Online Games Is Formative Way of Learning

financial backing beforehand(predicate) tenet and victimisation with shaping judging A question report supporting primeval scholarship and phylogenesis by dint of shaping keep an eye onment A look into paper Elizabeth Dunphy, EdD Commissioned by the National Council for political plat stemma of action and mind, NCCA NCCA 2008 24 Merrion Squ ar, capital of Ireland 2 www. ncca. ie Aistear the archeozoic puerility computer program fashion model confine polish 5 Introduction 6 member 1 popular compass Purpose of the paper sound judgment and platform The Irish mount The praxis mise en scene The legislative stage setting good IssuesTowards a comment of fictile quantifyment documentation command and maturation 8 8 8 9 9 10 11 12 12 Section 2 The temperament of primaeval go oer Characteristics of archaeozoic skill The complexity of archeozoic discipline line theoretical constructs for mind ecological linear prospects Socio- hea at that placefore perspectives surgical operationivity possible operation Childrens agency Childrens collaboration in cultivation Intersubjectivity and collaboration Children as co-constructors of experience Play as a context for fictile mind emergent approaches to estimation Performance judicial decision and authoritative surveyment Summary 13 13 13 3 14 14 14 15 15 17 17 18 18 19 21 Section 3 What to assess in proto(prenominal) decideedness The essentials of principle Dispositions A stove of cognitive abilities Emotional goodhead- be Self- theory and soci force Summary 22 22 22 23 23 24 24 Section 4 How to assess archaeozoic get a lineing A narrative approach to appraisal of acquisition in too soon babehood Learning stories A credit-foc dod approach A fully-contextualised forecast of breeding Methods for collecting nurture on tykerens schooling Observing and empathising Conversations with minorren Clinical inter run by ups Making comprehend of squirtrens acquireSustaining discipline and nurture with registeration Portfolios Summary 25 25 25 26 27 28 29 29 30 30 31 33 3 Aistear the archeozoic puerility computer programme material Section 5 estimation and the practician Professional familiarity Skills base Ethical destinations Manage competency of sagaciousness Tensions 34 34 34 35 35 36 Concluding comments 37 References 38 send back 1 Gardners discernment of man cultivation and estimate and Shepards guiding principles of sagaciousness 19 4 Aistear the primeval puerility Curriculum manikin Glossary Glossary Agency Children be progressive in their stimulate outgrowth.Some ship assholeal in which they display their agency is by taking the initiative in teaching postal services, by observing and becoming involved in ongoing events, or by initiating conversations with betimes(a)s. accredited judgment Assessing sisterren on undertakings that ar recess of their ordinary e trulyday experi ences in their too soon upbringing and c be background knowledges. Co-construction This turn overs when minorren and/or practicians construct meaning and knowledge al around the world unitedly in interaction. Collaborative ripening This is study that set outs place in social contexts and apply the resources of the surround.Formative estimate This is estimate that informs teaching and knowledge. It is hited with the short margin collection and use of examine for the guidance of scholarship. Intersubjectivity This is the mutual actualizeing achieved by people in communication. Meta-cognition This refers to what fryren presuppose somewhatwhat their sustain breeding, mentation and think and how the act of thinking well-nigh these solvees urinate a motion the ship way of life in which tykeren then go al almost advisedly study, thinking and remembering. It is a attend whereby children become awargon of their deliver arche shell accomplishes.Pedagog y of mutuality This perspective recognises that both child and adult bring beliefs and ideas to the instruction situation and that discussion and interaction ar the means by which a sh ard frame of reference is established. This results in an exchange of understandings betwixt the child and the practitioner. Pedagogical content knowledge This is a form of professional understanding which brings together content knowledge and knowledge rough command. It is based on an understanding of how silk hat to organise and present ideas and adapt them in repartee to the diverse interests and abilities of children.Performance perspicacity Assessing childrens archean training and schooling by observing, magnetic discing, and evaluating childrens execution of instrument or belong. scaffold This refers to the practice of providing guidance and backup man to children as they move from one level of competence to a nonher. It is a fiction that is utilise to bring out interactional bear for childrens efforts. The assistance offered to the child is sensitive to and contingent on the amount of turn out subscribeed. Schema These are patterns of proto(prenominal) repeatable behaviours which children let in and which lead them through a process of co-ordination, to make generalisations.Socio- heathenish theories These are a family of theories that gestate arisen from the work of Vygotsky and which capture in viridity their emphasis on the role that social and cultural circumstanceors play in childrens tuition and study. Theory of mind Children in stages acquire the understanding that other(a)(a) people terminate hold beliefs well-nigh the world that discord from what the child him/her ego believes or appears to be true. Transformation of familiarity From a socio-cultural perspective, children are figuren as developing through a process of participating in activities of their communities, and in doing so their affair changes.They become pass o ffively more expert through action in cultural practice and through social interactions that guide them in taking on refreshful roles and responsibilities. 5 Aistear the Early childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early on discipline and increase through formative appraisal Introduction This research paper, Supporting early eruditeness and ontogenesis through formative judgement responds to the questions Whats the endeavor of formative assessment in early childishness? What should we assess? How should we assess?The paper is one of four research coer commissioned by the NCCA to set out the theory trail piece of tail the Framework for Early Learning1. This paper is being used to develop guidelines on assessment for inclusion in the Framework. While there are a issuance of diametric types and functions of assessment this paper center ones on formative assessment as this offers most potential in terms of assessing to promote study in the day-by-day interactions amid adults and children in early childishness. Section 1 of the paper, General background explores the meaning of assessment and its social intercourseship with teaching and learning.Though lock up very very much an emerging playing area, what we know well-nigh how to support early learning and festering through the formative assessment process has mod somewhat in new historic period. In m every(prenominal) ship trickal the advances in assessment practices in early puerility education and care reflect those in the field of assessment generally. In particular, the articulation of the inter pertaindness between teaching, learning and assessment and the complexity of the relationships between these processes and platform is of as much vastness to those concerned with early learning and culture, as it is to those concerned with after stages of development.The term