Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact Rationale/Reflection NAEYC Standard: STANDARD 3.

OBSERVING, DOCUMENTING, AND ASSESSING TO SUPPORT YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs understand that child observation, documentation, and other forms of assessment are central to the practice of all early childhood professionals. They know about and understand the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment. They know about and use systematic observations, documentation, and other effective assessment strategies in a responsible way, in partnership with families and other professionals, to positively influence the development of every child (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2011). Brief Description of Evidence: During the fall 2012 semester as part of my ECED 243 course and the Engaging the Brain Project I conducted three assessments with children ages two and three, using Piagets method of Cognitive Development and Vygotskys method of Zone of Proximal Development. For the Piaget assessment I observed childrens skills in classification, one-to-one correspondence, conservation of number, seriation, causality, artificialism, space, and time. For the Vygotsky assessment I observed what the child was learning, if there were problems, and how the teacher or a peer helped in the childs learning process. Analysis of What I Learned: Through assessing these childrens cognitive abilities I gained a better understanding of the assessment process as a whole and how the theorists Piaget and Vygotsky viewed cognitive development. Piaget believed that, children construct an understanding of the world around them by experiencing discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment. After completing the assessments, I have to agree with Piagets theory. How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard: This assignment played a major part in the Engaging the Brain Project and has allowed me to see just how different children can be when it comes to the rate of development. Through partnering with families and professionals to observe and document childrens developmental levels, I am confident that I can play a positive role in childrens development.