Teaching Strategies GOLD Information for Parents

The Purpose of TS Gold Observe and document children’s development and learning over time Support, guide, and inform planning and instruction Identify children who might benefit from special help, screening, or further evaluation Report and communicate with family members and others Collect child outcome information as one part of a larger accountability system Provide reports to administrators to guide program planning and professional development opportunities

Overview of the Assessment System Observe and collect facts through observation and documentation Analyze and respond to children by considering their skills in relation to specific objectives and then scaffolding their learning Evaluate by comparing a child’s skills and behaviors to research-based indicators of learning and development Summarize, plan, and communicate making use of the collected information to plan experiences and share with others

Objectives for Development and Learning Review the 10 areas and ask what parents would expect each domain encompasses

Let’s Look Deeper into Objectives Many objectives include dimensions Objective 17. Demonstrates knowledge of print and its uses Dimensions give teachers more detail, or specificity, about the knowledge, skills and behaviors in a given objective Dimensions clarify what the objective addresses. This helps teachers accurately assess children’s development and learning and therefore be more intentional in the experiences they offer to children

Progressions of Development and Learning The color bands are based on widely held expectations and cover a range of skills within each objective

The Path of Development and Learning Predictable, not rigid Overlapping Uneven Interrelated Development happens at an uneven pace. Think about when babies first start walking. Some walk at 10 months, some later on at 15 months. There are times of rapid development and long stretches of time during which children need more experience to develop new skills and behaviors. TSG takes this info into account and defines progressions of development for social emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math (there is not enough research for science and tech, social studies, or arts) Progressions allow for one to see the child’s expected path of development from birth to kindergarten

Objective 16a, “Identifies and names letters” Not all objectives are appropriate for school aged children as shown in Objective 16a. PK students are expected to score in the blue band.

What Can Parents Do? Work with your child on developing their skills based on their individual student reports Communicate with your child’s teacher to gain ideas on activities you can do with your child Read with your child every night