In the present portfolio, I will reflect on my learning from the start of this course to this time by posting the assignment related to the given topic. I have learned about various ways of dealing with children and family members. I learned the importance of reflecting on our learning to modify and bring changes to our understanding.

Throughout the ECE journey, I had a lot of opportunities to learn and a better understanding of professional expectations. Being an ECE is not as easy as I had known from my previous understanding of being an educator. In my country, the teaching style is completely different from what I have learned here. It is more focused on practical rather than theoretical knowledge. I have also seen how educators let children use their critical thinking and exploration and reflect on their thoughts instead of only memorizing and reading what they were taught.

After graduation, I want to utilize my few months of preparation for my NCLEX exam, which I am planning to take in 5-6 months to be a Registered Nurse here in Canada. After completing the exam, I want to continue my passions as a profession. I look forward to implementing the theoretical knowledge that I have learned throughout this Early Childhood Educator Student journey into further journey as a Registered Early Childhood Educator.

Artifacts

1. Brain Development Assignment (December 12, 2023)

2. Sciences of Babies ( January 26, 2024)

3. Assignment#1 Child Development Research paper

Courses

1. ECED 1074: Child Development Introduction

2. ECED 1075- Child Development

3. ECED 3039: Child Development

Reflection:

For this section, I choose the Brain Development Assignment, a research paper on the importance of technology and the science of babies. In this artifact, I have learned about the various factors that create positive and negative impacts on children. To learn about a child’s development, we need to know how they grow and what they need in their developmental phase, so these three assignments relate mainly to it. This artifact has taught me the importance of creating a nurturing and positive environment for children by developing positive interactions with them and the significance of using technology. After writing the research paper on the significance of technology for children throughout their cognitive and socio-emotional development, how it can impact overall physical growth if we cannot balance digital screen time and hands-on experiences. I also learned to create an inclusive environment in the classroom through the use of technology by maintaining equal access to technology for the children at the school.

Artifacts:

1. Music and Movement Presentation Plan (March 26, 2024)

2. Reflection Task #5: Four Foundation HDLH ( November 22, 2023)

3. Peer Relations and Influence

Courses:

1. ECED 1076- 01- Curriculum & Pedagogy

2. FLDP 1021: Field Orientation

3. ECED 3039: Child Development

Reflection:

This reflection reflects my learning on the program and curriculum development of the children through different strategies I have learned throughout the learning period. The given artifacts reflect my understanding of developing a curriculum by implementing various strategies to meet the principles of Early Childhood Educators. Through the music and movement presentation, I learned about the different and appropriate ways of introducing learning and behaviors in children using different music and physical movements. We also created a video on that assignment, which is a best practice and a great opportunity to learn different teaching skills. The lesson plan I have done as a group activity was mainly about highlighting how friendship supports and fosters the child’s overall social and emotional well-being. We planned an activity named “Friendship Web,” which shows the children better understand the connectedness of friendship and its importance. This experience has helped improve my ability to plan and implement developmentally appropriate activities effectively. These artifacts have helped me to improve in planning and implementing the curriculum in the classroom while doing my placement. The template provided by the professor that I used in this artifact has helped me plan my activities for the placement as well.

Artifacts:

1. Assignment #1: Supportive Relationships and the Role of Early Childhood Educators (October 6, 2024)

2. Family Interview Assignment (March 6, 2024)

3. Assignment #1-Guidance “Looking at our role in Supporting Children.” (September 24, 2024)

Courses:

1. ECED 1003: Emotional Development and Early Relations

2. ECED 3022: Partnership with Families

3. ECED-1053 Promoting Pro-Social Behavior

Reflection:

The provided artifacts demonstrate my understanding of the importance of responsive relationship-building skills as an educator. This represents that I have gained knowledge regarding the partnerships of family members with educators to provide proper support for children. The given artifacts are proof that I have learned the skill of developing positive educator-child relationships to foster the child’s emotional security as well as the overall development of the child. I have learned about being an educator and how important it is to maintain partnerships with the family, colleagues, and community to support the child’s development. As an ECE student, from the theoretical knowledge I applied practically during my field placement as I made partnerships with my mentor to discuss the child’s interests, strengths, and abilities. As with the parents, I had different family interactions, sharing about the children's capability and engagement in class activities.

Artifacts:

1. Handwashing Video (January, 2024)

2. Reflection#1: Child Care and Early Years Act (February 16, 2024)

3. Outdoor Play Newsletter

Courses:

1. ECED 1005-01- Health Safety and Nutrition

2. FLDP-1024: Field Seminar

3. ECED 1076: Curriculum and Pedagogy (0-3)

Reflection:

Health and safety are two essential factors we must consider as educators in childcare centers. The provided artifacts demonstrate my understanding of maintaining a healthy and safe environment for the children. The handwashing video enhanced my knowledge of how even the practice of handwashing created a balance in the health standards and how we can motivate children to believe handwashing is a lifelong behavior. I also learned about the different standards of practice that we need to follow as educators while providing care and supporting the overall development of children. The outdoor learning newsletter has enhanced my understanding of the benefits of outdoor learning in the children’s overall mental and physical health. In that artifact, we got the opportunity to plan the nature hunt activity to support the children’s nature exploration, problem-solving, and body movement, fostering their cognitive and physical development. I have also learned that letting children explore the natural world gives them freedom and resilience and improves peer interactions.

Artifacts:

1. Assignment # 2 - Managing Conflict and Power (November 17, 2023)

2. Rana’s Case Study (October 23, 2024)

3. Elected Official Letter Presentation

Courses:

1. PSYC 1101- Interpersonal Development

2. ECED 3038: Child Development

3. ECED 3040: Professionalism: Ethics and Advocacy

Reflection:

This reflection shows my understanding of my role as an advocate and how I can contribute as an advocate towards family and children, as well as my profession as an ECE. The provided artifacts helped me deepen my understanding of my role as an advocate by teaching me skills like good communication skills, handling conflict, and maintaining good relationships. These artifacts taught me to analyze, actively listen, and respect other people’s perspectives. I also learned to cope with difficult and unfamiliar situations using calm and coping strategies. From the letter presentation, I contributed to a group activity of writing a letter to Jill Dunlop(Minister of Education) about advocating for Increased Funding to Support Early-Year care centers with Trained Assistants for Children with Special Needs. From this, I learned that As an ECE, I will not be working with the children for Pay only. Their early development or the foundation of their life will be in my hand, and I should be responsible for advocating regarding meeting their needs and interests.

Artifacts:

1. Pedagogical Documentation Presentation (February 3, 2024)

2. Reflective Theorist Comparison #2 (November 16, 2024)

3. Assignment #1 Self-Assessment on Reflective Practice (September 30, 2024)

Courses:

1. ECED 1076- Curr & Pedagogy

2. ECED 3003- Educational Perspectives

3. FLDP 3027- Field Seminar

Reflection:

These artifacts demonstrate my understanding of the key factors required for professional development and learning. I have done various research assignments, which have provided me the ability to reflect and go through different resources to get to the final project. By doing the pedagogical documentation presentation, I learned about the importance of documentation and how it makes the child feel respected, included, and valued inside the classroom. By comparing the two theorist and their own perspectives and theories, I learned to analyze, find the similarities and differences, and compare them with my own perspectives to support and modify further practice.