Leading Evaluation Initiatives as a Scholar-Practitioner: As a scholar-practitioner, to lead the evaluation initiatives, my primary responsibility is to understand the purpose of the evaluation of the program. The primary purpose of program evaluation is to improve the quality of education and other services provided to young children and their families ( National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2003). Around the globe, the importance of early childhood education awareness has increased. As a result, government funding has been increased in this sector. Along with the increase in this funding, the accountability has also been increased as the funding organizations need to know how their money has been utilized with evidence (Ebbeck, Teo, Tan, & Goh, 2014). Along with government funding, public investment has also been increased. With increased public investments in early childhood education come expectations that programs should be accountable for producing positive results (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2003). The results of carefully designed program evaluations can influence better education for young children and can identify social problems that require public policy responses if children are to benefit (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2003). 

Next, as a scholar-practitioner, it is expected to conduct authentic program evaluation systems. Using an authentic program evaluation process to gather data is essential to evaluate and maintain the quality of a program. Ebbeck, Teo, Tan, & Goh, (2014) stated that because the authentic and systematic assessment process allows children to make further progress in their learning and development, enables them to share this information with all the stakeholders who are involved in child’s life, and enable teachers to evaluate how the curriculum and program are meeting its goals and objectives, teachers should engage in the authentic and systematic assessment process. 

 

Greatest Barrier to Avoid when leading Program Evaluation: To explain the greatest barrier, I feel collaborating with the diverse group of families could be challenging at times. All social organization is influenced by culture and other factors. Most of the struggles facing community-building leaders and other individuals have been with recent immigrants whose culture, institutions, and traditions are still unfamiliar to mainstream groups (Work Group for Community Health and Development, 2016d). For example, Chinese parents place a heavy emphasis on their children and their ability to become successful. Many Central Americans fled the poverty and oppression in their countries to seek a more secure and better life in a new place. This information about other cultures showed that culture and other factors (social, economic, historical, and political) have an effect on the way a community organizes itself for self-help and support (Work Group for Community Health and Development, 2016d). 

 

Ways to Minimize the Berrier: To overcome this barrier, developing cultural awareness through professional development among staff and possibly other stakeholders would be extremely beneficial. Breiseth, Robertson, and Lafond (2015) suggested the following 5 ways to improve the collaboration and involvement of immigrant families in their student’s educational settings. They are as follows: 

• Learn About Own Classroom ELL Population
• Integrate Cultural Traditions of All ELL Families Throughout the School/ Program
• Create a Welcoming Environment for Families
• Make a Personal Connection with Families, and 
• Show Value for Families’ Native Languages. 

Supporting staff could also find out more resources and information about the background and cultural values of the families who are involved in the program in order to be efficiently engaged in the evaluation process.  

 

References 

 

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/CAPEexpand.pdf

Ebbeck, M., Teo, G., Tan, C., & Goh, M. (2014). Relooking Assessment: A Study on Assessing   Developmental Learning Outcomes in Toddlers. Early Childhood   Education Journal, 42(2),   115–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0602-9

 

Work Group for Community Health and Development. (2016d). Chapter 27, Section 10: Understanding culture, social organization, and leadership to enhance engagement. Community Tool Box. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/understand-culture-social-organization/main

Breiseth, L., Robertson, K., & Lafond, S. (2015). Connecting with ell families: Strategies for success.   Colorín Colorado. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/connecting-  ell-families-strategies-success

 

 

 

My journey in the field of education enriched with the experience and knowledge gathered from various global settings, and students and families involved from different socio-economic backgrounds have been a blessing. It has been almost two decades since I have been teaching. My area of teaching includes mostly the elementary and early childhood settings from PreK through 5th grade. Born and raised in Bangladesh, I always have a long desire to go back to Bangladesh and teach in a university setting to empower new student teachers with the knowledge of instructional practices, goals, and objectives. With that in mind, this course is enhancing my knowledge of the importance of authentic program evaluation systems. The content of this course will impact my future goal by supplementing knowledge of data collection and implementation to support program evaluation, driving forces for the evaluation process, who needs to be involved in the process, and other important aspects of program evaluation and support it to meet the goals and objectives. I was able to resonate my hopes with the head start director, Zapata (2018) when she mentioned that her program created a culture of collecting and using data that is embedded into strategic planning, programs goals, and objectives, and how to provide services to the children and their families by using these data.  

