Assessment is a key component of learning because it helps students to know about their learning levels. But, how do assessments help young learners in their holistic development, explores Elets News Network (ENN).

Early childhood education, which emerged only in the last few decades, comes with a horde of benefits ranging from better socialising skills, exposure to diversity, greater coordination skills, and increased level of confidence and creativity.

However, we must never underestimate the power of early learning systems and programmes and we also need to understand how critical assessments are when it comes to evaluating and improving these very programmes so as to suit the different developmental needs of children. This is where the concept of regular assessments comes into picture. Why are assessments important when it comes to early childhood education? Can these assessments be used to ensure that a child gains the most when it comes to their journey of learning?

Unlike standardised tests, that all our little ones may be exposed to as they grow older, preschool assessments do not come with right or wrong answers. They are in fact means of evaluating a child’s social, emotional and cognitive skills so that the programmes can be fine-tuned to meet their development needs. Regular assessments, therefore, help an educator plan individualised instructions for a child as well as for a group of children who are in the same developmental stage.

Methods of assessments are widespread from observing a child interacting in their different learning zones to the maintenance of regular records for every child and to assessment tools that are useful in evaluating a child’s social, emotional and cognitive abilities. The assessment methods range from formal methods to those that guide decisions around a child’s performance in a particular programme.

According to Priya Krishnan, CEO and Founder, KLAY Prep Schools and Daycare, “It is important for us to understand that no child learns at the same pace and what may work for one child may not for another. However, it is only through observing and documenting a child’s performance over the course of a year or over a few months, that an educator can gather details on a child’s development. Incorporating changes post-these assessments can go a long way when it comes to making programmes richer and more beneficial for our little ones.”

It is important to stress on early learning systems and educational assessments but at the same time it is equally important to keep in mind that a programme can have maximum impact on a child’s life only when parents and teachers will be in coordination with each other for kids’ education. They have to work together towards supporting a child intellectually and socially in their crucial formative years.

Assessments, if correctly and carefully conducted, are a valuable aid when it comes to discovering and nurturing children to reach their maximum potential. However, in the process, we as parents and educators must not forget that at the end of the day, learning is also about having lots of fun. The moment we eliminate fun from a child’s life, an entire educational programme will be meaningless.

Let us, as educators and parents, make learning a joyful experience and proudly watch our children turning into confident and sensitive human beings ready to take on the world!

The growing use of technology in education is helping kids to improve their learning outcomes in lesser time, writes Lina Ashar, Founder, Kangaroo Kids Preschool and Billabong High International, for Elets News Network (ENN).

In his famous article “Software eats the world” which turned out to be quite prophetic, Marc Andreesesen, creator of Netscape browser, predicted that more and more physical world services and goods will turn digital as the technology will progress.

Think of anything that you do daily; a tremendous amount of digital technology is involved with it. Some of them are tangible like Google Maps, Email, WhatsApp, smartphones, computers, TVs and pictures that you use daily.

Some are not tangible but, the food you buy at super market, the flight you take, the news you read and full body health check-ups are only possible because of the advent progress of digital technology behind them.

The integration of technology in every field is accelerating with aggressive adoption of machine learning, artificial intelligence and smart and IoT enabled devices.

A vast majority of Indian parents and educators started their life in pre-computer, preinternet era. Their education was based on text books, hearsay and parents’ wisdom. They saw the arrival of TV, cable TV, computers, internet, and smart phones.

Remember the hue and cry when TVs first made it to homes and Doordarshan introduced Chitrahaar and Sunday movies? A lot of parents thought that was going to spoil their kids and it would affect their young minds.

Then came the cable TV with different channels related to news, entertainment and music etc, TV became a 24X7 phenomenon and once again parents and educators struggled how to live with this phenomenon to regulate the TV time for children. Today, almost every household has television as an essential appliance. It has become a part of our lives.

Computers were lucky. Initially they were tools for coding and were revered. Then they were connected to the Internet. Internet opened a world of unlimited online gaming to comics to music and to movies. Once again, there was a huge resistance in allowing kids to browse Internet. Today, a laptop or a desktop connected to Internet is essential in any household and nobody can imagine not letting children use a computer.

When we look back, on introduction of new technology, the generation comfortable with the technology’s previous versions was always apprehensive of the modern technology. But the new generation figured out a way to harness it and to invent the new set of tools for using new versions of technology.

The current generation of kids is going to start learning, communication, creative expression, and media consumption on a smart mobile device. They are our “Mobile First Kids.

Today, we are living in a smart phone era. Almost everything that we used to do on computers 10 years ago is now on smart phones. The current generation of kids is going to start learning, communication, creative expression, and media consumption on a smart mobile device. They are our “Mobile First Kids”. Just like every technology wave that came in the past, mobile comes with a good side and a bad side.

