Course: Foundation of Education

Topic outline

General
UNIT 1 PEDAGOGICAL DOCUMENTS
Key unit competence: Make a variety of pedagogical documents properly
Introductory Activity
1. Have a visit to the nearest pre-primary & primary school and collect
information about pedagogical documents:
a) what are they?
b) How often they are filled in and how (observe some sample)?
c) What is their importance?
d) What is the link between them?
e) Why are they important?
2. After the school visit, consolidate the information collected and share with your classmates.
1.1. Introduction to pedagogical documents
Activity 1.1
1. Based on information collected, who are the users of pedagogical documents?
2. What are the documents that you are already able to prepare and use from year one?
There is a number of pedagogical documents a professional teacher in Rwanda
should have in class and use adequately. Many of them are prepared by the
teacher based on documents that are designed at national level. The main
documents are: Copies of subject syllabi, scheme of work, lesson plan, class
diary, attendance register, Assessment notebook for homework, test, exams and marking scheme and marks record.
Some of these documents such as lesson and syllabi were taught and used from year one during micro-teaching
sessions. This textbook will therefore be limited to the remaining documents.
Pedagogical documents are used by the teacher for long- and short-term
planning, implementation and evaluation of the teaching and learning process.
They meant to make teaching and learning more organised and effective.
These documents are also used by educational supervisors at different level
ranging from the school up to the national level, to monitor the implementation of the curriculum.
Application Activity 1.1
Based on information collected, explain how pedagogical documents
are important for both teachers and educational supervisors.
1.2. Scheme of work
1.2.1. Definition and importance of scheme of work
Activity 1.2.1
Read the scheme of work given by the tutor and discuss the importance
of scheme of work for the teacher.
Definition
A scheme of work is a plan of action which enables a teacher to organise
teaching activities ahead of time. It is summarizes forecast of work which the
teacher considers adequate and appropriate for the class, to cover in a given
period. The scheme of work organises the learning content in a timely manner
according to the school calendar and based on the subject syllabus/curriculum.
It determines the content and competences to be covered in a week, a month, a term or a year.
Importance of the scheme of work
A well-prepared scheme of work among other things:
- Gives an overview of the course content for a specific period such as week, a term, or a year.
- Indicates period or time when each unit and lesson will be taught
- Provides a logical sequencing of units and related competences on one hand and lessons within a unit on the other
hand.
- Help the teacher to identify ahead of time the required teaching and learning resources (material and human).
This help to think and plan for their provision.
- Suggests key teaching methods and techniques be planned.
- Indicates time when end unit assessment and exams will take place
- Suggests assessment techniques and procedures
1.2.2. Format of a scheme of work for primary level
Activity 1.2.2
Read the scheme of work given by the tutor and identify components of
a scheme of work and the content of each component.
Source: Adapted from REB (2015): Teacher training manual: Rooll out of the Competence-Based Curriculum
The above format is for primary and for one term. Here below are explanations
of the different elements of the format:
• Identification: Academic year, school name, teacher’s name, class/ classes and combinations, term, subject,
number of periods allocated to the subject per week.
• Column of dates: using the school calendar, the teacher puts dates of working days week per week.
Example: From 5/08 up to 9/08/2019.
• Column of unit title: From the syllabus
• Column of lesson title: the lesson title can be copied from the syllabus or the teacher’s guide or formulated
by the teacher based on the content and the learning objectives from the syllabus.
A lesson is a learning unit that can be taught in one period or more. Lessons result
from the sequencing of the unit content.
• Column of learning objectives: the learning objectives can be copied and pasted from the syllabus
or the Teacher’s Guide or reformulated for more coherence with the content.
Objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable and corresponding to a lesson.
• At the end of each unit, this column contains the key unit competence which serves as reference for end unit assessment.
• Column of Teaching methods & techniques: The teacher think about the best teaching methods and techniques.
Some techniques/methods that require extra financial resources, administrative requirements such as field visit, need to be planned and budgeted for. At the end of each unit, this column contains also the assessment techniques/
procedures to be used during the end unit assessment.
• Column of resources (material and/or human) that will be needed to achieve the learning objective.
This will help the teacher and the school
Head Teacher to plan for their provision. This column contains also the key references to be used during lesson planning. References include
books, handouts, worksheets, journals, reports, etc. It is necessary for the teacher to indicate the books, their authors and relevant pages to facilitate the lesson planning.
• Column of “number of periods”: in this column, the teacher puts the number of periods allocated to each lesson and unit.
Column of remarks: remarks in the scheme of work should be made immediately after the lesson delivery. (date when taught). The teacher is supposed to indicate whether what was planned for the period has been covered, whether there was over planning or failure of lesson and reasons for either case, etc. Remarks suggested are meant to help the teacher in his future planning.
Remarks such as “excellent” “done; “OK”, “well done”, “satisfactory” or “taught might not be very useful to the teacher. Such remarks as “the lesson was not very well done because of inadequate teaching aids” or “pupils were able to apply concept learnt in solving problems as evident from supervised practice” etc. are appropriate. After the remarks, it is necessary to write the date when this lesson was taught.
Application Activity 1.2.2
Based on the format, identify the required documents to elaborate the scheme of work
1.2.3. Making a scheme of work for primary level
Activity 1.2.3
1. Analyze a completed scheme of work and assess whether this is well completed. Suggest corrections if necessary.
2. What do you think would be the steps for planning a scheme of work?
Step 1: Units distribution per term
Based on the school calendar, the subject syllabus and the number of periods
allocated to the subject per week, the teacher:
-Determines the number of available periods in a school year for each;
-Makes a distribution of units for each term.
Example: For a school year of 39 weeks, a subject of 1 period per week which
has 9 units in total, the unit distribution would be as follows:

