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UNIT 33 EVALUATION

Structure

33.1 Introduction

33.2 What is Evaluation

33.3 Evaluating the Play Activity

33.4 Evaluating the Children

33.4.1 Why Evaluate Children

33.4.2 Tools of Evaluation

33.5 Evaluating the Centre

33.5.1 Evaluating the Workers

33.5.2 Evaluating the Curriculum

33.53 Evaluating Space and Play Materials

33 .5.4 Evaluating Cleanliness and Hygiene

33.5.5 Recording Attendance

33.5.6 Choosing o Child Care Centre

33.6 Summing Up

33.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

33.1 INTRODUCTION

By now you know about the types of play activities that can be organized with children of different age groups, the principles that g o into planning a play activity, and the attitudes child care workers must have. You may have planned to the set up a child care centre. Setting-up a centre is a task requiring a great deal of organization. Finding out how the centre is functioning, and making changes a s and when necessary, are important aspects of running a centre.

As you were reading the different Units, particularly the Units of Block 7, the following questions may have come to your mind:

How will I know whether the centre is providing for the all round development of children? How will I find out whether children have gained something from the activities being carried out in the centre? Are the long term goals and the educational objectives laid out being achieved? How can I improve play activities and get the children more3nterested in them? How will I know whether the method of working with children is appropriate? Should I continue the same methods with the next batch of children the following year?

If these questions have concerned you, a s they should any good child care worker, then

f reading through this last Unit will help you to find answers to them. Perhaps, a s a parent, you have also wondered how to choose a good centre for your child. The answer to these

I

I questions lies in evalpation.

I I Objectives

After studying this Unit, you should be able to:

understand the importance of evaluation

evaluate the play activities organized by other educators in your centre a s well a s by

YOU

formulate checklists and rating scales to assess children's progress

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Organizing a Child Care Centre

keep anecdotal records of children's behaviour

assess a child care centre

help a person to identify a good chiid care centre.

33.2 WHAT IS EVALUATION

Evaluation means an assessment, an appraisal, a check-up to see whether the goals are achieved. Evaluation can help you to judge the worth of your teaching, the programme and the children's learning.

Often, the term 'evaluation' brings to one's mind the picture of complicated tests and procedures which only an expert can use. This is not true. Useful information can be obtained through simple methods which the child care workers can devise and use. The next question then is, "What is it that has to be evaluated and who will evaluate?" Let us begin by answering the first part of the question.

The questions in the beginning of this Unit would have given you some clue about the aspects that must be evaluated. These are discussed below.

When the children join your centre, you will lay out certain goals and objectives for them. You have to find out how far the children have achieved the long term and short term goals. This can be known when you evaluate children. If children's development has been fostered, the play activities and teaching strategy used must be good. You can continue with similar activities for the next batch of children, with some modifications to introduce variety and new ideas.

After conducting any activity you must assess whether it contributed to children's learning, . emotional development and sense of well being. And the most important aspect of all-did they enjoy the activity, was it fun for them? Evaluating the play activity is important.

Finally, you must assess the functioning of your centre. Are the teaching strategies used by you and the other educators appropriate? Does the staff have the right attitudes? Is there optimal utilization of space and play material? Is the scheduling of activities suitable? Is the content of the programme appropriate? Are there enough workers in the centre? These are the steps in the process of evaluating the child care centre.

Let us now answer the question, "Who will evaluate?" In any centre, there will be some educators and a person in-charge. The in-charge is responsible for the overall fu'nctioning of the centre. In many centres the in-charge.may be referred to as the supervisor. Some aspects must be evaluated by the educators. These are-the attendance of children in their group, the progress made by children and the effectiveness of the play activities organized. Some aspects Like the worker-child ratio, the utilization of space in the centre, the approach and attitudes of the educators in the centre and the curriculum wiU be evaluated by the supervisor. Apart from the educator's self appraisal, the supervisor will also need to evaluate the play activities. You must make yourself familiar withevery aspect of the centre, as well as the means of evaluating it, as you may be working either as an educator or a supervisor or you might set up your own centre.

Of the aspects mentioned above, some need to be evaluated only once in the beginning, while the others will need to be evaluated periodically at regular intervals and yet others need to be assessed daily. So the worker-child ratio, availability and utilization of space and the qualifications of the workers are aspects to be evaluated initially when the centre is set up. On the other. hand, you will need to evaluate children's progress and suitability of play materials at regular intervals while play activities will need to be evaluated daily.

When we talk about evaluation, we are not talking about something very different from what we do in our daily lives. The following example brings this out clearly. When


wotrld have read a certain portion. Then, at the end of that tirneperiori, you review Evaluation

whether you'have achieved your target, and in case you have not, what you should do about it. Thus you evallrate your perfornlance, see where you succeeded and where you failed and then nlodifj, your learning strategy suitably. Sinlilarly, when interacting with people, you judge your own behaviorrr and that of others an4 based upon your evakration, nlodifj, your behaviour, if necessary.

In the same way, as educators in child care centre we carry out continuous and informal evaluation all the time. Almost all workers automatically judge whether an activity was satisfactory or not, primarily from the response of the children. Children's laughter, their excitement and questions reveal, more than any tool of evaluation, whether they liked the activity. Educators also ask themselves questions such as: "Did the children like what they were doing?", "Did they understand what I \;as trying to communicate?", " Hari, Lateef and Bala were not attentive at all. Was it that what I was saying was not clear o r was there some other reason?", "I think if I had given more chart paper to children there would not have been so much confusion. I will take care of it next time". f i e y also evaluate the entire day's o r week's functioning: "Today went off really well" or "Except for that confusion on Tuesday, the entire week was satisfactory and the children enjoyed themselves." Besides the activities, teachers also reflect upon children's progress: "Mary is becoming more friendly. She participated in outdoor games today".

As this informal evaluation goes on, the educators also give the children an assessment of their achievements. Children need to know about themselves and their growing abilities. Educators let them know about the progress they are making and this enables the children to continue working. In other words, they give the children a feedback. Feedback should be an integral part of the evaluation process. Without it, evaluation loses much of its purpose.

