “what and why”.
Description & Critique: At this third level of reflection, description includes explanations and evaluation of
an action or event. The focus is on “what, and its significance and appropriateness”.
When writing your reflections on what you observed/experienced in the classroom, in a particular activity
or interaction; go beyond describing the experience*. Instead, ask yourself these questions:


What was this activity like for the children? (Try to take their perspective).
What was this activity like for me? (What were some thoughts and feelings you experienced as
you presented this activity. How did you feel? What did you learn? What new insights did you
have?)
 How do the experiences I observed support theory and the child development literature? (What is
consistent with or refutes what we know about cognitive, social, emotional, physical, or creative
development?)
 In describing your experiences, think about: What problems did you encounter? Why did they
occur? What decisions did you make? Why? And what would you do differently in the same
situation next time?
* Note: Be sure you provide supportive evidence for the claims you make.
The Reflective Thinking Process (adapted from Smyth 1992)
This is another way to think about reflection. Smyth described three levels of reflection.
1. Description – What did I do?
Written description can be a powerful means of engaging in reflective thinking about the knowledge,
beliefs, and methods one employs in actual practice and in the decision-making that underlies practice.
As teachers document their experiences, they describe actual teaching events, encounters, problems, and
conflicts that later can by analyzed and shared with colleagues.
2. Questioning & Confronting – Why did I do this and what does this meaning?
Description is not an end in itself, but a precursor to uncovering meaning – the “why” behind what teachers
do. Understanding why can move us toward concrete action for change. When we question the cause of
our actions, we subject our personal theories and understandings to scrutiny.
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Where do my ideas come from?
Why do I maintain my beliefs?
Whose interests are served by my practices?
What acts constrain my views of what is possible in teaching?
3. Reconstructing – How might I do things differently?
What changes are necessary to become a more effective teacher? This means constructing new images
of teaching that are found in the realities and specifics of what we do, as opposed to portrayals of teaching
that others who are removed from these day-to-day realities often perpetuate.
(Reflection summaries were taken from Andy Stremmel’s notes on reflection).
Journal Assignment Description (Rubric can be found on page 30).
Begin to use reflective practices in many aspects of your teaching experience. It is expected that you will
reflect on (1) the readings for teaching team meetings, (2) some of your pedagogue discussions, and (4)
weekly regarding your teaching experience.
Pedagogue Discussion: When noted by your pedagogue, reflect on the discussion and formulate
questions/comments to make in the next section. Bring your journals to take notes in as discussions
occur.
Weekly Teaching: Daily or weekly reflect on your interactions and observations in the classroom. Note
what occurred that day, and then take time to answer some of the questions above in the Reflection
Notes. Go beyond simply describing. In addition, question, confront, and formulate how particular
interactions have influenced your current teaching methods, your image of teaching, your image of
children and your future teaching methods.
Mid-Semester Responsibilities:
Ongoing Family Questionnaires (Found on page 114)
About halfway through the semester to gain feedback from family members, send out one of the two
following questionnaires to your children’s families. The Mentor Teachers have an electronic copy of the
questionnaires so that you may modify or add questions to the questionnaire to customize it for your
particular class.
Developmental Electronic Portfolios (Rubric can be found on pages 23-28)
Developmental Electronic Portfolios are created to show the growth and development of each child. The
electronic format for the portfolio is a PowerPoint presentation.
Data Collection:
Gathering information - At home visits, revisit with the families about their goals for their children.
Baseline data will be reviewed from the previous semester and also gathered on all children during the
first three weeks of school. The data will be collected in terms of anecdotes, digital pictures, and videos.
During a conference with the Mentor Teacher, developmental goals/areas and data collection categories
will be planned out for each child. Behaviors, developmental actions from the developmental areas, and
inquiry behaviors will be highlighted to show growth in the children’s portfolios by collecting data at three
time points throughout the semester or year (whichever is more appropriate – to be determined with
Mentor Teacher.
Initial data for each area will be collected for baseline review. Please see handout on portfolios to note the
content for each area.