 

With all these years of experience in the education field, I have experienced the importance of data collection and making data-driven decisions to meet the needs of the children and their families in respect of academic decisions. Using a systematic process to gather data is essential to evaluate and maintain the quality of a program. In this respect, Ebbeck, Teo, Tan, & Goh, (2014) stated that because the systematic assessment process allows children to make further progress in their learning and development, enables to share this information with all the stakeholders who are involved in child’s life, and enable teachers to evaluate how the curriculum and program are meeting its goals and objectives, teachers should engage in the systematic assessment process. 

 

Some of the questions that I have are; when a certain evaluation process is showing success, does the program still need to change and adhere to a new evaluation system?  If so, based on what criteria (s)? 

 

References 

Administration for Children and Families. (2018). Voices from the field: Plan to succeed – developing and sustaining. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/video/voices-field-plan-succeed-developing-sustaining

 

Epstein, A. S. (2003). Holding your program accountable: Introducing High/Scope’s new preschool program quality assessment (PQA). High/Scope ReSource, A Magazine for Educators, 11–14. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20150321075739/http://www.highscope.org/file/Assessment/PQA.pdf

 

Ebbeck, M., Teo, G., Tan, C., & Goh, M. (2014). Relooking Assessment: A Study on Assessing   Developmental Learning Outcomes in Toddlers. Early Childhood   Education Journal, 42(2),   115–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0602-9

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For the 21st century’s diverse student population, differentiation in lessons has become imperative in learning environments. Assistive technology is one of the ways that these differentiated lessons can be presented to our students. The two assistive technologies that I use in my classroom frequently are discussed as follows:

Two Assistive Technologies

Portable Word Processors/ Chromebooks: A lot of assignments are required to be completed online for our students.; however, not all the students are able to afford their own computers. Portable word processors such as Chromebooks are affordable and a lot of school systems such as my school district are providing them for all of their students. Nielsen (2011) stated in regard to this that Chromebooks even though they cost less, still provide all of the essential features of word processing for all students. Some Chromebooks come with text-speech capabilities, talking calculators, and other wonderful features. This Chromebook can also be useful for students with disabilities. Most of the add-ons, apps, extensions that work for regular chrome browsers, should work for Chromebook as well.

Graphic Organizers: Graphic organizers are essential when it comes to differentiating the lesson with concrete and visual explanations. There are many types of graphic organizers available online. Nielsen (2011) stated that although there are a huge number of resources available, one thing we have in common is to help our students better with their notes and assignments for all areas. These graphic organizers can be for reading, math, science, or social studies content areas to help and guide our students to accomplish their assignments.

      Two Supportive Applications

To run the lessons smoothly and aligned with the skills and lessons, online applications are extremely helpful nowadays. The two applications that I use frequently are discussed as follows:

Reading Horizons: Reading Horizons Discovery is online self-paced software that is designed to assist students to understand the rules and mechanics of the English language. It aims to lead towards a higher accuracy in reading, spelling, and pronunciation for Kindergarten through 3rd-grade students (Reading Horizons, 2022).

 

Reading Rangers: Reading Rangers is a self-paced online reading program designed for kindergarten through 5th grade. This software allows students to practice phonics elements, and participate in a reading process that includes activities to improve students’ fluency and comprehension skills.

 

 

References 

 

Nielsen, L. (2011). 25 incredible assistive technologies. Retrieved from http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/09/25-incredible-assistive-technologies.html

 

Google chrome as assistive technology. Google Sites. (2022). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/atingc1011415/home

 

Reading horizons discovery software instruction. Reading Horizons. (n.d.).   Retrieved January 9, 2022, from   http://pnet.readinghorizons.com/Media/Default/Products/RHD%20Software%20Instruction.pdf

 

Interactive, online practice of essential reading skills. Reading Rangers – Self-Paced Online Reading Program for Grades K-5 | Voyager Sopris Learning. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.voyagersopris.com/literacy/reading-rangers/overview#:~:text=Reading%20Rangers%20%2D%20Self%2DPaced%20Online,K%2D5%20%7C%20Voyager%20Sopris%20Learning

 

What is Systematic or Purposeful Assessment in Early Childhood? 