Praising the child is one way of providing feedback: "You sang well today". Another aspect of feedback is offering children specific information about their progress: "You can climb the steps now. Next time you try the ladder." Some feedback helps children clarify their tasks: "Fit this piece here and now try making the puzzle." Other feedback helps them to analyze and evaluate their own work: "What will happen if....?", "How did you think it went"? Helping the child understand what she did wrong is another aspect of feedback: "You should not have hit Tara. Look she is hurt and is crying".

Similarly, when the supervisor gives feedback to the educators in the centre, it will help them to modify their approach, if need be. The feedback will also help them to know about the quality of the programme. It must have become clear to you by now, how evaluation can be helpful. There is a cyclical relationship between programme planning and evaluation.

P Programme planning

Feedback Putting the plan into 2 operation

/ Evaluation

In most learning situations this form of informal and continuous evaluation and feedback goes on throughout the day. When you organize your own child carecentre o r work in one, you too will be evaluating yourself the centre and the children in this manner. You might now ask that, if evaluation is something which each one of us does in any case, what is it that is being taught in this Unit? Here we have described ways in which you can make your evaluation more systematic. We have suggested certain guidelines for assessing the

L play activities, the children and the centre.

Let us now take up each of the three aspects of evaluation one by one. We will begin with the evaluation of play activities.


Oryddag a. Clrlld Cam Centre 333 EVALUATING THE PLAY ACTIVITY

In Blocks 2,3,5 and 6 you have read about the various play activities for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. As important as knowing what play activities to carry out with children is knowing how to evaluate them. The evaluation is a comment about how the activity was received by children. It includes the positive as well as the negative aspects.

While evaluating the activity reflect upon

whether the children enjoyed the activity

.* whether it gave children an opportunity to be creative

whether children learnt something from it

whether it was in keeping with their needs and abilities 1 whether the children were attentive during the activity. If not, what were the reasons? - Was the concept too difficult or too simple? - Was the activity not related to the children's interests?

- Was the method of canying out the activity unsuitable?

was the play material adequate? I The evaluation of the play activity may be done by the educator herself or by the supervisor. In some cases, the supervisor is better able to comment about the activity, since she is not directly involved in it. Sometimes when both the educator and the supervisor- evaluate the activity, they can pool their comments, which will give a better assessment. When there is a new worker, the supervisor must assess her method of carrying out activities regularly for some period of time.Through the feedback that the supervisor gives her, the worker will come to know of her strengths and weaknesses. 1 Most educators find it convenient to evaluate the play activities at the end of the day when the children have left. A half hour spent at the end of the day reflecting upon the day's activities helps to organize the next day better. Do you remember reading in Unit 22 that when planning for an activity, you must state its goal, the content and the materials required? Likewise, after canying out an activity, you must make an assessment of it.

To help you understand how to evaluate play activities, it would be best to give examples. Following are four examples.

Example I

G a l : To give children an opportuniq for self-expression and to nurture their creativiq.

Content of the activity : Painting. I will lay out all the paints on a table and distrib- ute paper and paint brushes to children. I will ask the children to pick up the paints as and when they require. Once they finish with a particular colour, they should return it to the table so that the others can use it.

M a t e ~ k required : Paints, paper andpaint brushes

Evaluation by the supetvh : There was some confusion during the activiq. On being told that the paints e r e kept on the table, the children ran towards them. Some children took all the paints and began their painting. The ones who did not get any paints stood looking at the others, shouting t h ~ t they should finish quickly. Others complained to the educator, but she could not help them since she had no more paints. Some children began to fight with each other over thepaints. An opp&tuniq for nurturing children's creativiq was lost.

The worker can manage the situation better if she divides children into four groups and distributes the paints between these groups. After some time, the groups can interchange the colours.In this way the sense of scarciq will be reduced


The above activity was carried out by this educator within one week of her joining the Evaluation

preschool. That she was inexperienced in working with children is clear in the manner in which she set up activity. She did not organize the activity, but left it for the children to organize themselves and to use scarce play material.

While the supervisor has given a suggestion, there is another way the situation can be handled. During this period, the educator can lay out two or three different types of play materials that encourage self-expression. For example. in three different areas, she can lay out paints, clay and crayons. Then children can choose their pl , material and confict will not occur.

Exaniple 2

Content : The story is about a fox who was able to know that a lion was hiding in its den became it could see the lion's footprints leading into the dent, while there were none com!,~g out of it. In the en4 the fox outwits the lion.

Worker's SeuEvaluatwn : The story began well. Children were interested and curious to know what would happen next. But when I came to the part about the foot prints, the children were a little perplexed They did not understand what f a prints were, and did not know that they indicate the direction in which aperson or an animal& going. So I had to first explain about footprints. Children seemed to understand what I was saying. Then I continued with the story and when the fox outwits the lion, everyone was excited

While narrating the story it occurred to me that I could set up an art activity based on finger prints and foot prinis. After the story, I showed chi21 en how they could trace their hands and feet on paper. We also got into making foot prints with water and mud A child spontaneously applied some paint on his fingers and took the imprint on paper. Within minutes everyone had caught on to this. Children began to create different designs by using different colours and by changing the direction of the fmgerprint.

There was a lot of washing and cleaning up to be done later on. But the fin children had in making footprinrs and fmger prints justified ewrything.

This example brings out the creativity of the worker as well as of the children. Finding that the story had introduced a concept that the children were unfamiliar with, the worker thought of ways in which she could help the children understand it. The art activity she initiated appealed to children and sparked an interest in what they could create using their hands and feet.

Example 3

Gad : To foster physical and motor development.

Content : I will organize an outdoor play activity. Children will chase the balls which will be let to roll on the ground ahead of them. The three children who catch the balls first will get prizes- sweet each.

Malerirrls required : Six balls.

Supervisor's Evaluation : The children really enjoyed the activity. They wanted to chase the balls again and again and finally the game changed into chasing each other. It was* for me as well, watching the children participating in the activity with gay abandon However, there was one aspect of the activiy lhat must be changed It war not right to give sweets to just three children in the group. Coming first or second war not imporront, since participation in the activity was what mattered Sweets should either be given to all or to none. The children who did not get a sweet were very disappointed

J

The supervisor is quite right in making this observation. Winning and losing should not be the concern when or ;ar k ing games for children. The act of playing together is more important.