Step 2: Unit planning
Using the syllabus, the teacher proceeds to the following unit by unit:
a) Identifying unit title and related allocated number of periods
b) Identifying the key unit competence
c) Identifying and arranging lessons in a logical manner
- Arrange lessons in a sequence / order in which they will be taught, from the simplest to the most complex.
- A lesson is a set of inseparable content which can help learners to acquire
a certain competence. It can be taught in one or more periods.
d) Set out learning objectives for each lesson
- The teacher avoids to always directly copy them from the syllabus. He/
she should adapt those objectives from the syllabus;
- An element of Attitudes and values should always appear.
e) Identifying teaching and learning resources as well as relevant references for each lesson within the unit;
f) Identifying teaching and learning methods/techniques as well as assessment procedures within the unit;
g) Allocate periods to each lesson and the end unit assessment.
Step 3: Filling in the above identified/elaborated information in the scheme of work template.
Application Activity 1.2.3
1) Using the primary syllabus, based on the above guidelines, make a scheme of work and share with your classmate.
2) To implement the comprehensive assessment, REB designed the content distributions for all subjects to be followed by all schools.
Choose a sample of the content distribution from REB website, compare with the scheme of work and answer the following questions:
a) What is the difference between the scheme of work and the content distribution?
b) Do you think that these content distributions can replace the scheme work? Explain.
1.2.4. Format of scheme of work for pre-primary (ECLPE option)
Application Activity 1.2.4
Compare and contrast pre-primary scheme of work from primary scheme of work template.
a) Introduction
Usually, a scheme of work is planned by a teacher at school level. Exception was for pre-primary to support teachers making a theme-based scheme of work.
It was challenging for teachers to organize the learning around one theme without a common plan countrywide.
The elaborated scheme of work will help teachers in the weekly thematic planning.
The scheme of work was elaborated based on thirty-nine weeks (39) as planned in competence-based curriculum.
The school year is divided into three terms and each term has thirteen (13) weeks even though the reality shows that the
school calendar does not necessarily have thirteen weeks per term. This is why it is strongly recommended that teachers make required adjustments to the official school calendar
b) Structure of Pre-primary scheme of work (Isaranganyamasomo ryo mu mashuri y’inshuke , 2018)
The scheme of work elaborated by REB is designed per learning area as follows:
- Discovery of the world
- Numeracy
- Ikinyarwanda
- English
- Creative Arts and culture
- Physical development and Health
The structure of the scheme of work of a learning area is organized per grade,
per term and per week as follows:
- Each learning area is organized per grade level: Grade 1, 2, and 3.
- Each grade shows the content, competences to be covered per term
- Each term is broken down into weekly thematic planning.
c) Format of a theme-based scheme
The format below applies for learning areas whose content is mainly generated from the theme.
These are: Kinyarwanda, English and creative arts and culture.
The thematic planning is mandatory for these learning areas. All themes are from Discovery of the world.
The thematic learning should always start by discovery of the world for children to explore using their senses.
In so doing, their will create and express their feelings (songs, poems, drawings,..) about what they know.

d) Format of scheme of work for Discovery of the world, Numeracy, and Physical development and health
The scheme of work of Discovery of the world, Numeracy, and Physical development and health is not necessarily thematic. The thematic planning will be done by teachers themselves where possible, when making the weekly
thematic planning. In fact, for some learning areas other approaches can be better than the thematic one,
to develop expected competences. For example:
in Numeracy, for children to classify objects based on a given criterion, they need many objects of different
kind instead of being limited on objects that are related to the weekly theme.
Example of format of scheme of work for term two and three

f) Explanation on the formats of the scheme of work
- The two first weeks of term one, are planned for induction related activities and diagnostic assessment for screening children abilities. It is expected that children may start pre-primary not only in grade one but also in grade two and three.
- The first week of term two and three is planned for revision of contents learnt in previous term(s).
- The mid-term week is reserved for making a progress report to assess the child’s progress and take appropriate strategies in line with continuous assessment principles.
- The two last weeks of each term are reserved for making an end term report which shows a child’s progress.
- The remaining weeks of term are planned for teaching and learning activities
- There is one theme in the same week for all learning areas where thematic planning applies.
NOTE: All themes have been drawn-from discovery of the world, but teaching based on those themes does not mean teach discovery of the world. Teachers should take the theme as a way of developing competences in different learning
areas.
Application Activity 1.2.4
Using the pre-primary scheme of work, choose one week from any grade and check if all learning areas turn around the same theme in the same week. What do you conclude?
1.2.5. Making a thematic weekly planning for pre-primary
Activity 1.2.5
Read and analyse the thematic web diagram and the weekly plan
from the REB training module (Imfashanyigisho y’amahugurwa
ku nteganyanyigisho y’uburezi bw’inshuke, 2016). Based on your
prerequisites from Pre-primary Teaching Methods and Practice (TMP)
in year one and Foundations of Education in year one about thematic
approach, answers the following questions:
1) What are the required documents to make a thematic web diagram?
2) What is the importance of the web diagram in making the weekly plan?
3) What are the key parts of the weekly plan?
4) What are the required documents to make a weekly plan?
Steps for making a thematic planning using the pre-primary scheme of work
Pre-primary teachers to prepare a weekly thematic planning using the scheme of work.
Here below are steps to go through:
Step 1: Making a thematic web planning
Using the syllabus, the scheme of work, considering the grade, term and week
number, the teacher proceeds as follows:
Example: Week X
- Identify the weekly theme for week x from the scheme of work
- For each learning area, identify the content and learning objectives planed for week x, in a given grade and term
- Make a thematic web planning to have an overview on what will be taught around the theme of the week.
Examples of a thematic web planning

