Assessment in the Early Childhood Classroom

Teaching and assessment are complementary processes; one activity informs the other. This course therefore seeks to increase student teachers’ knowledge of the range of assessment strategies that are appropriate for the developmental needs of the young child. Assessment is used to inform pedagogy, improve students’ learning and make valued judgement about students’ progress. Student teachers will be introduced to the various issues in assessing children- birth to eight years – and equip them with the skills to: observe and document children’s experiences, analyse students’ progress, design assessments which will modify teaching instructions to better meet the needs of the individual child. Effective assessment strategies require student teachers to understand each child’s performance through developmentally appropriate expectations. The information will be disseminated through lecture sessions, discussions, small group work, oral presentations, simulations, and case studies.