1. By Joanna Guzman Colegio Maya – Guatemala June 28, 2010 Mano a Mano Project

2.  Using Bonnie Campbell-Hill’s information, implement a systematic assessment package that is developmentally appropriate for Kindergarten students  Implement this assessment package throughout the ECC  Adopt this assessment package for the elementary school, grades Pre-K - 5

4.  2009-2010 Organize and use a Teacher Notebook, comprised of Campbell Hill’s First Step assessment ideas and other resources from the conference in the DR, in my classroom throughout the school year  Familiarize parents of students with the stages of development in the areas of oral English, reading and writing, where their children are currently at on the continuums and goals that we are working toward  2010-2011 Present continuum information to the rest of the ECC for implementation in Pre-K and K  2011-2012 Present continuum information to the elementary teachers for school-wide use

5. - Bonnie Campbell Hill’s assessment using continuums measures student growth, as opposed to mastery of a set of standards. Students construct learning through classroom experiences over time (Piaget), therefore assessment should better describe the process of learning. - Continuums more accurately describe learning behaviors of students or what students are already doing independently and what they are working towards. This is Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. - Students should have multiple opportunities and ways to demonstrate knowledge (Howard Gardner). The Teacher Notebook compiles student work samples that show growth over time, through a variety of assessment.

9.  Developmentally appropriate assessment allows us to look at each child as a unique learner and introduce new learning at a pace that is appropriate for each child. This is consistent with brain research.  ECERS scale has allowed me to assess my classroom for integration of sensory and language-rich experiences.

11.  My Teacher Notebook included not only information about students’ growth, but also how I have grown as a teacher.  The ECERS scale is a comprehensive tool that allowed me to evaluate my classroom and my practices as an early childhood teacher.  I scored the highest in the areas of Personal Care Routines, Language/Reasoning, Interaction, and Program Structure. and the lowest in Activities and Space and Furnishings.  I focused my initial efforts on Activities, opening up new centers and creating more time in our day for work in centers. 

12.  Use of the Teacher Notebook and the assessments included has enabled me to get a clear picture of each child as a learner, their strengths and needs.  Knowing as much information as we can about each individual student allows us to differentiate instruction for the variety of strengths and needs teachers see in early childhood education.  Writing my Philosophy of Early Childhood Education helped me to look at the variety of training and classes I have received over my 16 yr. career and how I have integrated that learning into my current practice.  My center activities began with an intentional approach. I later created more center opportunities that lent themselves to a naturalistic approach. I noticed children engaging in rich language use, as well as creative play, which contributed greatly to their overall growth in oral language development and brain stimulation through creativity.

14.  There are four of us on the ECC team at Colegio Maya. After I complete Mano a Mano, we three teachers on the team will have completed Mano a Mano. One teacher has over 30 yr. of experience and two of us have 15-16 yr. Our aide has 4 yr. in ECC.  Our current team functions very well. What makes it work?  Good communication skills  Willingness to try new ideas  Appreciation of colleagues’ experiences  Flexibility  Good listening skills  The best interests of the students being at the forefront of all discussions/decisions  Sharing the workload evenly Being as we are a strong team, my team members are open to learning new assessment techniques, thereby creating a consistent assessment program that is developmentally appropriate for all our students in the ECC.

15. Student teamwork in action!

16.  Teaching was a second career for me, one which I began after finishing a Peace Corps experience in Guatemala in the early ‘90s. My core values related to my job include:  Genuine concern for the well-being of children  Strong work ethic  Belief in purposeful activities for children in a positive environment  Children need plenty of time to practice  Teachers as continual learners  I consider myself to be a patient person  I did not start out as a naturally organized person, but have gotten better over time To motivate others to change, I know I must start with my own classroom, as I did this year. My ECC colleagues have expressed openness to adopting these assessment techniques in their classrooms next year.

17.  Early this year I agreed to mentor my teammate in early literacy techniques.  Next year I will commit to mentoring my teammates in the ECC with regards to the new assessment program, using our ECC meetings for discussion/help/consistency  My past mentoring experiences were very positive. I feel that I made a positive impact on classrooms other than my own by having an impact on future teachers.  My challenge in mentoring is taking care of myself, balancing the self-oriented and the other-oriented state.

18.  For year one, I added the ECERS scale to my Teacher Notebook. It provided very useful information for me regarding my overall instructional program and is a tool for change. I also added some of our school’s existing assessment to the notebook, as I felt it provided other relevant information.  In mentoring my ECC colleagues in year two, I realize that we will need to spend time talking about, and clarifying, the learner characteristics on the continuums.  We will need to use the continuums first as a supplement to our existing report card and then begin report card alignment work

19. Myself as a TeacherMy Students’ experiences  It has provided me important knowledge specific to early childhood  It has helped me examine more closely my strengths and needs as a teacher and a learner  My teammates, from a previous Mano a Mano cohort, have supported me with best practices in early childhood  I now provide more sensory activities for children  I more clearly see my responsibility as a mentor  Expanded center choices to include more exploration, creativity and language opportunities  Purposeful activities that include more opportunity to use language  More sensory activities  More time for gross and fine motor development  More varied opportunities to demonstrate knowledge, which include authentic and project-based assessment  More opportunities for student-directed learning

21.  Continued attention to some aspects of the ECERS assessment, including:  Installation of a track for pedal vehicles on the ECC playground  Creation of a more comfortable private space for reading or resting  Creation of a music/movement center  Continue to collect and add interesting materials to current centers Add other types of assessments from Bonnie Campbell Hill and others to the Teacher Notebook. These might include student self-evaluations and parent evaluations. Mentor in the ECC and in the Elementary with Bonnie Campbell Hill’s assessment practices