EDUC 170 — Observation, Documentation, & Assessment in ECSE
This course provides an overview of observation, documentation, and assessment for children birth to age eight with or at risk for having special needs. Students will be introduced to developmentally appropriate techniques for observing, documenting, and assessing the development of children with or at risk for special needs in order to inform curriculum planning and promote positive guidance strategies. Students will become familiar with informal and formal methods and tools for observation, documentation, and assessment and their appropriate use across developmental domains, environmental contexts, disability diagnosis, and ages. Students will identify methods for individual, environmental, and program assessment in special education contexts. The course emphasizes a strengths-based approach to assessment that includes building partnerships with families and professional colleagues and cultural responsiveness. Self-reflection is a major component of the course as well as the examination of bias in the observation and assessment of young children from diverse backgrounds. Fifteen hours observing young children in an early childhood education setting are required for the course. This course is part of an approved set of courses that fulfill the requirements leading to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Approval for Early Childhood Special Education. Writing assignments, as appropriate to the discipline, are required.