Example 2

Step 2: Making a thematic weekly plan using the format
The weekly plan is elaborated in order to put the termly plan into practice.
In formulating it, consideration should be given to the continuity of life of the
children, because we generally spend our daily life on a weekly basis. Here
below is the format for the thematic weekly plan. It is done based on the daily
schedule to include all daily learning activities
Thematic weekly Planning format
School’s Name: ________________________Teacher’s Name: _________________________
Using the syllabus, the scheme of work, the pre-primary daily schedule and the
thematic web planning (made in step 1) for the week the teacher is planning for
and any other useful resource, he/she fills in the weekly plan format as follows:
- Write the key learning area from the thematic web planning for each types of activity in the daily schedule
- Identify other learning areas that can be integrated. Example: Being in the key learning area of literacy (Kinyarwanda), a story can develop numeracy skills depending on its content. In this case Numeracy will be in the column of other learning areas. This is appropriate for preprimary, there is no clear cut between learning area.
- Set out the learning objective having in mind the key unit competence
- Identify the teacher’s and related learning activities
- Create a list of teaching and learning resources that you will need for the week. When creating your list, write down the resources that are available in the classroom, those that are to be collected, made, purchased, etc.
Application Activity 1.2.5
1) Using the pre-primary scheme of work, choose one week from a grade and term of your choice and make a thematic
web diagram.
2) From the thematic web diagram you came up with, make a weekly plan according to the format.
1.2.6. Daily plan for pre-primary
Activity 1.2.6
Read and analyse the weekly and related daily plans from the REB training module (Imfashanyigisho y’amahugurwa ku nteganyanyigisho y’uburezi bw’inshuke, 2016). Answer the following question:
What is your conclusion about making a daily plan based on the weekly plan?
Format of a daily schedule
Date: …………. Weekly theme:…………………………………………

Source: Adapted from REB (2016): Imfashanyigisho y’amahugurwa ku
nteganyanyigisho y’uburezi bw’inshuke
Application Activity 1.2.6
Choose one day from the weekly plan you made and make a daily
schedule of activities.
1.3. Other pedagogical documents
Activity 1.3
1) List down other documents that you have been shown by the teachers when you were at the demonstration school for
observation.
2) Based on information collected from the model school, explain the importance and how to fill in the following documents:
a) Class diary
b) Attendance register
c) Marks records
a) Class diary
The class diary is a daily planning tool. It is completed every day before lessons
except the last column of observation which is filled in after each lesson.
The teacher uses the school timetable and the lesson plans for all lessons for the day.
The format of the class diary provide space for the following:
Date
- Time: From which time to which time the lesson is going to take place.
- Subject: This refers to the subject name (eg: English, Mathematics,…)
- Matter: Put the unit title
- Lesson: Lesson title of the day (from the lesson plan).
- Application: Put the assessment technique that will help to evaluate whether the learning objective was achieved.
- Observations: this column is completed immediately after the lesson and contains evaluation remarks related to the effectiveness of teaching and learning techniques and resources. Comments such as “Done”, “Very good”, “OK”, are not appropriate. It is very important to explain the reasons of success or failure such as the lesson was not well done because of inadequate teaching aids or the teaching strategies were adequate.
b) Attendance/ Call register
On daily basis, the teacher keeps a record of pupils’ attendances and absences.
He/she calculates the total number of attendances every day and their percentage at the end of the month.
The teacher must inform regularly the school authorities, especially the school Head teacher of unjustifiable
class absences. This tool helps teachers to ensure pupils’ follow up on their attendances.
The teacher must be in touch with parents and be informed about reasons of absence to ensure the pupils’ learning process.
c) Learners progress records/ Marks records
The learners’ progress records show the learners’ achievements in every piece of work that is assessed (homework, test, exams.). They are designed to show the progress each learner is making in every subject.
The records may be numerical or descriptive notes explaining the progress of the learner.
d) Evaluation book and marking scheme
This a notebook or a file in which a teacher writes papers of homework, tests,
exams and related marking scheme.
Application Activity 1.3
1) Using lesson plans you have prepared for micro-teaching in year one, complete a template of class diary.
2) Using a completed page of attendance register provided by your tutor, calculate the average of class attendance
at the end of a month.
3) Explain why it is important to keep students ‘marks record.
End Unit Assessment
During the supervision, you have been requested by the Head teacher to submit all pedagogical documents.
a) Outline any two reasons why the Head Teacher needs to check all pedagogical documents?
b) What documents do you think the supervisor will focus on? Justify your answer with at least two arguments.
c) Choose any two pedagogical documents from the ones studied in this unit and complete them.
UNIT 2 PEDAGOGICAL ASSESSMENT
Key Unit competence: Select appropriate assessment methods/ techniques and create relevant assessment tools
to assess learners’ competences.
Introductory Activity

Observe the image above and answer the questions that follow:
1) What those pupils are doing?
2) What is the purpose of this activity?
3) Comparing to your experience, when this activity is given to pupils?
4) What do you think the teacher has done before the activity and what will be done next?
5) Apart from the teacher and learners seen on the photo, what are other persons do you think they can
be involved in this activity? What will be their role?
2.1. Key concepts related to pedagogical assessment
Activity 2.1

a) Assessment
This is regarded as those formal and informal procedures that teachers and learners employ in gathering information on learning and making judgment about what learners know and can do. As opposed to the misconception most
people have always had that assessment comes after teaching, assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning.
b) Competence-based assessment
This is an assessment process in which a learner is confronted with a complex situation relevant to his/her everyday life and asked to look for a solution by applying what has been learned (knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes).
Evidence of learning is then collected and used as the basis on which judgments are made concerning learner’s progress against fixed performance criteria.
c) Competence-Based assessment versus Knowledge-Based assessment

