Thank You!

There is so much wonderful knowledge and insight that is shared every week through our discussions and blog posts. It is hard to just thank one or two people for their gracious comments and additions to our posts back and forth. I have gained much respect for everyone that chooses to share with us their personal experiences so we can all learn and grow as early childhood professionals. If I do need to thank specific colleagues for their Blogs, I would have to say thank you Dalhia Lloyd, Laura Vasquez and Samantha Testa for always putting your heart into what you write and sharing your personal experiences with us. I hope to work with you in the future!

When I think about child devlopment....

I found two quotes about child development that I really enjoyed. I hope you like them as well.

"The child's personality is a product of slow gradual growth. His nervous system matures by stages and natural sequences. He sits before he stands; he babbles before he talks; he fabricates before he tells the truth; he draws a circle before he draws a square; he is selfish before he is altruistic; he is dependent on others before he achieves dependence on self. All of his abilities, including his morals, are subject to laws of growth. The task of child care is not to force him into a predetermined pattern but to guide his growth."

Arnold Gesell

"If nature has commanded that of all the animals, infancy shall last longest in human beings--it is because nature knows how many rivers there are to cross and paths to retrace. Nature provides time for mistakes to be corrected (by both children and adults), for prejudices to overcome, and for children to catch their breath and restore their image of themselves, peers, parents, teachers, and the world."

Loris Malaguzzi

Testing for Intelligence

Children need to be motivated and engaged in the classroom or there will be no higher order thinking going on. Also, a child needs to be safe and healthy for any learning to be had. Looking at assessment in regards to the whole child seems to be a way for every aspect of a child’s developmental needs to be addressed. I came across a website the other day while doing some research on assessments, and I found an article that speaks about assessing through the student’s eyes. I was hooked to read further into what they had to say. Rick Stiggins is the author that talks about a new vision for assessments that taps into the confidence, motivation and learning potential within each student. What they did was examine assessments through the eyes of the assessment winners and assessment losers. They want to make the dynamic of assessments to support learning, which they call this assessment for learning. 

Extensive research conducted around the world shows that by consistently applying the principles of assessment for learning, we can produce impressive gains in student achievement, especially for struggling learners (Black & Wiliam, 1998). The starting point of assessment for learning is the teachers sharing achievement targets with students. The teachers will present to the students the expectations in a language that they are able to comprehend and process, as well as examples of commendable student work. What makes this type of assessment great for students is that there are frequent self assessments that provide them, as well as their teachers, with continued descriptive feedback they can manage effectively. This way the students can track their path toward the achievement targets that have been established by the teacher. I love when the students are in full control of their educational development. They get to use the feedback gained from the assessments to see where they are now in relation to where they want to be and discover how to do better the next time. Students are able to set their own goals on their journey toward achievement. This assessment for learning gives the teachers and students the opportunity to work together and it provides them both with information they can use immediately to improve the students’ performance. 

Unfortunately, I have seen so many children fail under the pressure of standardized tests. I feel there should be some alternative to these old fashion tests, something that is geared more toward the student and the age level. There were so many times I knew some of my students knew the information, but froze when the test was in front of them. Looking at the whole child perspective on things seems to be a better way of looking toward assessing children with their academic and emotional status in mind. 

When I was researching information about assessments in other areas of the world I was intrigued about how high student achievements rates are in Finland and why that was. FInnish citizens hold teachers in high regard and is one of the most competitive fields, even above medicine and law. In the 1980’s Finland abolished standardized tests and went with a trust based system where teachers have a certain freedom to teach with creativity. Also in Finland students are in school 2 to 3 hours less than students in the U.S., which gives the students more time to work on their studies and teachers more time to prepare fantastic lessons. With that said Finland is the highest performing nation. 

 What Accounts for Finland's High Student Achievement Rate?, Asia Society. Retrieved from: http://asiasociety.org/education/learning-world/what-accounts-finlands-high-student-achievement-rate

Stiggens, Rick. (2007) Assessment Through the Student’s Eyes.  Educating the Whole Child, Volume 64 (8), pages 22-26.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may07/vol64/num08/Assessment-Through-the-Student's-Eyes.aspx