The SEEDS Framework emphasizes the intentional use of data to inform instructional decisions and scaffold children’s learning. Within SEEDS, data act as a flashlight, not a hammer, shedding light on children’s skills and needs rather than being used for judgment or labeling.
Recommendations on starting to use data in your classroom include:
- Understanding the purpose of data
- Utilizing formative and summative assessments
- Leveraging SEEDS tools for planning and reflection
Understanding the Purpose of Data
- Clarifying Needs: Data help you understand children’s developmental needs and identify areas where they may require additional support.
- Informing Instruction: Data provide the basis for making instructional decisions, ensuring that every choice you make in the classroom is tailored to give children what they need, when they need it.
- Monitoring Progress: By consistently using data, you can observe measurable progress in children’s learning throughout the year.
Utilizing Both Summative and Formative Assessments
The SEEDS framework integrates both summative and formative assessments to provide a comprehensive picture of a child's learning journey.
- Summative Assessments: These evaluate children’s learning at specific points in time, typically at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. They measure progress against age-level benchmarks and expected growth.
- Interpreting Results: Based on these assessments, children are categorized into learning stages: emergent (far below target), developing (a little below or close to target), or fluent (at or above benchmark).
- Recommendation: Children identified as emergent should receive instruction using SEEDS strategies every day, in small groups (2–5 children matched by skill level), for 10–15 minutes per targeted skill. Progress should be monitored every 2–4 weeks.
- Interpreting Results: Based on these assessments, children are categorized into learning stages: emergent (far below target), developing (a little below or close to target), or fluent (at or above benchmark).
- Formative Assessments: These are ongoing tools used more frequently to monitor children’s progress and inform day-to-day instruction. They help educators quickly adapt their support based on each child’s individual development.
- Methods: Formative assessment includes informal observations and analysis of a child's behavior and performance during activities.
Leverage SEEDS Tools for Planning and Reflection
The SEEDS framework provides several interconnected tools that help educators use data to plan and reflect on their instruction.
- Content Guides: These guides outline what to intentionally teach for each of the Big 5 Early Literacy Predictors (Oral Language and Vocabulary, Book and Print Awareness, Alphabet Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, and Writing). They define the important foundational skills and developmental progressions children go through.
- Planning Tools: These are used to help educators differentiate instruction through:
- Identifying Learning Stages: The tools help educators document observations of children’s behaviors and progress to determine whether they are emergent, developing, or fluent in a specific skill.
- Selecting Strategies: The tools help educators review recommended teaching practices and scaffolding techniques for each learning stage.
- Articulating a Plan: The tools help educators create a formal instructional plan that outlines next steps for individual children or groups, considering SEEDS Qualities, teaching practices, and scaffolding techniques.
- Reflection Tools: These checklists support educators in monitoring and improving their instruction. They help educators:
- Review key components of a strategy before teaching it.
- Reflect on how a lesson went and identify areas for improvement.
- Provide feedback after observations.
- SEEDS Qualities Reflection Tool: This specialized tool helps educators reflect on how their instruction aligns with the five SEEDS Qualities (Sensitivity, Encouragement, Education, Development Through Doing, and Self-Image Support). It includes specific questions for supporting multilingual learners.
By integrating these data-informed practices, educators can continuously monitor children’s progress, tailor their support, and foster a nurturing, engaging, and enriching learning environment for all children.