d) Difference between assessment and evaluation
Educators use two distinct processes to help students build lifelong learning skills: assessment and evaluation. Assessment provides feedback on
knowledge, skills, attitudes, and work products for the purpose of elevating future performances and learning outcomes. Evaluation determines the level of quality of a performance or outcome and enables decision-making based on
the level of quality demonstrated. These two processes are complementary and necessary in education.
The significant differences between assessment and evaluation are discussed in the points given below:
- The process of collecting, reviewing and using data, for the purpose of improvement in the current performance, is called assessment. A process of passing judgment, on the basis of defined criteria and evidence is called evaluation.
- Assessment is diagnostic in nature as it tends to identify areas of improvement. On the other hand, evaluation is judgmental, because it aims at providing an overall grade.
- The assessment provides feedback on performance and ways to enhance performance in future. As against this, evaluation ascertains whether the standards are met or not.
- The purpose of assessment is formative, i.e. to increase quality whereas evaluation is all about judging quality, therefore the purpose is summative.
- Assessment is concerned with process, while evaluation focuses on product.
- In an assessment, the feedback is based on observation and positive & negative points. In contrast to evaluation, in which the feedback relies on the level of quality as per set standard.
- In an assessment, the relationship between assessor and assessee is reflective, i.e. the criteria are defined internally. On the contrary, the evaluator and evaluatee share a prescriptive relationship, wherein the standards are imposed externally.
- The criteria for assessment are set by both parties jointly. As opposed to evaluation, wherein the criteria are set by the evaluator.
- The measurement standards for assessment are absolute, which seeks to achieve the essential outcome. As against this, standards of measurement for evaluation are comparative, that makes a distinction between better and worse.
The above points are summarized in the table below:

Before carrying out assessment, teachers should be clear about why they should
assess, what should be assessed, when it should be assessed and how to do the
assessment. This will depend on types of assessment.
Application Activity 2.1
1) Complete the KWL chart in the column of what you have learnt (L) about assessment

2) Fill in the following adjective in the T-chart below whether they are qualifying assessment or evaluation: diagnostic, judgmental, absolute, comparative, reflective, prescriptive

2.2. Types of pedagogical assessment
Activity 2.2
Observe your school report of the previous year and explain how the teacher finds the marks to fill in your school report.
2.2.1. Types of assessment according to the assessment time
a) Diagnostic assessment
Diagnostic assessment is carried out before learning. At the beginning of a new section of work; to find out what learners already know and can do, and to check whether learners are at the same level.
b) Formative assessment
Formative assessment is daily monitoring of learning to provide ongoing feedback that teachers can use to improve their teaching and learners use to improve their acquisition of competences. Formative or Continuous assessment is among other things, intended to help teachers to assess curriculum learning objectives at short intervals of time, and provide effective remedial instruction for low achiever learners, or enrichment activities for high achievers.
When learners appear to be having difficulty with some of the work, by using on-going assessment. Formative assessment is also known as assessment for learning.
Formative assessment is used for the following purposes:
- Determine the extent to which learning objectives and competences are being achieved and to identify which schools need pedagogical advice and which learners need strategic and remedial interventions.
- Monitor the learner’s progress and provide him/her with constructive feedback.
- Diagnose or detect learning errors as a result of a wrong idea, or a misconception.
- Decide on the next steps in terms of progression.
- Keep records and measure the learner’s progress.
- Identify learners who are gifted and talented in order to provide enrichment work; and those who are struggling and need support in terms of remedial instruction.
- Motivate learners to learn and succeed, i.e, encourage learners to read, or learn more, revise, etc. Teachers need to consider various aspects of the instructional process including appropriate language levels, meaningful examples, suitable methods and teaching aids, appropriate pace, appropriate assignments, etc.
- Check effectiveness of teaching methods in terms of variety, appropriateness, relevance, or need for new approaches/strategies.
- Provide feedback to learners, parents and teachers.
- Help learners to take control of their own learning.
c) Summative assessment
Summative assessment is used to evaluate learner learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the completion of a defined instructional period, such as the end of a project, unit, course, term, school year and cycle. This is also known as assessment of learning to establish and record overall progress of learners towards full achievement.
Summative assessment mainly takes the form of written tests at the end of month, and examinations at the end of a term, school year or cycle.
The purpose of summative assessment is mainly concerned with appraisal of work in terms of units of work completed, and attempts to ascertain if goals of the unit, course or program have been achieved. It therefore comes at the end of the unit, course or program. Summative assessment is also used for selection, guidance on future courses, certification, promotion, curriculum cotrol, and accountability.
2.2.2. Types of assessment according to the reference framework to interpret assessment results
a) Norm-referenced assessment
Norm-referenced assessment measures a student’s performance in comparison to the performance of a group of peers (norm group) on the same assessment.
Example: The student "X" scored 60% in the end unit assessment and was the 7th out of 46 students. Moreover, while comparing the student "X" scores to the class average that is 35 %, Teacher "M" concluded that student "X" performed well based on the rank and the fact that he/she scored above the class average.
From this example, Student "X" score was compared to the classmates scores through the ranking and the class average. The diagram below summarises the interpretation process:

b) Criterion-referenced assessment
Criterion-referenced assessment Measures a student’s performance based on mastery of specific skills, competences. It measures what the student knows/
can do and doesn’t know/cannot do at the time of assessment. The student’s performance is NOT compared to other students’ performance. Each student’s performance is measured based on a predetermined performance criterion.
Example 1: Interpretation of student "Y" performance

Example 2: Interpretation of student Z performance

As shown by the above examples, criterion-based assessment helps to identify students who mastered a learning unit and those who need remedial activities to achieve the standard.
Requirements: This assessment requires a learning objective with clear performance standard and valid assessment tool (exam) to measure that performance.
2.2.3. Type of assessment depending on the examiner
a) Classroom or internal assessment
Classroom assessment, sometimes called internal assessment, refers to assessments designed or selected by teachers and given as an integral part of classroom instruction. They are given during or closely following an instructional activity or unit. This category of assessments may include teacher-student interactions in the classroom, observations, student products that result directly from ongoing instructional activities, called “Immediate assessments”, and quizzes closely tied to instructional activities, called “Close assessments”.
They may also include formal classroom exams that cover the material from one or more instructional units, called “proximal assessments”.
This category may also include assessments created by curriculum developers and embedded in instructional materials for teacher's use.
Classroom assessment is viewed as an active process of systematically collecting and analyzing student learning evidence in order to make effective educational decisions, which are designed to promote student learning.
Classroom assessment is also defined as a set of strategies, techniques, and procedures that teachers and students engage in, to collect, evaluate, and report student achievement. It is a tool teachers use to gather data and information about how students are progressing in what they know and in the development of their skills. Classroom assessment is used for a variety of purposes – to document what students know and can do, diagnose strengths, weaknesses, and misunderstandings, improve and enhance student learning, motivate students, assign grades, and provide feedback to parents.
b) External assessment
External assessment refers to assessment designed, or selected, marked ad used by other people from outside of the student’s school such as sector, districts, national or international level. It is typically used to audit or monitor learning. External assessments are usually more distant in time and context from instruction.
They can be based on the content and skills defined in national curriculum/syllabus, but they may not necessarily reflect the specific content that was covered in any particular classroom depending on purposes.
They are typically given at a time that is determined by school administrators, rather than by the classroom teacher.
Application Activity 2.2

