“The adult’s role is not to teach, but to observe and reflect on what infants/toddlers are experiencing and how they learn — and then to support the process through interactions, their relationship with the child, and provision of experiences in an environment that contributes to the child’s success”. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010)
What do you want to discover with infants or explore with toddlers? How do you want to participate in fostering their growth and development? How can you let children take the lead, building on their interests, and sometimes modifying your plans in order to truly partner in their development and learning? In this Competency Assessment, you will develop and implement a respectful, supportive, and challenging experience with very young children—in an infant setting or in a toddler setting.
Keep in mind for this Field Experience Competency Performance Assessment, your goal is to:
Explain what the Competency Assessment entails to your Host Teacher, and then participate in a reflective conversation with the Host Teacher of the infant program or the toddler program. During the conversation, discuss how best you can participate in fostering the development and learning of a child or group of children in each age group. Ask for the teachers’ help not only to identify the children, but also to understand who they are as individuals – their interests, developmental levels, abilities, and cultural contexts. Also, discuss how best you can build on children’s interests, apply developmentally appropriate practice, and respect that all interactions with young children need to be based on relationships that involve observation, care, and individualization for strengths, needs, and interests.
Complete the Infant or Toddler: Planning Template based on what you have learned from your Host Teacher and the resources for this Competency.