Assessment is an integral part of the early childhood curriculum. In Ealry childhood Education, it is the process of gathering information about the developmental procedures of children’s development and using it as a foundation for curriculum decision making, and when assessments are seen in this perspective, it allows children to further progress in their learning and development (Ebbeck, Teo, Tan, & Goh, 2014). Next, to explain the purpose of the assessment, Ebbeck, Teo, Tan, & Goh (2014) stated that a purposeful assessment provides the early childhood educators with the followings:

1. “Objective information from the everyday activities occurring in a center and from multiple sources that allow a representative view of children’s developmental profiles and progress in learning outcomes.
2. Information about the overall learning effectiveness of the curriculum which allows gaps in the curriculum content to be identified.
3. Information about the extent to which planned developmental learning outcomes are being achieved by children and the flagging of any needed re-direction.
4. Information to vary children’s developmental profile if needed.
5. Identification of children who are at risk and who need to be referred for specialist assistance. And,
6. Shared perspectives from teaching staff and parents of children’s current and future development” (p. 122).

Let’s discuss some scenarios, where we need to address purposeful assessments.

 

Scenario 1 for Math: 

Student Information: HF is a 7 year-old second-grade student in ABC elementary. She is well behaved and kind who always wanted to help her teachers with passing worksheets and other materials. She was qualified for EIP (Early Intervention Plan) for both; math as well as reading at the beginning of this school year. She was in EIP for math and reading last year in 1st grade as well.

 

Scenario: During an EIP math block, HF is working in a small group on two digits addition and subtraction with regrouping. During this lesson, she was working on finding the missing number in a “part, part, whole” math problem. The problem is as follows:

___ + 27 = 40  To find the missing number, she struggled to use place value strategies for addition and subtraction. The early childhood interventionist sat with her in a one-one setting and modeled her how to solve a similar problem. The EIP teacher provided another guided lesson along with her. While the guided lesson, she showed understanding and ability to follow the steps, however, when she is asked to complete a similar problem independently, she showed difficulty again in remembering the strategies being taught. Which assessment can you use to help figure out why HF is not able to solve the problem independently? Also, what type of assessment should HF’s teacher use to support her?

 

Scenario 2 for Reading:

Student Information: AF is a 7-year-old student who enrolled as a new 2nd-grade student at ABC elementary for the 2021-22 school year, coming from another school district. When speaking with mom, I learned that she has been virtual since the pandemic, in March 2020 and her online experience was tough for her. AF had no problems fitting in with the students, or the rules at ABC elementary’s way. She is a sweet student and loves participating in lessons when she feels confident in the topic. She loves to dance and will show her dance moves anytime she can. She has a hard time retaining information and seems to get things mixed up when taught a lot of different strategies or asked to complete an assignment independently. We had worked on the letter and sound recognition (there were a few sounds she did not have).

 

Scenario: During a recent small group time for reading, she was given a worksheet to complete. The worksheet involved her recognizing pictures and then writing the name of them next to the picture on the blank space. These picture words are CVC words. The picture CVC words are as follows: ham, lip, pod, hug, tub, web, bin, mop. When writing the words for each picture in the blanks, she showed difficulty with short vowel sounds. What intervention should her teacher need to provide her to accomplish her goal to master all the short vowel sounds fluently?

 

References

 

Ebbeck, M., Teo, G., Tan, C., & Goh, M. (2014). Relooking Assessment: A Study on Assessing Developmental Learning Outcomes in Toddlers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 42(2), 115–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0602-9

 

Banerjee, R., & Luckner, J. (2013). Assessment Practices and Training Needs of Early Childhood Professionals. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34(3), 231–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2013.816808

 

Summary of the State of Georgia’s Policies and Standards for Early Childhood Education: 

Over the last decade, Georgia has worked to extend the standards down to birth and to align them to the K-12 system. In 2013, Georgia introduced its latest set of high-quality, research-based early learning standards for children birth to age five called the Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS, 2021). The GELDS are aligned with the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, the GSE for K-12, the Work Sampling System Assessment. Georgia joined with 47 other states to develop the set of Common Core standards for K-12 in English language arts and mathematics. 

The Georgia Standards of Excellence are inclusive of the Common Core standards and provide a consistent framework to prepare students for success in college and the 21st-century workplace. These Common Core standards represent a logical next step from the Georgia Performance Standards in math and ELA (Georgia Standards of Excellence, 2021). 

 

Comparison of the GLEDS with the Policies of NAEYC Principles of Child Development and Learning that inform practice and NBPTS Standard V. 