2.3. Principles of pedagogical assessment
Activity 2.3
Think of the exam done lastly and describe what you have appreciated about it if any. If not, what did you dislike about that exam and why?
Pedagogical assessment is based on different principles; some are described below:
- Assessment should bring about benefits for learners and support the learning process
To warrant conducting assessments, there must be a clear benefit- either direct service to the learner or in improved quality of educational programs. All assessment tasks influence the way in which students approach their learning,
and this will be considered in the design of all assessment tasks.
- Assessment should be tailored to a specific purpose and should be valid and fair for that purpose
Assessment will be explicitly designed to measure student achievement of the intended learning objectives, competences. Measures should be taken during the whole assessment process to ensure fairness.
- Assessment should be age-appropriate in both content and methods of data collection
Assessment of young children should address the full range of early learning and development, including physical well-being and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches towards learning; language development; and cognition and general knowledge. Methods of assessment should recognize that children need familiar contexts in order to be able to demonstrate their abilities.
- Assessment should be linguistically appropriate
Regardless of whether an assessment is intended to measure early reading skills, knowledge of colour names, or learning potential, assessment results are easily confounded by language proficiency, especially for children who come from home background with limited exposure to English or any other foreign language which is used as a medium of instruction, for whom an assessment would essentially be an assessment of their language proficiency. First and second languages of learners should be considered when setting assessment tasks.
- Parents should be a valued source of assessment information as well as an audience for assessment results
Assessment should include multiple sources of evidence, especially reports from parents and teachers. Assessment results should be shared with parents as part of an ongoing process that involves parents in their children’s education.
- Assessments should be equitable, inclusive and fair, supporting all students.
Thus, technical issues are important to consider for all assessments, including those that occur each day in the classroom. Assessment needs to take account of the diverse needs of students, to be equitable with regard to gender, disability, background language and socio-economic status and not discriminate on grounds that are irrelevant to learning.
- Assessment should be explicit and fair
Prior to undertaking any assessment task, students should be clearly informed on the purpose and requirements of the task and should be provided with the specific assessment criteria that should be used for marking it. Feedback to students should be related to the stated learning objectives and specific assessment criteria. Clear information on the policies and processes relating to assessment should be easily available to all involved in the assessment process.
- Assessment should be an integral part of teaching and learning
Assessments should arise naturally out of the teaching and intended learning of the curriculum.
They should be carefully constructed to enable judgments to be made about students’ progress in ways that contribute to ongoing learning.
Teachers need to consider planning for assessment as well as planning for teaching. This preparation should include planning how they will draw on their own observations and planning for summative assessments.
Teachers also need to consider how they will refine their teaching programs based on the information they collect.
- Assessment should lead to informative reporting
Reporting happens at the end of a teaching cycle and should provide an accurate summary of the formative and summative assessment information collected for each student. The purpose of reporting is to provide feedback to students, parents, and teachers. The information is also valuable for school and system-wide planning.
It is important that, in addition to providing an accurate summary of student performance, the judgements of student achievement are reliable.
- Assessment should lead to school-wide evaluation processes
Highly effective schools pay particular attention to teachers’ qualitative and quantitative data and standardized test data. Teachers and school leaders need to understand current and past student achievement levels, be explicit about targets for improvement and about how progress towards those targets will be monitored. School leaders need to plan for how they will evaluate the effectiveness of school initiatives and programs. Teachers should plan for how they will reflect on and evaluate their teaching practices. This implies that schools and teachers need to be willing to identify and evaluate both the intended and unintended consequences of any initiative or program.
Application Activity 2.3
Take a copy of Year One end-year exam (subject: FOE), analyze it and say if the one who set it respected the principles of assessment. If you were asked to set it, what do you think you could have done differently?
2.4. Assessment tools
Activity 2.4
Based on your experience since primary school, demonstrate the ways
teachers used to assess your learning.
2.4.1. Interview