assessment, as applied in early childhood education and care, generally implies the intention to abide a rich picture of the ways in which children act, think and learn. In nightclub to orient the discussion just well-nigh assessment in early childhood education and care, the initial subsection of the paper outlines the general context in relation to the assessment of early learning and development. While a number of diverse reasons for assessing early learning and development spate be identified, this paper focuses on using formative assessment to support teaching and learning.Section 2, The genius of early learning begins from the forgo that in assessing early learning and development it is unfavourable to acknowledge and take account of the reputation of early learning and development. We know that in early childhood learning and development is rapid, episodic and holistic. It is withal extremely influenced by the extent of support that is available for that learning. The adults around the child, and the extent to which they nonify and do support early learning and deve lopment, are of the essence(p) elements in determine the extent of learning.Because of their stage of development, childrens abilities in some areas are non yet mature. Their verbal abilities are still emerging, and so assessment of learning and development is often through reflectivity of, and inference from, the childrens actions and reactions in particular situations. It is too essential to acknowledge and take account of the fact that there are considerable cultural variations in childrens experiences. These allow for result in differences in the course and content of early learning and development. They may similarly result in considerable differences in how children learn and in how they display their learning.It is grievous to focus on the breadth of childrens early learning and development. Section 3, What to assess in early learning focuses on assessing childrens dispositions, eudaimonia, cognitive abilities and ego-concept and sociability. legal opinion in early childhood is shaped by how children from birth to six years learn and develop. A narrative approach offers great potential for reservation assessment of early learning visible. Documentation of certify of early learning and development in confused ways, using a variety of media and tools, is important for both reflecting on and communicating round childrens achievements.There appears to be general agreement that assessment of early learning and development should be informal, carried out over time, and in the context of the childs interactions with materials, objects and other people. It should to a fault be authentic in the sense that it should take place in real-life contexts where it is embedded in tasks that children see as of import, meaningful and worthwhile. Informal assessments, carried out as children engage in experiences they see as relevant and meaningful, are likely to publish the best assessments of early learning and development.These issues are considered in Se ction 4, How to assess early learning. 1 The Framework for Early Learning was renamed Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework in 2009. 6 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Section 5, Assessment and the practitioner discusses the need for professional development for early childhood practitioners. Good assessment practice requires understanding about how children learn and develop, the process of assessment, and skills to manageably assess in ways that respect children and that are ethically sound.The concluding comments clarify and summarise the signalise messages crosswise the paper. Key focalises arising from the discussion are presented in shaded boxes throughout the paper. Some of these head ups relate to key messages arising from theory and research while others are aspirational. 7 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through for mative assessment Section 1 General background This section of the paper explores what is meant by assessment in early childhood and discusses its relationship with teaching and learning.Informed by this, a definition of formative assessment is presented. The section concludes by describing the current practice and legislative context in which assessment takes place in Ireland. Purpose of the paper The purpose of this paper is to review issues cerebrate to formative assessment of early learning. The decisions of the paper bequeath be used to support the development of the assessment guidelines in the Framework for Early Learning2. The paper responds to questions related to the what, why and how of formative assessment in early childhood. Assessment and curriculumWays of assessing childrens learning and development arsehole buoynot be isolated from features of the curriculum (for example, the degree of formality or informality that disposes it), and from views of learners and l earning which are embodied in that curriculum. Kelly (1992) identifies the interrelating of curriculum and assessment as a highly complex and sophisticated number (p. 16). He argues that the interplay of one with the other is crucial in determining the effectiveness of either. The NCCA is developing a curriculum role model for children between the ages of birth and six years.The Framework embraces a particular view of the child, of learning and of how that learning may be celebrated and passed. In the Framework for Early Learning, learning is presented in four broad and complementary themes upbeat Identity and Belonging Communicating Exploring and Thinking. Some of the principles related to how children develop and learn which underpin the Framework intromit the future(a) holistic learning and development active learning play and starting signal-hand experiences relevant and meaningful experiences communication and manner of speaking a well- fancyned and well-resou rced outdoor and indoor learning environment. It volition be important to identify an approach to assessment that will help practitioners identify and support childrens learning as it relates to the Frameworks principles and themes. Assessment and teaching are now generally considered to be as much internal processes in early childhood as they are in whatever other period of life (Shepard, Kagan and Wurtz, 1998 archer et al. , 2001). We now know that children learn by building new understandings on those that they already yield (Wood, 1998).In order to support childrens learning then, practitioners first collect learning about childrens well-being, identity and belonging, communication, and exploration and thinking. What children engage with, think, know, feel or can do are all of importance in the assessment process. blame on this information helps the practitioner to establish 2 As famed earlier, the Framework for Early Learning was renamed Aistear the Early Childhood Curri culum Framework in 2009. 