Ongoing collection of data for each planned area will be collected at two separate time points (observation
#2 & #3 or at least one other time point – to be determined with mentor teacher) during the semester with
the completion of developmental portfolios occurring before parent-teacher conferences.
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Specific Timelines:
There are checkpoints throughout the semester which will assist in developing the portfolios. At the first
checkpoint, the baseline data will be presented.
At the second checkpoint, it is expected that the second data points will be presented. The final
checkpoint will be designated for presenting the third data points and final editing check.
Consider these Areas, Concepts & Elements to Observe in the Developmental Areas for Portfolio
Development
Social Emotional Development:
Self-concept
Self-control
Coping with/acting out aggr. & hostility
Dependence vs. independence
Anger, jealousy, rivalry feelings
Expressing choices
Solving problems - persistence
Temperament
Types of play
Personal style (leader, follower, etc.)
Egocentricity
Ability to enter group situations
Moral realism
How relates to adults
Routine times
How relates to peers, friendship making
Engaging in social problem solving
Participation in group activities
Building relationships/friendships
Working in small groups
Regulating emotions/self-control
Sex-role identification
Sustaining play situations
Sharing
Identifying emotions
Establishing Sense of Self
Showing empathy towards peers
Listening to others’ ideas
(Creativity)
Creating & building
Exploring a variety of materials
Fantasy-reality, pretending
Physical Development
(Large Motor)
Motor development/coordination
Upper arm and lower leg strength
Balance
Endurance
Muscle Control
Kinesthetic sense
Aware of other senses
Posture
(Fine Motor)
Eye-hand coordination
Usual facial expressions
Usual tempo & steady beat
Follow movement & music directions
Finger dexterity, control

Pinching motion

Grasps

Pincer grasp

Palmer grasp

Tripod grasp

Pointing

Lacing

Typing

cutting
(Self Help Skills)
Feeding skills
o Spreading soft foods
o Uses utensils
o Pours milk or juice
Washes hands
Toileting skills
Undressing skills (buttons, snaps, buckles,
ties)
Dressing skills (buttons, snaps, buckles,
ties)
Uses tissue for nose blowing
Picks up and puts away toys/materials
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Cognitive Development
Attention span
Names body parts
meta-cognition
(Early Mathematics)
Ideas of time, space, number, causality, one-one correspondence
Identify pictures, shapes, sizes, colors, sorting, ordering
Names colors
Counting objects
Describing spatial relations
Working with numbers
Representing with numbers
Geometry
Seriating objects
Spatial Awareness
Placements
Patterns
Idea of Time
Data Collection
(Early Reading & Literacy Development)
Demonstrates knowledge about books
Beginning reading
Beginning writing
Understanding Print has meaning
Using pictures to tell stories
Book handling skills
Phonemic awareness
Environmental print
Rhyming
Letter recognition
(Communication, Language)
Egocentric or socialized speech
Knows names of other children
Sentence structure
Articulation
Conversation participation
Following verbal directions
Produces two-word phrases
Uses Holophrastic speech
Uses gestures to communicate
Talks about known objects, events & people not present
Talks about actions of others
Answers simple words by function
Recognizes humor in simple jokes
Recited songs/rhymes
Uses past tense inflection
Understands singular/plural contrast
(Science & Inquiry)
Tool use
Building an Appreciation of the World & Nature
Hypothesizing
Problem solving
Being curious/asking question
Being persistent
Exploring with new materials
Using comparisons
Collecting data
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SDSU PRESCHOOL LABORATORY
FALL HOME VISIT QUESTIONNAIRE
CHILD'S NAME
DATE_____________________________
NICKNAMES
Teacher____________________
1.
What is the best way to communicate with you and your family?
______ One –on – one
_____ Phone Call
_____ Email
______ Other:__________________
2.
What are some of your child's favorite activities or special interests?
3.
What are some of your child's favorite stories and songs?
4.
What are your child's favorite foods? Are there any special food considerations about which we
ought to know (allergies etc.)?
5.
Who are the important people in your child's life outside of the immediate family (special
friends, caregivers, etc.)? What pets do you have?