Interview consists of a series of well-chosen questions that are designed to elicit a portrait of a student’s understanding about different concepts/topics.
The interview may be videotaped or audiotaped for later analysis.
During a structured interview, the student may be asked to use their own words to explain an idea but is typically required to go beyond simple recognition of a concept to construct a detailed personal explanation. Generally, the student is also asked to use that concept to solve a problem or other application task.
Additional questions may be added in response to the answers given. It is this freedom to follow the interviewee, to ask for clarifications, and to focus on errors, misconceptions, and gaps in knowledge, that makes the interview so much more fruitful.
The interview should begin with a focus question that requires application of the concept to be investigated without forcing the student into an explicit definition. Specific definitions of the concept, if needed, should be sought only after understanding the student’s response to the focusing question. It is important for the interviewer to wait some seconds after each prompt before trying to interpret the question or ask another.
Purpose of interview
- To investigate how well one understands and can apply a concept;
- To identify gaps in understanding that may be common among students;
- To document the general and content-specific procedures that students employ in application tasks and the sequences and way processes are employed;
- To document how student understanding and problem-solving skills change over time or with instruction;
- To obtain verbal feedback from students about course structure, teaching techniques, and other aspects of the course or program of instruction.
2.4.2. Portfolios
Student portfolios are a collection of evidence to demonstrate mastery, comprehension, application, and synthesis of a given set of concepts. The evidence can be presented in a three-ring binder, a multimedia tour, or a series of short papers. A unique aspect of a successful portfolio is that it also contains explicit statements of self-reflection. Statements accompanying each item describe how the student went about mastering the material, why the presented piece of evidence demonstrates mastery, and why mastery of such material is relevant to contexts outside the classroom.
The overall goal of the preparation of a portfolio is for the learner to demonstrate and provide evidence that he or she has mastered a given set of learning objectives. More than just thick folders containing student work, portfolios are typically personalized, long-term representations of a student’s own efforts and achievements. Whereas multiple-choice tests are designed to determine whatthe student doesn’t know, portfolio assessments emphasize what the student does know.
2.4.3. Rubrics
Rubrics are a way of describing evaluation criteria based on the expected outcomes and performances of students. Typically, rubrics are used in scoring or grading written assignments or oral presentations. They may be used, however, to score any form of student performance. Each rubric consists of a set of scoring criteria and point values associated with these criteria. In most rubrics, the criteria are grouped into categories so the instructor and the student can discriminate among the categories by level of performance.
Purpose of rubrics
- To improve the reliability of scoring written assignments and oral presentations;
- To convey goals and performance expectations of students in an unambiguous way;
- To convey grading standards or point values and relate them to performance goals;
- To engage students in critical evaluation of their own performance.
2.4.4. Observation
Teachers have always watched and observed students in the classroom, and they have made instructional decisions based on these observations. Observations can take place in a variety of settings. They can focus on student performance, attitude and value during a single activity or during routine classroom activities.
After deciding what to observe, when to observe, and how often to observe, teachers will need to plan how to record their observations. Observations which go unrecorded in some way will not be as easily defensible to students, parents, and administrators, and may be forgotten over time.
2.4.5. Checklist
A checklist is a tool for identifying the presence or absence of conceptual knowledge, skills, or behaviours.
Checklists are used for identifying whether key tasks in a procedure, process, or activity have been completed.
The tasks may be a sequence of steps or include items to verify that the correct sequence was followed.
Teachers may need to observe the tasks being followed because, in general, they cannot judge what tasks the learner did from the end product. Achecklist may also be given to students to follow in completing a procedure (e.g., in a lab).
A checklist enumerates task descriptions in one column and provides a space beside each item in a second column to check off the completion of the task.
Characteristics of checklists
- Have criteria for success based on expected outcomes
- Be short enough to be practical (e.g., one sheet of paper)
- Have tasks chunked into logical sections or flow from start to finish
- Highlight critical tasks
- Have sign-off points that prevent students from proceeding without approval, if needed
- Be written with clear, detailed wording to minimize the risk of misinterpretation
- Have space for other information such as the student’s name, date, course, examiner, and overall result
- Be reviewed by other instructors
Example of a checklist
- Expected learning outcome: The student will write instruction objective that has a measurable action verb at the highest appropriate level given a “verb-level” list.
- Criteria for success: All questions must be answered “Yes”.
2.4.6. Project work
Project work is a product which requires a learner to plan, carry out, and make
a project presentation which is then assessed by the teacher or by peers.
2.4.7. Questioning
- Oral questioning: a process which requires a learner to respond verbally to questions.
- Class exercise: tasks that are given during the learning/ teaching process.
- Quiz: short and informal questions usually asked during a lesson.
- Homework and assignments: tasks assigned to learners by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing, problems to be solved, a school project to be built (display), or other skills to be practiced.
Qualities of good questions
Good question items should be:
- Clear, simple and straight forward,
- Short and precise,
- Free of bias,
- Readable,
- Original,
- Indicate marks for each question
- Follow order of difficulty (Blooms)
- Contain a variety of verbs
2.4.8. Rating scales
A rating scale is a tool used for assessing the performance of tasks, skill levels, procedures, processes, qualities,
quantities, or end products, such as reports, drawings, and computer programs. Rating scales are like checklists
except that they indicate the degree of accomplishment rather than just yes or no. Rating scales list performance statements in one column and the range of accomplishment in descriptive words, with or without numbers, in other
columns. These other columns form “the scale” and can indicate a range of achievement, such as from poor to excellent, never to always, beginning to exemplary, or strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Characteristics of rating scales
- Have criteria for success based on expected outcomes
- Be clearly defined, detailed
- Have statements that are cut into logical sections or flow sequentially
- Include clear wording with numbers when a number scale is used as an example, when the performance statement describes a behaviour or quality, 1 = poor through to 5 = excellent is better than 1 = lowest through to 5 = highest or simply 1 through 5.
- Have specific, clearly distinguishable terms
- Be short enough to be practical
- Highlight critical tasks or skills
- Indicate levels of success required before proceeding further, if applicable
- Sometimes have a column or space for providing additional feedback
- Have space for other information such as the student’s name, date, course, examiner, and overall result
- Be reviewed by other instructors
Examples of rating scales
• Rating scale example 1: Tools handling assessment
- Expected learning outcome: The student will select the proper tool for each task and use it skilfully and safely.