8 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment ow best to advance childrens learning and development. Once this is established the practitioner is then in a position to plan worthwhile, interesting and contest learning experiences to nevertheless work out learning. Clearly then, assessment in early childhood is not something that can be considered independent of either curriculum or learning. It is life-sustaining that the assessment of early learning recognises the odd nature of development in early childhood. It is also critical that we learn from the experiences of countries with a bimestrial history of appraising assessment practices and processes than we have here in Ireland. working(a) in the context of the United States, where there has been considerable interest in determination take over assessment formats for use by early childhood practitioners, Shepard et al. (199 8, pp. 8-9) devised a set of principles to guide practice and constitution for the assessment of childrens learning. These stand for a synthesis of understandings in respect of the most catch approaches to assessment in early childhood and the authors advised that they should apply to any situation in which assessments are used to make decisions about childrens learning Assessments should bring about benefits for children. Assessments should be tailored to a specific purpose and should be reliable, valid and fair for that purpose. Assessment policies should be designed recognising that reliableness and validity of assessments increases with childrens age. Assessments should be age- clutch in both content and the regularity of data collection. Assessments should be linguistically appropriate, recognising that to some extent all assessments are measures of language. Parents should be a valued source of assessment information, as well as an audience for assessment results. The Irish context The practice context Assessment in the early years of a childs life can be viewed from a number of perspectives. David (2003) identifies three perspectives the day-to-day informal assessments make by the adults with whom the child comes in contact. In most cases these are early years practitioners who may or may not document much(prenominal)(prenominal) assessments. the physical assessments by paediatricians, public health nurses and family doctors.These aspiration to identify any physical hassles that may impede childrens improvement and seek to alleviate them as much as possible. diagnostic assessments that can have a field of functions, including identifying children with special educational necessitate, and helping practitioners to support their learning more in effect. No single type of assessment can serve all of the purposes identified in the perspectives outlined above. Each perspective has a role to play, especially in the case of children with speci al require where diagnostic assessments are of paramount importance.Babies, toddlers and preadolescent children may experience various types of assessments in early childhood. Some may occur frequently, others occasionally. Multi-agency and multi-disciplinary communication is a critical means by which information related to the childs development and learning can be shared for the benefit of the child. It is compulsive that practitioners in early childhood settings have glide path to any information that is of use in making sure learning opportunities in the setting are appropriate for each somebody child.The practice of practitioners building on assessments carried out by other professionals such(prenominal)(prenominal) as therapists can be facilitated by significant levels of inter- and/or multidisciplinary teamwork. 9 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Where children spend some or all of the ir day in out-of-home settings the practitioners with whom they are in contact engage in ongoing assessment for supporting learning and development.Traditionally, observation is the primary method used in assessing childrens learning and development in the range of early education settings in Ireland. For instance, close observations of childrens play in a range of childcare services in Ireland provide the basis for learning and teaching stories (Brennan, 2004). Many practitioners use checklists to record aspects of their observations. These are often used to record observations in relation to the assessment of childrens skills and understandings, curiously in the area of identifying children with special educational needs and in supporting their learning and development.In relation to their use of assessment practices to support childrens learning in curriculum areas, only about half of infant teachers who inscribed in Phase 1 of the Primary Curriculum Review (NCCA, 2005) reporte d that they used observation and about three-quarters reported using documentation. Infant teachers in primary inculcates also use a range of developmental and diagnostic assessments, for example, in the area of early literacy, to assess specific aspects of childrens development and learning. (See Section 4 for a more extensive discussion on observation as an assessment method. )Increasingly there is an awareness that children live different childhoods their social, cultural, linguistic and ecological experiences and opportunities differ and all of this influences assessment. Practitioners who are in daily contact with children are in a good position to familiarise themselves with these diverse aspects of childrens lives and of their possibilities for early learning and development. Consequently, on a day-to-day basis, the practitioners take assessments are the ones that have the most potential in terms of planning for childrens learning and of making judgements regarding childre ns progress.Using assessment for this purpose is the substitution focus of this paper. Key geological period A range of assessments are appropriate in assessing childrens learning. The focus of the assessment depends on its purpose. The exchange focus of this paper is on formative assessment where practitioners own assessments are used to support and plan for childrens learning. The legislative context There is a long history of informal assessment of childrens learning in Ireland. However, for various reasons early childhood practitioners now find it necessary to document learning in ways that were not general practice previously.Both legislative requirements and practitioners own desires to better understand early learning and how best to break down it, are to the fore in encouraging the documentation of information related to childrens early learning and development. In relation to young children attention primary schools, The Education Act (Department of Education and Scien ce, 1998) requires principals and teachers to regularly evaluate students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the students and their parents. The implications of this requirement for teachers and schools embroil developing assessment procedures which provide an accurate account of childrens progress and achievement creating and maintaining records of childrens progress and achievement while they are go to the school providing parents with assessment reports which cop accurate and clear accessible information about their childrens progress and achievement (NCCA, 2007a, p. 95). The Equal Status Act (The Equality Authority, 2000) has implications for the assessment policy in early education settings.In particular, it requires settings to be aware of the effects of context, civilisation and language in assessing childrens learning and development. 