The bad side is – addiction, lack of tactile experiences, being exposed to bad content, less playtime and missing on interpersonal skills. The upside is that the best of the best educators around the world are curating and creating educational content for kids to learn and explore on their own.

There are thousands of amazing learning tools, millions of how to do videos and hundreds of millions of kids are online around the world to form groups, develop interests and create amazing stuff that was not possible just a decade ago.

Once again, parents, educators and society in general have widely diverse views on whether kids should allow to use an iPad or a Smartphone. Irrespective of our views and apprehensions, the kids have already embraced these devices. It is their tool to build their future and the future is only getting more digital and more technologically advanced.

The good news is, there are several best practices that can be easily implemented both at school and at home. Government agencies, NGOs and peer funded focus groups all over the world are studying the impact of mobile in a child’s life and are coming with simple guidelines to mitigate the negative effects and to make the best use of it.

As guardians, it’s our job to educate ourselves and to educate our children about how to use these devices with discipline and structure. One day, which is not too far, they will, in turn, educate us about the new wonderful possibilities. (Disclaimer: Views expressed by the author are a personal opinion.)

Parental encouragement and support for learning activities at home combined with parental involvement in preschooling are critical to kids’ education, writes Hazel Siromoni, Managing Director-South Asia, Maple Bear, for Elets News Network (ENN).

Parenting is becoming complex with each new day though the emotions behind parenting remain the same irrespective of generations. At Maple Bear, we are very clear in sharing with parents that they are equally important in their children’s academic and nonacademic development.

We find that it is extremely important that a child doesn’t get confused by receiving two sets of messages one in his/her school and the other at home. It is a well proven fact that the communication and partnership between the school and parents is imperative for the child’s holistic development. We have observed that parents’ engagement in early childhood education impacts their child’s development positively. Parents cannot absolve themselves from their responsibility just by having sent their child to a preschool. Rather all of just have to work together in providing a facilitative environment which is engaging, filled with care, love, learning and growth.

Enough science and research has proven in all spheres be it psychologically, academically, emotionally or physically that these early years are the most important years for our children and young learners. This investment is also the basis to strengthening our children to be able to handle both success and failures. Emotional Quotient (EQ) of children is equally more important as of Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

One may find nowadays that our young people are getting overwhelmed with challenges and responding to opportunities wherein they find themselves ill-equipped in making choices, decisions without getting stressed. All this is linked to the experiences in the early years and if we all want to have a generation of sensitive, empathetic, resilient, innovative, excellence demanding leaders, it is important for parents, teachers and school administration to work together without creating lines that are more divisive than collaborative.

One very significant outcome is that this kind of parent engagement as partners allows the children to see the most important people of their lives working together, providing them a sense of comfort, confidence and ability to focus on learning.

Montessori is a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. It is a unique way of learning for children aged zero to six. In Montessori classrooms, children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process and maximise their potential. It’s a high-quality early childhood education programme and designed for the holistic development of children. It offers protection for a child’s playtime and makes sure he or she is ready to acquire further knowledge.

The practical approach of a preschool education pattern helps in children’s sense of competence and self-growth as they get ready to be future leaders. Montessori education encourages a child to learn in specific time limits.

Cambridge Montessori Preschool offered Montessori Education to focus on the importance of literacy and numeracy in kids with the extract of a good fundamental education on the infrastructure to cover other subjects such as language, science, arts, humanities, physical education including moral development.

Combination of Montessori and Traditional system of preschool education is embedded at CMPS, which is again assimilated with Practical learning plus promotes social and emotional progress of the children.

Parents must choose the preschool wisely for their kids because every preschool doesn’t meet the demands of the parents. They should start with looking for the safety and security provided by the school.

They should always opt for a clean and hygienic place which is surrounded by nature as hygiene is very important for children. It is necessary to know if the curriculum involves all kind of activities that are better for the development of a child. Thus, a parent’s preference should be towards systems which provide best education and moral support.

Montessori education offers child’s participation with hands-on learning experience; whereas in traditional preschool learning children are expected to get everything with the help of teacher. The most important reason for choosing Montessori education is its nature of curriculum as it is adaptable to student needs. It can be changed if it suits the need of the learners but, in traditional learning, the curriculum is predetermined and is not customised as per the need of the students. The ideology of Montessori education differs from traditional preschool education in various ways. The environment here is prepared in advance to facilitate child’s consideration. It goes along with the working capability of facilitators as they are responsible for all the activities that take place within the school environment.

Cambridge Montessori Preschool has a strong focus on best international practices, inhouse research on academics, highly educated and trained human resource and leveraging on technological e n h a n c e m e n t s . Cambridge Montessori Preschool pursues to be amongst the top ten preschool chains in the world by 2030.