"The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic." Bill Cosby
*Childhood development hinges on the aspects of play. Through play children learn and grow to their full potential. Discovering the mysteries of how things work, how to be creative, and how to problem solve all can be found in the play of a child.
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." Tom Robbins
*One of the great things about child development is the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child. As teachers and educators, it is our duty to be sure that children have a happy childhood during the time that they are in our care.
"The world knows how to straighten out a spoiled child but never makes it up to a child deprived." Robert Brault
*One of the important aspects of child development is providing children with a rich environment full of opportunities to explore, learn, and grow. Research show that children who are deprived of basic needs and opportunities have a significant delay in development, particularly in the cognitive growth. It is important that we give EVERY child the opportunities to learn.
"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." Ladybird Johnson
*One of the greatests gifts you can give to a child to help their development is to have high expectations for them. Children will only be able to acheive what we desire of them, so if we desire and expect more, it gives them the chance to prove they can do it.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Testing Intelligence~ Early Childhood Development: Week 6
As part of my personal philosophy of education, I believe that there is a basic core of knowledge that each child must posses in order to be successful in the world. Given this philosophy, the only way to be sure that each child has this core knowledge would be through assessment. Assessment can take on many forms and it is important that each assessment is valid, fair, and reliable. In caring for the child as a whole, or through a holistic view, there must be many types of assessment used to gauge a child's learning and ability.
One type of assessment that can specifically pinpoint knowledge are standardized tests. These tests are designed to assess the knowledge that a child has currently mastered. However, understanding that each child is unique, there are some children who do not test well. Perhaps they are unable to concentrate for long periods of time, they lack the understanding of the language of the test questions, or they simply panic during these tests. This would cause standardized tests for students to be invalid.
Another type of assessment is through observation. Observing students as they learn is a great tool for assessment, as students are more likely to perform in their comfort zone as observation usually takes place in a natural setting such as the classroom. Students are more likely to be confident in their abilities if they know they are not being tested in pencil and paper form. Observations must be from an impartial point of view and must be without bias from the observer.
Portfolios also are a form of assessment as they provide a visual picture of the child's learning and abilities over a period of time. Portfolios can take on many forms. There are many aspects to the validity of portfolios in that they must be aligned with daily classroom activities and show a true visual of the students learning.
All three assessments listed above must be combined in order to provide a detailed report of a students learning and abilities. There is great benefit to the students when teachers and educator use several types of assessment in order to effectively understand and provide proof of a students learning. Assessment is an area of education that is always changing and needs to be looked at with each individual child.
As the US is always comparing our school system to China's school system, I thought it would be interesting to look at the assessment form of China's students. An article written by the New York Times does just that. Written by an American parent who was living in China with her school age children, she reports that children in China's schools are constantly being tested through paper and pencil tests. They are thought of in China as normal parts of the school day, not anxiety provoking assessments as they are thought of here in the United States. Children are evaluated simply based on these standardized assessments. I also found it interesting that in China, college entrance exams are the sole basis of where a student is placed in college! China would not fit in well to the US's view of the child as a whole!
Reference:
Rosenthal, E. (2010, September 11). Testing, the Chinese way. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
One type of assessment that can specifically pinpoint knowledge are standardized tests. These tests are designed to assess the knowledge that a child has currently mastered. However, understanding that each child is unique, there are some children who do not test well. Perhaps they are unable to concentrate for long periods of time, they lack the understanding of the language of the test questions, or they simply panic during these tests. This would cause standardized tests for students to be invalid.
Another type of assessment is through observation. Observing students as they learn is a great tool for assessment, as students are more likely to perform in their comfort zone as observation usually takes place in a natural setting such as the classroom. Students are more likely to be confident in their abilities if they know they are not being tested in pencil and paper form. Observations must be from an impartial point of view and must be without bias from the observer.
Portfolios also are a form of assessment as they provide a visual picture of the child's learning and abilities over a period of time. Portfolios can take on many forms. There are many aspects to the validity of portfolios in that they must be aligned with daily classroom activities and show a true visual of the students learning.
All three assessments listed above must be combined in order to provide a detailed report of a students learning and abilities. There is great benefit to the students when teachers and educator use several types of assessment in order to effectively understand and provide proof of a students learning. Assessment is an area of education that is always changing and needs to be looked at with each individual child.
As the US is always comparing our school system to China's school system, I thought it would be interesting to look at the assessment form of China's students. An article written by the New York Times does just that. Written by an American parent who was living in China with her school age children, she reports that children in China's schools are constantly being tested through paper and pencil tests. They are thought of in China as normal parts of the school day, not anxiety provoking assessments as they are thought of here in the United States. Children are evaluated simply based on these standardized assessments. I also found it interesting that in China, college entrance exams are the sole basis of where a student is placed in college! China would not fit in well to the US's view of the child as a whole!
Reference:
Rosenthal, E. (2010, September 11). Testing, the Chinese way. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
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