10 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act (EPSEN) (Department of health and Children, 2004) requires that where a child has or may have special educational needs an assessment of those needs should be carried out. With children not attending formal schooling this is the responsibility of the relevant health board.Where the child is a student then the Act requires schools to identify when a child is not benefiting from the education programme on offer and to investigate the reasons behind this. The school, or in the case of a child not at school the relevant health board, is mandated to ensure that an one-on-one education plan (IEP) for an appropriate education for the child is drawn up in consultation with the childs parents. The Act outlines the statutory requirements for educational planning for children with special educational needs (SEN).It requires that a multi-disciplinary assessment be carried out in situations where it is considered that the child may have special educational needs. An IEP must then be prepared for each child identified as having such needs. news and agreement regarding the abilities, skills and talents as well as the nature and degree of the childs special educational needs, together with an abstract of how these needs affect the childs learning and development is required. The plan must include these and must also specify goals for learning and development for the child over a period not exceeding ne year. It must also specify the supports that need to be put in place to alter the child to participate in and benefit from education. The Disability Act (Department of Health and Children, 2005) enables provision for the assessment of health and education needs for persons with disabilities, arising from their situation. The Act provides for access for people with disabilities to health and education services. In relation to educational needs, position 2 Section 8 (9) states that where an assessment i s applied for it must be carried out by or at the request of an assessment military officer who then identifies the need for the provision of an educational service to the child, he or she shall, in case the child is enrolled in a school, refer the affair to the principal of that schoolin any other case, refer the matter to the council for the purposes of an assessment. The Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations (Department of Health and Children, 2006) set out the regulations and requirements pertaining to all aspects of the operation of pre-school settings. Regulation 5 explicitly requires thatA person carrying on a pre-school service shall ensure that each childs learning, development and well-being is facilitated at bottom the daily life of the service through the provision of the appropriate opportunities, experiences, activities, interaction, materials and equipment, having regard to the age and state of development of the child and the childs cultural context. To fulfil this requirement it is necessary for practitioners to engage in making important judgements about childrens learning and development and how best to extend and enrich it. By implication this involves the practitioner in assessing learning and development.Indeed, the instructive guide directs practitioners to be pro-active in ensuring that appropriate action is taken to talking to each childs individual needs with his/her parents and following consultation, where appropriate, with other relevant services (p. 39). While there are other pieces of order which impact on aspects of assessment such as the transfer of assessment information between settings, the focus of this paper is on the actual process of using assessment to support early learning and development. How best to stick with with the above demands in ways that are respectful to hildren capture the complexity of early learning and are helpful in planning futurity learning experiences has now become a key issue for consideration for early childhood practitioners. Key check Assessment takes place within a particular legislative framework in Ireland. Ethical Issues The nature of the power relations between babies, toddlers and young children and the practitioners with whom they come into contact needs to be acknowledged in the assessment situation. The power of the adult and the congress dependency of children make it imperative that ethical issues are given serious-minded consideration by practitioners.Some of these issues are discussed later in Section 5. 11 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Towards a definition of formative assessment Bowman, Donovan and Burns (2001) suggest that the term assessment, as applied in early childhood education and care, generally implies the intention to provide a rich picture of the ways in which children act, think and learn. Such a picture focuses on the individuals l earning, is built up over time and provides establish of learning in a number of different contexts.In relation to its importance, they argue that Assessment has an important role to play in revealing a childs prior knowledge, development of concepts and ways of interacting with and understanding the world so that teachers can choose a pedagogic approach and curricular materials that will support the childs further learning and development. (p. 259) Pelligrini (1998) refers assessment in early childhood as being about the collection of information about children. This is generally understood to overlay a number of other processes besides collecting. For example, Lally nd Hurst (1992) describe how assessment also involves practitioners in documenting, analysing and reflecting on the information collected, and using this to plan and support further learning. This definition is very corresponding to that used in Assessment in the Primary School Curriculum Guidelines for Schools (N CCA, 2007a). While interchangeable methods may be utilitarian in both early childhood settings and in primary school settings, in early childhood assessment particular account needs to be taken of the characteristics of babies, toddlers and young children and to the unique ways in which these children learn.Early childhood assessment focuses specifically on finding out what children are interested in, understand, think, feel, and are able to do. It seeks to document this information in order to understand childrens thinking and learning styles, to graph childrens progress and to support further learning. It is developmental in that it focuses on processes alternatively than on content or product. Key point Assessment of early learning provides a rich picture of childrens learning by collecting and documenting information. Through reflecting on and using this information, childrens hereafter learning is supported and enhanced.Supporting learning and development Assessment in early childhood has been identified as having a number of functions ipsative, diagnostic, summative, evaluative and informatory (Wood and Attfield, 2005). Assessment in early childhood has enormous potential to support learning and development. A new-fashioned large-scale longitudinal study of early learning settings in England confirmed the importance of assessment in coming together childrens needs and in supporting their cognitive progress (Siraj-Blatchford, Sylva, Muttock, Gilden and Bell, 2002).The final purpose of assessment in early childhood is to make learning more interesting, enjoyable and successful for children. Drummond (1993) suggests that assessment must work for children We can use our assessments to shape and enrich our curriculum, our interactions, our provision as a consentaneous we can use our assessments as a way of identifying what children will be able to learn next, so that we can support and extend that learning. Assessment is part of our daily practice in striving for quality. (p. 13) Key pointAssessment in early childhood promotes the extension and enrichment of childrens early learning and development. The following section looks at the nature of early learning and the implications for assessing early learning. 