If children are not taken care of, whatever else we do won't matter much.
- Hillary Rodham Clinton
Many things we need can wait, the child cannot........
To them we cannot say tomorrow, their name is today.
-Gabriella Marella
When we give unconditional love to children, we give the most valuable gift we have.
- Katherine M. Olson
Childhood is terribly perishable. It is always under siege.
- Jim Greenman
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Testing for intelligence?
I do not believe that we should test children for intelligence. I think that rather than measuring one part of their development we should take a whole child approach in order to track their developmental needs and progress in all domains. As an early childhood educator and childcare center administrator I have made the choice to take the portfolio approach with the children that we serve.
At my center we do the DIAL-4 assessment with children as they turn 3 years old. We use this assessment ONLY as a screening tool to determine if further assessment is needed due to developmental concerns. This tool is not meant to be a pre/post assessment as some early childhood educators are wrongly advocating. It is merely a snapshot in time to help determine if the child needs further evaluation.
Our portfolio collection contains many items. We take regular anecdotal records on each child and plan our learning activities based on their interests and developmental levels. We also include works sample of their writing, art, and other creative activities. We take photos of them as then interact socially with their peers and as they work on projects in centers or within small groups. We also collect answers from a small interest survey with them 3 times during the year and make tape recordings of their language activities and interactions with other. It is delightful to watch the progress that each child makes during the year and have the ability to share the information with their parents. Assessing a child in this manner allows us to create a classroom full of meaningful learning and fun for every child.
I chose to research Finland's approach to assessment because I have a friend who recently moved to Finland as part of a 5-year teaching program. I am most impressed with their approach to assessment and to education in general. Please check out the link below. You will not be disappointed!
http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2-11-12?op=1#ixzz2E7RcfvyM
At my center we do the DIAL-4 assessment with children as they turn 3 years old. We use this assessment ONLY as a screening tool to determine if further assessment is needed due to developmental concerns. This tool is not meant to be a pre/post assessment as some early childhood educators are wrongly advocating. It is merely a snapshot in time to help determine if the child needs further evaluation.
Our portfolio collection contains many items. We take regular anecdotal records on each child and plan our learning activities based on their interests and developmental levels. We also include works sample of their writing, art, and other creative activities. We take photos of them as then interact socially with their peers and as they work on projects in centers or within small groups. We also collect answers from a small interest survey with them 3 times during the year and make tape recordings of their language activities and interactions with other. It is delightful to watch the progress that each child makes during the year and have the ability to share the information with their parents. Assessing a child in this manner allows us to create a classroom full of meaningful learning and fun for every child.
I chose to research Finland's approach to assessment because I have a friend who recently moved to Finland as part of a 5-year teaching program. I am most impressed with their approach to assessment and to education in general. Please check out the link below. You will not be disappointed!
http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2-11-12?op=1#ixzz2E7RcfvyM
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