Just a note of thanks....

unfortunately our class (Early Childhood Development) has come to an end.  I would like to thank all of the people who were in my class:Anna Ciezczyk,  Zeina Matar-Ghantous, Sandra Weller, Quintel Henry, Carol Green, Stephaine Courtney, Pamela Le, Bonnie Baker, Trinisha Gross, DEONDREA QUARLES, Randee Holmes, Brenda Jones, Jamilla Philson,   Lanyan Lu, Bertina Turner, Falicia Coleman, and of course the instructor  Nanette Schonleber (Dr. Sherri).  From all of you I have learned a lot more than you could ever imagine.  The course would not have been what it was if you were not in it.  I love gaining experience through looking at the world from the view point of my classmates.  I wish all of you the most success and hope that you complete your program in a timely manner.  Remember the first step has already been taken, so you are already on your way to a brighter future, just stay with it and do not throw in the towel and you will be fine.  Thanks for all of your posts and comments and don't be strangers.  Stop in and read my posts from time to time.  Have a wonderful future! 

A positive quote....

Anonymous
"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

This is a great quote that should remind you that wether you like it or not there is a child who is ALWAYS watching you, so make the choice to become a great role model.  If not for you, do it for the future of the child.

Testing for Intelligence?

 

            When you view children holistically it means looking at the whole child and not just considering one aspect of the child’s growth.  For example, you have to consider the artistic level, the cognitive, the motor skills, language, literacy, and so many other areas.  As well, it must be included with the nutrition level and the medical level of the child.  Any education that has been in the field for a while knows that the child will not respond well to the daily activities if they are hungry or sick.  When it comes to children being tested, they need to be tested on their maturation level and not just their age level.  So often psychologist lead us to be that children at a certain age should be doing certain things, but the fact is some children are not ready for such things.  When they can’t perform the functions that we assume that they should be able to we label them.  Some of the tests that are performed on children are inaccurate because they simply were not having a good day.  Even as adults, we have good days and bad days.  I would not want to be tested on one of my bad days, would you?

            However, there are some things that should be measured because they can prevent developmental delay.  For example, motor skills must be measured.  For children they definitely should be walking at least by the age 18 months.  If they are not maybe there are some skills that are going to be different for this child, or maybe they are just lazy.  Language skills should be measured because, they should be babbling and trying to start holographic speech early, but they could be a late talker as well.  If they are not speaking they should be at least pointing or communicating however they can.  When we look at the middle agers there are some factors that come into play as well.  This group covers from age seven to eleven.  There vocabulary should be filled with words, and they should understand grammar.  They should running instead or just walking.  They should understand cause and effect, and problem solving skills.  Social skills are big for this age group because it determines how well they will perform in society.  They need to know how to make friends even if they don’t want them.  These categories should be measured: motor skills, cognitive, emotional, social and language.

            Children are assessed differently depending are where they are located.  Science and math are measured through Trends in science and math study (TIMSS) in East Asia and their scores are always on top.  Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is how reading is measured where Canadian children from western provinces are significantly close to the top.  Russia scored first, but Africa and Middle Eastern groups scored very low. (Berger 367)  In the USA we use several different testing methods to retrieve student’s achievement scores.  Each teacher uses a curriculum that is provided by the school for lesson planning.  The teacher makes anecdotal notes to record the children’s level.  There are several different tests given, such as Map testing.  Most of the test is to see how much growth the child has made over the course of the year.  Testing can be a very good teaching tool when it is done accurately.  The teacher needs to ensure that the child has seen the information that they are being tested on before the test.  They need to ensure the child has eaten and had plenty of rest.  Also, it is very important that the child knows to just do their best, but it’s only a test.  Often times there is so much pressure placed upon a test that the children never stood a chance.  With all of these tasks in mind, testing can only be a success for everyone in the end.     

Reference

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.