The Languages of Assessment:
It’s All About Children and
Families
Dr. Hillel Goelman
The Assessment Workshop, 2008
The Languages of
Assessment:
It’s All About Children
and Families
The Languages of
Assessment:
Words of Power and
The Power of Words
in Working With
Children and Families
*Dr. Jo-Anne Fiske, The University of Lethbridge, The CHILD Project
What I’ll cover in this address on the
“The Languages of Assessment:
Words of Power and The Power of Words”*
1) What children can teach us about the
languages of assessment in early childhood
practice.
2) How the languages of assessment can help
change public policy.
3) How the languages of assessment can
inform our responses to current government
initiatives around full-day kindergarten for 5year olds and junior kindergarten for 3- and
4-year olds.
Dr. Jack Shonkoff, Developmental
Pediatrician:
“Early child development isn’t rocket science;
it’s harder.”
What children can teach us about the languages
of assessment in early childhood practice:
Example # 1
According to Juanita V. Copley, writing in the Exchange
article, "Assessing Mathematical Learning: Observing and
Listening to Children," that in assessing children's math
skills we must be aware that language often carries
different meanings to young children. She offers this
example...
Example # 1
"An assessor asked individual children to identify triangles
from a series of shapes. Most children could identify the more
typically shaped triangles with little problem and also give a
definition of a triangle as 'a shape with three sides.' During
her assessment, however, one of the triangles fell off the
table; and when she asked the child to identify it, she held it
up so it was standing on the point. When she asked the child
to identify the shape, the child replied that he didn't know, but
he was sure it wasn't a triangle because it 'didn't look like it.'
He was then asked to tell what a triangle was; and when he
responded 'a shape with three sides,' she asked him again
why the shape wasn't a triangle. Again, the child responded
that it 'didn't look like it' and that, in fact, it 'needed to look like
a girl' if it was going to be a triangle. Puzzled, the assessor
asked where the child had seen triangles 'that looked like girls.'
The child pointed to the restroom door down the hall. After a
quick glance at the doors, the teacher understood the child's
answer! The girl's bathroom had a circle with a triangle under it
for girl and the boy's bathroom had a circle with a rectangle
under it for boy."
What children can teach us about the languages
of assessment in early childhood practice:
Example # 2
A long time ago in a universe far, far away…..
Annie ?
In hindsight, I realize now just how
helpful the Assessment Workshop
would have been at that time in my life.
In preparing this talk. I went back over
the previous keynote addresses given
by my distinguished predecessors and
realized how each one of them had so
much to contribute to a young,
beginning professional who wanted to
work with young children.
2003
What We Can Learn About Assessing Young
Children from Pooh and Tigger, Too
Dr. Laurie Ford
From Urie Bronfenbrenner,
1977 on the “science of early
child development”:
“The science of strange
behavior of children in strange
situations with strange adults
for the briefest possible
period of time.”
 The importance of strengthbased assessment
2004
Understanding the Challenges in Assessing Young
Children
Dr. Gerard M. Kysela
Principles of family-centred practice:
• Include families in decisionmaking, planning, assessment and
service-delivery
• Develop services for the whole
family
• Services are guided by families’
priorities
• Families have choices regarding
the level of their participation
2005
Assessing What we Can Versus What we Should: What
are the Important Things to Know About Young Children?
Dr. Dale Farran
• Children are always ready to learn.
• Learning begins in utero and is an
essential aspect of early child
development.
• It is how children learn that is quite
varied and of interest.
2006
Handle with Care: Strategies for Promoting the
Mental Health of Young Children
Dr. Nancy Cohen
(The importance of)
• building trusting relationships
between practitioners and children
• supporting individual
characteristics and self-esteem
• fostering independence and
problem-solving skills
• encouraging understanding and
expression of emotions
• helping children deal with changes
and transitions
2007
What do Monkeys and Kindergarteners Have in
Common?
Dr. Tom Boyce
• The interaction of biology and the
social environment
• The “biology of misfortune”
• Increased mental/physical health
risks when under adversity and
stress
What children can teach us about the
languages of assessment in early
childhood practice:
Example # 3
The words of power and…
Andy
Andy
…the power of words
What the Mom said to the teacher…
“Andy plays perfectly well with the
others – it’s others who don’t play well
with Andy”
What the teacher probably said.
“Andy does not play well
with others”
What the Mom thought the teacher meant
“Andy is a bad child”
What the Mom might have meant
by saying that.
“I am not a bad parent…”
The languages of assessment
“I am not a bad parent…”
Some suggested communication strategies
West, Idol & Cannon, 1989
Strategy
Acknowledging
Paraphrasing
Reflecting
Clarifying
Elaborating
Summarizing
Some suggested communication strategies
West, Idol & Cannon, 1989
Strategy
Goal
Example
Acknowledging
Indicates you are listening
Maintaining eye contact.
