Evaluation of the Application of Educational Theory Paper Example

Introduction

Educational theory in an early childhood education program gives the guidelines that the educators use in delivering the curriculum. Since Dortch Early Childhood Education Program is an integrated system that borrows from more than one educational model, it is important that the Evaluation is done to ensure that the new combination of guidelines are followed by the educators and are beneficial to the learners. In this case, the Evaluation will be done in two ways. First, observations will be made on the physical environment for learning including the arrangement of the classrooms and the outdoor spaces used by the learners (Bergen & Hardin, 2015). Since the classroom environment is determined by the educational theory applied, it can be used as an Evaluation tool in determining if the educators maintain the application of the theory throughout their training exercise.

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Secondly, the psychological examination of the learners can also help in establishing the use of an educational program. For instance, the use of the Dortch philosophy requires that the learners get accustomed to active participation in class and in outdoor activities. If the learners prove not to be interested in active participation and instead remain dependent on their individual engagements, then it will be concluded that the educators apply more of Montessori in training the learners than an integrated approach of various theories (Banerjee & Luckner, 2013). Lastly, observation of the reports by the educators on the activities by the learners can also help the Evaluation team to track the activities undertaken and assess if they are undertaken according to the designated theory. Besides, the Evaluation team can effectively understand the effectiveness of the application of the theory by observing the learning and development progress of the learners. This is the most important parameter that can be used.

Evaluation of the Application of Educational standards

For this program, the Evaluation team will emphasize on observational Evaluation on the standards set by the educators to achieve the vision and mission of the educational program. The observational Evaluation will be majorly done by considering the systematic and daily documentation by the educators (Bradbury, 2014). The daily documentation should indicate the standards set by the educators and the achievement by the learners in attempting to meet the standards. Daily Evaluations of the achievements by the learners are important as it helps the educators to ensure that the efforts they put in every day are aimed at meeting the termly, yearly and the entire program standards that should be met by the learners (Banerjee & Luckner, 2013). Basements on meeting the standards set for the program will not be done only once at the end of the program, rather, it will be done periodically every three months to ensure that the program is beneficial to the learners and that the set standards are neither too high for the learners to meet nor too low to help the learners achieve the mission and vision of the program.

The Evaluation team will use multiple Evaluations that distinguish between the summative and formative Evaluations. Some of the considerations in the Evaluations will be anecdotal evidence that will be provided by the educators as well as work samples by the learners to help understand the extent of learning that the learners achieve periodically (Lee, 2018). If progress is not observed, then the program may be considered for adjustments to meet the developmental and curriculum requirements in achieving the vision and mission of the program (Banerjee & Luckner, 2013). Lastly, screening tools will be used on the educators to assess their knowledge of the curriculum and what is expected of them to provide for evaluating the actualization of the set standards of the program.

Evaluation of Competencies of Early Childhood Professionals and Directors

Evaluation of the competencies of the early childhood education directors and professional will be one of the most important Evaluations. That is because it will include the Evaluation of the leadership abilities of the directors as well as the qualification and dedicating of the educators to their work. In as much as interviews are conducted when hiring educators and directors as one of the parameters for ensuring that the system is driven by duly qualified personnel, evaluation will still be used as a confirmatory tool (Bradbury, 2014). It is important that Evaluation is done to ensure that the performance by the directors and the other officials are matching the academic qualifications, their experiences and personal attributes. An educator may be duly qualified in terms of grades earned during his or her undergraduate or postgraduate studies. However, his or her ability to apply the knowledge in the classroom can only be judged through proper Evaluation (Lee, 2018).

Screening tools are the most appropriate way of evaluating the directors and the educators to ascertain their competencies. For instance, the use of questionnaires occasionally to help understand what the directors and the educators do in their normal daily routines can help understand if they stick to their job descriptions or are becoming less effective in their assigned duties as time passes by. Secondly, the observation of important documents such as the lesson plan and schemes of work is another way that the Evaluation team will observe the seriousness of the educators. The directors will also be required to provide reports of their duties occasionally to help understand their roles in the program (McLachlan, 2018).

