Measurable Objectives

Three Written Measurable Learning Outcomes

Writing instructional objectives should be kept dimple and straightforward.  Kubiszyn and Borich (2010) states, “an instructional objective should be a clear and concise statement of the skills or skills that the students will be expected to perform” (p.110).  In addition, an instructional objective must be stated in observable, behavioral terms which include an action verb that specifies a learning outcome. The learning objectives below consist of three written measurable learning outcomes for a hypothetical unit of study for first grade level in Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.

Grade Level: First

 A Language Arts Unit on the Alphabet

This three-to-four week language arts unit allows students to explore the alphabet through activities based on their individual readiness levels. Throughout, the students will be exposed to various alphabet books as they work towards creating their own books. In addition, students will be involved in a variety of large-and-small group activities designed to increase their grasp of letter sound and their ability to apply them. Because it presents information fundamental to literacy, this unit is a good one to use at the start of a school year.

The title of this unit is All About the ABCs/ABC Art Project

Measurable Objective: The student will create ABC products using various art materials (alphabet sponges and stencils, magazines, newspapers).

A Science Unit on the Functions of Plant Parts for a first grade class

          This hands-on, three to four week science unit invite students to explore plant growth and survival. During this unit students will be allowed to ask questions and devise ways to find answers as they discover why plants are important. They will also observe plant growth to learn about a plant’s life cycle.

The title of this unit is What Plants Need

Measurable Objective: The student will identify the names and functions of plant parts: root, stem, leaf, flower, and seed, and make observations and record changes in the life cycle of a plant.

A Social Studies Unit on Needs, Wants, and Community Helpers

          This three-to-four week social studies unit opens up with a review of the basic about what a community is and then, through a variety of hands-on-activities, delves into the concept of interdependence within a community. It helps students to develop an understanding of people’s interactions within a community, their community responsibilities, and the ways which they others in the community.

Measurable Objective: The student will explain the different components of a community, and be able to compare, contrast, and evaluate community roles.

Reference

Kubiszyn, T. & Borich, G. D. (2010), Educational testing and measurement: Classroom              application and practice (9th ed.). United States: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Blog Assignment

Terrance Riley

EDU 645: Learning & Assessment for the 21st Century

Instructor: Dr. Bridget Griggs

October 29, 2012

Blog Assignment: Thought Process and Rationale of Test Items and Essay Items

The selection of my item format was determined by my instructional objectives. The test items that I selected were multiple choice items. I decided to use multiple choice items because they can be used to measure a variety of simple-to-complex outcomes. The questions that I used are well constructed and have the capability to assess higher-level thinking abilities. The test questions can be scored easily and students are provided the opportunity to select from more than one answer choice. I tried to include distractors so that the student must engage in some problem solving in order to select the correct response from the answer choices. These selected-response items can be used effectively by teachers to drive defensible inferences about students’ cognitive status (Popham, 2007), that is knowledge and skills teachers typically try to promote in their students.

The vocabulary used in the test essay items is suitable for the students who will be taking the test. The test items are presented in a direct-question forum. One strength of the multiple choice items is that they contain several answers differing in their relative correctness. The essay items can be used to measure a student’s possession of knowledge or a student’s ability to engage in higher levels of thinking.

Furthermore, multiple choice items are unique among objective test items, because they allow you to measure behavior at the higher level of the taxonomy of educational objectives. The test questions can be scored easily and students are provided the opportunity to select from more than one answer choice

References

Kubiszyn, T. & Borich, G. D. (2010), Educational testing and measurement:        Classroom application and practice (9th ed.). United States: John Wiley and                                                                           Sons, Inc.

Popham, W. J. (2008). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know? (5th ed.).     Boston: Pearson.

When I Think of Research...