Organizing a Child Care Centre Example 4

C o d e d : Narrating a story using shadow puppets.

Worker's SelfAppraisal : The activity was fun and generated a lot of interest in the way I made puppets by casting the shadow of n ~ y fingers on the wall. The children enjoyed the story as well. After the story was over, the children began experimenting with casting shadows on the wall. There was rnuch laughter and excitement as they said "Oh! Look! I made a cat", and "Saw your cat! My elephant is corning!". The shadows really captured their irnaginatwn and fantasy. I let thern play in this manner for some time.

I think I can capitalize on children's interest in these puppets and introduce the concept of shadows over the next few days.

Thus, as in the above case, often your evaluation of the activity will suggest new activities.

A word of caution is necessary at this time. While evaluating how you carried out the activity, d o not be overly critical of yourself. Each one of us makes mistakes. This is not s o worrying as long as one is ready to learn from them!

Children's expressions, queries and comments during and after the activity, will help you to know whether or not they have understood the concepts you are imparting through the activity. A sensitive worker is always alert to the chilaen's comments. You read in Unit 22 how Kamla, after realizing that using picture books was not the best way of introducing birds to children, brought real birds to the centre. In Section 15 of Unit 22 you have also read about the ways through which you can evaluate whether or not children have grasped a concept. D o you recall them? Imagine that you are a preschool worker and that'you had carried out a discussion with children on common domestic animals-the cow, the buffalo, the ox, the dog and the horse. During the discussion you talked about their common features as well as the differences. You have also spoken about the uses of each one of them. How will you evaluate whether children have grasped these concepts? Write about this in the space provided below. Glancing through Section 15 of Unit 22 will help you in this.

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Check Y o u r Progress Exercise 1

Answer the following questions briefly in the space provided below.

1) You have read about various play activities in Blocks 2 ,3 and 5. Carry out any one of these play activities with a group of children or with one child, depending upon the nature of the activity. Then, keeping in mind the aspects that w e have discussed in the foregoing Section, evaluate the activity. Write down the coniments of your self-appraisal in the space below. Also state what factors you kept in mind while assessing your method of interaction with children. You may also ask another person to observe you as you are carrying out the play activity.


2) Imagine that you have a m who works in a preschool. She comes to you one day and says that whenever she cames out a structured learning activity with children, they lose interest in it after a few minutes. They look at something else, talk with each other and do not respond when she asks them questions. What advice would you.give her?

33.4 EVALUATING THE CHILDREN

Let us now read about the second aspect of evaluation, i.e., evaluating children. How can evaluating children's progress help you and how can you do it? Write down your ideas on this aspect in the space provided below before you read further.

............................................................................................................................................ 33.4.1 Why Evaluate Children

Firstly, by evaluating children you can come to know about their behaviour, their present level of information and their skills and abilities. Your knowledge and awareness of every child in the group increases. Knowing their specific abilities helps you to provide appropriate settings for their development.

If you evaluate the children again after 3 to 4 months, it will show you how they have changed and what new skills and concepts they have acquired during that period.

It would be fruitful to evaluate the children in the first few weeks of their joining the centre and, then again, when they leave the centre. This will help you to know what they have learnt during their stay with you. If children are going to be at your centre for a year or more, you can carry out three to four evaluations in that time, once every three o r four months.


Organizing a Child Care Cenire

Secondly, evaluation can help you to plan the curriculum and make it specific to the needs of the children. When you evaluate the children as they join the centre, you are able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, their abilities and interests. Then you can plan the play activities accordingly. In this way, the programme becomes more focussed and child-centred.

Besides this initial evaluation, regular and periodic evaluation after every three or four months will help you to know whether or not the children have understood what you have been Imparting. Based on these evaluations you can plan activities appropriate to the needs of childrenteach child. For example, one educator, upon evaluating the children after they had been at the centre for some months, found that some of them had difficulty in grasping the concept of number. During the subsequent weeks, she planned activities relatedc to one-to-one correspondence, counting, matching numbers to objects and so on.

Thirdly, when the parents ask you about how their child is doing, you will be able to tell them specific things. It often happens that when parents ask the educators about their child, the latter are not able to mention the child's specific accomplishments because they have not recorded them. They have relied on their memory and it becomes difficult to recall details about each child. A written record is always useful.

Finally, evaluation helps to raise the morale of the teachers. Keeping evaluation records helps you to know how each child has grown in every area of development and this can give you a feeling of tremendous satisfaction. You may find that children have progressed very well. This gives you an incentive, a boost to work enthusiastically with children the next year.

Let us now answer the question, "Who evaluates children"? The educator who is actually working with the group of children is the one who must evaluate their progress. The supervisor may help, but it is the worker who has interacted with the children closely and knows each child. Besides, it is the worker who needs information about how 'the children have developed over a period of time, s o that she a n plan the next round of activities.

Before we go on to reading how one can evaluate children, let us read about same points you should remember while doing so.

Points to keep in mind while evaluating children

1) Your observations about each child should be kept confidential. The purpose of evaluation is to help you to know each child better. Do not gossip with other teachers and parents, about any child. You must of course tell the child's parents, what you have observed.

Interpret the results of the evaluation with caution. It is possible that you may have reached an incorrect conclusion about the child's abilities. One child in a preschool centre, for example, refused to practise writing numbers, when other children were doing so. Instead, he would fill the page with drawings. The teacher concluded that the child had difficulty in writing. A month later when she talked to the parents, she found out that the child could write the numbers from 1 to 10. When she had carried out the same activity in the preschool, the child found it too simple, lost interest in it and began to draw to keep himself busy.

3) Your evaluations must be objective. You must evaluate the behaviour as it is observed. Do you remember reading about this point in the Section on 'Observation' in .he Practical Manual?