- Criteria for success: all skills must be performance “Average” or better
• Rating scale example 2: Presentation
- Excepted learning outcome: The students will give a presentation of their group work
- Criteria for success: only one item is rated less than “slightly agree”
2.4.9. Exhibition/ demonstration
In education, the term exhibition refers to projects, presentations, or products through which students “exhibit” what they have learned, usually as a way of demonstrating whether and to what degree they have achieved expected learning standards or learning objectives. An exhibition is typically both a learning experience in itself and a means of evaluating academic progress and achievement.
Defining exhibition is complicated by the fact that educators use many different terms when referring to the general concept, and the terms may or may not be used synonymously from place to place. For example, the terms capstone
exhibition, culminating exhibition, learning exhibition, exhibition of learning, performance exhibition, senior exhibition,
or student exhibition may be used, in addition to capstone, capstone experience, capstone project, demonstration
of learning, performance demonstration, and many others. Educators may also create any number of home-grown terms for exhibitions.
In contrast to worksheets, quizzes, tests, and other more traditional approaches to assessment,
an exhibition may take a wide variety of forms in schools:
- Oral presentations, speeches, or spoken-word poems
- Video documentaries, multimedia presentations, audio recordings, or podcasts
- Works of art, illustration, music, drama, dance, or performance
- Print or online publications, including websites or blogs
- Essays, poems, short stories, or plays
- Galleries of print or digital photography
- Scientific experiments, studies, and reports
- Physical products such as a models, sculptures, dioramas, musical instruments, or robots
2.4.10. Learning journal
Learning journal is a collection of notes, observations, thoughts and other relevant materials built-up over a period of time and may be a result of a period of study/learning. Its purpose is to enhance your learning through the process of writing and thinking about your learning experience. Why to use it?
We use learning journal to cater for the following:
- To demonstrate how your learning is developing,
- To help to identify your strengths and weaknesses for improvement of preferences in learning.
- To help you to be reflective about your learning.
Learning journal is also called:
- Learning log
- Personal development plan (PDP)
- Field work diary
It should be a notebook. In learning journal, learners should set targets when they are in reflection.
Application Activity 2.4
Create a checklist to assess reading ability for a P4 child.
2.5. Paper setting
Create a checklist to assess reading ability for a P4 child.
2.5. Paper setting
Activity 2.5
Discuss the main points that a teacher should consider before and when setting questions for examination.
2.5.1 Considerations in preparing tests
Teachers need to build skills in developing exams that are fair, reliable, and valid.
The following kinds of considerations are important in developing or preparing exams.
- Selecting specific areas of the curriculum
Exams are samples of behaviours. When skills are being assessed, all components of the domains should be selected and assessed. When more complex domains are assessed, teachers should concentrate on the more important facts or relationship and avoid the trivial.
- Writing relevant questions
Teachers must select and use enough questions to allow valid inferences about students’ mastery of short-term and long-term goals, and attainment of state standards. Fairness demands that the way in which the question is asked be familiar and expected by the student.
- Organizing and sequencing items
The organization of exams is a function of many factors. When teachers want a student to complete all the items and to indicate mastery of content, it is best to combine easy and difficult items. When the desire is to measure automaticity or the number of items that can be completed within a specific time period, it is best to organize from easy to difficult. Pages of exam questions should not be in disorder.
- Developing formats for presentation and response modes
Different response formats can be used within the same exams, although it is generationally a good idea to group together questions with the same format.
Regardless of the format used, the primary consideration is that the exam questions be a fair sample of the material being assessed.
- Writing directions for administration
The directions indicate clearly what a student must do (eg: circle the correct option).
Also, teachers explain what, if any, materials may be used by students, any time limits, any unusual scoring procedures (eg: penalty for guessing).
- Developing systematic procedures for scoring responses
Teachers should have pre-determined and systematic criteria for scoring responses. However, if a teacher discovers an error or omission in criteria, the criteria should be modified. Obviously, previously scored responses must be
rescored with the revised criteria.
- Establishing criteria to interpret student performance
Teachers should specify in advance the criteria they will use for assigning grades or weighting assignments. In either case, they must specify what it takes to earn certain grades or how assignments will be evaluated and weighted.
2.5.2. Response formats
Activity 2.5.2
Consider the given questions below. Identify the characteristics for
each section.
FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION EXAM
YEAR 2, ALL OPTIONS
Section I: Circle the correct answer
1. Educational psychologists attempt to discover except:
a. The extent to which the factors of heredity and environment contribute to learning.
b. The nature of the learning process
c. The organism that live in aquatic environment only
d. The nature of the child
2. The following are challenges facing Rwandan education system except
a. Increasing access to all levels of education
b. Improving quality of education
c. Increasing number of computers in TTC RUBENGERA only
d. Improving the relevance of education and addressing the labor market demand
3. The following are challenges facing Rwandan education system except
a. Increasing access to all levels of education
b. Improving quality of education
c. Increasing number of computers in TTC RUBENGERA only
d. Improving the relevance of education and addressing the labor market demand
4. One of the following shows the elements of didactic triangle
a. Learner, learner and leaner
b. Learner facilitator and the fascinator
c. Learner, the knowledge and the teacher
d. Teacher, and the content
5. The field of psychology that studies physical, perceptual, cognitive, and
psychosocial changes across the life span is known as _______ psychology.
a. Cognitive
b. Evolutionary
c. Developmental
d. Clinical
6. The prenatal period that lasts from conception through the second week is the:
a. Embryonic stage
b. Foetal stage
c. Germinal stage
d. Teratogen stage
Section 2: Read the following statement and show if they are right or wrong by only writing TRUE or FALSE for each.
1. Educational psychology is not a science …………………………………
2. Educational psychology is like normative science………………………
3. Motivation in the classroom is not related to Maslow hierarchy of needs ………………
4. Encoding is the process by which sensory information gets into memory……………….
5. Intelligence is defined as the capacity to understand the world, think
rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges or new situation……………………
Section 3: Fill in with an appropriate type of assessment
1. …………………………..is done before learning to find out what learners
already know and can do, and to check whether the learners are at the same level.
2. ……………………………..are designed or selected at the districts level or
national level to audit or monitor learning.
3. ………………………………..is daily monitoring of learning to provide ongoing
feedback that teachers can use to improve their teaching and learners use to improve their acquisition of competences.
4. ………………………..measures a child’s performance against a predetermined set of criteria.
5. ……………………………….are used to evaluate learner learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period, such as the end of unit, term, school year or cycle.
Section 4: Match the type of learning to its meaning