 

The NAEYC’s guidelines and recommendations for developmentally appropriate practice are based on nine principles and their implications for early childhood education professional practice (NAEYC, 2021).  They are as follows: 

1. Development and learning are dynamic processes that reflect the complex interplay between a child’s biological characteristics and the environment, each shaping the other as well as future patterns of growth (NAEYC, 2021).
2. All domains of child development—physical development, cognitive development, social and emotional development, and linguistic development (including bilingual or multilingual development), as well as approaches to learning—are important; each domain both supports and is supported by the others (NAEYC, 2021).
3. Play promotes joyful learning that fosters self-regulation, language, cognitive and social competencies as well as content knowledge across disciplines. Play is essential for all children, from birth through age 8.
4. Although general progressions of development and learning can be identified, variations due to cultural contexts, experiences, and individual differences must also be considered.
5. Children are active learners from birth, constantly taking in and organizing information to create meaning through their relationships, their interactions with their environment, and their overall experiences.
6. Children’s motivation to learn is increased when their learning environment fosters their sense of belonging, purpose, and agency. Curricula and teaching methods build on each child’s assets by connecting their experiences in the school or learning environment to their home and community settings.
7. Children learn in an integrated fashion that cuts across academic disciplines or subject areas. Because the foundations of subject area knowledge are established in early childhood, educators need subject-area knowledge, and understanding of the learning progressions within each subject area, and pedagogical knowledge about teaching each subject area’s content effectively.
8. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a level just beyond their current mastery and when they have many opportunities to reflect on and practice newly acquired skills.
9. Used responsibly and intentionally, technology and interactive media can be valuable tools for supporting children’s development and learning.

 

 The GELDS focuses on five major domains. Both; NAEYC’s and GELDS policies of child development and learning include all domains of child development; physical development, cognitive development, social and emotional development, and linguistic development (including bilingual or multilingual development), as well as approaches to learning as important. The GELDS take the place of the Georgia Early Learning Standards (GELS) for birth to three and the Pre-K Content Standards, creating a seamless system of standards in Georgia for birth to five. The GELDS are aligned with the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, the CCGPS for K-12, the Work Sampling System Assessment (GLEDS, 2021).

 

Suggestion for Improvement: 

It would be more concrete and clear to have NAEYC principles of child development and learning broken down to specific standards as GLEDS or any other state’s standards such as Georgia Standards of Excellence for K-12 grades for educators to follow. 

 

Three Questions for the Audience to Answer (based on Georgia’s policies on assessment): 

 

Question1: How does an accomplished teacher can gather formative assessment materials for children from birth to three based on Georgia Early Learning Standards (GELS)? 

 

Question 2: Do you believe it is necessary when assessing a whole child’s development, although general progressions of development and learning can be identified, variations due to cultural contexts, experiences, and individual differences need also be considered? 

 

Question 3: Why it is necessary for the GELDS (Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards) to be aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) for K-12? 

 

References

 

GEORGIA EARLY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS (GELDS). Georgia early learning and development standards (Gelds). (n.d.). Retrieved 2021, from https://www.decal.ga.gov/Prek/GELDS.aspx

 

Georgia Standards of Excellence / Georgia Standards of excellence. /. (n.d.). Retrieved 2021, from https://www.csdecatur.net/domain/379

 

Principles of Child Development and learning and implications that inform practice. NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved 2021, from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/principles

 

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). (2012) Early childhood generalist standards. Retrieved from https://www.nbpts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EC-GEN.pdf

In the process of gaining more insight to foster classroom communities, the dissertation I chose to focus on is discussed below.

Title: Teachers’ Perceptions of Strategies for Parents to Improve Reading Development

The Problem of the Research: The problem that is addressed in this study is the significant number of elementary school students who fail to demonstrate proficiency in reading and language arts as determined by the Georgia Milestones English Language Arts Test (Waters-Jackson, 2021). In this qualitative study, the researcher thus examined elementary teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement strategies to reinforce second-and third-grade students’ reading instruction.

The Purpose of the Study: To explain the purpose of the study, Waters-Jackson, (2021) mentioned that the purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of effective research-based parental involvement strategies, materials, and training programs that might enable parents to assist their children with developing grade-level reading skills. Also, identifying teacher perceptions of different strategies to give parents help at home could lead to planning and implementing viable solutions that could significantly improve parental involvement and increase student achievement (Waters-Jackson, 2021).

