Methods of Authentic Assessment in Early Childhood Education

Discuss about the Provision of Authentic Environment.

Accurate valuations can be done in early infant tutorial rooms at any time. Same criteria can be used because toddlers and preschoolers need similar schooling environment. Various occasions are available for educators to grasp learning activities as they take place in the situation of a young kid on a daily basis. Through interrelating with their nobles by way of role play by using open-ended material resources, kids start to show some of the skills and ideas they have understood. However, the general authentic process involves observation, recording, and documentation on how kids demonstrate skills and the concepts introduced to them (Patel et al., 2015).  Moreover, it comprises of various tools that give the required representation about learning and development, which includes other work samples.

One essential advantage of a dependable environment is that it ensures that no disruption to the kid’s learning. However, this kind of an evaluation tends to notify teaching and education procedure in a manner that permits educators to give response to knowledge in a customizable manner (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2014). For example, when instructors get involved in children’s play, they tend to ask them open questions which relate to the activities the kids are doing at the time. The questions require critical thinking as in order to elicit satisfactory responses and critical thinking among the children. Toddlers or preschoolers learn at this stage of development through imitating others.

As part of the authentic setting, the uncertainties as to when the plan should apply during the assessment ought to be addresses. In this case, teachers ought to be keen to change their tactic daily in order to make the sessions as interesting as possible. It is paramount for teachers observe the behaviors of kids daily in which direct observation method is critical (Summerfield, 2016). It helps them to scrutinize how children express and relate to the knowledge gained in preceding sessions. Moreover, reflection on several aspects of the gained knowledge can be seen through the actions of the kids as they relate to each other as well as their instructors (Glavin et al., 2015). This helps the teacher to focus and rectify aspects that are not in line with the expected outcomes. Also, multiple sources of information such as anecdotal notes can assist in assessing the kids as required. In this case, the teacher can move to audio and video recording to aid in collecting the samples to serve as evidence to the families about the progress made.

The Significance of a Dependable Environment for Authentic Assessment

A considerate nature of growth, development and learning during early childhood, right from birth generates guidelines which inform the practices of early childhood educators. In this case, it requires that guides or teachers integrate all scopes of their information base (Hirschland, 2015). They need to understand about kid’s development and the effects on this information as a component of the curriculum, how to explain, what to teach, and how to measure what kids have studied. Moreover, the kid’s strengths and weaknesses, needs, and interests can be evaluated (Noble, Gray & Johnston, 2016). Some of the guidelines that elucidate the children’s development help create creation of a helpful society of learners. In addition, it helps teach facilitation of the learning and progress and establishment reciprocal relationships with their families. In essence, developmental and appropriate practices can deprive of the deep information and knowledge of individual kids and the context in which they learn and develop.

The research done on risks associated with achieving physical development and outcome in children implies that there exist highly prevalent factors which affect them, especially in developing countries. For instance, a kid’s mind, throughout the initial stages of life is undergoing rapid development in which neurons series, axonal, synaptogenesis and growth of dendric’s are specializing and adapting to their functions (Hutchison, 2013). Ideally, kid’s development is cumulative and thus, making it a foundation for later development. Information and data have been constructed, and issues have been reviewed from it. So, influences on the kid’s development tend to be particular about developmental effects which hardly operate from the other. Development threat factors incline to cluster together so; interferences are considered to ease development from various domains.

Several socio-demographic parameters and health forecasters of deferred behavioral growth are collective in most evolving countries and are probable to affect the general development of toddlers and young kids (Nelson, Fox & Zeanah, 2014). In this case, growth valuation is the crucial constituent in pediatric health investigation since every challenge inside physiologic and communal domain can greatly disturb the growth of kids (In Sriprakash& In Hopkins, 2015). Moreover, development is multi-determined, through varying nutritional functions and genetic inheritance in a particular cultural context. Recent years have seen deviations in societal opinions in children’s competencies and flexibility.

By seeing children as effectively accountable and skilled in their studies or lack thereof, it prompts discernment that kids should be shielded from their insufficiencies. These tendencies have added sets of limits on children’s investigation and access to outside the free show occasions. For instance, taking breaks from their studies and use of play spaces in 16 childcare centers, Herrington contended that the Canadian’s Standards for kids’ play spaces and hardware could not be able to mirror children’s formative and play needs, but instead they are objectives of diminishment. In this situation, studying factors which influence the competence of a child, and most sides of an individual’s capability are multi-determined (Kail, 2012). This implies that interferences intended to enhance progress should be multifocal as it integrates impacts from diverse domains. Secondly, the effects upon children’s progress tend to be explicit in appearance. Hence, it reinforces the significance of targeting particular interventions to specific results (Levy & McNeill, 2015). Thirdly, an individual’s development impacts rarely operate in separation from the other. So, development risk issues appear to group together as defensive influences. In essence, the degree of effects in given developing risk factor will rely on that level which it co-varies with more risk factors. Lastly, developmental threat and shielding factors work across timeframe to augment an individual’s susceptibility to later risk factors.