106
6.
What special dislikes or fears does your child have?
7.
What special routines, if any, do you use with your child when he or she is having a rough
time, or when you are leaving him/her? Does your child have a special transitional object?
8.
What family routines, family traditions or celebrations does your family participate in
throughout the year?
9.
What would you like for your child to experience this year at preschool?
10.
Is there anything that you think would be helpful or important for me to know about your
child before school starts?
11.
What types of new materials has your child been introduced to during the summer break?
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Scissors
White Glue
Colored Pencils
Crayons
Color Markers
Glue Sticks
Rubber Cement
Card Board
Wood
Scotch Tape
Masking Tape
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Tempera Paints
Foam Paints
Acrylic Paints
Play Dough
Clay
Charcoal Pencils
Tracing Paper
Chalk
Goggles
Wood Sticks
Packing Materials
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Water Colors
Finger Paints
Yarn
Fabric
Black Fine Markers
Beads
Wire
Recycled Materials
Wood working tools
Popsicle Sticks
Water Colors
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SPRING HOME VISIT QUESTIONNAIRE
CHILD'S NAME
DATE_____________________________
NICKNAMES
Teacher____________________
1.
What is the best way to communicate with you and your family?
______ One –on – one
_____ Phone Call
_____ Email
______ Other:__________________
2.
Have you noticed any new favorite activities or special interests for your child since fall semester?
3.
What are your child's favorite foods? Are there any special food considerations about which we
ought to know (allergies etc.)? Have there been any changes since fall semester?
4.
How did your child spend his/her semester break?
5.
Did your child see any of the children from our class during the semester break? Did your
family have any special visitors or events that would be helpful for us to know when working
with your child?
108
6.
Does your child have any new concerns about fears or dislikes since fall semester? If so,
what are they?
7.
Since last fall, have your special routines changed for your family? Does your child have a
special transitional object?
8.
What kinds of activities would you like for the teachers to focus on this spring for your
child?
9.
Is there anything that you think would be helpful or important for me to know about your
child before this semester begins?
10.
What types of new materials has your child been introduced to during the semester break?
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Scissors
White Glue
Colored Pencils
Crayons
Color Markers
Glue Sticks
Rubber Cement
Card Board
Wood
Scotch Tape
Masking Tape
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Tempera Paints
Foam Paints
Acrylic Paints
Play Dough
Clay
Charcoal Pencils
Tracing Paper
Chalk
Goggles
Wood Sticks
Packing Materials
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Water Colors
Finger Paints
Yarn
Fabric
Black Fine Markers
Beads
Wire
Recycled Materials
Wood working tools
Popsicle Sticks
Water Colors
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Summary Table of Fall Home Visit Questionnaire Information
Names of
children
Favorite
Activities
Favorite
Favorite
Important
Stories & Foods & People or
Songs
Allergies Pets
Dislikes
Fears
Special
Routines
Transitional
Objects
Family
Additional
Routines or Helpful
Traditions
Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
110
Summary Table of Spring Home Visit Questionnaire Information
Names of
children
Favorite
Activities
Changes
What
Occurred
During
Break
Who
Visited
Favorite
Foods &
Allergies
Changes
in
Dislikes
Fears
Changes in
Special
Routines
Transitional
Objects
Curriculum
Ideas for
Spring
Additional
Helpful
Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
111
HOME VISIT INFORMATION SHEET
Name of children: (1)
(4)
(2)
(5)
(3)
(6)
Teacher candidate
This is a reflection/note taking page. You will be discussing this information in recitation.
Overall Description of Home Visit and Interpretations
Note briefly and objectively what you did with whom for your visits.
Note the child's reaction to your visit.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(6)
(5)
Describe the parents’ reaction to your visit.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(6)
(5)
112
Describe observed parent-child interactions.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(6)
(5)
What information have you gained from this visit that is helpful in understanding the child?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
How did you respond to this visit? What, if anything, would you do differently? What did you learn
about yourself as a teacher?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Include comments on needs that this child seems to have, and suggest ways that these could be met at
school. Make recommendations for any follow-up that would be helpful for either the child or
parents?
