In early childhood education, understanding the whole child is essential for fostering growth and development. Bright Beginnings: Play-Based Assessment of Young Learners is an interactive and informative workshop designed for evaluation personnel, early childhood educators, and related services personnel working with preschool-aged and young children. This workshop explores the power of play, in addition to standardized assessment, as a natural and effective medium for assessing developmental progress and identifying potential delays.
Participants will gain insights into conducting comprehensive evaluations that are developmentally appropriate, responsive to a variety of lived familial experiences, and aligned with Pre-K curriculum standards. The session will highlight how to recognize and interpret signs of developmental delay, while emphasizing the importance of strength-based language when describing children's impact and needs of any potential educational disability conditions in order to support and empower young learners, their families, and educators in planning appropriate independent education programs of support for young learners.
Learning objectives of the workshop include:
- Describing the impact and need for early identification and intervention.
- Integrating play-based strategies into assessment practices.
- Using strength-based approaches to frame findings and support growth.