PRS101Y Study Notes – Study Guide 2
Study unit 1: Purpose of assessment in early childhood teaching
Children between the ages of three and six attend an ECD (early childhood development)
centre.
1.1. Introduction
Assessment is one of the most difficult tasks a educator has to carry out, and because it is
so difficult, it is often done incorrectly, or completely ignored. Assessment is a vital part of
good teaching. It is one of the essential building blocks in the planning and presentation of
successful developmentally appropriate presentations and activities for a group in a ECD
centre.
1.2. What is the difference between evaluation and assessment?
Evaluation means making a value judgement about something according to a specific
set of standards/measurements
Assessment is a process of gathering information to make decisions about the child
1.3. Purpose of assessing the young child
- Planning your teaching:
It is not possible to plan developmentally appropriate themes and activities for
children in an ECD centre unless you know your children. The information gathered
from your assessment of the children will give very important guidelines for your
planning of suitable themes and activities. Assessment gives you a starting point
from which you can make teaching decisions about learning outcomes, teaching
methods and how to plan the playroom.
- Improving your teaching:
Assessment is the foundation for effective teaching. Through assessment we can
adjust or modify our teaching appropriately, thereby improving on our teaching
efforts.
- Parent guidance and assistance
Give parents educational guidance. You can only advise/help parents who have
problems with their child if you have an in depth knowledge of their child.
- Assessment of the child’s level of development
Assessment is important to meet three important needs:
To plan developmentally appropriate themes and activities:
You need to determine the developmental level of every child in your group
so that you can plan and present developmentally appropriate theme and
activities.
To identify children with learning and development barriers:
When you identify a child who may have a serious barrier, the strategy to
follow includes referral to specialists. In situations like these you will need
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, detailed documentation of your assessment of the child. Assessment records
will serve as a basis of communication with professionals.
To adapt teaching to help children with special needs:
The educator’s assessment records are important sources from which to
choose appropriate teaching methods and strategies to help the child. These
records also provide a starting point for ongoing assessment of the
effectiveness of interventions.
Study unit 2: Principles for the true and trustworthy assessment of young children
2.1. Introduction
One of the most important criticisms of assessment in early childhood is that the educator
makes decisions about the child based on personal feelings. This criticism is valid. There
can be no such thing as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.
2.2. The nine rules for true and reliable assessment
Rule 1 – Each child is a unique person.
This means that the educator should:
Assess the child’s unique, individual pattern of development
Not categorise/label the child
Not use words such as ‘naughty’, ‘lazy’, or ‘highly gifted’ to describe a child
Be careful not to over stress certain negative/positive behaviour
Rule 2 – Assess the whole child.
Make sure that you:
Do not have only one assessment of the child
Assess the child under different circumstances and during different activities
Assess the child over the course of the whole day
The assessment involves all aspects of the child and does not reflect a one sided
view of the child
Rule 3 – Assess the child in a variety of situations and use a variety of methods.
When you assess a child, make sure of:
Different assessment methods (discussed in units 4 & 5)
Various settings inside and outside the playroom
Various times of the day
Rule 4 – Assess both the learning process and the outcomes.
In assessment it is very important to assess the learning process. The process the child
follows to reach an answer tells us more about the child’s development than the mere end
product does. When assessing the process, it is also possible for the educator to:
Help the child who struggles
Page | 2
Study unit 1: Purpose of assessment in early childhood teaching
Children between the ages of three and six attend an ECD (early childhood development)
centre.
1.1. Introduction
Assessment is one of the most difficult tasks a educator has to carry out, and because it is
so difficult, it is often done incorrectly, or completely ignored. Assessment is a vital part of
good teaching. It is one of the essential building blocks in the planning and presentation of
successful developmentally appropriate presentations and activities for a group in a ECD
centre.
1.2. What is the difference between evaluation and assessment?
Evaluation means making a value judgement about something according to a specific
set of standards/measurements
Assessment is a process of gathering information to make decisions about the child
1.3. Purpose of assessing the young child
- Planning your teaching:
It is not possible to plan developmentally appropriate themes and activities for
children in an ECD centre unless you know your children. The information gathered
from your assessment of the children will give very important guidelines for your
planning of suitable themes and activities. Assessment gives you a starting point
from which you can make teaching decisions about learning outcomes, teaching
methods and how to plan the playroom.
- Improving your teaching:
Assessment is the foundation for effective teaching. Through assessment we can
adjust or modify our teaching appropriately, thereby improving on our teaching
efforts.
- Parent guidance and assistance
Give parents educational guidance. You can only advise/help parents who have
problems with their child if you have an in depth knowledge of their child.
- Assessment of the child’s level of development
Assessment is important to meet three important needs:
To plan developmentally appropriate themes and activities:
You need to determine the developmental level of every child in your group
so that you can plan and present developmentally appropriate theme and
activities.
To identify children with learning and development barriers:
When you identify a child who may have a serious barrier, the strategy to
follow includes referral to specialists. In situations like these you will need
Page | 1
, detailed documentation of your assessment of the child. Assessment records
will serve as a basis of communication with professionals.
To adapt teaching to help children with special needs:
The educator’s assessment records are important sources from which to
choose appropriate teaching methods and strategies to help the child. These
records also provide a starting point for ongoing assessment of the
effectiveness of interventions.
Study unit 2: Principles for the true and trustworthy assessment of young children
2.1. Introduction
One of the most important criticisms of assessment in early childhood is that the educator
makes decisions about the child based on personal feelings. This criticism is valid. There
can be no such thing as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.
2.2. The nine rules for true and reliable assessment
Rule 1 – Each child is a unique person.
This means that the educator should:
Assess the child’s unique, individual pattern of development
Not categorise/label the child
Not use words such as ‘naughty’, ‘lazy’, or ‘highly gifted’ to describe a child
Be careful not to over stress certain negative/positive behaviour
Rule 2 – Assess the whole child.
Make sure that you:
Do not have only one assessment of the child
Assess the child under different circumstances and during different activities
Assess the child over the course of the whole day
The assessment involves all aspects of the child and does not reflect a one sided
view of the child
Rule 3 – Assess the child in a variety of situations and use a variety of methods.
When you assess a child, make sure of:
Different assessment methods (discussed in units 4 & 5)
Various settings inside and outside the playroom
Various times of the day
Rule 4 – Assess both the learning process and the outcomes.
In assessment it is very important to assess the learning process. The process the child
follows to reach an answer tells us more about the child’s development than the mere end
product does. When assessing the process, it is also possible for the educator to:
Help the child who struggles
Page | 2
