Jie-Qi Chen

Effectively assess learning in the most critical years of a child's development Young children’s learning in preschool and childcare settings sets the foundation for the elementary school years to come. Skills in speaking, listening, reading, math, science, and the arts develop inside everyday instructional routines that teachers and childcare providers make available to children. How can educators be sure of what their children are learning and how to support their progress? Listening to Learning provides pre-service and in-service teachers and childcare providers working with young learners with an innovative and practical way to assess children’s learning while they are engaged in daily instructional routines. This book offers: Methods for observing, documenting, and analyzing what and how young children are learningStrategies for monitoring children's progress across various areas, including sciences, arts, mathematics, language arts, and playApproaches for making informed instructional adaptations that address the developmental needs of young learners from diverse home and community settingsA framework that shows how instructional routine activities can be used to bridge classroom assessment with the teaching and learning process With years of expertise and a thorough analysis of assessment techniques, the authors effectively showcase the power of instructional routines as a tool for understanding and enhancing student learning in these most formative years of development.

Transform classrooms into dynamic "thinking playgrounds" with these culturally and linguistically responsive routines. In this practical book, teachers reveal how instruction and assessment can be two sides of the same coin through the implementation of four literacy and math routines for pre–K to grade 3: Photo Chats, Counting Collections, Storytelling/Story Acting, and Numberless Word Problems. These routines offer rich observational data for ongoing formative assessments, such as those used for kindergarten entry. They also provide embedded differentiation while offering teachers a window into their students' understanding. These culturally and linguistically responsive routines are designed to spark curiosity, build classroom community, and foster habits of mind for lifelong learning—transforming classrooms into dynamic "thinking playgrounds." These economical routines require minimal materials, preparation, and classroom time. They have been field-tested by over 25 public school teachers, who use a wide range of curricula and work in urban, rural, and suburban settings with diverse students, including English language learners. This book demonstrates how these instructional routines worked for these teachers and how they can work for you too! Book Features: Authentic stories from nine public school kindergarten teachers about how they embraced the routines and noticed how learning blossomed for everyone. Descriptions of the four instructional routines are clearly presented, so that they are ready to be tried by other teachers. Photographs of young children and their work samples with detailed descriptions and analysis from their teachers, offering a glimpse into students' thinking.An exploration of the value of implementing ongoing instructional routines that are grounded in state-of-the-art research about language, literacy, and numeracy development within a multilingual framework. A framework of notice and wonder that connects teaching and assessment, offering a shift from the common practice that these are separate endeavors.

Transform classrooms into dynamic "thinking playgrounds" with these culturally and linguistically responsive routines. In this practical book, teachers reveal how instruction and assessment can be two sides of the same coin through the implementation of four literacy and math routines for pre–K to grade 3: Photo Chats, Counting Collections, Storytelling/Story Acting, and Numberless Word Problems. These routines offer rich observational data for ongoing formative assessments, such as those used for kindergarten entry. They also provide embedded differentiation while offering teachers a window into their students' understanding. These culturally and linguistically responsive routines are designed to spark curiosity, build classroom community, and foster habits of mind for lifelong learning—transforming classrooms into dynamic "thinking playgrounds." These economical routines require minimal materials, preparation, and classroom time. They have been field-tested by over 25 public school teachers, who use a wide range of curricula and work in urban, rural, and suburban settings with diverse students, including English language learners. This book demonstrates how these instructional routines worked for these teachers and how they can work for you too! Book Features: Authentic stories from nine public school kindergarten teachers about how they embraced the routines and noticed how learning blossomed for everyone. Descriptions of the four instructional routines are clearly presented, so that they are ready to be tried by other teachers. Photographs of young children and their work samples with detailed descriptions and analysis from their teachers, offering a glimpse into students' thinking.An exploration of the value of implementing ongoing instructional routines that are grounded in state-of-the-art research about language, literacy, and numeracy development within a multilingual framework. A framework of notice and wonder that connects teaching and assessment, offering a shift from the common practice that these are separate endeavors.