The insights that I have gained about research from taking this course is that research is a process that stems from an interest of a certain field or inquiry. The first step to the research process is the selection of a topic. From the selection of a topic, the researcher sets out to establish facts and build relationships. However, the researcher needs to be careful when guiding the investigation of the research question. A hypotheses needs to be stated for each problem if the research question is not appropriate. Once the research question or hypotheses have been stated, the researcher then begins to collect data from various sources, social settings, journals, books, and other scholarly materials. Once the data is collected it needs to be summarized, analyzed, and organized in order to present the findings from the study.

Understanding that there are rules of operation for conducting research has changed some of my views about research. It is important that as a researcher, I do not violate these rules nor act in an unethical manner when dealing with research participants.

The lessons that I learned about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood is that as a researcher, it is very important to familiarize myself with the issues of equity in research design. The goal is not to make things equal, but to be just and fair in the research process.

Some of the challenges that I faced were trying to come up with a valid research question that would not lack credibility after the research process has been completed. I had to make sure that my selected topic was significant and researchable. I also had to make sure that the reliable and valid data could be obtained from my research question.

My perceptions about early childhood professionals haven’t changed that much. The issues of quality and equity have become a big topic in the field of education. It is important for early childhood professionals to be able to used research design in a beneficial way. The findings from research can be of great value for the early childhood professional and other.

Research Around the World

What are some of the current international research topics? I chose to do a little research on the ECDVU.  The Early Childhood Development Virtual University is a program in Africa commited to improving the quality of life for children and their families.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?  The ECDVU came from  a series of ECD training seminars known as Summer Institutes initiated by UNICEF in 1994/95.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?  The World Bank utilized the Norwegian Educational Trust Funds to support the development phase of the ECDVU in 2000. The world bank was also joined by other groups such as Unicef, UNESCO, and CIDA in supporting the delivery of the inaugural three year graduate program.

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I was reading an article which talked about the positive outcome of children who come from a married family of the same biological parents. I find this this be very true because I came from a dysfunctional married family because I had a stepfather. I hated that my mom was married to him but I was intrigued by the idea of marriage. My brother and I turned out pretty descent, but I know kids who came from a married family with the same biological parents who seemed to excel faster. Now this may just be all in my head, but I know they had more material stuff and in some cases a slightly higher average than kids who were from a single parent home or a home similar to my own.

I don't know my real father, the last time I can remember seeing him is around the age of 4 or 5. This cause a major void in my life, but also drives me to be an integral part of my children's life. Those issues in which I dealt with growing up have impacted my life so much that I am striving to be the best for my family as well as be there for them ad give them the best.

Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose is "Culturally Responsive Care and Education. I chose this topic because I know how important culture is in the development of children. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation through families making it seem normal and natural. Children tend to emulate what they see people close to them do. Families really shape the growth and development of children more than anything else. I can attest to this because my children say and do just about anything my wife and I do. My daughter is three and my son is two years of age and my son does just about everything in which his sister does. My daughter will come and sit in my lap and my son will soon follow. I wish he would follow her with the potty training though. He hates to use the potty. I've seen him sit on the potty and hold it for a long time and then be walking around and have a bowel movement. I've been trying to train him for about a year now and I'm open to all suggestions.

Final Blog Assignment

The three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are: research and comparison, communication, and career opportunities. This blog was very challenging for me because I was never able to connect with an international contact. I did, however, gain a lot from reading my fellow collegues' blogs. Education is basicall he same all over they were as far as being taught. Now the children and parents recieving it can be different. I find that other countries take education more seriously than some of my students from the research that we have done. I think a lof of kids take things for granted because we are more fortunate than other countries in some ways. I am going to stay positive and pray that things change for the better.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

From a professional experience this has been my most challenging year. A lot of the students are out of struggling and it seems that no one outside of the school system is motivating them. So we as a staff have been coming up with different ways to improve student learning with very little support from most of the parents. There is also huge shift in staff this year. A couple teachers resigned mid-year and many more have stated that they will not return after this school year. I however am still fighting to reach my professional goals which are to be the best and most influential certified teacher that I can be. I aim to advocate for children and families that are desperately in need. I hope one day to accomplish my goals. I also aim to be apart of remaining staff that will do whatever it takes to turn things around.   