“Yes…” “Uh-huh…”
Paraphrasing
Provides feedback about
what was said
“You’re not sure I really
understand Andy”
Reflecting
Focus on the speaker’s
feelings
“It sounds like you’re
concerned about Andy”
Clarifying
Determine the speaker’s
intentions
“Are you saying that Andy
sometimes plays nicely?”
Elaborating
Adds to what the speaker
said
“And this is an issue for
Andy in other situations?”
Summarizing
Integrates and summarizes
what the speaker said.
“So, for now we’ll watch
Andy’s play and get back…
The teacher might have said something like…
“Andy is such a bright and active kid. Did I tell you
about his painting last week? He was drawing the
letter “A” all over the paper! Big “A”s and small “A”s
and in different colours.
“What an exciting stage he’s at…Let me tell you
about another part of our day and I wonder if you can
help me out a bit since you know Andy far better than
I do. He came over to the block corner and asked
Brian if he could play with him and Brian just said,
‘No.’
The teacher might have said something like…
“Andy asked 2 or 3 more times, nicely at first but then
after the 3rd or 4th time he just kicked Brian’s block
tower over. That was last Tuesday and I saw him
repeat the same scene almost every day with Brian and
then another girl in the class.
“I’m curious about this and I wonder if you could tell
me something to help me understand what’s going on
with him…”
“Principles of Assessment” and Andy
Adapted from Greenspan & Meisels, 1996
1. Assessment/observation should be based on knowledge
of typical and atypical child development. What
knowledge of development is the teacher drawing upon?
2. Assessment/observation should use multiple (formal and
informal) sources of information. How many different
observations is this description of Andy based upon?
Have other people observed Andy as well? What is their
view?
3. Assessment should be conducted by skilled, sensitive
and objective assessors who the child knows and who
the child is comfortable with. Is Andy comfortable in the
classroom? With this teacher? What are the indications
of his level of comfort or discomfort?
“Principles of Assessment” and Andy
Adapted from Greenspan & Meisels, 1996
4. Observations should be conducted by skilled, sensitive and
objective observers who understand how children interact with
the human and physical environment. In what situations and
with which children does Andy seem to play well and not so
well?
5. The assessment/observation should include strengths as well
as weaknesses of the child and the family. Has the teacher
seen examples of positive, prosocial behavior? Where? And
when?
6. The assessment/observation process should be collaborative.
Andy’s parents should be asked to provide input into this
assessment of Andy’s play behavior. How does he play at
home? How does he play in other situations?
“Principles of Assessment” and Andy
Adapted from Greenspan & Meisels, 1996
7. The assessment/observation process should lead to
appropriate intervention. What recommendations does
the teacher want to make based on this assessment of
Andy? What are the short-term and long-term goals that
the parents and teacher might want to develop together?
What intervention plans will they adopt to try and meet
those goals?
What can we learn from these three
examples?
Words of power and the
power of our words can
make a difference in early
child development.
Words of power can create positive interventions and can
also reflect the difficulties many children and families face.
Family Discord
Social-emotional, Physical
Cognitive, Language
function
DEVELOPMENT
Lack of health services
Lower trajectory: With
diminished function
Poverty
Supported Child Development
Program
Preschool programs
Infant Development Program
Care in the NICU
Birth
Late Infancy
6 mo
5 yrs
Early Infancy
12 mo
Late Toddler
18 mo
24 mo
Early Toddler
3 yrs
Late Preschool
Age
Early Preschool
The languages of assessment can lead to programs
that support individual, familial community and
policy determinants of early child development
child
Familial supports
and stressors
family
community
Policies, priorities
and funding
Heredity and prenatal
environment, and early
intervention
state
Community-based
programs &
supports
A new look at assessment:
not an individual child
but an entire province
A new climate is emerging that
understands and appreciates the
importance of assessment
as a critical component of early
intervention services.