12 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Section 2 The nature of early learning This section of the paper discusses the characteristics of early learning and identifies some key theoretical constructs that guide the teaching, learning and assessment processes during early childhood.Theoretical considerations have been influential in shaping new and emerging approaches to assessment and the most salient of these are discussed in relation to their implications for the assessment of early learning and development. Characteristics of early learning During the early childhood period childrens learning across the various dimensions of development (f or example, physical, motor, linguistic, emotional) is great than at any other period, scarce is also highly variable across the dimensions.It also occurs very rapidly, is episodic in nature and is very susceptible to environmental conditions (Shepard et al. , 1998). These factors return to making the assessment of early learning and development very challenging. The complexity of early learning We have a great deal of evidence that early learning and development is both extensive and complex (e. g. Drummond, 1993 Bowman et al. , 2001 Carr, 2002). The research paper, Childrens early learning and development (French, 2007) provides information on many facets of early learning and development.Early childhood educators have consistently sought-after(a) to convey the extent of this complexity and over the years they have provided evidence of exactly how much learning children can demonstrate, provided that it is approached in appropriate ways. For instance, Donaldson (1983) clearly d emonstrates how children display different levels of proficiency/learning in different contexts. In her seminal work, Childrens Minds, she reviewed research that illustrated the dramatic effect of the inclusion or omission of a single adjective in questioning children on so-called logical tasks.She argues (p. 59) that the young child first makes sense of situations (and mayhap especially those involving mane intentions) and then uses this kind of understanding to help him make sense of what is said to him. Looking not at what children say but at what they do, the work of Athey (1990) and that of Nutbrown (1999) clearly demonstrates how, as children pursue accepted schema for considerable periods of time, these can be identified and supported by practitioners. Early learning is seen, for instance in Atheys work, to have its own recognisable and valid characteristics.Nutbrown (1999) draws out the implication of that work for the assessment of childrens pathways and patterns of dev elopment and interest. This work along with that of Drummond (1993) exemplifies vividly how much of childrens learning there is to see if practitioners are open to seeing it by flavour beyond what children can tell us and instead observing what they very can do. Play provides an important vehicle and context for this work. Key point During the early childhood period, childrens learning is highly complex and is made visible through assessing carefully and thoughtfully.Key theoretical constructs for assessment Dahlberg, Moss and Pence (1999) observe that in recent years, especially in Western Europe, there has been a process of rethinking childhood that has led to new constructions of the child. They locate this process in a number of interrelated developments with respect to learning theories philosophy psychology sociology and a concurrent questioning of previous understandings in these fields. From this post-modern perspective, the young child is seen, from the counterbalance of life, as a construction of his or her own world.This is very similar to the perspective adopted by Malaguzzi (1993), the founder of the world-renowned Reggio genus Emilia pre-schools in Italy. Dahlberg et al. (1999) describe how in Reggio Emilia pre-schools, the young child is understood as a unique, complex individual who is rich in the sense that he or she is equipped from the start to engage fully and actively in their world. A wider discussion of these perspectives follows. 13 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessmentEcological perspectives Ecological and socio-cultural theories of learning have largely dominated explanations of development and learning in early childhood in recent years. For instance, ecological (Bronfenbrenner 1979) and bioecological (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 1998) models of human development have been influential in efforts to understand learning and development and associated pr ocesses such as assessment. These models emphasise the role in human development of both the environment and of processes.The research paper, Perspectives on the relationship between education and care (Hayes, 2007) in turn cozy ups both the importance of care and education in facilitating childrens overall development. From this perspective, human development is seen as taking place as a result of progressively more complex multiplicative inverse interactions (p. 996) between the young child and the people, objects and symbols in the environment. To be effective the interactions must occur on a fairly regular basis over extend periods of time (p. 996).These enduring forms of interaction (proximal processes) are seen as key to learning and development and we must study these interactions over time and alongside the observation of behaviour in natural settings. From an ecologicaltheory perspective, Bronfenbrenner (1979) describes how the learner can participate in increasingly mor e complex learning situations and in doing so take increasingly greater responsibility in the learning situation. The perspective also emphasises the agency or active nature of children in their interactions with adults, objects and symbols.The model can be used to draw attention to the interpersonal and situational aspects of assessment, for example the importance of the personal characteristics of the child and the adult in the assessment context, the importance of reciprocal interactions between child and adult and the importance of assessing childrens level of engagement with the objects and symbols provided in the immediate environment. Thus the ecological approach emphasises assessment of children busy in real tasks in natural settings.This perspective sits very well with the socio-cultural perspective that we look at next. Socio-cultural perspectives In the past twain decades socio-cultural perspectives, that is perspectives that highlight the social and cultural nature of learning, are increasingly used to justify the ways that learning and development occur in early childhood (Anning, Cullen and Fleer, 2004). Socio-cultural theories of learning suggest that the process of learning is as much a social construction as it is an individual one. Rogoff (1998, p. 91) describes development as chemise of participation. Transformation occurs at a number of levels for instance, the learner changes at the level of their involvement, in the role they play in the learning situation, in the ability they demonstrate in moving flexibly from one learning context to another, and in the amount of responsibility taken in the situation. Activity theory also concentrates on the social aspects of learning. Activity theory Activity theory, which is a development of aspects of Vygotskys work (See for example, Engerstrom et al. 1999), is also being highlighted as a theoretical framework that may be useful in explaining the complexity of learningrelated issues in early chil dhood. Fleer, Anning and Cullen (2004) explain how use theory, in common with Rogoffs discussion of socio-cultural theory, focuses on the study of the complexity of human behaviour in social groups and in specific contexts. The theory is premised on the impression that the contextual features of a task transmit to performance on that task (p. 178).Furthermore, children use tools such as language, a particular action or resource to mediate knowledge in interactions with others. But the cultural features of the context in which they use these tools influences the way activities are performed and understood. Key point If socio-cultural theory informs our understanding of how children learn, it also by implication informs our understanding of assessment. 