Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact

Rationale/Reflection
NAEYC Standard:
Standard 1. Promoting Child Development and Learning
Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs are grounded in a child development
knowledge base. They use their understanding of young childrens characteristics and needs, of
multiple interacting influences on childrens development, and create environments that are
healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for each child. (NAEYC, 2010)

Brief Description of Evidence:

In the spring of 2014 in my ECED 225 practicum class, I independently transformed my
two year old classrooms science center by adding many different reading materials,
manipulatives, and literacy items. The center started out with very few materials and ended up
with many new learning activities as well as hands on materials and equipment. The new science
center now has many learning opportunities such as literacy, math, sensory, and writing. The
materials added meet the needs of all the childrens characteristics and needs. This helped the
science center better meet the Paths to Quality level two criteria.

Analysis of What I Learned:

Through the completion of transforming the two year old classroom science learning
center I was able to bring many new learning experiences, activities, and opportunities for the
children, such as a class plant, a plant journal, magnets, animal and insect books, and toy
animals. These items will bring many new developmentally appropriate learning experiences for
all of the children in the classroom. I now understand and know that giving the children many
new learning opportunities they are now able to interact with one another while participating in
multiple interacting influences. They are able to learn many new things such as writing and math
while doing science. This center transformation has made me competent in child development
from taking out items that were not being used and adding more developmentally appropriate
items that interest them such as magnets, toy animals and a class plant.

How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:

This project is one of the many projects I have done over the semester to promote
different kinds of child development, learning, creating new opportunities and multiple
interacting influences. Like Vygotsky theorizes, the children independently engage in play while
learning. Through spending time researching different materials to put in the science center, I
feel more informed that my teaching practices are developmentally appropriate for young
children.