4) Do not label children after you have evaluated them. This is the most important point of all. It often happens that after assessing children one says : "She is intelli- gent" or "Don't expect him to try the swing", or "She is slow to learn ". These then become one's firm opinions about the child. On the basis of o n e o t t w o evaluations, we form our opinions about children and then do not change them, in spite of


evidence to the contrary. You must have seen this attitude in day-to-day life. You must Evaluatbn

guard against this. The child whom you have found to be shy could. in the next few months, turn out to be one of the most gregarious and friendly children in the group. It is impartant to be open in your opinions about each child because your opinions will deter- rl-ine how you behave towards that child. Your feelings about the child will get communi- caled to her through your actions, even if you d o not state them openly. Ih this way, you will strengthen that behaviour in the child, resulting in its continuation.

33.4.2 Tools of Evaluation

One of the easiest ways to evaluate children is to observe them. The other methods include evaluating records of children's work, asking children questions and interviewing parents about children's development. Let us read about each one of these.

I) Observation : Any good preschool worker makes several observations on each child. She knows the likes and dislikes, the behaviour patterns and the abilities of each child in her group.

In your daily life you must have formed opinions about children. based on your observations. Perhaps you made comments like : "This child is friendly with all her peers," or "This child is very active". As preschool workers, you will need to be a little more systematic about these observations. It is important to record these observations. The next question then is, "How does one record observations"? There are two ways of doing s-you can record them as brief anecdotal records or, even more briefly than that, on checklists a n d rating scales. Let us examine these two methods in detail.

a) Maintaining Anecdotal Records : These are notes made by teachers about each child's behaviour, which is interesting or significant.

The best method of maintaining these records is to use a register o r a file for each child. Put the child's name, her date of birth and date of joining the centre on the registerlfile. Observe the child for a certain time period in a day and note down the aspects you think are significant. This observation may last for 15-20 minutes.

Observe the child indoors a s well as outdoors. while alone a s well as with others, during free play as well as during structured activities. While making these observations, focus on all aspects of the child's development. Record instances of behaviour that describe the child's physical, intellectual, social and emotional development. Such observations, made dver a period of time, will give you a picture of the child's growib, progress, strengths and weaknesses. In this way, you can observed three o r four children each week. Thus, over a period of time, you would have observed each child. When you have completed observing all the children once, you can begin again with the first group of children. If you find that a particular child has some difficulty in adjusting to the centre or that another usually behaves aggressively with other children or yet another does not feel confident to play on the swings, you can think of ways to handle the situation.

You must keep these registerslfiles handy because something may happen that gives you an insight into a child's behaviour and you may want to record it.

Besides noting down incidents of behaviour, you must also draw some conclusions about what the behaviour probably means. Of course, as said earlier. these conclusions will be tentative. However, they can help you to know what the children are ready to learn next and then you can plan the activities accordingly. A5 you observe the children over a period of time, you will find that they are gaining skills. Consequently, the objectives you lay out will change from time to time. You read about formulating short term goals and daily objectives in Unit 30. Do you see how evaluation of children will help you to identify short term goals and plan your daily activities?

You must remember that the recording of children's behaviour must be factual and unbiased. You must record what is happening and not your interpretation of it. Do you remember reading about this aspect in the Practical Manual?


Orgaabing a Child Cerc Centre The following is an anecdotal record made by a preschool educator.

Name of the child : Babita; Date of birth: 17Arrgrrst 198.3; Entry into preschool: July 1957; Date of observation : Arrgrrst 1987.

A grorrp of children were playing on the swings. Sarla had been watching tlret~l for sometinre, waiting for the111 to finish theirplay, so that she corrldplay on the swing. When she corrld wait no longer, she approached the children asking thetn to inclrrde her in their play. These children, inr!olr~ed in their own play, paid no heed to her. When she becatne more insistent, they prrshed her away and she fell down. I was aborrt to interrtene when Babita, who had been riding a tricycle, catne rrtnning to Sarla. She helped her get up and said, "They don't k t yorr play? Yorr cotne and ride tlre tricycle with tlre"She took her by the hand tnade her sit on the back seat of tlre tricycle and rode away with her.

Conclusion : Babita's sensitive response shows a rare understanding of anotlrer child's feelings. Realizing that Sarla wanted toplay with sotneone, Bubita inrtolrvd her in what she was doing. It is retllarkable for a forrr-year-old to show srrch an lrnderstanding and tno~v , in to help.

Sometimes you can refer to the goals and obiectives of your programme and use these to focus your observations. Do you remember the long term, short term and daily goals that we listed in Unit 30? You too will formulate similar goals for your programme. Then you can evaluate children's progress with reference to these goals and see whether or not these are being achieved. For instance. some of your long term goals may be that children will learn to solve simple problems. express their doubts and ask questions. Subsequently, you can observe children to see whether these are reflected in their behaviour.

You can maintain these anecdotal records throughout the year.

b) Checklists and Rating Scales : These are another way you can record your observations. Many educators find the checklist or the rating scale a convenient way to evaluate the child's progress. They are comprehensive and, through these, you can evaluate the child's progress in all areas of development. They are a good means of assessing whether the objectives and goals of your programme have been accomplished. They can be filled out when the teacher has time and need not be completed at one go.

Developing Checklists for Evaluating Children's Progress : A checklist is a list of items that you consider are important and wish to check upon. Checklists contain descriptive statements about children's abilities. Subsequently,.one observes the child and the behaviour/skill/ability specified in the checklist, that the child shows is noted. In this way you can know what skills the child has. You can formulate checklists to assess the development of children in different areas. Let us consider an example of how to formulate checklists.

You may want to check, for example, whether the preschoolers are developing self- confidence. This, you may remember, was one of the social goals we listed in Unit 30. What behaviours will show that a preschooler is gaining self-confidence? Some of these behaviours are :

- intiates conversation with peersladults

- explores new things and situations

- is willing to accept responsibility

- is able to adjust to change in routines or to new people in the centre

- can take some criticism

- takes initiative in different situations


Another aspect of social development that you would wish to check upon is whether Evaluallon

preschoolers are learning to handle their emotions. The bchaviours that will indicate that the child is learning to d o this are:

- an express anger in a way that does not hurt people or damage things

- is able to express her liking for other children and adults

- can form and sustain friendships with other children

- is able to form an emotional bond with adults

When you write these down in the form of a checklist, it will look like the following.