This groundbreaking book looks at the development of mathematical thinking in infants and toddlers, with an emphasis on the earliest stage, from zero to three, when mathematical thinking and problem solving first emerge as natural instincts. The text explores the four precursor math concepts—Attribute, Comparison, Change, and Pattern—with an emphasis on how development occurs when it is nurtured by loving knowledgeable others. The authors call this the CAIR principle: Closely Attend & Intentionally Respond. Sharing their stories of working with a wide range of zero to three caregivers and educators, the authors stress the difference between arithmetic skills and their definition of mathematics as "a logical way of thinking that allows for increasing precision." Each user-friendly chapter includes suggestions for highly effective practices that are embedded into everyday interactions and routines. Early care providers can use this resource to develop young children's interest in mathematics, ensuring that they are ready for the big ideas they will encounter in preschool.Book Features:Combines the most current research on infant and toddler cognitive development in relation to mathematical thinking.Offers concrete ways to help caregivers and professionals draw out the math that is all around us.Blends three domains of human development—social-emotional, physical, and cognitive.Examines the What, Who, and How of each precursor concept, with authentic anecdotes and "What the Research Says" sections.

This groundbreaking book looks at the development of mathematical thinking in infants and toddlers, with an emphasis on the earliest stage, from zero to three, when mathematical thinking and problem solving first emerge as natural instincts. The text explores the four precursor math concepts—Attribute, Comparison, Change, and Pattern—with an emphasis on how development occurs when it is nurtured by loving knowledgeable others. The authors call this the CAIR principle: Closely Attend & Intentionally Respond. Sharing their stories of working with a wide range of zero to three caregivers and educators, the authors stress the difference between arithmetic skills and their definition of mathematics as "a logical way of thinking that allows for increasing precision." Each user-friendly chapter includes suggestions for highly effective practices that are embedded into everyday interactions and routines. Early care providers can use this resource to develop young children's interest in mathematics, ensuring that they are ready for the big ideas they will encounter in preschool.Book Features:Combines the most current research on infant and toddler cognitive development in relation to mathematical thinking.Offers concrete ways to help caregivers and professionals draw out the math that is all around us.Blends three domains of human development—social-emotional, physical, and cognitive.Examines the What, Who, and How of each precursor concept, with authentic anecdotes and "What the Research Says" sections.

Growing Mathematical Minds is the documentation of an innovative, bi-directional process of connecting research and practice in early childhood mathematics. The book translates research on early mathematics from developmental psychology into terms that are meaningful to teachers and readily applicable in early childhood classrooms. It documents teacher responses, and conveys their thoughts and questions back to representative researchers, who reply in turn. In so doing, this highly useful book creates a conversation, in which researchers and teachers each bring their expertise to bear; their communication about these topics—informed by the thinking, commitment, and experience of both groups—helps us better understand how developmental psychology can improve math teaching, and how math teaching can, in turn, inform developmental science. The book bridges the gap between research and practice, helping teachers to adopt evidence-based practices and apply cutting-edge research findings, and prompting developmental researchers to consider their work within the framework of practice. Growing Mathematical Minds identifies and elucidates research with profound implications for teaching children from three to eight years so they develop foundational math knowledge and skills, positive attitudes toward math, and basic abilities to think mathematically.

Growing Mathematical Minds is the documentation of an innovative, bi-directional process of connecting research and practice in early childhood mathematics. The book translates research on early mathematics from developmental psychology into terms that are meaningful to teachers and readily applicable in early childhood classrooms. It documents teacher responses, and conveys their thoughts and questions back to representative researchers, who reply in turn. In so doing, this highly useful book creates a conversation, in which researchers and teachers each bring their expertise to bear; their communication about these topics—informed by the thinking, commitment, and experience of both groups—helps us better understand how developmental psychology can improve math teaching, and how math teaching can, in turn, inform developmental science. The book bridges the gap between research and practice, helping teachers to adopt evidence-based practices and apply cutting-edge research findings, and prompting developmental researchers to consider their work within the framework of practice. Growing Mathematical Minds identifies and elucidates research with profound implications for teaching children from three to eight years so they develop foundational math knowledge and skills, positive attitudes toward math, and basic abilities to think mathematically.

Drawing from 30 years of teaching and professional development experience, this book offers a roadmap for using children's literature to provide authentic learning. Featuring a ''storyteller's voice,'' each chapter includes a case study about how a particular fiction or nonfiction work can be used in an early childhood classroom; a series of open-ended questions to help readers construct their own inquiry units; and a bibliography of children's literature. This book provides a unique synthesis of ideas based on constructivist approaches to learning, including the importance of positive dispositions and learning communities, the nature of higher-order thinking, and the relationship between methods such as guided inquiry in the sciences and balanced literacy.