Observation and Documentation in Authentic Assessment

In considering the major factors which affect child development, an influence of nutrition has a great impact on growth and development. Undernutrition, protein undernourishment and micronutrient shortages affect many facets of kids’ improvement (Saran et al., 2016). As a result, it retards the physical and cognitive growth, thus, increasing the chances of contracting infection and diseases. Furthermore, it increases the probability of being malnourished, cognitive effects, and poor motor development which undermine educational attainment (Kyei-Berko et al., 2015). However, the worldwide community has selected splitting the occurrence of underweight kids by 2015 as the main pointer of advancement towards the progress of Millennium Goal. Concisely, undernourished children who are at high risk are those of three years and below. Besides, nutritional deficiencies and high rate of infectious diseases have overwhelming special effects on the growth of young children. In relation, the link between paucity and child growth is not only affected but also a key concern in most of the developed nations where there are parts of poverty, gender, ethnicity, education, and income.

The values of risk-taking with the aim of promoting the well-being of children improve the children’s health. Being socially and emotionally well-being is influenced by the set of factors from individual make-up and family background in which children live. So, promotion of the well-being of kids provides a basis of personal competencies such as self-resilience which assist in protecting against risks related to social disadvantage (Mace & Rabins, 2017). Moreover, early intervention in childhood period can assist in reducing physical and mental health challenges and preventing social dysfunction from being carried from one generation to another. Another justification is that it improves social and economic outcomes. For kids, and young people with poor social, and psychological health there is an increased chance of poor social and economic effects both in short and long-term. Hence, the value of risk-taking towards monitoring early childhood development enhances improvement in social outcomes.

The levels of physical activities being done by children are crucial in assisting in developing insolences, skills, and deeds for health and enduring bodily activity. Formation of robust relations to occasions for carnal activity both at residential places and in societies is basic to emerging active life culture for children and also families (Mace & Rabins, 2017). However, many sectors of initial year’s labor force contribute towards inspiring and subsidiary active and healthy routines among children. Active playing and physical movements have positive effects in developing skills and bonding among kids. For toddlers and preschoolers, learning and movement are interdependent thus, encourages parents to interact and play with their babies and in return build a sense of wellbeing which is crucial throughout childhood and adult life (Naftali, 2014). The aspect can be reinforced by through establishing routines from early childhood to encourage the children’s enjoyment of physical activities making parents be role models.

Guidelines for Early Childhood Educators in Authentic Assessment

In conclusion, providing a challenging and an authentic environment for toddlers and young children is a process which entails many steps. The process requires an authentic plan which provides instructors or teachers with necessary information for planning and enhancing children’s playing activities to include the content of particular experiences for social and literacy studies. Also, from authentic assessment, the instructor can examine an individual child with special focus on the strengths or weaknesses based on perspective and incorporation of individual interests and other unique qualities. Regarding the whole process, proper design and development of classroom environment can be implemented. Moreover, selection of activities to scaffold kid’s learning can be done intentionally to create a relationship between assessment and development of appropriate curriculum.

References

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Hutchison, E. D. (2013). Essentials of human behavior: Integrating person, environment, and the life course. Los Angeles: SAGE.

In Sriprakash, A., & In Hopkins, L. (2015). The ‘Poor Child’: The cultural politics of education, development and childhood.

KAIL, R. O. (2012). Human development: A life-span view. Place of publication not identified: Cengage learning custom p.

Kyei-Berko, S., Mtshali, L. A., Teferi, D. A., Adu-Parkoh, P., Dwamena-Aboagye, A., Ark Foundation, & Ghana. (2015). Identifying child abuse in the school environment: A manual for teachers, caregivers, parents and students.

Levy, E. T., & McNeill, D. (2015). Narrative development in young children: Gesture, imagery, and cohesion.

Mace, N. L., &Rabins, P. V. (2017). The 36-hour day: A family guide to caring for people who have Alzheimer disease, other dementias, and memory loss.

Mace, N. L., &Rabins, P. V. (2017). The 36-hour day: A family guide to caring for people who have Alzheimer disease, other dementias, and memory loss.

Naftali, O. (2014). Children, rights and modernity in China: Raising self-governing citizens.

Nelson, C. A., Fox, N. A., &Zeanah, C. H. (2014). Romania’s abandoned children: Deprivation, brain development, and the struggle for recovery.

Noble, C., Gray, M., & Johnston, L. (2016). Critical supervision for the human services: A social model to promote learning and values-based practice.

Patel, D., Alexander, C. M., Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally,, & Financing Investments in Young Children Globally (Workshop). (2015). Financing investments in young children globally: Summary of a joint workshop by the Institute of Medicine, National Research Council, and the Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development, Ambedkar University, Delhi.

Saran, I., Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University,, Cohen, J., Reich, M., & McConnell, M. (2016). Health Behaviors in the Context of Malaria Treatment in Uganda.

Summerfield, L. (2016). Nutrition, exercise, and behavior: An integrated approach to weight management.