Checklist for Some Aspects of Socio-emotional Development

A check (d) is placed against each ability when the child shows it.

Aspects Names of Children

. Raju Anil Bala .....

a) Self-confidence

i) initiates conversation with peers and adults

ii) is willing to accept responsibility

iii) is able to adjust to changes in routines o r people

iv) can take some criticism

v) takes initiative in different situations

b) IIandling emotions

i) expresses anger in ways that d o not hurt people o r damage things

ii) is able to express liking for others

iii) can form and sustain friendships

iv) is able to form an emotional bond with adults

Then you observe each child and place a check ( d ) when the child shows a certain behaviour. This will help you to see what the child can do and which are the areas you need to focus upon. In the above example, we have taken only two goals of socio-emotional development. If you were to take some more goals and define the behaviours related to each one of them, you could formulate a comprehensive checklist for assessing socio- emotional development.

Similarly, you can formulate checklists to assess the level of physical-motor development. When working with infants, the following checklist will help you to assess their gross motor skills. +


0rga"iZlllga Child Care Centre Checklist for Gross Motor Skills

A check ( d ) is placed against each ability when the child shows it.

List of Skills Yes

1) can sit with support for a few minutes 2) can sit without support for s o m e time 3) can turn over o n the s ide 4) can crawl 5) can stand when supported for a few minutes 6) can raise. herself from a sitting position holding o n t o a support 7) can stand independently 8) can stand and walk a few steps holding on to a support 9) can walk independently

If you extend this checklist further, you can use it t o assess gross motor skills o f toddlers.

Yes 10) can run for a short distance : the movements a r e jerky

and not controlled

11) can climb over a small obstacle-about 6 inches high 12) can crawl up thc stairs 13) can jump from a low platform 14) movements while running are smooth 15) can climb stairs holding on to the support 16) can control starts and stops while runni ig 17) can climb down the stairs with support 18) can climb up and come down the stairs without support

During the preschool years, children acquire many motor skills. They can jump from greater heights. hop, catch and throw, ride tricycles, c l imb ladders and play on swings. They learn t o write, draw and paint. You can delineate the stages in the acquisition o f each o f these skills and formulate checklists. For example, when learning to ride a tricycle, children usually g o through the following stages :

- sit on the tricycle and be pushed - push the tricycle forward by using the feet on the ground rather than by

pedalling - steer well while pushing the tricycle - use feet t o pedal

- can ride fairly well and negotiate curves - take the cycle forward. backward and speed away - ~1n-y a rider o n the back seat

You can write this in the form of a checklist and use it to s e e how well the child rides a tricycle.

Similarly, you can formulate checklists to assess the child's proficiency in each o f the above mentioned gross and fine motor skills. These checklists a re derived from the stages in physical and motor development. about which you have read in the earlier Blocks, parti&larly Blocks 2, 3 and 4. Can you formulate checklists for assessing which stage the child is in regarding the ability to write? Formulate the checklist in the space provided below :


The stages will b e somea ing like this - can hold a pencil in hand; draws lines on paper; Evaluation I draws circular patterns and loops; movements of hand controlled so that lines d o not run I off paper; can hold the pencil between thumb and forefinger; draws some recognizable

shapes.

Checklists can b e formulated to assess the language and cognitive development of the child. To know whether the child understands the concept of colour, the following checklist will be useful:

- can match cards of the same colour

- can identify objects o f a particular colour in the room

- can name the colour

I - can state what is common between two different things of the same colour

As you must have been able to make out by now, the items in the checklist are not written C at random. They are written in an order of increasing complexity, according to the way

they emerge in the course of development.

In this way, you can formulate checklists to find out what stage of development a child is in a s regards the concepts of number, classification and conservation. The various examples in the text would have given you an idea about how to formulate checklists for other aspects of development. It would b e helpful for you to formulate checklists for the various aspects of development and compare them with those formulated by other learners when you meet them in the study centre. T o give yourself practice in using these checklists, you could observe infants, toddlers and preschoolers in your neighbourhood.

Developing Rat ing Scales : To the checklists described in the earlier Section, you can add the count of how frequently a behaviour occurs. For example, when assessing children's self-confidence and ability to handle emotions, you can rate the behaviours a s occuring 'frequently', 'sometimes' and 'never'. Thus, when you record whether the child accepts responsibility, you can state whether she does this 'frequently', 'sometimes' o r 'never'. If the behaviour is rated thus, the checklist becomes a ra t ing scale.

The following is a rating scale that you may use to assess the child's socio-emotional development. For some of the goals, w e have specified the behaviours to be observed. You fill in the behaviours related to the other goals. As you can see, w e have made provision for evaluating the children three times in a year-you can evaluate them once a s they join the centre, then towards the middle of the year (after 4-5 months) and then at the end of the year (4-5 months after the second assessment).

Rat ing Scale t o Assess Socio-Emotional Development --- -

I Goals 1st Evaluation 2nd Evaluation 3rd Evaluat ion - F* S* N*

Self-confidence

a) initiates conversation with peers hnd adults

b) is willing to accept responsibility

c) can take some criticism d) takes initiative in different

situations

e ) i s able t o adjust to changes in routines o r people


Orgsnlzing a Chi# Care Centre

Rating scales have the advantage over checklists that they tell you about the degree of proficiency of the child in each skill, i-e., how good a child is in a certain skill or behaviour.

It would have become clear to you that checklists and rating scales give you a summary of the child's level of development. They do not give you a description of the child's behaviour, For the latter purpase, anecdotal records are good. These two tools of evaluation used together will give you a good insight into the child's development.

..

IV. IIandling emotions

F-Frquentl y S--Sometimes N-Never


11) Children's Work : A good way to h o w what children are learning is to collect some Evaluatbn

of their work and keep a record of it. Children's drawings, the collage they make, the clay models and other work can give you an insight into their development.

