Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact Rationale/Reflection NAEYC Standard:

STANDARD 5. USING CONTENT KNOWLEDGE TO BUILD MEANINGFUL CURRICULUM Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs use their knowledge of academic disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate experiences that promote positive development and learning for each and every young child. Candidates understand the importance of developmental domains and academic (or content) disciplines in early childhood curriculum. They know the essential concepts, inquiry tools, and structure of content areas, including academic subjects, and can identify resources to deepen their understanding. Candidates use their own knowledge and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curriculum that promotes comprehensive developmental and learning outcomes for every young child.

Brief Description of Evidence:

As a requirement for my ECED 130 course during the fall semester of 2012, I completed an activity plan which contained three separate activities that supported development for children. One activity was centered on incorporating a book into the classroom. Another included taking a field trip to a place in the local community. The final activity was an art project that would allow the children to display their own creativity and personality. All three activities had to be multicultural and reach a wide range of children.

Analysis of What I Learned:

While working on this project, I was able to see the importance of creating activities that were culturally appropriate for children. Also, I learned to use resources in the community to create meaningful activities for the children. Through the work I put into developing these three activities, I was able to put into practice the process of evaluating the activities to see what worked best for children and what needed to be improved.

How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:

The activity plan project demonstrated my competence in standard 5 because I had to use a great deal of prior knowledge regarding appropriate activities in order to arrange each activity. Also, by creating a potential field trip as one of the activities, I showed my competence in finding and using resources to support the curriculum. The knowledge I have gained through this project has shown my achievement of understanding standard 5 and preparing for my future in developing challenging and meaningful activities for children in my classroom.