14 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessmentWhat all of these perspectives hold in common is their emphasis on the socially constructed nature of learning and of assessment. There are a number of other important constructs that also unite them to greater or lesser degrees. These include childrens agency, the importance of collaboration, and the co-construction of meaning and knowledge. These constructs are particularly helpful when thinking about the quality of the interactions between practitioners and young learners. Quality interactions are increasingly recognised as central to pedagogy (Black and Wiliam 1998a Siraj-Blatchford et al. , 2002).The next sub-section discusses these ideas in some detail, and in doing so, draws out the implications for assessment practices in early childhood. Childrens agency Bruner (1999a) argues that advances in the study of human development provide us with a profile of the child as an active, lettered being with knowledge as man-made rather than simply there with ways to negotiate with others in the construction of knowledge. (See French (2007) for more small information. ) A crucial aspect of ide ntity and self-esteem is that the child sees him/her self as an agent in control of his/her own actions.Some ways in which children display their agency is by taking the initiative in learning situations, by observing and becoming involved in ongoing events, or by initiating conversations with others. Agency is about taking more control of your own mental activity (Bruner, 1996, p. 87). Bruner argues that the agentive mind is not only active in nature but it seeks out dialogue and discourse with other active minds (p. 93). Bruner (1999a) identifies efforts to recognise childrens perspectives in the processes of learning as highly significant and he uses the term pedagogy of mutuality (p. 3) to describe the pedagogy that arises from such endeavours. It is premised on the belief that children are able to reason to make sense (both alone and in discourse with others) to reflect and to hold theories about self and about the world. The practitioner, according to Bruner (p. 12) is concern ed with understanding what the child thinks and how he/she arrives at what he/she believes. He identifies four key research constructs which have enriched this perspective on teaching and learning (and by implication assessment) Intersubjectivity how the child develops the ability to read other minds Theory of mind the childs acquire of anothers intentional state Meta-cognition what the child thinks about learning, remembering thinking Collaborative learning how children, through talk and discussion, explain and revision their thinking. These theoretical ideas are important also in the analysis of assessment as it relates to early learning and development. Childrens collaboration in learning is also important and this is considered below. Key pointThe active role which children themselves play in their interactions with others needs to be recognised and taken into account in any assessment of learning. Childrens collaboration in learning Zone of proximal development Vygotsk ys theory of learning (1978 1986) has been highly influential in helping to explain the processes of learning in early childhood. In particular, his notion of the zone of proximal development has provided the foundation and potential for some of the most important recent initiatives in the assessment of individual childrens learning (Lunt, 2000).Berk and Winsler (1995) describe Vygotskys zone of proximal development (ZPD) as a dynamic zone of sensitivity in which learning and cognitive development occur. Tasks that children cannot do individually but they can do with help from others raise mental functioning that are currently in the process of developing, rather than those that have already matured (p. 26). It appears that Vygotsky originally introduced the ZPD in the context of lean against intelligence testing which he felt was desire to assess something passive and did not reflect the dynamic and ever-changing 5 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting ear ly learning and development through formative assessment nature of human cognition. Adult-child collaboration within the ZPD is critical for effective teaching and learning interactions because it is within such interactions that the practitioner identifies how the child may be assisted in learning and what the child is exposed of doing with appropriate support. The practitioner also has the opportunity to assess the impact of such support on the childs progress.This approach to assessment effectively merges the teaching and assessment processes. It is commonly referred to as dynamic assessment. When Feuerstein (1979) first proposed this form of assessment he was envisioning, in essence, a joint problem-solving situation during which the practitioner gauges the nature and extent of assistance required by the child in order to solve the problem. Childrens responsiveness to appropriate instructional interactions is a key factor in dynamic assessment situations and it is now considere d to be an important predictor of learning potential (Berk and Winsler, 1995).Lidz (1991) emphasises that The focus of dynamic assessment is on the assessors ability to discover the means of facilitating the learning of the child, not on the childs demonstration of ability to the assessor (as cited in Berk and Winsler, 1995, p. 139). Dynamic assessment is considered by Berk and Winsler (ibid. ) as especially useful for making visible the learning potential of those children whose early experiences do not include experiences that prepare them for learning in group/institutional settings. (For a comprehensive discussion of dynamic assessment and emerging approaches to such assessment, see Lunt, 2000).The concept of hold up is often associated with ZPD and it is this which we turn our attention to next. Key point Practitioners interactions with children often incorporate both teaching and assessment. It is critical that the practitioner is capable of prosecute certain interactive sk ills in such situations since these will be necessary to ensure optimal learning and development. Scaffolding Effective scaffolding (Wood, Bruner and Ross, 1976), where the adult guides the childs learning in the ZPD, is an important feature of the engagement of the child in joint problem solving.Here, the child interacts with the practitioner while the two are jointly toilsome to reach a goal and this results in the boldness of intersubjectivity (Newson and Newson, 1975). Intersubjectivity refers to the process whereby two participants achieve a shared understanding whilst undertaking a task that they approach from different perspectives. The parties co-construct meanings in activities that involve higherorder thinking (Vygotsky, 1978). Rogoff (1998) emphasises the ongoing mutual process of understanding, which is inherent in joint problemsolving interactions.She also draws attention to the institutional and cultural aspects of joint problemsolving activities. She distinguishes b etween her socio-cultural approach to studying experts support of critics learning