Evaluation of Competencies of Early Childhood Program Objectives, Content, Structure, Activities, Procedures, Materials, Equipment, and the Facility

Evaluation of the facility will be the first to be done by the Evaluation team as it helps to understand whether all the requirements of the program were met before the beginning of training. Evaluation of the facility will include physical observation of the buildings the outdoor spaces and the structure of the spacing used in the facility (Bradbury, 2014). The structure of the facility should be designed to provide security for the learners as well as a conducive environment for their developmental activities and learning processes. Evaluation of the objectives will be achieved by observing the progress of the learners. This will be done by checking the progress records of the learners. The progress forms contain the academic and developmental achievements of the learners (Bergen & Hardin, 2015). They are the most reflective documents that can be used to track the importance of the program in the lives of the learners. Since the objectives of the program include the achievement of certain standards after a given period of time, observing the progress reports can be the most effective way of Evaluating if the objectives are met or not.

Evaluation of the program structure will be done by observing the timetables followed, the lesson plans and the educators guidance throughout the day (Lee, 2018). Since the structure of the program determines the activities to be undertaken at any given point during the study hours, it is simpler to assess the documents that guide the educators on their obligations. Evaluation of the content entails observation of the materials used in the program and the activities the learners are engaged in (Bradbury, 2014). for instance, the objects at the disposal of the learners in their classrooms and the ones used for their outdoor activities are important in understanding the learning environment of the preschoolers. The Evaluation will not only consider the materials availed to the learners but also the way the educators use them to achieve the objectives of the program (Bergen & Hardin, 2015). Evaluation of the procedures will also be achieved by the physical appearance of the Evaluation team members in the classroom during lessons and in the outdoor spaces during outdoor activities. Being present at some of the classroom and outdoor activities can help assess if the educators are following the guidelines set by the educational theory applied in the early childhood education program. Lastly, Evaluation of the equipment used in the program will be evaluated by going through the list of equipment listed for the program, and the ones availed and are used in the learning activities of the preschoolers (McLachlan, 2018).

Evaluation of Competencies of Early Childhood Methods used to Document the Children's Learning

The methods used to document the progress of the learners and the activities undertaken by the learners throughout the program are important as it determines the ability of the educators to implement the goals of the program effectively. In the documents containing the activities undertaken by the preschoolers, one can easily see if the objectives, vision and the mission of the programs are reflected in the activities the learners engage in (Banerjee & Luckner, 2013). To achieve an effective Evaluation of the same, the Evaluation team will conduct a random check on the educators' personal schedules, which should include time and the correspondent activity. This will be done on a weekly basis to ensure that the activities set by the educators at the beginning of the week are achieved successfully at the end of the week. This Evaluation will be done more frequently because it is at the core of what determines the learning processes by the preschoolers (Bergen & Hardin, 2015). Since this Evaluation will be based on records that are individually designed by the educators, there will be no definite expectation on the layout of such documents. However, the content of the documents must be in line with the program curriculum and must align to the vision, mission and the objectives of the program.

Evaluation of Competencies of Early Childhood Methods used to Document your Program's Success

The documents containing the structure of the activities the learners engage in is different from the document containing the progress of the learners. However, the progress of the learners must be on the activities designed by the program curriculum. Such factors will be taken into consideration by the Evaluation team as they influence the success of the Evaluation. The program's success can be evaluated by the individual educators at the end of every day (Banerjee & Luckner, 2013). However, the Evaluation team will only do an Evaluation of the program success once every term. At the end of the term, the set standards need to be met, and any challenges faced during the term indicated in such reports. Such reports will form the basis for evaluating the success of the program (Bergen & Hardin, 2015). As the educators do mini-Evaluations at the end of the day and compile them at the end of the terms, the Evaluation team will also treat the termly Evaluations as mini-Evaluations that are compiled at the end of the year to come up with the main Evaluation report to the table to the board of directors.

Evaluation of Safety Measures in the Early Childhood Education Program

Evaluation of safety measures provided in the program includes the Evaluation of the plan used to build the facility used for the learning activities and the other security parameters that are applied to keep the learners safe from injury and external attack (McLachlan, 2018). One of the most common issues that contribute to security issues in early childhood education includes the abduction of learners through impersonation (Bradbury, 2014). One of the security parameters that are used in the program that will be evalua...