Sharing Web Resources

SOS Children's Villages believes that children will develop to their full potential only if they have a very protective and supportive famliy environment. They do everything in their power to make it a reality.
At the centre of our SOS Children’s Villages programme is the individual child. We encourage children to actively take part in the making of decisions that affect their lives. They work with disadvantaged families to prevent crises that may lead to the seperation of families. They offer various forms of support to stabilze and strenghten families in order to help children grow up with their own familes instead of foster homes. They aim to build skills as well as the capacities of the caregivers and their communities in order to help children enjoy a caring and positive relationship. He is a piece of what this organization does below.

Family strengthening programme in Patzún (Guatemala) © SOS Archives

We also strengthen SOS families and foster families, which provide stable and consistent care to children who cannot remain in their family of origin, and for whom family-based care is considered the best option. Short-term solutions may be offered in crisis situations.

SOS Kindergarten Tbilisi (Georgia) © Alan Meier

Individualised care

Whether located all together or dispersed within a community, SOS families provide individualised care and promote the development, education and health of each child. We work together with communities to develop and improve local education and health infrastructure. In some cases SOS Children's Villages runs kindergartens, day-care centres, schools and vocational training centres, as well as medical centres.

A leading voice for children

Building on our experience, we are also a leading voice for children who have lost their parent or whose parents cannot care for them. We aim to make a change that will improve the lives and living conditions of all these children, their families and their communities.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I still haven't heard from any of my international contacts so I did the alternative assignment. Targeting toxic stress in children was the article I read. This article was in its experimental phases but it had some great insight. Toxic stress in children can enable them to cope with normal stress in their adult life according to this article. Some of the causes of toxic stress in children are recurrent abuse, chronic neglect and constant exposure to violence. Another important fact from the article was that not all children from poverty are affected by toxic stress. Children that have adults in their lives making them feel secure and helping them deal with the stress have a better chance in developing skills for their adult lives

Sharing Web Resources

• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?  This organization is really touching because it stated that over 90 % of children have biological parents who cannot support them. This hits close to home because my students are going through some of the same things. They have parents for whatever who aren't taking care of them and some are living with grandparents, foster parents, or other relatives. The benefits of government assistance is really another deciding factor in most of my students survival.
• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways? I didn't see anything to change my perception of this organzation other than the fact that they have such powerful supporters.
• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field? This website names a few world famouse personalities such as Angelina Jolie, the Dalia Lama, Nelson Mandela, and Anna Netrebko as contributing friends and supporters.  They are helpful by spending time with the children, supporting the organization, giving donations, and in some cases helping the children to find homes.
  
• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter? I was sort of shocked because I didn't know that so many major people played a role in helping this organization.  It was really good to see that they are helping because sometimes when I watch television I think that those are paid infomercials.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

Unfortunately I still haven't established contact with anyone so I did the alternative assignment. I chose China as my topic for childhood poverty. As many of you may know China has the largest population of people in the world. They also a have a huge poverty level. It is stated that 4.2 million Chinese children live in abosolute poverty. That is a lot of people and my heart goes out to them. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a heart for children and that's part of the reason that I enjoy working with them so much. It also says that another 8.7 million children live in disadvantaged conditions. I did read that the abosolute poverty numbers and proportion of children living in poverty have decreased since the 1990s. It's to see them doing better as a country but I know that there are still a lot of less fortunate children and I feel bad for them. I pray that God will bless their counrty as well as everyone else's especially the children.