Population/participants of the Research: For the participants of this research study, Waters-Jackson (2021) mentioned that there were 10 teachers in total; nine women and one man, eight Black and two White, with one teacher having 23 years of teaching experience.

Methodology and Data Sources: For this study, The researcher used a qualitative methodology to collect data from teachers of Elementary School in Georgia. Data was collected from the second and third-grade teachers who participated in semi-structured interviews. During the interview, the researcher asked open-ended questions that allowed participants to elaborate more in-depth and to express their opinion openly (Waters-Jackson, 2021).

Conclusions: Creating a conducive learning environment for improving student achievement and success rates are the main common goals for parents and teachers. This research revealed that parental involvement often increases academic performance because of parents’ efforts at home in conjunction with the school (Waters-Jackson, 2021). Two key components, namely homes and schools, are bridged with parental involvement. This study may provide more insight into educational leaders, teachers, and curriculum supervisors to enhance parental participation for greater success (Waters-Jackson, 2021).

Three Resources Used by the Author, and Its Relevance to the Study

1. Bronfenbrenner. U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In International Encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 3, 2nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier.

Out of the two conceptual frameworks, this resource helped Waters-Jackson (2021) with one of the conceptual frameworks of the study. Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) ecological theory suggests that different subsystems influence students’ academic achievement (Waters-Jackson (2021). To explain the Bronfenbrenner systems, Waters-Jackson (2021) mentioned that there are five subsystems that affect human growth and development; microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems. The microsystem includes family, school, church, and the neighborhood in which children live. The mesosystem consists of the interaction of two microsystems; an example might be the interaction of both family and school. The exosystem is the indirect environment, such as a parent’s place of employment. The macrosystem is culture, and the chronosystem is time. As the ultimate goal for creating a positive learning environment for parents and teachers is to improve students’ achievement and success rates. This resource’s insight on the various subsystems that influence students’ academic achievement in creating a positive learning environment is well relevant to the study.

 

2. Epstein, J. L. (1995, January). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the

children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701-712. Retrieved from

https://jreadingclass.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/school-family-communitypartnerships.Pdf

The next resource by Epstein’s (2011) parental model, served as the other conceptual framework for this study. Epstein’s parental involvement model identifies six types of parental involvement: (a) parenting, (b) communicating, (c) volunteering, (d) learning at home, (e) decision-making, and (f) collaborating with the community (Waters-Jackson, 2021). Each of these components is extremely crucial in establishing a conducive learning environment for students to thrive and grow socially and academically and thus makes it well pertinent to the study.

 

3. Barnyak, N. C. (2011). A qualitative study in a rural community: Investigating the attitudes, beliefs, and interactions of young children and their parents regarding storybook read alouds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39, 149-159. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-011-0445-1

Finally, I find Barnyak’s (2011) study was a useful resource for this study, as Waters-Jackson, (2021) mentioned regarding closing the reading achievement gaps that parental involvement is effective in assisting children with learning to read at grade level. As Barnyak’s (2011) study describes the physical and verbal interactions of rural children and their parents regarding reading books aloud, I found Barnyak’s (2011) study not only relevant but also adds on an important component “read aloud” for creating a learning environment at home that would foster students’ literacy challenges and rates.

 

How the Information Gleaned from this Dissertation May Further My Work:

For my own research, I am focusing on “Teachers’ Perceptions on Response to Intervention for At-Risk First-Graders’ Achievement Gap on Reading Fluency”. I chose this study by Waters-Jackson (2021) intentionally as this research not only focuses on creating a conducive learning environment but also brings an insight into how parental involvement reduces academic challenges mainly in the area of reading development. Creating a positive learning environment for improving student achievement and success rates have been always one of the main common goals for parents and teachers. Therefore, as an educator, I found the information gleaned through this study was very useful for all the stakeholders; educators, administrators, and parents to guide in building the connection between parent, school, and the community in creating a positive learning environment to enhance students’ social and academic success on reading development.

 

References

 

Waters-Jackson, C. S. G. (2021). (dissertation). Teachers’ Perceptions of Strategies for Parents to Improve Reading Development. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fteachers-perceptions-strategies-parents-improve%2Fdocview%2F2501231581%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D14872

Barnyak, N. C. (2011). A qualitative study in a rural community: Investigating the attitudes, beliefs, and interactions of young children and their parents regarding storybook read alouds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39, 149-159. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-011-0445-1

 

Epstein, J. L. (1995, January). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701-712. Retrieved from https://jreadingclass.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/school-family-communitypartnerships.Pdf

 

Bronfenbrenner. U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In International Encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 3, 2nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier.