and other approaches which focus on particular techniques such as scaffolding. Rogoff distinguishes between the concepts of scaffolding and of working in the zone of proximal development. She describes scaffolding as a specific technique focusing on what experts provide for novices it focuses on the tutors efforts as they relate contingently to the novices successes and failures (p. 699).However, working in the zone of proximal development is, in her view, wider than scaffolding. It focuses on the processes of communication that builds a continually evolving mutual perspective. It is a way of describing an activity in which someone with greater expertise assists someone else to participate in socio-cultural activities in a way that exceeds what they could do otherwise (p. 699). common contribution is an essential consideration so interactions and communicative and collaborative processes all form part of the picture, rather than just the childs successes or errors as in scaffolding.Rogoff argues that The concept of scaffolding does not refer to the institutional and cultural context in which it occurs, whereas the concept of zone of proximal development requires attention to processes of communication and the relation of the interaction at hand to institutional, cultural and historic processes. (p. 700) 16 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Key point Supporting childrens learning is an important part of assessment. For the practitioner this is often far more complex than simply applying a technique such as scaffolding.Learners make an equally important contribution. Intersubjectivity and collaboration are important in scaffolding childrens learning and we look at these two concepts below. Intersubjectivity and collaboration Rogoff (1990 1998) has illustrated how children make an important co ntribution in collaborating in the process of establishing joint understanding. Children, including infants in the first year of life, can sometimes be observed to be deliberately taking the lead in collaborative activities by seeking information or by tell activities.Rogoffs analysis, consistent with Vygotsky, suggests that the intersubjectivity as achieved by adults and babies is different from that achieved by adults and children who can use linguistic (verbal and gestural) communication to achieve mutual understandings. This then has implications for the assessment process across the age range birth to six years. Working in the zone of proximal development with a toddler will include the adult engaging in the demonstration of objects, collaborative activity with objects and the focusing of the childs attention.Rogoff (1998) points out that the child, for example in seeking to help the adult in everyday chores, very often initiates such activity. Older toddlers and young childre n will often seek to assert their emancipation in doing a particular task themselves but Rogoffs analysis of the research suggests that they also will actively seek assistance when they are stuck. Recently a question has arisen about the capacity of early years settings to support the kinds of relationships and shared experiences that enable children to engage in the types of social participation that promote optimum learning (Parker-Rees, 2007).The research indicates that the nature and scope of babies, toddlers and childrens interactions with parents, the playful quality of these interactions and the extent to which relationships can influence reciprocal onomatopoetic behaviour (an important process of learning especially in the first year) must all be fully appreciated by practitioners and be seen as desirable conditions for learning in the setting. Key point The concept of collaboration is key when considering assessment from a socio-cultural perspective.In collaborating, the child and the practitioner are involved in each others thinking processes through shared efforts. In order to assess certain aspects of learning by babies, toddlers and young children, it is essential for adults to collaborate with the children in order to understand their learning. The co-construction of knowledge is supported by intersubjectivity and collaboration and it is to this that we next draw our attention. Children as co-constructors of knowledgeIn recent times the term co-construction has featured prominently in influential early childhood publications, although it was implicit in the last century in the work of Dewey (1933) who emphasised the ways in which children construct their learning by actively engaging in, and shaping, their experiences and environments. For instance, Jordan (2004) discusses the term scaffolding and compares it with coconstruction. The specific pattern of interaction that characterised early accounts of scaffolding, according to Jordan (ibid. and Rogoff (1998), generally maintained the power and control with the adult. They argue that the term co-construction emphasises the child as a powerful player in his/her own learning. An example of how this process of co-construction works in practice is illustrated in the discussions of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education (Edwards, Gandini and Forman, 1998). Co-construction refers to adults and children making meaning and knowledge together (MacNaughton and Williams, 2004).Co-construction recognises the childs expertise and in order to understand this, the practitioner needs to interact with the child and become aware of the childs thoughts and thereby to establish intersubjectivity. 17 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Recent research (Siraj-Blatchford et al. , 2002) also highlighted the process of co-construction and found it to be a key factor in terms of promoting childrens learning.Essentially a co-construction perspective emphasises understanding and meaning on the part of both child and adult, rather than the acquisition of facts by the child. Jordan (2004) concludes that the two concepts, scaffolding and co-construction have different applicability depending on whether the goal of the practitioner is the exploration of thinking or the achievement of pre-specified learning goals. Key point Co-construction of meaning and knowledge is central to teaching, learning and assessment and it occurs when both child and practitioner engage together in achieving mutual understanding.Play as a context for formative assessment As this paper demonstrates, childrens learning is complex and assessment approaches need to take awareness of this. In early childhood, this complexity is abundantly unvarnished as children engage in play. The importance of play to young childrens learning and development is a key principle for early childhood practitioners (Wood, 2004). Assessing childrens understandings and progress as they play, either alone or with others, is a crucial activity in early years settings. In assessing the childs learning through play the adult can use a range of approaches and methods.Practitioners make assessments by focusing on childrens play interests, their levels of engagement and participation. They make assessments while skilfully engaging with children in play. Skilful engagement includes intervention in play as and when appropriate. Such interventions may serve to initiate or sustain interactions, thereby leading to shared talking and thinking. They may also involve scaffolding children in order to enable them to reach their potential at a particular time. (See the research paper, Play as a context for early learning and development (Kernan, 2007) for detailed information on play. Childrens learning is a complex matter and assessment