Creative Curriculum Assessment
75 points (15% of final grade)

As a final component of the course, you will use ongoing observations of your assigned child (and/or alternate child) to complete a comprehensive assessment using the Creative Curriculum. This will include evidence of the childs development in each domain, as well as qualitative comments, conclusions, and recommendations.

The purpose of this paper is for you to analyze, assess, and articulate the meaning of observations you have made in the course throughout the semester. The project brings together the three threads of HDF 303:  knowledge of how children develop, practice in analyzing and explaining various kinds of observations, and translating observations into an assessment.

Please use 12 point, Times New Roman (or a traditional) font, 1-inch margins, and single spacing for formatting your paper. The project should include the following sections (in this order).  Use the headings given below to label sections of your paper, along with headings from the Creative Curriculum.

Introduction and Demographics

This one to two paragraph section should introduce the project and provide demographic information about the child and the observations. Information should include the childs name, birthdate, age at the time of scoring, classroom, and other information deemed important to fully explain the context and parameters of your evaluations. The entire report should be done on one child.  It can be your alternate child or your focal child, whomever you have the most observational data on.

Social/Emotional Development

Physical Development

Cognitive Development

Language Development

For the above four sections, use the Creative Curriculum to score the childs current level of development on each objective* within the domain, then provide observational data as evidence. You will be evaluated on your scoring of each objective within the area, on your use of observations as evidence, and on the clarity and specificity of your explanation. Bring each area to life by including vivid examples and concrete details. If possible, use data from the beginning of the semester combined with what you have observed more recently to describe how the childs development in a specific area has progressed.

*Given certain challenges regarding scheduling, time restrictions, and observing from the booth, you may not have observational data for each and every objective listed on the Creative Curriculum. As such, you are required to complete at least 50% of each domain (see example for specific numbers). You need to provide at least one example/piece of evidence for each domain that you score. For each example/evidence, make sure to list the date and time. More than one example for each objective you score is preferable.

Conclusions and Recommendations

In this section, make conclusions based upon your assessment results as if you were discussing the full report with the childs parents or guardians. You can take on the role of classroom teacher or other professional. For example, if you plan to work as a physical therapist, you can report your assessment of the child the way you would in that profession.  Make sure you discuss each developmental domain and take into account the childs current developmental level as well as his or her age.

Consider:  When sharing with parents, how might you give suggestions for working with the child?  What wording could you use to help build a team with the parent? Why is it important to build a team with parents?  Would it be appropriate to consult other professionals, such as speech therapists, physical therapists, or a supervisor?

Offer recommendations on things you would suggest for the child to work on so that he or she can continue to advance in development. Be specific with your recommendations and use research-based evidence. Look at the objectives your child needs to work on and tie your recommendations to those skills.