Curriculum Manager, Amelio Child Care Construction of an Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Development in the World of DiscoveryTM Curriculum Divya Palaniappan Curriculum Manager, Amelio Child Care Confidential – Do Not Distribute

Importance of Early Childhood Education Courtesy: permanentfund.org A child's potential is determined in the early years [1]

Assessment of Early Childhood Curriculum Early Childhood Program Quality of Curriculum An Effective Assessment Tool Need for an effective Assessment Tool

Drawbacks of Existing Assessment Tools Early Childhood Program 1. Measures only few areas Quality of Curriculum An Effective Assessment Tool 2. Informal Techniques 3. Observer’s Bias Construct a quantitative Assessment Tool that evaluates the effectiveness of curriculum and the progress of each child’s development

“Play” as an Essential Early Childhood Framework Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning – Fred Rogers Play enhances a child’s social competence, creativity, language development and thinking capacity [2]

Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory Zone of proximal development What is known? What is not known? Skills too difficult for a child to master on his/her own that can be done through guidance and encouragement from a knowledgeable person

World of DiscoveryTM Curriculum Multiple Intelligence Every child is unique….so is their intelligence profile – Howard Gardner Courtesy: connectionsacademy.com

A new theme is introduced to the children every week World of DiscoveryTM Curriculum How do we focus on Multiple Intelligence A new theme is introduced to the children every week Every activity in the World of DiscoveryTM curriculum is designed to cater to every child irrespective of their dominant intelligence Rhyme Musical Counting or Puzzles Mathematical Craft Kinesthetic

Cognitive Development – Counting Corner

Benefits of World of DiscoveryTM Activities are designed to strengthen the following developments Cognitive Language Social and Emotional Physical Circle time, Rhyme, Story Rhyme, Story, Pretend Play Circle time, Group games, Activity corners Scarf dance, Outdoor, Rhymes, Craft

Development parameters measured using the Assessment Tool Physical development Fine-Motor skills Gross-Motor skills Hand-eye coordination Cognitive development Memory Attention span Sorting Symbolic Play Perceptual reasoning Comprehension Counting Comparison Colors Shapes Language development Recalls – ability to narrate Communicates in words Communicates in sentences Social development Co-operative play Adherence to rules Interaction with peers Conflict Resolution Emotional development Empathy Self-Control

Construction of an Assessment Tool for the World of DiscoveryTM Curriculum 5 point rating scale (1-need to catch up, 2 – Just there, 3- normal, 4-remarkable and 5- extraordinary) Data were collected for a period of 3 months across 10 centres in Chennai, India Average scores of 100 children aged between 2.5 to 3.5 years was collected Norms were arrived at using Mean and S.D. of the data (µ value, µ+1 σ and µ -1 σ ) The tool renders a convenient framework to evaluate each child during the activity.

A snapshot of the Assessment Tool Name of the child   Class Days Present Week Starting Week Ending Age Parameters Activity Remarks Circle Time Rhyme Time Story Time Play Corner 1 Play Corner 2 Play Corner 3 Art and Craft Scarf Dance Group Games Average Cognitive Development Memory Attention Span Sorting Symbolic Play Puzzles - Perceptual Reasoning Understands Simple Instructions Counting Comparison Colors Shapes

Results – Cognitive Vs. Physical Development A child’s physical development has positive effects on a child’s cognitive development and intellectual capability [3]

Results – Comparison of Average Scores Based on these evaluation reports, a teacher can customize activities to a child’s ability

Conclusion The Assessment Tool enables Early Childhood Educators to evaluate a child’s development and also to assess the quality of the program Results indicated high correlation between Physical and Cognitive development This result corroborated that ‘Play’ renders the basis for dynamic intellectual activity thereby establishing face validity of the tool The average scores across centres indicated the subjective difficulty level of each activity The individual difficulty level for each child can be increased or decreased by observing the performance of the child over time The activities designed as part of the curriculum can be revisited based on the scores obtained in order to devise an efficient system that caters to the needs of the child.

Thank you ! For Further information, please contact: Divya Palaniappan Curriculum Manager, Amelio Child Care Mobile: +91-9500029797 (India) Mailto: curriculum@ameliochildcare.com

References [1] Simmons, T., & Sheehan, R. (1997). Brain research manifests importance of first years. The News & Observer [2] Fromberg, D. P., & Gullo, D. F. (1992). Perspectives on Children. Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Education, eds, 191-194. [3] Sibley, B. A., & Etnier, J. L. (2003). The relationship between physical activity and cognition in children: a meta-analysis. Pediatric Exercise Science, 15(3), 243-256.