Assessment in the Ece Curriculum
Assessment in the ECE curriculum
Institution: Privately run preschool in Singapore
Fictional child: Sara
Background: Age: 3 year old girl, Nationality: Indian origin. Has a twin in the same class.
Interest: At this point in time this child is particularly interested in growing plants. We have observed her using a learning story. This is our first time using this particular assessment tool.
Traditionally in our pre-school we have used a range of assessment tools for eg: checklist, work samples, running records which are compiled in a portfolio.
The Ministry of Education (2008), Singapore curriculum guide base their Child development and learning principles on Developmentally appropriate practice (Kindergarten Curriculum Guide, p. 9)
Piaget has had a profound influence in the early childhood educational practice. Until recently our assessment techniques have been influenced by Piaget as we have focused on the individual child and what they can do in relation to their ages. According Edwards, p.9, Piaget was well known for his theory about ages and stages of cognitive development. Many educationalists believe that learning experiences for young children would be most useful when they were designed to meet the child’s current level or stages of development (Edwards and Hammer 2006, as cited in Edwards, p. 11). This combined with a continued emphasis on providing children with opportunities to interact with materials, contributed to the notion of ‘developmentally appropriate practice’, otherwise known as DAP (Bredekamp and copple as cited in Edwards p. 9).
Although, the Piagetian practice emphasizes on ages and stages and a child-centered environment; links to the process of teaching and learning and that teachers and students could engage in are minimal (Edwards, p 11) . What’s missing is sustained conversation or play with an adult, high complexity of play activities and lively purposeful involvement leading to creative, exciting discovery
Institution: Privately run preschool in Singapore
Fictional child: Sara
Background: Age: 3 year old girl, Nationality: Indian origin. Has a twin in the same class.
Interest: At this point in time this child is particularly interested in growing plants. We have observed her using a learning story. This is our first time using this particular assessment tool.
Traditionally in our pre-school we have used a range of assessment tools for eg: checklist, work samples, running records which are compiled in a portfolio.
The Ministry of Education (2008), Singapore curriculum guide base their Child development and learning principles on Developmentally appropriate practice (Kindergarten Curriculum Guide, p. 9)
Piaget has had a profound influence in the early childhood educational practice. Until recently our assessment techniques have been influenced by Piaget as we have focused on the individual child and what they can do in relation to their ages. According Edwards, p.9, Piaget was well known for his theory about ages and stages of cognitive development. Many educationalists believe that learning experiences for young children would be most useful when they were designed to meet the child’s current level or stages of development (Edwards and Hammer 2006, as cited in Edwards, p. 11). This combined with a continued emphasis on providing children with opportunities to interact with materials, contributed to the notion of ‘developmentally appropriate practice’, otherwise known as DAP (Bredekamp and copple as cited in Edwards p. 9).
Although, the Piagetian practice emphasizes on ages and stages and a child-centered environment; links to the process of teaching and learning and that teachers and students could engage in are minimal (Edwards, p 11) . What’s missing is sustained conversation or play with an adult, high complexity of play activities and lively purposeful involvement leading to creative, exciting discovery