The following is a drawing by a child on the theme 'My Family'. On being a s k d he said pointing to each line : "This line (pointing to the biggest) is Papa, this line (pointing to the one smaller than the first) is Mummy, this (the next smaller one) is my brother and this is me. (pointing to the smallest)".

This drawing reveals that the child has understood the concept of relative size and that he is able to depict size in drawing.

111) Asking Children Questions : Children's answers to questions you ask them can reveal a lot about how they understand things. After completing an activity ask children questions related to it.

In Unit 30, you have read about some of the ways through which you can evaluate whether or not children have grasped the concepts being imparted through the activity. D o you remember them?

IV) Collecting Information from Children's Parents : Talking to the parents can L provide you a deeper understanding about the child. Parents will be happy to narrate

specific incidents and describe behaviours of the child, which you may not get an opponu- nity to observe in the centre. In Unit 5 of Block 1, you read about the case of Vaibhav. This child, who never interacted with anyone in the centre, was a completely different person at home, which the educator came to know upon talking to parents.

Besides, the information from the parents gives you a holistic picture about the child which makes your evaluation more meaningful.


Organizing a Child Cart Ccntrt

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

Answer the following questions briefly in the space provided below.

I) Imagine that you are a worker in a day care centre for toddlers. The centre has various play materials like blocks, jigsaw puzzles, picture books, dolls and other materials for role play, tricycles, balls, clay, paints and crayons for painting and colouring, some musical instruments like a tambourine and puppets. You carry out a variety of play activities with children. You have been asked by the supervisor to report whether children participate in all the activities and play with all the available play materials or are there some play materials which children find interesting and play with more frequently while others are not used much. How will you go about this task?

2) Do you think it is necessary to evaluate children? Briefly give reasons for your answer.

EVALUATING THE CENTRE

Let us now read about evaluating the child care centre. This is the task of the supervisor. She must look into each aspect of the centre's functioning and give a feedback to the educators working in the centre. There are some aspects that need to be evaluated at regular intervals, others just once in the beginning and yet others need to be checked everyday.

From the reading of the earlier six Blocks, and particularly the Units of the seventh Block, you know the aspects that g o into organizing a good child care centre. Can you then state that if you were asked to evaluate a centre, what points you would consider? You might like to write your points in the space below and compare them with the discussion that follows. ............................................................................................................................................

The most important aspect that you must look into while evaluating a centre is whether or not the children like to come there. The atmosphere of the centre should be friendly, inviting, relaxed and warm. The human touch is the most important aspect of all. It should not be a place where children simply spend their time and go home. Children must feel secure and loved. It is the workers who will set the tone of the centre. The curriculum, the play materials and the arrangement of space will also contribute to a feeling of well-being.


Therefore, while evaluating the centre you must look into the following aspects. Evaluation

1) T h e workers : When evaluating the people working with children at your centre . you must take note of :

- worker-child ratio - worker's training and experience - worker's personality and attitudes - worker's approach towards children - worker's rapport with children - worker's relationship with parents

Of these, the first two aspects need to be looked into when you employ the workers. The rest are a part of continuous evalu_ation. Gradually, as you see the worker interacting with children and parents, you will be able to know about her attitudes and her relationship with them.

2) The programme curriculum : The curriculum should be appropriate to the interests and needs of the children.

T o assess the quality of the programme you must look into

- the type of the play activities-whether they are age-appropriate, interesting and provide enjoyment; whether they encourage fantasy and imagination; whether they encourage children to be creative.

- the daily schedules-is there a variety in the activities planned for the day; is the sequencing of activities during the day done according to the principles discussed in Unit 30?

- are the long term and short term goals appropriate for the children?

The long term and short term goals formulated by the educator can be evaluated in the beginning of the session. The daily and weekly schedules must be evaluated regularly. In many preschools it is the practice that the educator forms a week's schedule and then the supervisor c ecks if it is appropriate. You can also try this out at your centre. Evaluate the week' ! plan that the educator has formulated prior to the carrying out of the activities. Then, besides this, if you also evaluate the educator's functioning during the week, you will get information about the appropriateness of the weekly schedule.

3) T h e space, play materials a n d equipment : These must be evaluated with respect to :

- adequacy - optimum utilization - suitability of play materials

Again, the first aspect needs to be checked once in the beginning as you are setting up the child care centre. The second aspect requires periodic evaluation. The last aspect too needs to be assessed regularly to see whether the play material is appropriate to the changing needs and interests of children.

4) Hygiene a n d cleanliness : This must become a pan of a routine check up every day. You must look into

- whether the premises and neighbouring area are clean - whether the utensils for cooking food and eating are clean - whether the drinking water is safe - whether children wash and clean up after outdoor play

5) Attendance

- of boys - of girls

This is a part of daily records. I s the attendance more o r less regular or are there some children who come to the centre only occasionally? Are there gender differences in attendance? If yes, what are the reasons? Can something be done about it?


Organizing a Chi ld Care Cenlre

YOU will need to make detailed observations'with respect to each of these five aspects. This might seem a lengthy and tiresome process. Howeyer. using the checklist for evalua-,

\ tion makes your task manageable and you get a comprehensive idea about the functioning of your centre.

Let us begin with preparing a checklist for evaluating the workers.

33.5.1 Evaluating the Workers

As you have read, some of the aspects need t o be checked upon when you recruit the educators. These are : whether the educator has adequate professional qualifications; whether she knows about the development of children and understands how children learn; whether she has training inlexperience of working in a child care centre.

The other aspects which need to be evaluated regularly can be checked through the following checklist, a s you observe each educator working with the children.

A Checklist for Evaluating the Workers A check ( d) is placed in the 'Yes' column against each item if that is evident and a check (4) is placed in the 'No' column if it is not.

List of items Yes No

1) The staff is sufficient in number so that each child is able to get individual attention from the educator at some point during the day, i.e. the staff-child ratio is I : 15-20 for preschoolers I : 8 for toddlers I : 4 for infants

2) There is a warm relationship between workers and children.

3) The staff shows sensitivity towards the needs of children.

4) The actions and aclivities of the staff are child-centered. 5 ) The worker's attitudes are not rigid.

In other words, they are open to suggestions from the children and the parents, i.e., they show flexibility.