NOTE: One home visit to a child with whom you are only beginning to become acquainted provides insufficient
evidence for authoritative remarks. It is critical that you remain open and objective and that your interpretations of
behavior are tentative.
113
PARENTS AND TEACHERS AS PARTNERS
PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE
So that we may work toward common goals, please complete the following questionnaire:
I will share the information with our teachers so we can better meet your needs. Please be honest
with your comments. I will be summarizing your responses before I share them.
1. Describe your child’s reaction toward school.
2. What are some changes (if any) that you have observed in your child (singing a preschool
song, more tired, language development, etc.) at home?
3. What are your child’s greatest concerns about school? Please give us some suggestions for
woking with these concerns.
4. How can we strengthen our relationship with your child?
5. What are some things your child would enjoy doing at school?
6. How would you describe your relationship with your child’s mentor teacher? Teacher
candidate?
7. Do you feel knowledgeable about the daily expectations and rules of the center? If not, what
would help you feel more knowledgeable about them?
114
8. How do you feel about the staff arrangements for arrival and departure?
9. Have you been able to participate in center activities at the level you had hoped to participate?
10. How knowledgeable and comfortable to you feel about what your child is learning and how
his/her progress is measured?
11. How might the teaching team improve your experiences at the center?
12. Would you like additional information in the newsletter or daily journals? If so, what
additional information would you like to see?
13. In what additional ways might the teaching team help your family learn about community
events?
14. In what additional ways might the teaching team help your family learn about transitioning
into your child’s next learning environment?
Additional comments:
My Child’s Teacher candidate is:
Please return questionnaire to Mentor Teacher in the envelope provided.
Thank you for your time and input.
115
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE REPORT
Summary and Evaluation
Conducted by: __________________________________________________________
Name of parent(s) present: ________________________________________________
Child’s Name: __________________________________________________________
Date of conference: ______________________________________________________
Location: _______________________________________________________________
Approximate length of conference: __________________________________________
Summary: Summarize the conference by answering the next seven (7) questions.
1. How did you respond to doing this conference?
2. How did the parent(s) respond to the conference?
3. What new insights and information did you gain about this child and family?
4. What next insights and information do you think the parent(s) gained?
116
5. Did parents report any problems or concerns?
How were these handled?
6. What would you do differently if you were to redo the conference?
7. Additional comments?
117
All Parent-Teacher Conferences Evaluation Summary
Evaluate all conferences by answering the next three (3) questions.
Explain what you did and suggestions for possible changes.
1.
Content
a.
Observed and recorded accurate and adequate data.
b.
Communicated information to the parents regarding child’s development
in all areas.
c.
Did any of your conferences differ greatly from the others in how you handled the
content? If so, please explain how and which conferences differed.
2.
Organization
a.
Arranged and presented information in an orderly manner.
b.
Provided a sense of direction to the conference.
c.
Did any of your conferences differ greatly from the others in how you handled the
organization of it? If so, explain how and which conferences differed.
118
3.
Setting
a.
Made parents feel comfortable at onset of conference.
b.
Created open lines of communication. (50/50)
c.
Avoided making parents feel defensive and was supportive of parents.
d.
Avoided technical jargon.
e.
Responded to parent’s concerns.
f.
Did any of your conferences differ in any of these areas of the setting and
communication? If so, indicate this in the specific are that it differed following
what you have generally written above. Indicate how it differed and which
conference differed.
119
SDSU Preschool Laboratory
Parent-Teacher Conference: Parent Evaluation
Child’s Name:
Teacher candidate:_____________________
Would you please take a moment to evaluate our conference? When you have completed this form, please
return it to my supervising Mentor Teacher.
Please put a check on the line below the number as you rate the quality of the conference.
EXCELLENT
AVERAGE
POOR
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
1.
Was there a subject that you especially appreciated my sharing or which was very helpful to you?
2.
Was there an area we neglected to discuss that you feel should have been brought up?
3.
Do you have any other comments or suggestions to share?