The 1st example of climate
change has resulted in…
 universal hearing screening
 universal vision screening
 universal dental screening
 universal developmental screening
The 2nd example of climate change:
Free public kindergarten in 1973
Figure 1
Number of Children Enrolled in Kindergarten Classes in British Columbia,
Selected Years from 1944 to 1969
25,000
22,655
19,915
20,000
17,494
Number of children
15,961
14,339
15,000
12,457
11,143
10,000
8,823
7,536
5,000
3,891
4,511
2,680
1,834
1,129
260
0
1944-45 1948-49 1952-53 1956-57 1958-59 1960-61 1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 1966-67 1967-68 1968-69 1969-70
The 2nd example of climate change:
Free public kindergarten in 1973
Figure 2
Percentage of 5-year olds enrolled in kindergarten in British Columbia,
1960-1961 to 1969-1970
60.0
50.0
48.9
49.6
1968-69
1969-70
Percentage of 5-year olds
41.6
38.7
40.0
35.1
31.5
29.6
30.0
23.4
21.0
20.0
12.7
10.0
0.0
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
The 3rd example of climate change:
Briefing the Liberal Caucus on
Early Child Development in the
BC Legislature in 2005
The benefits of high quality
early childhood programs
A new province-wide assessment
SPEECH FROM THE THRONE
The Honourable Steven L. Point, Obcxwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl
Lieutenant-Governor
— at the —
Opening of the Fourth Session,
Thirty-Eighth Parliament
— of the —
Province of British Columbia
February 12, 2008
“A new Early Childhood Learning
Agency will be established. It will assess
the feasibility and costs of full school
day kindergarten for five-year-olds. It
will also undertake a feasibility study of
providing parents with the choice of daylong kindergarten for four-year-olds by
2010, and for three-year-olds by 2012.
That report will be completed and
released within the year.”
Some of the issues we may wish to raise in
regard to full-day and junior kindergarten.
Adapted from Harbin, McWilliam & Gallagher, 2000
Entitlement
Programs serve all eligible children
Eligibility
Serve children with diagnoses and “grey area” kids
Early identification
Find children as early as possible.
Systemic
Comprehensive, coordinated services/programs
Focus
Family-centred
Individualization
Offer individualized services
Inclusion
Inclusive programs and use of community resources
Disciplines
Disciplines working together to integrate services
Therapies
Sufficient, integrated therapies
Transition
Planned transitions from infant toddler to preschool
to school.
Funding
Coordinated and sufficient funding
How do the “Principles of Assessment” apply to the
province’s assessment of the need for full-day
kindergarten and junior kindergarten?
1. Assessment/observation should be based on knowledge
of typical and atypical child development. Will the
assessment take into account the needs of typical and
atypical children?
2. Assessment/observation should use multiple (formal and
informal) sources of information. What are the different
data sources the province will use to do this
assessment?
3. Assessment should be conducted by skilled, sensitive
and objective assessors who the child knows and who
the child is comfortable with. How will early childhood
professionals in different professions have input to the
process?
How do the “Principles of Assessment” apply to the
province’s assessment of the need for full-day
kindergarten and junior kindergarten?
4. Observations should be conducted by skilled, sensitive and
objective observers who understand how children interact with the
human and physical environment. Early childhood professionals
have long experience in observing child growth and development –
this knowledge and experience should be drawn upon in making
proposed service changes.
5. The assessment/observation should include strengths as well as
weaknesses of the child and the family. There are many strengths in
BC at this which have been built up over many years. How will these
strengths be recognized and built upon?
6. The assessment/observation process should be collaborative. The
processes of research, consultation, design, implementation and
evaluation should be a an ongoing and collaborative process
How do the “Principles of Assessment” apply to the
province’s assessment of the need for full-day
kindergarten and junior kindergarten?
7. The assessment/observation process should lead to
appropriate intervention(s). There is no “one-size-fits-all”
program that meets the needs of all children. How can
we plan for the diverse needs of children and families in
the province?
We could be at a tipping point in the
development of early childhood assessment
and intervention programs in British
Columbia.
By next year at this time we will have the
results of the feasibility study and there will
have been a provincial election.
We have a unique opportunity to use the power
of our words to help influence the politics,
policies and programs that will support the
children and families of British Columbia.
Let’s make sure that we make the very best use
of this opportunity.
Acknowledgements
The Organizing Committee
Mari Pighini, CHILD/HELP, UBC
Dr. W. McKee, PRTC, UBC
Dana Brynelsen, IDP of BC
Lorraine Aitken, Comox Valley CDA
Violet Jessen, ECEBC
Diana Elliott, AIDP of BC
Diane Tannahill, ECEBC
Tanya Brown, SCDP
Joyce Branscombe & Nicky Byres,
EventAbility
Dr. H. Goelman, HELP/CHILD, UBC
Acknowledgements
• The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP)
• The Consortium for Health, Intervention, Learning and
Development (The CHILD Project)
• The Department of Paediatrics, the Centre for
Community Child Health Research and the Faculty of
Education
• My UBC students
• David Wu
• Nadav Goelman
• Sheryl Sorokin
• And last but not least…
…Caleb, who has listened to many versions
of this address during many long walks.
The Languages of Assessment:
Words of Power and
The Power of Words
in Working With
Children and Families
Dr. Hillel Goelman
The Assessment Workshop, 2008
[email protected]
The Languages of Assessment:
Words of Power and
The Power of Words
in Working With
Children and Families
[email protected]