6) The workers circulate among children s o that each child receives their attention.

7) The workers encourage children to ask questions; they encourage independent behaviour.

8) The workers d o not use physical punishment.

9) The staff often praises and reinforces children for positive behaviour.

10) Workers try to modify the child's negative behaviour.

11) Workers give children a feedback about their abilities, and d o so in a positive manner.

12) Workers respect and trust children. 13) Workers are aware of the progress made by each child. 14) Workers are alert and active and know what is going o n

at all times. 15) The children are encouraged t o reason and think,

apart from acquiring factual information. 16) Children are relaxed and comfortable. 17) Workers meet the parents regularly. 18) Communication between workers and parents is good. 19) Parents are encouraged to participate in the programme. 20) The workers organize periodic meetings with parents. 21) T h e educators work together cooperatively and harmoniously.


Do you feel that any aspect has been left out from this checklist? If you think there are other aspects that you must evaluate, add them to this list and make it comprehensive.

You can organize weekly o r fortnightly discussions with the workers to give them a feedback about their functioning. At such meetings, it is important to be positive. Negative criticism and fault finding will spoil the atmosphere of the centre.

Gradually, you can train the workers to evaluate themselves. Self-appraisal often gives a person a fresh view about herself. Of course, when you formulate a checklist for selfappraisal, the items will be worded differently. For example, instead of stating, "There is a warm relationship between workers and children", state "I have a warm relationship with the children".

33.5.2 Evaluating the Curriculum

Yuu have read about plannirg the cdniculum in Unit 30 of this Block. The Units of the earlier Blocks also have sbggestions regarding this. Keeping what you have read in mind, can you !:ri :he points that will indicate that the centre has a good programme? The points that you selr.x become the checklist. Write down your points on a separate sheet of paper and compare them with the checklist given below.

A Checklist t o Evalua te t h e Curr icu lum

A check (d) is placed in the "Yes" column against each item when it is evident in the functioning of the centre and a check (d) is placed in the "No" column when the item i s not evident.

List of I tems

1) There is an organized daily programme.

2) Children seem to enjoy and like what they are doing. They are enthusiastic.

3) The programme fosters development in all areas, i.e., it develops the whole child.

4) The play activities are appropriate to the needs and abilities of children.

5) The activities are interesting and challenging.

6) Children are generally engaged in activities; they are not just sitting around.

7) There is a variety in the play activities.

8) The activities give opportunity for self-expression.

9) The activities are such that they allow children to experiment, discover and ask questions.

10) Children's curiosity is nurtured.

11) Children are encouraged to taik to each other.

12) Each day there a r e some indoor and some outdoor activities.

13) Each day there is a balance between structured and free play activities.

14) Each day there is a balance between active and quiet activities

15) Each day thefe are opportunities for group as well a s individual play.

16) Change-over from one activity to the other is smooth.

17) Educators d o not discriminate between boys and girls in the choice of play activities. In other words, boys and girls are encouraged to participate in all activities.

18) The curriculum is child centered, i.e., it evolves from the needs of children and is based upon their interests.

Yes No

Evaluation


Using this checklist you can evaluate the currichurn periodically. As you discuss your findings with the educators in the centre, you can get many ideas as to how to improve the quality of the programme.

33.53 Evaluating Space and Play Materials

Let us now make a checklist with respect to the third aspect, i.e., the space and play materials.

Some items in this checklist are a pan of continuous evaluation while others need to be looked at in the beginning. The appropriateness and safety of play materials needs to be ensured each time, while evaluating space will primarily need to be done in the beginning.

A Checklist to Evaluate Space and Play Materials A check (4) is placed in the "Yes" column against each item if that is evident

and a check (4) is placed in the "No" column if it is not.

List of items Yes No 1) There is adequate indoor space, i.e., after the fumilure

and equipment has been arranged there is space to move around freely.

2) There is adequate outdoor space which is safe to play in. 3) The lighting and ventilation in the roomfrooms is adequate. 4) Hygiene is maintained in the centre, particularly inkthe

cooking area. 5) There is a variety of play equipment available. 6 ) Playmaterials are available in adequate numbers so that

children do not fight over them. 7) Books, puzzles, blocks, dolls and other play materials are placed

within easy reach and are not locked in cupboards. 8) The play materials are appropriate to the age of the children. 9) Children are involved in making indigenous plajr materials. 10) The play materials are safe and durable. 11) There is place to put up children's drawings, clay objects

and other things made by them. 12) First-aid facilities are available. 13) Fire, extinguishers are available. 14) Each child has space for a short nap. 15) There is adequate provision for making the snack for children.

I

33.5.4 Evaluating Cleanliness and Hygiene

Check the following points when assessing the level of cleanliness in the centre.

'I)

A Checklist to Assess Cleanliness A check (4) is placed in the 'Yes' colu4n against each item if that is evident and a check (4) is placed in the 'No' column if it is not.

List of items Yes No a) The workers keep the work area clean.

b) The utensils used for cooking and eating are clean.

c) Children are tidy.

d) The drinking water is clean and is kept covered.

e) The workers wash their hands before preparing and serving food.

f ) Children wash their hands before and after eating.


35.5.5 Reccrding Attenah.. I The record of attendance of boys and girls must be maintained by each worker. The

! supervisor must look at the attendance registers periodically.

When you assess the centre on the basis of these checklists, you will get a comprehensive idea about its functioning. As you must have understood, the larger the number of checks (d) in the 'Yes' column, the better is the functioning of the centre. Of course, it is not likely that each centre will have all the items listed in the checklists. That is the ideal that one strives to achieve. But do not get discouraged if the evaluation brings out the weaknesses in the functioning of your centre. Keep a positive outlook and try to modify the methods.

35.5.6 Choosing a Child Care Centre

I One of the major concerns of parents is how to choose a good preschool centre for their child. If both the parents are working and do not have an alternative arrangement for the

I care of children, then they have to also think in terms of identifying a good creche or a day care centre.

i While choosing a day care centre, parents should seek a setting that mast closely resembles their home. The environment of the centre should be such that it enriches and enhances children's lives. The care should be adequate, wholesome, and developmentally appropriate. After leaving the child at the centre, they should not have tg worry about her. Parents must consider carefully the professional qualities as well as the attitudes of the adults who will care for the children, the activities that are carried out at the centre and the

play materials and equipment available there.