120
Conversation Log Form
Date:
Name:
Area & Classroom:
Age:
Name:
Age:
Name:
Age:
Name:
Age:
121
Questions to be explored!
Inquiry
Title
122
Inquiry Investigation Overview
Question to be Activity/Provocation
Addressed.
(to Address Question)
Day ___:
Development/
Skills Supported & Materials
Skills:
Materials:
Learning
Environment & Documentation
Cycle:
Awareness
Exploration
Investigation
Utilization
In room □ Outside room, where:
Documentation:
What?
Who?
How?
What’s Next:
Day ___:
Skills:
Materials:
Awareness
Exploration
Investigation
Utilization
In room □ Outside room, where:
Documentation:
What?
Who?
How?
What’s Next:
123
Long Term Investigation Lesson Plan
Teacher:
Week of:
Planned activities and proposed
provocations
Material needed:
Possible Questions to be Posed:
Monday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Thursday:
Daily Reflections:
End of the week reflections
Observations and proposed changes:
(What are the children thinking and where should you
go next?)
Monday:
Wednesday:
Tuesday:
Thursday:
124
Overall Lesson Plan
Date:
Teacher(s):
Statement of Intent for Learning:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Art
Writing Area
Blocks
Book Area
Dramatic Play
Light Table
Large Group
Outside
Inquiry
Investigation
Quiet Manips
Science
Sensory
Snack
Special Plans
125
Weekly Ongoing Adjustments Form
Teachers:
Classroom:
Center Name & Activity
Date:
Why: Rationale
How: Method
Research Questions to
Pose to Children
Children’s
Answers/Evaluations
Changes:
Changes:
Changes:
126
Weekly Ongoing Adjustments Form #2
Teachers:
Date: Classroom: _____________________________________________ _
Center Name &
Activity
Why:
Rationale
Teachers
How: Method
Research/ Questions to Pose
to Children
Children's Answers/Evaluations/Assessment
On the square art
tables:
Art Table by wall
For Art Easel
In Sensory Table
127
On Science Table
\
Quiet Manip/Writing
Light Table:
Block Area:
Dramatic Play
House
Arrival Activity:
Group Meeting:
128
Sharing Time
Outside:
Gross Motor Room:
Gathering Space:
129
Lesson Planning Log
Ages of Children:
Interests:
Ongoing Inquiry Investigations:
Activities & Areas
Lead Teacher:
Date:
Changes in Activity
Materials
Questions Posed
Daily Reflections:
Reflections on Posed Questions
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
130
De's Afternoon Lab
Possibilities for the week
of:____________________
Area
Monday
Reason
Tuesday
Reason
Wednesday
Reason
Thursday
Reason
Art table one
Art table by
wall.
Science/clay
Book rack
Easel
Sensory
Block
Writing
Quiet manip.
Light table
Dramatic
Group time
Sharing time
Arrival
activity
131
Outside
132
Date:
Lead Teacher:
Assistant Teacher:
Key focus this week:
Additional class goals or areas for assessment:
Literacy:
Math:
Science:
Fine Motor:
Gross Motor:
Social/Emotional:
Staff Goals:
Individual Child Goals:
133
Toddler Morning Classroom Lesson Plan
Head Teacher:
Art Area
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and learning Addressed
Reading
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Area
Skills and learning Addressed
Block Area
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and learning Addressed
Dramatic
Play Area
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and learning Addressed
Light Table
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and learning Addressed
134
Sensory
Table
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and Learning Addressed
Quiet
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Manipulative
Area
Skills and Learning Addressed
Writing
Table
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and Learning Addressed
Outside
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and Learning Addressed
Science
Area
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and Learning Addressed
135
Group Time
What have we observed the children
What can we do to help further the children's
doing, thinking and learning?
learning and support their thinking?
