Welcome to the Early Learning Standards

RI Early Learning Standards Practitioner Portfolios

Early childhood practitioners who are actively engaged in implementing a Rhode Island Early Learning Standards-based program are encouraged to document their progress through the development of individualized Practitioner Portfolios.

Practitioner Portfolios contain a collection of documents chosen by the practitioner to demonstrate how their practice has improved as they progress on their journey to intentional teaching.

The benefits of Practitioner Portfolios are that they:

empower professionals to be proactive and self-directed as they take responsibility for their own learning
encourage practitioners to become more purposeful and intentional about their practice
help to bridge early childhood theory and practice
individualize learning so that practitioners can build upon the strengths they already have and establish goals that will be their own
support practitioners to engage in reflective practice
document the practitioner’s journey in developing new competencies

Practitioner Portfolios include (1) self-assessments, (2) goals, (3) individualized professional development plans, (4) personal reflections, and (5) artifacts (evidence that demonstrates how new skills are being applied to practice).

The RI Early Learning Standards Project has designed four self-assessment tools to assist practitioners to reflect on their early childhood practice, evaluate their own documentation systems, determine areas of strength, and identify areas where they would like to grow.

Each of the self-assessment tools focuses on a core component of a Standards-based program:

Curriculum:

Planning and implementing a quality curriculum aligned with the RI Early Learning Standards.
Child Assessment:

Implementing a system of authentic assessment aligned with the Rhode Island Early Learning Standards.
Differentiated Teaching and Learning:

Analyzing and using child assessment information to plan and implement learning opportunities that support each child's development in all areas addressed in the Standards.
Family Engagement:

Implementing family engagement opportunities linked to the Standards to involve all families in meaningful ways

Once the self-assessment tool is complete, practitioners identify one or two priority goals and develop strategies and time frames for achieving each goal. Professional Development Goal sheets for each of the component areas can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Practitioners will want to download new copies of these tools each year so that self-assessment becomes an on-going process.

Administrators and supervisors committed to fully implementing the Rhode Island Early Learning Standards can support their early childhood teaching staff by:

integrating the self-assessment process into their system of supervision and support and
using the results to inform the development of professional development and training opportunities for their staff.