When I am asked to describe a personal memory related to my language development journey, the first thing that comes to my mind is “bilingualism”. Bilingualism is an asset to me and definitely not an obstacle. Being raised in a bilingual family and educational system where English (Language 2) is considered as an international language and mandatory to learn English from k-12 grade besides your own native language (Language 1), it is very personal to me. Although a person living in his or her own country where he or she may choose to use native language for daily communication and L2 in the professional area only, however, it is completely different when he or she migrate to another country where L2 is dominant language for the mainstream and used everywhere for all kinds of communication. Of course there is an advantage of being educated in L2 already, but from the fluency and comprehensive aspect, it may take a while to achieve the flow and depth of knowledge of that language. Even though I am a firsthand example of this situation, I was not fully aware of what was exactly happening when I was exposed to both the languages concurrently since my early age. This course has helped me to deepen my understanding of how both languages can be taught and acquired simultaneously by young children. Research have suggested that “when infants and toddlers are exposed to two languages from the time they are born, they are equipped to process the phonology of both languages in a native-like manner” (Turnbull & Justice, 2012, p. 206).

I would like extend this scenario with another experience of mine with my own children here. With lack of understanding about bilingualism, I was driven to the wrong direction by my twin’s pediatrician when they were taking longer than usual time to speak more words at the age of two. Just like how I grew up, they were also being exposed to L1 along with L2 simultaneously at home at this age. My pediatrician was wonderful and I am still highly respectful to his expertise, however, he was not fully aware of the benefits and the process of the sensitive issue like bilingualism. My husband and I were told to stop using one of the languages so my twins can speed up with accruing one language and unfortunately which we did. For a while, we only spoke with them in L2 so they learn to communicate with other children at the daycare (English speaking) without difficulty. They surely were not developing their language skills in L2 any faster than any other toddler of their age, but also surely did not develop any basic phonological skills for L1 at that time as well. Research have shown that “bilingual infants and toddlers establish phonetic representations for each of their languages in the same way and at the same time as monolingual infants and toddlers” (Turnbull & Justice, p. 2016).

Out of many resources that were presented in this course that have helped me deepen my perspective on language development journey from birth through school age, the book “Language Development from Theory to Practice” by Karen L. Turnbull and Laura M. Justice affected me tremendously. I would jumped to find for an answer into this book first when I had any questions or concerns about language development journey of young children. As a result, a lot of my confusions cleared up and strengthen my perspective on this matter after reading this book. It is laid out so systematically step by step, stage by stage that was exceptionally easy to follow with detail explanation with examples. This resource will stay with me at all time and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has any questions or increase knowledge on language developmental journey of young children.

As a scholar of change, I would like to expand my knowledge further on the issue of “inclusive settings for children with exceptionalities, such as language and learning challenges” especially for ELL students who have not been exposed to English at all before coming to an all English speaking classroom. I would like to expand my knowledge about the strategies that the educators can adopt and learn about the resources that can be useful parents so they can also help their child (ren) at home to make this journey smoother and faster. Being exposed with English along with my native language in my early years, I still faced many challenges to cope with an all English speaking environment and culture. I can only imagine how daunting and traumatizing it could be for someone to be in an environment where he or she does not know how to express his or her feelings, needs and to conduct a simple communication with others.

 

Reference:

Pence Turnbull, K. L., & Justice, L. M. (2012). Language development from theory to practice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Inc.

López, F., & Iribarren, J. (2014). Creating and Sustaining Inclusive Instructional Settings for English Language Learners: Why, What, and How. Theory Into Practice, 53(2), 106-114

Hello Walden family,

I’m writing about a child named Sadi who lives in the United States with his parents who migrated from Bangladesh, a country in Southeast Asia almost twenty years ago. His parents speaks Bengali and English both at home. They understand the importance of bilingualism. Recent brain-based research has provided information that the bilingual speakers have better memories than monolinguals (Mackey, 2014). However, unlike their older son, Sadi has become more of a passive speaker for his native language which is Bengali. He prefers to speak in English. I would appreciate your support in helping me to research more on passive speaker for native language and impact of bilingualism in language and literacy development journey of a child.