•
•
Skills and learning Addressed
Changes Through Out the Week
136
Multicultural Analysis for Integration of Diversity:
Plans for the week of
Age of Children
Cultures represented in class
Differing abilities represented in class
Lead Teacher
Discussion of cultural and anti-bias materials:
Discussions of families reflected in the environment:
Discussion of music from children’s backgrounds:
Discussions & Represented literature that reflects the children and families in the class:
Discussions and activities that reflect the children and families:
Discussions & Group activities that have multicultural elements, anti-bias elements, or diversity
elements:
Others:
Not well integrated
Self rating for anti-bias: 1
2
3
Mentor Teacher Rating of Implementation:
Rating for anti-bias:
1
2
3
4
4
Middle
5
6
5
6
7
Well integrated
8
9
10
7
8
9
10
137
Guest Speaker Lesson Plan
Teachers:
Date:
Time of Visit:
Topic/Subject:
Name of Guest Speaker:
Phone Number:
Goals for Lesson Plan:
South Dakota Standards Addressed in the Lesson Plan:
Preparation of Children for a Visit by a Guest Speaker:
Procedures and Rules for the Visit:
1. Pre-planning visit to speak with potential guest speaker:
a. Conveying Goals of Visit –
b. Discussion of Developmental Expectations of Understanding for Children
of a Particular Age–
c. Plan for Confirmation of Visit –
d. Plan for parking, place to keep coat, carrying in equipment, etc. –
e. Alternative Plan for Cancellations –
f. Plan for children who may be afraid or cautious of guest 2. Materials/Resources Needed:
Preparation Materials:
Materials Needed by Guest – Location & Conversation about
Equipment – if needed:
3. Plan for Post-Visit Activities & Follow Up with Guest Speaker:
4. Assessment and Evaluation of Visit
138
Field Trip Lesson Plan
Teachers on the Trip:
Date:
Time of Trip:
Topic/Subject:
Location:
Goals for Lesson Plan:
South Dakota Standards Addressed in the Lesson Plan:
How to Keep the Field Trip Focused on Set Goals:
Procedures and Rules for the Field Trip:
1. Pre-planning visit to site:
a. Safety at site –
b. Visit with Personnel –
c. Restrooms are safe & clean –
d. Established driving route to site –
e. Location for snack –
2. Will we need parent permission?
3. Materials/Resources Needed:
Preparation Materials:
Materials Needed At Site:
Safety Materials
4. Provisions for Individual Differences:
5. Assessment and Evaluation of Field Trip:
139
FIELD TRIP PLANS
FOR........................................ LAB
======================================
TEACHER CANDIDATE ........................................
DAY AND DATE: .....................................................
TIME LEAVING: .....................................................
TIME RETURNING: ...............................................
DESTINATION: ......................................................
ADDRESS: ...............................................................
TELEPHONE NUMBER: ........................................
CONTACT PERSON: .............................................
TRANSPORTATION METHOD: ...........................
NUMBER OF CARS
: ...............................
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:
(IF GOING BY CAR)
140
488 Teacher candidate Teaching Weekly Self-Evaluation (week 1)
Instructions: Give specific examples where appropriate, and return to your Mentor
Teacher the Monday following your teaching weeks. Please be thorough in your
evaluation because it does count toward your grade.
A. Management Skills
1. Did you remember to assign duties to all the Teacher candidates and/or
assistants?
2. Did you remember to make sure the duties were carried out to your
expectations?
3. Were your directions clear and thorough so that no one had questions?
B. Curriculum Planning & Implementation
1. Did you develop any backup plans for inclement weather, failed activities, or
completed activities?
2. Were you flexible with the teacher and children’s needs/wants, or
environmental needs?
3. What changes came up with the overall lesson plan?
141
4. How did the long term investigation play out? What new additions need to be
considered? What could have been different? What could possibly be
revisited?
C. Child Interactions
1. Did you use appropriate, positive language and avoid the use of “OK”?
2. Were you at the child’s level?
3. Were you able to use problem solving with the children?
4. Were you able to use more open-ended questions vs. closed-ended?
D. Parent Interactions
1. How informative was your newsletter?
2. Did parents have any questions about the lesson plan for the week?
142
3. How did you inform the parents about their child’s day at preschool (including
the parents who do no pick up/drop off their children)?
