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Robbie Baliwas
EDEC-478 – Filp-Hanke
SLO3 Reflection

As part of my student teaching class (ECE-250) at Diablo Valley College, we were to

maintain notes about our observations of the children in the preschool classroom. By observing

we were closely watching and listening not only directly but also using our peripheral hearing

and vision to still be aware of and notice our surroundings. Using a small notebook, with labels

of the names of each child as well as the dates of observation, we were to document our

observations as a way to record that data and keep children’s artifacts collected throughout the

semester. This way of keeping a record of information and tangible evidence with artifacts and

pictures would assist the student teachers in noticing any change/progression in or simply

identifying various areas of their development (e.g. cognitive, social-emotional, physical fine and

gross motor skills, etc.).

A few goals we strived to accomplish by the end of the semester was reflecting back on

our student teaching experience, being able to apply what we learned in the classroom, and

noticing and analyzing the progression in each child’s development from our observations and

documentation. The main objective, though, was that student teachers worked throughout the

semester to gradually become the lead teachers taking initiative and collaborating as a team.

With minimal assistance from our mentor teachers as they basically became flies on the wall, the

student teachers ran the class together planning and implementing the daily curriculum that

included the planned activities we had created, introduced during circle times, and set up for the

children to engage in.

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The habit of taking notes about each child can be an extremely useful tool to have.

Having evidence of specific moments that show a child’s progress in certain areas can be used

for assessment for an individual child or a group as this gathering and reviewing of information

aids in formulating activities and curriculum. This documentation and assessment can also be

referred back to when communicating with parents and families allowing them to get a glimpse

of what their child may be doing, learning, or saying during their time in the classroom.

Towards the end of the semester the student teachers from ECE-250 host a Family Night for the

children and their families. During this event, various displays of the preschool students

engaging in the planned activity that student teachers created from the first half of the semester

and continued to implement in the curriculum is exhibited around the classroom.

These displays were a way for student teachers to be able to converse with each child’s

family sharing how their child engaged in the activity and what developmental areas and learning

objectives were being fulfilled. Referring back to the notebook we used to document our

observations is a useful documentation and assessment tool for the student teachers so they can

share specific examples of the progression of each child from the beginning to the end of the

semester. Having a visual aspect like pictures and brief descriptions/captions are helpful and

makes family members as well as the children feel excited and proud upon seeing them on

display. Children recall what they did during the activity encouraging and inciting conversation

while the student teacher is there to chime in if family members had any comments or questions.

For my display, I included all of the learning objectives from each developmental area

that children gain and learn from engaging in the activity. Parents as well as our mentor teachers

were impressed to see how many objectives a child can learn from one activity because we, as

adults, often do not realize just how much and what exactly children can learn from an activity.
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We tend to see the activity for what it is. For example, an activity where children learn how to

use a real hammer, wood blocks, nails and safety equipment may seem as though it is an activity

for building and learning how to safely use tools. However, for an early childhood educator, we

understand that this activity also means the child is learning science, math, communication and

language (listening to instructions and learning new vocabulary in the names of certain tools and

materials and processes), and problem solving. Applying what we had learned, so far, and

leading up to our student teaching gave us the ability to explain and show our understanding of

children at the preschool ages of three to five years. We understand they are in Jean Piaget’s

preoperational stage of development where their language development makes significant

advancements and their symbolic play evolves with the usage of objects to represent another

(e.g. a stick being used as a wand). We should also know and be able to recognize that, during

this stage and, typically, by the age of five, a significant amount of progress in many areas of

their development become more evident. Children’s autonomy should show that they have more

control and self-regulation by being able to independently go to the restroom as well as

exhibiting more independence overall.

The application of our early childhood studies paired with our student teaching

experience and, then, being able to present and share everything with the children and their

families is what made this particular phase of my early childhood studies feel whole and

fulfilling. Learning how to, essentially, multi-task when having to observe multiple children in

various environments but balancing it out so that there is still a level of awareness and focus was

a task I was only able to develop and sharpen the more I did it and stayed aware of it. It gives

me the self-confidence that these skills will carry on into my work ethic and philosophy as I

continue to make progressions of my own as an early childhood educator.