Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact Rationale/Reflection NAEYC Standard:

STANDARD 6. BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs identify and conduct themselves as members of the early childhood profession. They know and use ethical guidelines and other professional standards related to early childhood practice. They are continuous, collaborative learners who demonstrate knowledgeable, reflective and critical perspectives on their work, making informed decisions that integrate knowledge from a variety of sources. They are informed advocates for sound educational practices and policies. (NAEYC, 2011)

Brief Description of Evidence:

In the Spring 2014 semester I collaboratively completed an advocacy project within my ECED 260, Early Childhood Professional course. The advocacy project consisted of a partnership with one of the preschools within the community to create multiple process art pieces. The art pieces were a part of the schools Art Auction to raise money for the youngest members of the community. We broke into groups to create a greater presentation including a subject of advocacy related to the preschools YMCA affiliations and advocate for the young learners being affected by the programs involved.

Analysis of What I Learned:

Throughout this advocacy project, I have learned the need for creating relationships with other educators in the community. I have learned the importance of representing myself in an ethical manner in which will represent other educators much like me. I have learned how to research and document the importance of the topic I am advocating. I have also gained an understanding of how to collaborate with others within my field of knowledge to develop a stronger organized presentation.

How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:

This project had a significant impact on how I look towards connecting with the community to advocate for early childhood learners. The organization in which we linked our advocacy project affects many children and their families each day. This project required many steps; including developing relationships with the school, developing lesson plans in which supported creative development, researching different aspects in which connect to our advocacy topic, working with others to build a formal presentation with varying presentation styles. The skills learned and further developed will be used in my own classroom to help connect the childrens lives to the community around them.