E. Responsibility & Attitude
1. Were you on time and prepared before the start of each teaching day?
2. Would your peers rate your attitude as positive and clear?
F. List 5 things (one from each area) that you need to improve:
1. Management Skills
2. Curriculum Planning & Implementation
3. Child & Parent Interactions
4. Assistant Interactions (Peer for toddler teachers)
5. Responsibility & Attitude
143
G. State each of the following for the lesson plan:
1. Rationale
2. Strengths
3. Challenges
H. What will you do differently next time? Why? How?
I. What strengths/interests/requests have you seen in the children this week that you
may need to address in the next lesson plan?
J. How did you choose the activities for the week? How connected were the activities
from the previous week? How did the activities build upon previous learning?
K. How well do you feel you worked as a team player with the other Teacher
candidates and/or classroom assistants? Strengths? Challenges?
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L. Do you see any gaps in communication between yourself and the:
a. Children?
b. Parents?
c. Teacher candidates?
d. Assistants? (if applicable)
e. Mentor Teacher?
f. Other preschool staff (director, coordinator, cook, other Mentor Teachers/lab
teacher candidates)
M. Propose 3 to 5 solutions for any communication problems you see:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
N. How satisfied were you with your teaching abilities?
145
488 Teacher candidate Teaching Weekly Self-Evaluation (week 2)
Instructions: Give specific examples where appropriate, and return to your Mentor
Teacher the Monday following your teaching weeks. Please be thorough in your
evaluation because it does count toward your grade.
A. Management Skills
1. Did you remember to assign duties to all the Teacher candidates and/or
assistants?
2. Did you remember to make sure the duties were carried out to your
expectations?
3. Were your directions clear and thorough so that no one had questions?
B. Curriculum Planning & Implementation
1. Did you develop any backup plans for inclement weather, failed activities, or
completed activities?
2. Were you flexible with the teacher and children’s needs/wants, or
environmental needs?
3. What changes came up with the overall lesson plan?
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4. How did the long term investigation play out? What new additions need to be
considered? What could have been different? What could possibly be
revisited?
C. Child Interactions
1. Did you use appropriate, positive language and avoid the use of “OK”?
2. Were you at the child’s level?
3. Were you able to use problem solving with the children?
4. Were you able to use more open-ended questions vs. closed-ended?
D. Parent Interactions
1. How informative was your newsletter?
2. Did parents have any questions about the lesson plan for the week?
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3. How did you inform the parents about their child’s day at preschool (including
the parents who do no pick up/drop off their children)?
E. Responsibility & Attitude
1. Were you on time and prepared before the start of each teaching day?
2. Would your peers rate your attitude as positive and clear?
F. List 5 things (one from each area) that you need to improve:
1. Management Skills
2. Curriculum Planning & Implementation
3. Child & Parent Interactions
4. Assistant Interactions (Peer for toddler teachers)
5. Responsibility & Attitude
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G. State each of the following for the lesson plan:
1. Rationale
2. Strengths
3. Challenges
H. What will you do differently next time? Why? How?
I. What strengths/interests/requests have you seen in the children this week that you
may need to address in the next lesson plan?
J. How did you choose the activities for the week? How connected were the activities
from the previous week? How did the activities build upon previous learning?
K. How well do you feel you worked as a team player with the other Teacher
candidates and/or classroom assistants? Strengths? Challenges?
149
L. Do you see any gaps in communication between yourself and the:
a. Children?
b. Parents?
c. Teacher candidates?
d. Assistants? (if applicable)
e. Mentor Teacher?
f. Other preschool staff (director, coordinator, cook, other Mentor Teachers/lab
teacher candidates)
M. Propose 3 to 5 solutions for any communication problems you see:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
N. How satisfied were you with your teaching abilities?
150
Multiple bumps to top of
head (football hold)
Intraocular hemorrhage
with or without report of
trauma
Deviated Septum
Tenderness to neck from
shaking
Damage to gums, mouth
or tongue from forces
feeding or gagging.
In general, look for unusual
patterns such as belt marks,
electric cord makes, etc.
Any buttocks
injuries including
bite marks
Defense wounds
to the tops of arms
and hands
Extended abdominal wall
Look for burns on
bottom of feet
151
152