The checklists that we have described above can be used by parents to evaluate the centre where they are planning to send their child. If they have a choice, they might try a process of selection.

One method to help the parents choose a centre is visiting it when children are present. If they can visit the centre more than once, it would be good. There they can see how the workers respond to the children and look after them. By checking against the items mentioned in the checklists, they can decide whether it would be reasonable to send the child there.

Besides these, the additional factors that the parents must consider are the cost and the convenience. One has to see that the fee demanded is within one's budget and appropriate for the services provided at the centre. The centre must also be convenient to reach from their homes.


Answer the following question briefly in the space provided below.

I) Imagine that you are planning to set up a child care centre. What are the aspects that you will evaluate while setting up the centre in the beginning, what are the aspects that you will assess af periodic intervals and what are those that you will assess everyday ?


Organizing a Child Care Centre 33.6 SUMMING UP

In this Unit you have read how to evaluate your curriculum and play activities, children's progress and the child care centre. Evaluation means an assessment, an appraisal to check whether one's goals are being achieved. Based on the feedback obtained through evaluation, you can bring about modifications. Whether you work as a supervisor or as an educator in a child care centre. you need to be familiar with the tools of evaluation. Some aspects need a one-time evaluation in the beginning, while others have to be evaluated periodically at regular intervals and yet others have to be evaluated daily.

Aspects like the worker-child ratio, availability of space, and the qualifications of the worker will be evaluated when you set up the centre initially. On the other hand, children's progress needs to be evaluated on a regular basis and cleanliness of the surroundings and the play activities daily.

While evaluating the play activity. reflect upon whether the children enjoyed the activity, was it age-appropriate, did children learn from it, did it give them an opportunity to be creative and was the play material adequate.

Evaluating children's progress at regular intervals is extremely important. By doing so you can come to know about their bchaviour, their present level of information and their skills and abilities. Knowing this will help you to plan appropriate play activities and make the curriculum specific to their needs. Periodic evaluation, after every four or five months, will help you to gauge their progress. This will also help you to know whether they have understood what you have been imparting. However, you must guard against the tendency of labelling children after evaluating them.

Observing children is one of the easiest ways to evaluate them. You can record your observations through anecdotal records and checklists. Evaluating children's work, asking them questions and collecting information from their parents are other ways of evaluation.

While evaluation the centre, look into the appropriateness of the cumculum, utilization of space, adequacy of play materials and other equipment, the worker-child and the worker- parent relationship, qualifications and experience of workers, worker-child ratio, the standards of health and hygiene and attendance of boys and girls. You can use checklists to evaluate a child care centre. These have been described in the text.

33.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES


1) First identify children in your neighbourhood. Then select a play activity appropriate for them. Get friendly with the children, ensure that they are comfortable with you and then carry out the play activity. After that, record your comments about the play activity. The aspects you will keep in mind while evaluating the activity are :

- whether the children enjoyed it - was it appropriate to their abilities - was the play material adequate - did it give them a chance to express themselves - whether they were involved in it

- whether you camed out the activity appropriately.

2) Ask her to evaluate the play activities and the way she carries them out. This could be happening because of one or more of the following factors :

- 102

the concept she is imparting is too simple or too complex


- she does not involve the children in it i.e. children do not ai;lii.cly do anything. Rather they sit and listen to her. This means her method of carrying out the activity is unsuitable.

- the activity itself is unstimulating and uninteresting-children do not find it fun.

Self-appraisal will help her to a certain extent. It will be better if she also asks some other educator 'to observe her while she is carrying out an activity and later give har the comments.


1) You could find out about this aspect by formulating a checklist. Make a list of all the play materials available with you as well as the activities you carry out. Then write out the names of all the children in your group. Observe the children and tick mark the materials they play with and the activities they participate in. If you observe children for about two weeks, they would have got an opportunity to play with the different play materials. Subsequently, if you count the nuinber of children who play with a certain play material, on participate in a certain activity, you will get an idea about how frequently play materials are used and which activities get maximum participation.

Your checklist may look like the following, depending upon the type of activities carried out at your centre.

Checklist for Participation in Activities

A check (d) is placed in the column when the child shows participation in any activity.

Activities Names of children Raju Ahmed Bano ....

1) Outdoor games - tricycles - swings - sand pit - team games - others

2) Indoor games - blocks - puzzles - doll's corner & other materials for role play - threading beads - others - puppets

3) Songs and rhymes

4) Musical instruments

5) Story telling

6) Dramatization

7) Structured acUvities initiated by the teacher

8) Art activities - drawing - painting - working with clay - making collage

9) Picture Books

Evalualion


Organizing a Child Care Centre

Thus you can observe children over a period of two to three weeks. Within this time period. all the children would have got an opportunity to participate in'each of these activities. For ease of observation you can focus upon 2-3 activities each day, and record your observations.

By using this checklist it is possible that you find that some children participate only in some activities and avoid others. You can find out the reason for this and encourage them to try out these aaivities.

If you find that some activities are popular, you can build upon these and introduce new concepts to children through these activities. Do you remember reading about this in Unit 30?

2) Yes. Evaluation can help you to

- know about children's abilities and present level of information

- plan the curriculum

- know the appropriateness of your play activities and your teaching.


Aspects to be Aspects to be Aspects to be assessed in the assessed at regular assessed every beginning intervals day

- qualifications of the - children's programme - attendance of boys workers and their and girls experience

- worker-child - appropriateness of - cleanliness of the ratio the curriculum sumoundings

- short term goals - cleanliness of children

- suitability and adequacy of play materials

- suitability and - attitude of educators - hygiene while adequacy of space cooking and

serving food

- adequacy of equipment - play activities to cook food

- long term goals - rapport of educators - daily schedules with children and parents


unit 33 evaluation - smartprep.in...organizing a child care centre keep anecdotal records of...

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