e-EDI Teacher Information & Training Session THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT (EDI)

Today’s Presentation 1. School Readiness 2. Early Development Instrument (EDI) 3. Using e-EDI system 4. Completing the questionnaires

EARLY YEARS MATTER: They set the stage for further development

Binocular vision High Low Years Habitual ways of responding Language Emotional control Symbol Peer social skills Relative quantity Central auditory system Hertzman, 2007 ‘Sensitive periods’ in early Brain Development

EARLY YEARS MATTER: Child’s experiences in the early years of life are pivotal for how the genes that govern many aspects of neurobiological development are expressed Child’s capacity to learn when they enter school is strongly influenced by the neural wiring that takes place in the early years

Trajectories - Continuation of Differences Hypothetical growth trajectories Simple continuation of differencesIncreasing differences

Target for interventions Hypothetical growth trajectories School-based interventions Desired results

Target for interventions Hypothetical growth trajectories School-based interventionsFrequently-achieved results

Target for interventions Hypothetical growth trajectories Pre-school-based interventionsDesired results

Trajectories Established Early - Vulnerability on EDI and Grade 6 outcomes Percentage of Grade 6 students not meeting provincial standards in relation to number of vulnerabilities in Kindergarten (EDI) TDSB, 2007 N of domains with low scores:

Trajectories Continue…. Of those children scoring vulnerable on 2 or more of the EDI domains in Kindergarten approx 65% failed to meet provincial EQAO standards in Reading, Writing and Math.

Key Principles… The later you attempt to change a trajectory the more energy that is required Therefore a major effort has to be made in the early years when neural systems are most plastic and compromises or constrictions are most readily overcome

Readiness to learn concept Children are born ready to learn: the neurosystem is pre- programmed to develop various skills and neuropathways, depending on the experience it receives.

School Readiness Refers to the child’s ability to meet the task demands of school, such as: being comfortable exploring and asking questions, listening to the teacher, playing and working with other children, remembering and following rules. In short, it is the ability to benefit from the educational activities that are provided by the school.

Readiness for school School – understood as Grade 1 Many marked differences between curriculum in Kindergarten and Grade 1 Kindergarten provides transition between play-based preschool and home environment to the academically-based environment of grade school

What is school readiness?  Context of early experiences  Reflects developmental outcomes and milestones achieved during the first five years of life  A measurable holistic concept involving several developmental areas  Child’s ability to benefit from the activities provided by the school

A large number of children at a small risk for school failure may generate a much greater burden of suffering than a small number of children with a high risk (Based on Rose 1992, Offord et al. 1998)

Ready Schools Readiness for school… Ready Children Ready Parents Ready Government Ready Policy Ready Communities

What is the EDI? The EDI is teacher-completed checklist that assesses children’s readiness to learn when they enter school. In other words, it measures the outcomes of children’s pre-school (0-6 years) experiences as they influence their readiness to learn at school. As a result, the EDI is able to predict how children will do in elementary school.

A Population-Based Measure The EDI is designed to be interpreted at the group level. The EDI does not provide diagnostic information on individual children.

Teacher Perception Data Perception is good Teachers are educated experts Teacher intuition is extremely accurate Grades, report cards, parent-teacher conferences Scientific evidence, both from the EDI and other studies, that teachers’ rating of children are actually more reliable in predicting children’s future academic success than direct tests

Benefits Results from the Early Development Instrument (or EDI) will enable us to: Look forward – adjust school programs to meet the current needs of incoming students (schools). Look backward – adjust early childhood programs to help ensure children are ready to learn and make it easier for them to make the transition to school (community).

Benefits cont’d… Schools use EDI data by itself for program planning and resource allocation Community uses EDI data in conjunction with other information (e.g., EQAO results, population statistics, other community information) to identify neighbourhoods where additional early years supports may be required. Advocacy for families and children.

How the EDI works The EDI assesses children’s readiness to learn when they enter school by looking at five key areas of child development:

1) Physical health and well-being

2-3) Maturity 2) Emotional health and maturity 3) Social knowledge and competence

4) Language development and thinking skills

5) Communication skills and general knowledge

The EDI is…….. –A population (or large group) measure –A way to understand trends in the development of kindergarten children The EDI is not…….. –An individual child or diagnostic measure –A way to evaluate teachers or individual programs

WHO IS USING IT?

Across Canada: over children - Full provincial coverage in Ontario, Manitoba, BC, Saskatchewan, PEI and NB - Implementations in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Newfoundland, Nunavut Internationally: Australia (full coverage) USA Mozambique ChileMoldova New ZealandKenya Jamaica Kosovo Mexico UK

COMPLETING THE e-EDI QUESTIONNAIRES

Implementation Timelines & Deadlines 1.Teachers receive e-EDI Training 2.Teachers complete EDI questionnaires on-line 3.Teachers “lock in” each child’s questionnaire as they are completed - Today! -Today until XXXXX

Time It will take approx 20 minutes to complete each questionnaire. However, once you have completed a few, it should take closer to 10 minutes per questionnaire. Best students and struggling students completed quickly….middle ground students require more thought.

