What does assessment look like in the Reggio-inspired environment?  How is similar and different from traditional assessment and evaluation of children’s learning during the early years? This seminar will increase participants’ knowledge of techniques and strategies in the documentation of progress for learning in the early years in a Reggio-inspired classroom and will explore ways to keep assessment simple, meaningful, authentic, comprehensive and effective.

Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to

• understand that assessment must be ongoing and not an end in itself or an isolated activity
• recognize children as competent individuals who need to be involved in their own assessment and create their own criteria for success and demonstration of new knowledge
• acknowledge that assessment is about observing and understanding the uniqueness of children at any age or stage of development
• recognize the richness of effective documentation gathering and how it can support and strengthen our use of data in childhood assessment and evaluation
• understand how unique documentation methods can create situations in which children grow in relation with others based on individual achievements, interests, and learning styles, and how documentation can connect and integrate all areas of the curriculum
• understands the importance of creating documentation strategies and techniques that will maximize learning outcomes
• recognize the community and its resources as a valuable means for documentation
• explore ways of implementing  authentic documentation in their individual classrooms
• explore the “hundred languages” of doing, being, reflecting, and knowing and how children solve problems; define meanings and values; build new understandings; experience life; and generate hypotheses and test theories

Outline
Day 1:

• What is assessment in the early years?
• Purpose and general principles of assessment of young children
• Assessment debate
• How to assess and evaluate in the Reggio-inspired classroom
• Assessing background knowledge
• The importance of the atelier and atelierista in the assessment and evaluation process
• Interests of the child
• Topic selection
• Maximizing  learning
• The importance of documentation
• Assessment  and evaluation during the different phrases of the learning cycle and at the conclusion of a project
• Reflections

Day 2:

• Good policy and best practice in assessment
• Using authentic assessment to support instruction
• The importance of active listening, observations, and discussions
• Creating criteria (collaboration among students, teachers and parents)
• Community learning, such as field site visits and visiting experts
• Types of documentation, which recognizes the arts as symbolic languages children use to express their understandings by speaking, writing, acting, drawing, sculpting, playing musical instruments, and exploring their environments
• How to document
• Evaluating engagement
• Representing what was learned
• Parent Report
• Revisiting the children’s web and list of questions
• Teacher and students reflections:  How to do it better

Trainer’s Profile
Professor Leo R.’s background includes extensive experience in the educational, business, and nonprofit arenas, especially in curriculum and instruction, training and development, grant writing, grant making, project management, and library administration. He has been a classroom teacher at the preschool, elementary, and secondary levels. His teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate teaching, training, supervision, and mentoring of teacher candidates and student teachers for three major colleges and universities in the Denver area: Metropolitan State University of Denver, Regis University, and the University of Northern Colorado.

Additionally, he has held educational leadership positions, such as Principal and Assistant Principal.  His experience in curriculum and staff development extends to Boeing-McDonnell Douglas and Central Bancorporation.  He has been in private practice as a psychotherapist working with children, adolescents, and families.

Leo has presented papers on the Reggio Emilia method in several European cities, consulted with schools in Italy, and presented on numerous occasions for early childhood education (ECE) students, university colleagues, professional associations and organizations, and preschools.  Leo has also traveled and attended meetings in the USA for schools utilizing this instructional method. Professor Leo has completed academic studies in Library and Information Management, Counseling Psychology, and the doctorate in Educational Leadership and Change.  He is a Nationally Certified Counselor licensed by the National Board of Certified Counselors.  He maintains his teaching and additional endorsements from the state of Colorado.

He has several journal articles prepared for publication dealing with dual-language immersion schools, the Italian language, the Reggio Emilia method of instruction applied to elementary science curricula, and child development considerations in authoring second language and second culture books for children.

Methodology
This seminar includes group discussion, audiovisual presentations, and observation. Participants are not viewed as targets of instruction; they instead assume active role in constructing their knowledge.

Target Audience
This seminar is specially designed for all educators of preschool and early primary years children, those responsible for early childhood pre-service and in-service teacher education and all who are seeking to understand children and learn about innovative and effective ways to assess and help children reach their academic potential.

Investment
HKD5200.00/pax
HKD4500.00/pax if register by 1 Jul 13 15 Jul 13

Duration: 2 days, 12 hours
Closing Date: 1 Sep 13 11 Nov 13