General Information for Interested Students
HDFS 494: Developmental Assessment and Screening Project
Dr. Brent McBride & Meghan Fisher
2 Credit Hours
Through this course you will:
- Learn about early childhood assessments and screenings
- Receive training on a developmental screening instrument
- Gain hands-on experience conducting developmental screenings at the Child Development Laboratory
Course times- You will be assigned to one section for the semester, and will also be required to attend orientation at the beginning of the year. (Please let Meghan know which section works best for you, or if either does.)
Section 1: Mondays @ 11-11:50am (weekly classes) and Tuesdays @ 5-6:30pm (4 training sessions in September/October)
Section 2: Mondays @ 4-4:50pm (weekly classes) and Wednesdays @ 5-6:30pm (4 training sessions in September/October)
Orientations: TBA- This will be most likely held during the second week of classes. You will be required to attend this two-hour orientation.
Please note: In addition to class times, you will be spending time in the CDL classrooms with children approximately 3-4 hours a week (3 hours during the first half of the semester, 4 hours in the second half of the semester). These times will be between 8:30-12pm and 3-5pm. Due to scheduling, you should have approximately at least 5-6 hours free a week during these times.
Developmental screenings are conducted each year at the Child Development Laboratory for two general purposes: 1) To alert CDL staff and parents of any potential problems children may be having so that additional attention can be given to these children, and 2) As a service for researchers who utilize CDL and need baseline data about the developmental status of the children who will participate in their studies. There are 160 children at ECDL and CDL, and the screening process could not be accomplished without the help of interested undergraduate students. This is the eighth semester that the screenings will be conducted as part of a structured research internship offered for course credit.
Students who enroll will be given a general background on the usage, strengths and limitations of assessments/screenings and there will be light reading assigned on these topics that will be discussed at class meetings.
Students will receive training on one of two different developmental screenings instruments: The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III which will be used with the infants, toddlers, and some 2 year olds and the DENVER II which will be used with the 2 year olds through preschoolers. Which age group students are assigned to will depend upon which section they are assigned to. While students will only conduct actual screenings using one of these screeners, they will receive some education on both.
Course meetings will be held weekly (50 minutes) for the semester with an additional 4 meetings (1.5 hours) during the training and orientation period (in the first 8 weeks). Contact Meghan Fisher mfisher2@illinois.edu to check times of classes and meetings.
The final project will be a group presentation. At the end of the semester, the Bayley students will give a training presentation for the DENVER II students and the DENVER II students will give a training presentation for the Bayley students, each training the other group how to use their instrument and discussing the experiences they had using the screener during the semester.
Currently, this course can be taken for 2 credit hours. (There is a possibility that some students might be able to enroll in the course for 3 credit hours, but it is dependent on how many students enroll. If you have more questions regarding this, please contact Meghan.)
If you are considering going on to grad school or entering a profession in an early childhood setting, this research experience could be especially valuable for you. Knowing how to conduct developmental assessments will give you skills and an understanding of development that many other candidates will not have, thus making you more marketable.
Contact: Meghan Fisher mfisher2@illinois.edu