Preschool Teachers' Learning to Understand and Support Children's Initiative: A Classroom-Based Assessment Approach

Abstract“Approaches to Learning”(ATL) was viewed as one of the most important domains of early childhood development by many early learning experts because the components are domain-general. In China, "pay attention to... [ view full abstract ]

Abstract

“Approaches to Learning”(ATL) was viewed as one of the most important domains of early childhood development by many early learning experts because the components are domain-general. In China, "pay attention to children’s ATL” was first put forward in “Learning and Development Guidelines for 3 to 6 Years Old Children” in 2012. However, preschool teachers rarely understood ATL and found it difficult to notice and support children’s ATL in daily activities. Since initiative was considered as the key element of ATL in children’s learning and development by many researchers, this study examined the impact of classroom-based assessment on the beliefs and practices of preschool teachers concerning initiative, which include four aspects such as making choices and plans, participation, problem solving, and appropriate adventure implementation. Project of initiative assessment was conducted by eight teachers in four classes. Results suggest that, the teachers had a more systematic and profound understanding of initiative, had a more objective and comprehensive assessment of children’s initiative, had a more in-depth reflection on the next instructional design and how to support children’s initiative by a Classroom-Based Assessment Approach.

Keywords

Approaches to Learning; Initiative; Classroom-based assessment; Preschool teachers