Module 2: Observing and Interacting With Professionals/Collegues

I conducted my observations in two settings, a public school with my host teacher, and my place of employment with a infant and toddler teacher.  During my observation, I wanted to observe specific quality indicators related to Quality Care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  According to National Associates for the Education of Young Children (2010), quality programs addresses the physical environment, staff qualification and professional development, interactions between teachers, children and families, developmentally and culturally appropriate curriculum and classroom practices just to name a few.  During my research, interviews, and observation,  teacher qualification and professional development are two specific indicators that are frequently mentioned.  When speaking with my host teacher about education.  She informed me that she has two Master Degree's, one in Education and one in Reading Instruction. I asked her, if her education impacted the way she teach?  She replied, "my education has impacted my teaching in many ways. For example, I used to have a hard time teaching reading, but I learned different strategies and techniques to help students who struggle in reading”.  I also asked my co-worker about her education and training. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education.  She stated that her education has greatly impacted her teaching.  She says, “I have a better of understand of what young children need, which helps me provide quality care to the infants and toddlers in my classroom”. During my observation, I also wanted to see how teachers provide developmentally appropriate curriculum, as this is an important part of providing quality care to young children.  My host teacher uses differentiated instruction. She say’s, “students enter the classroom with varying abilities, and I have to plan curriculum that will meet the needs of all students".  She continues by saying, "many of my students are not performing at grade level, so I have to provide some instruction at grade level, but most assignments are based on the students individual abilities". I was able to observe this, in the host classroom.  Many of the activities where done in small groups, called flexible grouping in which students, are grouped based on ability and interest.  She says, there is a lot of peer interaction and cooperative learning. When I observed the infant and toddler classroom, I also wanted to look for signs of developmental appropriate activities and instruction. I observed the children learning through play and hands on activities. There were many positive interactions, the host teacher was on the floor playing, reading, and interacting with the infants and toddlers.  The teacher knew her students well, and she responded to their attempts at communication.  For example, one of the toddlers wanted a snack, so they went and stood by the snack table, with their hands raised in the air.   I heard the teacher say, are you ready for your snack? 
Overall both of my observations went well.  I had an opportunity to observe indicators of quality care.  I also learned how ongoing education and professional development has impacted teaching young children.
References
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/policy/state/QRSToolkit2010.p