Introduction: Sadi is a boy, born in the United States. His parents have relocated to United States almost twenty years ago from Bangladesh, a country in Southeast Asia. He lives with both of his biological parents; his mother and father and two of his other biological brothers since birth. According to the birth order, he is the youngest child of the family. His parents provide the primary care for him. He is very close to his mother.

Toddler-hood: The Factors that Influenced His language Development 

Gender: Research have shown that boys’ receptive and expressive skills are fewer than girls. Also, boys express less words than they can comprehend (Fenson, Bates, Dale, Goodman, Reznick, & Thal, 2000).  Sadi, who showed less expressive language for native language (L1), but showed well development in (L2) receptive language development area for L2.

Birth Order: Research have shown that younger siblings receive more input besides their parents from their older siblings that affects their language development (Hoff, 2006). Sadi experienced the same circumstance with his older brother in terms of L2 development.

Socioeconomic Status: Sadi’s both parents are well educated and understand the importance of bilingualism and the environmental factors for his language and cognitive development. He had been going to the local library since his infancy, exposed to conversation between his brothers and parent in L1 and L2 constantly. As a result, he showed his depth of understanding of receptive language development from primary grade for his school-age years.  He had been also awarded for accelerated readers during his primary grades. Although many characteristics of inter-individual (gender, birth order, and SES) are beyond parents’ control, some of the environmental factors that parents can make choices about (Turnbull & Justice, 2011, p.224). Among them, continuous support for his cognitive development helped him to acquire language development. To explain, Morin stated that it comes from all kinds of exposures children have during this time with their senses. These all support the brain to discharge neurotransmitters to the circuits. As a result, they get tougher as more lanes are used. (Morin, 2014).

 

Reference:

Mackey, A. (2014, September). What happens in the brain when you learn a language? The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning

Pence Turnbull, K. L., & Justice, L. M. (2012). Language development from theory to practice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Inc.

Fenson, L., Bates, E., Dale, P., Goodman, J., Reznick, J. S., & Thal, D. (2000). Measuring variability in early child language: Don’t shoot the messenger. Child Development, 71, 323-328.

Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Development Review, 26, 55-88.

Morin, A. (2014). How Kids Develop Thinking and Learning Skills. Understood, for learning and attention issues. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-symptoms/developmental-milestones/how-kids-develop-thinking-and-learning-skills

 

 

 

Building resilience among young children is a topic that is very close to my heart. As I was reading to my fellow colleague Lisa Harwell’s post, one of the areas she has discussed was how traumatic experiences such as physical or sexual abuse and other direct or indirect exposures to violence can trigger anxiety disorders. This made me ponder deep about the children at the moment facing serious traumatic experiences such as the war in Syria or a natural disaster like earthquake recently took place in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Japan, and many other surrounding countries. It is beyond heartbroken to see and know what the children of these countries are going through each day because of the political disasters and natural calamities where they or their families have any control. Creating resilience among children who have faced serious adversity is an area that has provoked me to do further research on this topic.

In an article “Treating the Trauma of Young Syrian Refugees” from “The New York Times” discussed how adults in the community with the help of aid organizations, local charities, and independent doctors and psychiatrist are focused on helping Syrian refugees, particularly children who are facing serious trauma from the civil war. One such effort, Syria Bright Future, is based in Jordan and run by Dr. Mohammad Abo-Hilal, a Syrian psychiatrist. It is focused on helping Syrian refugees, particularly children. These include one-on-one therapy, in which children begin to describe terrifying memories, and group sessions that try to help children cope with nightmares and flashbacks. They learn to visualize a safe space, use relaxation techniques and confront bad memories by drawing those (2015).

Through our Walden’s classes, café, blogs we, the early childhood professionals need to stay connected. I cannot agree more with one of my colleagues’ (Shelly Cooper) suggestions on how to stay connected and advocate for other teachers. Here are some of her ideas:

• Get involved in your early childhood community.
• Stay abreast of new research.
• Discover what programs, assistance and services are available to the parents in your community.
• Finally, spread the word about the importance of early childhood education to everyone you come into contact with.

In addition to my colleagues of this class, I am looking forward to meeting early childhood professionals during my upcoming residency in Atlanta, Georgia in a few days and to creating another strong network. I wish all the best to all my fellow colleagues. Stay connected, committed and make a difference!

Reference:

Treating the Trauma of Young Syrian Refugees. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/health/treating-the-trauma-of-young-syrian-refugees.html?_r=0