approaches need to take cognisance of this. The paper now looks at emerging approaches to assessment, all of which take account of play as a vehicle for learning and development. Key point Assessing childrens understandings and progress as they play, either alone or with others, is a crucial activity in early years settings. acclivitous approaches to assessment The rationale for using assessment to enrich and extend childrens learning can be located in recent developments in societys understandings of learning in the early years.For instance, in recent decades there have been very big changes in our understandings of human nature and of learning. Gardner (1999, p. 91) reviews what he describes as several lines of evidence from the cognitive, neural, and developmental sciences which point to a far more capacious view of the human mind and of human learning than that which informed earlier conceptions. He presents a picture of assessment that builds on the newly emerging picture of human development (see Table 1). Gardners principles complement the earlier principles pre sented by Shepard et al. 1998). (See pages 16-17. ) 18 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Table 1 Gardners understanding of human development and assessment and Shepards guiding principles of assessment Features of human development Features of assessment In understanding human development, there is Assessment should be simple, natural and occurring on a reliable schedule evidence for the cosmos of multiple faculties or intelligences have ecological validity (be done in situations hat are real) recognition of vast individual differences the desirability of assessing learning in context utilise instruments that are intelligence-fair and not dependent on language or logical faculties locating competence and skill extraneous the head of the individual. use multiple measures be sensitive to individual differences, developmental levels and forms of expertise use materials which are intrinsical ly interesting and move yield information to be used for the learners benefit. a necessity for a developmental perspective n emergence of a symbol-system perspective Performance and authentic assessment incorporate some of Gardners ideas and a discussion of these follows below. Performance assessment and authentic assessment Emerging approaches to assessment take account of developments in theories about learning and about human development. Performance assessment is currently seen as an approach that is particularly appropriate for assessing many aspects of early learning and development (see Bowman et al. , 2001). Meisels (1999) describes performance assessment as assessments that are ounded on the notion that learning and development can only be assessed over time and in interactions with materials, objects and other people. In this approach to assessment, the expectation is that tasks must be practical, realistic and challenging for children (Torrance, 2001). Performance as sessment implies observation of children as they undertake a number of routine tasks in early learning settings. According to Meisels (1999, p. 58) these should meet a number of criteria tasks should bring together various skills that children display and demonstrate during the course of interactions children should be assisted to perform to the very best of their ability tasks should be guided by developmental standards tasks should engage children in reflection about their work and in articulating their ideas about their learning. Authentic assessment is a type of performance assessment. It is described as harmonious with the prevailing philosophy that emphasises substantial child development (Puckett and Black 2000, p. 6). This philosophy explains development across a range of domains (for example social, moral, emotional, language and cognitive).It also recognises the diversity of early learning and the role of environmental factors in shaping that learning. From an authen tic assessment perspective, curriculum and assessment are interwoven and emphasise relevant and meaningful experiences. Assessment focuses on what children do, and on how they do it in the context of meaningful tasks. Authentic assessment has a number of identifiable features (Puckett and Black, 2000, p. 7), including the following 19 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment an emphasis on emerging development a focus on the young childs individual strengths and weaknesses is based on principles of child growth and development emanates from logical, meaningful, relevant and relevant curricula is performance based recognises different intelligence and learning styles is reflective and analytic is ongoing and occurs in many contexts is collaborative with learners, parents and others involved in childrens learning is interwoven with teaching. Key point Authentic assessment is compatible with a wh ole child perspective on learning and development. 20 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum FrameworkSupporting early learning and development through formative assessment Summary Where the purpose of assessment is to promote further learning, assessment becomes a particular type of teaching strategy. (See Marshall and Drummond, 2006). Assessment from a socio-cultural perspective takes account of the key learning processes as resolute by socio-cultural theory. In particular, collaboration and the importance in that process of the establishment of mutual understanding (intersubjectivity) need to be emphasised, as do ideas about childrens agency and those related to the co-construction of knowledge and understanding.An understanding of the different processes that contribute to childrens learning, and the types of interactions that promote it are key to understanding how such learning can best be assessed. The recognition of these processes at work is also central in conceptualising assessment approaches that take account of and display the key role of children themselves in the assessment process. Authentic assessment reflects new understandings about learning and about human development, and recognises the holistic, contextualised and dynamic nature of learning in early childhood.Having discussed the interconnection between how children learn and approaches to assessment, the next section looks at what to assess in childrens early learning and development. 21 Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Supporting early learning and development through formative assessment Section 3 What to assess in early learning This section of the paper identifies aspects of learning that are of concern in assessing childrens early learning and development. The challenges of assessing a wide range of learning and development in a balanced way are discussed.The essentials of learning Skills and knowledge are important in respect of early learning. However, increasingl y there are calls for a wider view of what it is that children are learning in the years from birth to six, and for explicitness about other areas of childrens development that are now recognised as critical for long term success. For instance, Bertram and Pascal (2002) identify social competence, emotional well-being and dispositions to learn as core constituent elements of the effective learner.In relation to each of these areas they identify elements that characterise the effective learner. Indicators related to disposition include independence, creativity, self-motivation and resilience. Those related to emotional literacy include empowerment, connectedness, and positive self-esteem. Those related to social competence inco