Sharing Web Resources

http://www.sos-dd.ru/eng/about/

SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES RUSSIA

SOS Children’s Villages Russia is an independent non-governmental organization that provides a family approach to the long term care of orphaned and abandoned children. They  bring orphaned children back to the natural atmosphere of the family giving them back a mother (an SOS-mother), a home and a happy childhood in a supportive Village environment. They also help children shape their own futures and get ready for independent life.They have benn exending their work with families through family strengthening programs snce 2006. They do this by working for disadvantaged families to prevent crises that can in the worst case scenario lead to children being placed in out-of-home care. I chose this particular organization because I feel that they really are dedicated to help kids succeed as well as saving then from almost certain destruction. I know that there may be plenty of organizatons like this but this one really stands out to me.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Being that this class was unavailable to me until yesterday, I have been unable to contact two early childhood professionals. Therefore, I believe T need to try the alternative to number 1. I reached out to someone in Africa and in Europe. I also watched a podcast video of Barbara Jones on the World Forum Radio. I really enjoyed her story about how she came into Montesoi education which led to her opening up a school.

My Supports

• My family is the most important and supportive daily factor. My wife, kids, and mother are very supportive. My extended family is supportive as well. They push me to excel as well as challenge me to do my best no matter what I am taking part in.  I have to babies and a younger cousin who's like my son that looks up to me. I know have to set a really positive example and be a strong positive influence in their lives. I have to make sure that they don't mistakes that I made. It would be extremely difficult to live without them. These people are my life in which I am in constant contact with daily. I am there for them and they are there for me and I would not want to be without any one of them. I honestly can't say what I would do without them, but I hope that I never will have to find out.
• The challenge I would like to imagine is being a very rich and wealthy person. I honestly would like the challenge of being Kobe Bryant. He is one of the greatest athletes and teammates in the world but he is often scrutinized.  He is also going through a divorce and is probably on the downside of his career. I know my extended family would support me through this and I would like the challenge to see if I could work things out with my wife as well as become a less scrutinized athlete.  We have a close net family. We help each other in any way that we can and will always be there for each other. I would without a doubt be a lost soul with out my support system. Depression would set in and I would probably just climb into a hole so to speak and just keep to myself. 
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My Connections To Play

Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.

Diane Ackerman
Contemporary American author

Culture arises and unfolds in and as play.

Johan Huizinga
Dutch historian
1872–1945




These building blocks were very influential in my childhood. I loved to play with them and I learned from them. My kindergarten teacher Mrs. Andersen loved to watch me play with them. She worked with me every day using these blocks to teach me different learning strategies.

Today I use those same skills with my children in the classroom. They abosutely love to use the blocks. It has taught them to share as well. We had a very hard time to get them to share in the beginning. I remember back when I was younger we were taught to share coming from home, but now a days some children aren't being raised that way. Children tend to fight over things rather than share. So we have the task of breaking the stingy habit.

Overall I view play as a very useful tool in life as well as education. I learned a lot through play, it taught me how to think, share, and be independent in learning. I hope that I am being as effective of a teacher as Mrs. Anderson taught me.

Relationship Reflection

 

Hello everyone. I am going to discuss my relationship with the three most important people in my life. First off I would like to discuss my relationship with my wife. We have been together for more than 6 years (3 of them married). She has always been there for me even though I am six years older than her. I like to think of her as my soulmate, God's personal gift to me. She is wise beyond her years and I don't ever want to be without her. Next is my daughter Zamiya, she is my first born child and my only girl. Zamiya and I were very close before the birth of her baby brother. I couldn't move without her following me or holding on to my pant leg. She has branched off since she's gotten older and tends to gravitate to her mother. Zamiya is very smart little girl. She picks up on things very quickly and is really into technology. She is only three and stays on my laptop more than anyone else and she knows how to use it very well. And last but not least my son Kamrin. Kamrin is two years old. He is also very bright. Our relationshio is very close. He cries when I leave to go work. He wants to follow me every where that I go. We also share a deep passion for the sport of basketball. He actually sits there and watches the whole game with me whether in person or on the television. He sleeps with the basketball, baths with it, and takes it everywhere he goes and I do mean every where. My family is my inspiration and gives me the drive to succeed. They motivate me also. My family means everything to me. I couldn't survive without them.