Tip # 1 Due to the “learning curve” involved, it is considerably more efficient to complete all the questionnaires in one sitting. One sitting may involve 2 or 3 consecutive days, depending on the number of students you have.

Getting Started: Your EDI Package 1)Additional Explanatory Notes / FAQ 2)EDI Guide 3)ClassList from OCCS 4)Local Class List 5)e-EDI Instructions You will receive an EDI package containing the following items: (One per teacher) (One per class) (One per teacher)

EDI Guide Intended to facilitate completion of the EDI; based on comments from teachers. Please read the whole Guide once before starting to complete the questionnaires. While completing the e-EDI you can click on the Guide button and a pdf version of the EDI Guide will pop up

Tip # 2 Read the entire EDI GUIDE once before starting on the questionnaires. After you have read the EDI Guide, consult it if in doubt.

e-EDI Teacher Instructions for Completion Provides information – steps to guide the on-line completion of EDI questionnaires Open to further comments: If you have comments pertaining to either of the guides, please write them on a separate sheet of paper and enclose with your completed questionnaires. e.EDI General Teachers Guide.doc

Before you Begin the e-EDI 1.Review the e-EDI questions 2.Get your login and password. 3.Have your class lists available. 4.Ensure that all the children in your class(es) have a local ID and are included on your list. 5.Review any background materials 6.If applicable, list student’s whose parent’s/guardians have declined permission 7.Good luck and thank-you!

Accessing the e-EDI In your Internet browser type in:

Signing In Teacher’s here The initial password is the Teacher’s EDI ID Ensure that ENGLISH is chosen

Teacher Menu

YOU ARE NOW READY TO TACKLE THE QUESTIONNAIRES!

General Instructions Responses to the questions should be based on your observations of the students reflecting his/her CURRENT developmental status. (The child does not need to be present) Use ‘I don’t know’ as a last resort only, especially in the student demographic page (page 1). Questionnaires received with too many ‘I don’t knows’ cannot be used in the final analysis.

EDI Questionnaires

Class List AM Class PM Class

Step 1: Identify the child At the top of every questionnaire page there is an 11-digit child identification number (generated by McMaster University) called the EDI ID#.

Local Class List Match the corresponding Local ID# with the Local Class List (which contains children’s names) to ensure you are thinking about the right child.

Enter into the Questionnaire

Child Demographic Page

Missing or incorrect label information If any of the information is incorrect or missing, enter the correct information on the Child Demographics page of the e-EDI Click Save EDI

IMPORTANT!! Q 7 Special Needs – Cannot be left blank!! A professional must identify the child as special needs, this is not meant to be an assessment by the teacher. For example a child identified already as needing special assistance due to chronic medical, physical, or mental disabling conditions (e.g., autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, Down syndrome) and/or a child requires special assistance in the classroom. Please see Guide for provincially specific SN definition.

Q 8 ESL Refers to a child for whom English is NOT their first language AND who needs additional instruction in English. A child is NOT considered ESL if his/her first language is English, or the child is able to speak another language apart from English, but whose English is fluent, or a child whose first language (developmentally) is not English but whose English is fluent. IMPORTANT!!

Q 14 Student Status Student must be currently in your class to do the EDI If the student has been: –in class for less than one month –moved out of class –moved out of school –other the system will tell you to stop and lock the questionnaire! IMPORTANT!!

Tip # 3 Continuously save as you work! After 15 minutes of inactivity you will be automatically logged off the system and all your unsaved changes will be lost

REMAINDER OF THE EDI QUESTIONNAIRE

Complete Sections A – E by selecting the appropriate response for each question

Section B

Finishing and Checking SECTION E

Read Section E carefully. The system will not recognize it as complete until your answers are in agreement Once completed, click Check for Completeness (at top of page)

Go back to incomplete sections and fill in any answers you missed You are done! Click here If the system tells you…

Locking a Questionnaire You will get a message asking if you are sure that you want to continue with locking the child. If so, click OK. You will be returned back to the Class Information page.

Adding a student Type child’s local ID Click Add Student Remember to add all of the student’s information on the Student Demographic screen

Done? Remember to fill out your Teacher Participation Form & Teacher Training Feedback Forms (from the main menu)

Teacher Participation Form Helps us keep everything organized when you return the questionnaires to us. It also provides information on the general characteristics of the population of teachers and their experience with the EDI. It is not intended for evaluation of any sort. The information will be examined as a whole, not on an individual basis.

Privacy and Confidentiality All information collected is kept completely confidential and used for statistical purposes only Parents are informed about the research by letter; participation is voluntary; consent is passive NO CHILD OR TEACHER IS EVER IDENTIFIED IN OUR REPORTING

YOUR SCHOOL’S EDI CONTACT

QUESTIONS?