Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education - Version 1.0
Gina Peterson, College of the Canyons
Emily Elam, College of the Canyons
Copyright Year:
Publisher: College of the Canyons
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution
CC BY
Reviews
Reviewed by Mattie Oveross, Adjunct Instructor, Southwestern Oregon Community College on 6/24/26
Both an index and a glossary are provided. The material provides a very comprehensive dive into the observation and assessment aspects of an early childhood education degree and is structured in a way that allows instructors to use one chapter at... read more
Reviewed by Mattie Oveross, Adjunct Instructor, Southwestern Oregon Community College on 6/24/26
Comprehensiveness
Both an index and a glossary are provided. The material provides a very comprehensive dive into the observation and assessment aspects of an early childhood education degree and is structured in a way that allows instructors to use one chapter at a time, so they don't have to necessarily commit to adopting the whole book for one course.
Content Accuracy
The book utilizes up-to-date resources, guidelines, standards, and more, all packed into an easy-to-read, easy-to-navigate format.
Relevance/Longevity
The book was published in 2020 (pre-Covid). I think the text could benefit from an update to better reflect the state of early childhood education in 2026 and provide relevant context. However, many of the resources are still highly relevant in today's educational landscape.
Clarity
I would have liked to see more focus on vignettes, videos, or stories. However, there is some undeniable beauty about a simplistic, straightforward format.
Consistency
It is clear that the whole book was written by the same authors who took great care to maintain consistency.
Modularity
LibreTexts provides easy navigation and clearly organizes content into clickable chapters that can be shared with students either as a whole or in sections.
Organization/Structure/Flow
The text builds up nicely to prepare students for implementing observation and assessment procedures once they have a background in methods.
Interface
Simple and straightforward, which is rare for textbooks today.
Grammatical Errors
I did not notice any grammar, punctuation, or formatting mistakes.
Cultural Relevance
There is admittedly not much focus on how to best serve diverse and/or underserved populations. However, the text does discuss the achievement gap, providing translation services, and making family communications as accessible as possible.
CommentsI am excited to utilize the book in nearly all the early childhood education courses I teach. I believe it will serve as a solid resource for supporting student learning across all observation and assessment course objectives and assignments.
Table of Contents
- Front Matter
- 1: Observation and Documentation - The Key to Intentional Teaching
- 2: Quality Counts
- 3: Using Observation Methods, Tools and Techniques to Gather Evidence
- 4: The Purpose, Process and Practice of Monitoring, Screening and Evaluating
- 5: How to Plan Effective and Meaningful Curriculum
- 6: Using Documentation and Assessment to Communicate with Families
- Back Matter
About the Book
This text focuses on the appropriate use of a variety of assessment and observation strategies to document child development and behavior. Child observations will be conducted and analyzed.
About the Contributors
Authors
Gina Peterson has been an adjunct instructor at College of the Canyons in the Early Childhood Education Department since 2012. Besides being an instructor, Gina is the TEACH Teacher Preparation Program Coordinator and works closely with students who want to become future teachers, she is also an advisor for the Future Educators Club. Before joining the COC family, she worked in the ECE field for over 25 years as a Center Director, Afterschool Counselor, Preschool Teacher, facilitator and trainer.
Emily Elam has been working with children for several years and has worked in many different settings with children, especially children ages 0-5. She has been a preschool teacher working in both the private preschools as well as Head Start. Emily worked with hospitalized children during an internship with UCLA Mattel Childrens Hospital, in the Child Life program. Emily received her B.A. in Child Development, Summa Cum Laude from Mount Saint Marys University and continued to receive her M.S. Child Development degree from the University of LaVerne.