Section 5: Attempt all questions
1. After you have defined learning, discuss any 4 internal psychological factors influencing it and respectively give two
pedagogical conclusions for each.
2. Second to the definition, make a concept map of memory process.
3. Discuss SQ3R as a technique that help you to improve your memory.
A) Selection formats
Three types of selection formats are commonly used: multiple- choice, matching and true- false.
- Multiple-choice questions
Multiple-choice tests usually consist of a question or statement to which you respond by selecting the best answer from among a number of choices. Multiplechoice tests typically test what you know, whether or not you understand (comprehension), and your ability to apply what you have learned (application).
Multiple –choice questions are the most difficult to prepare. These questions have two parts: a (1) stem that contains the questions and (2) a response set that contains both correct answer, termed the keyed response; and one or more incorrect options, termed distractors.
In preparing multiple-choice questions, teachers should generally follow these guidelines:
- Keep the response options short and of approximately equal length. To eliminate length as a clue, the relative length of the correct answer is varied.
- Keep material that is common to all options in the stem.
- Avoid grammatical tip-off. All alternatives are grammatically consistent with the stem and parallel in form.
- Avoid implausible options. The distractors are reasonable and attractive to the uninformed.
- The stem of the item presents a single, clearly formulated problem.
- The stem is stated in simple, clear language.
- The stem is worded so that there is no repetition of material in the alternatives.
- The stem is stated in positive form wherever possible.
- If negative wording is used in the stem, it is emphasized in bold or by underlining.
- The intended answer is correct or clearly best.
- The alternatives are free from verbal clues to the correct answer.
- The alternative “all of the above” or “none of the above” are used only when appropriate.
- Avoid options that indicate multiple correct options. Make sure that one and only one option is incorrect.
- Avoid interdependent questions. Generally, it is bad practice to make the selection of the correct option dependent on getting a prior question correct.
- Avoid similar options. Students who can eliminate one of the two similar options can readily dismiss the other one.
- Make sure that one question does not provide information that can be used to answer another question.
- Avoid using the same words and examples that were used in the students’ texts or in class presentations.
- Vary the position of the correct response in the options.
When appropriate, teachers can make multiple-choice questions more challenging by asking students to recognize an instance of a rule or concept, by requiring students to recall and use material that is not present in the question, or by increasing the number of options.
- Matching questions
Matching questions are a variant of multiple-choice questions in which a set of stems is simultaneously associated with a set of options. The content of matching questions is limited to simple factual associations. Teachers usually prepare matching questions so that there are as many options as stems, and options can be associated only once with a stem in the set.
The following are the guidelines to be considered when setting matching questions:
- Each set of matching items should have some dimensions in common.
- Keep the length of the stems approximately the same, and keep the length and grammar used in the options equivalent.
- Make sure that one and only one option is incorrect for each stem.
- Vary the sequence of correct responses when more than one matching question is asked.
- Avoid using the same words and examples that were used in the students’ texts or in class presentations.
- The items are based on homogeneous material.
- The instructions clearly state the basis for matching and that each response can be used once, more than once, or not at all.
Matching questions are presented in two columns. Stems should be placed on the left and options on the right.
Moreover, all the elements of the questions should be kept on one page. Finally, teachers often allow students to draw lines to connect questions and options. To complete a matching assessment activity, students must select one item from each of two columns. The two items must fit together correctly based on the assessment directions.
• True-false questions
True-false questions contain statements that the student marks as being either
true or false. The utility of True- false lies primarily in assessing knowledge of
factual information. Below, are suggestions to be followed by a teacher who
chooses this format:
-- Avoid specific determiners such as “all”, “ever”, “always” and so one.
-- Avoid sweeping generalization. Such statements tend to be true, but
students can often think of minor exceptions.
-- Avoid complicated sentences. Exam should assess knowledge of content,
not a student’s ability to comprehend difficult prose. The statement is
brief and stated in simple, clear language.
- Keep true and false statements approximately the same length.
- Balance true and false statements. There is approximately an equal number of true and false statements.
- Negative statements are used carefully and double negatives are avoided.
- The statements are free of clues to the answer (e.g. verbal clues, length).
- The true and false items are arranged in random order.
B) Supply formats
In supply formats we distinguish: fill-in questions, short- answer questions and essay questions.
Teachers should prepare criteria for a correct response at the time they prepare the question.
- Fill-in questions
Fill-in-the-blank items, also known as completion questions, provide students with a partial sentence or question and then require them to write the word (or words) in the blank that best completes the statement or question.
Fill-in-theblank and short-answer questions test learners’ ability to recollect facts they have learned.
Fill-ins are useful in assessing knowledge and comprehension objectives; they are not useful in assessing application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation objectives.
Teachers preparing fill-in questions should follow these guidelines:
- Keep each sentence short.
- If a two-word answer is required, teacher should use two blanks to indicate this in the sentences.
- Avoid sentences with multiple blanks.
- Keep the size of all blanks consistent and large enough to accommodate reality the longest answer.
- Clues to the answer have been avoided (e.g. “a” or “an”, length of the blank)
• Short-Answer questions
Short-answer questions or statements are like essay questions or open-ended questions, except they can be answered with just a few words or sentences. They test foundational knowledge which is usually factual.
They require students to create an answer. When completing short-answer questions, it’s important
to pay attention to the directive words in each item. They are commonly used in examinations to assess the basic knowledge and understanding of a topic before more in-depth assessment questions are asked on the topic.
Some guidelines for setting short-answer questions.
- The item calls for a single, brief answer
- The item has been written as a direct question or a well-stated incomplete sentence
- The desired response is related to the main point of the item
- The units and degree of precision is indicated for numerical answers.
When using short answer questions to test student knowledge of definitions consider having a mix of questions,
some that supply the term and require the students to provide the definition, and other questions that supply the definition and require that students provide the term. The latter sort of questions can be structured as fill-in-the-blank questions.
• Extended responses
Extended questions are also known as essay questions. Essay questions require students to write answers to statements or questions. To complete a successful essay exam, students need to be able to recall relevant information and to organize it in a clear way, generating a thesis and building to a conclusion.
Teachers give essay questions to determine whether or not students can make connections among various ideas, apply course information to new situations, and demonstrate that they have made the information their own.
Essay questions are most useful in assessing comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation objectives. To avoid subjectivity and inconsistency in essay questions, teachers should use a scoring key that assigns 49 specific point values for each element in ideal or criterion answer.
Teachers should always be very precise in the directions or instructions that they give so that students will not have to guess what responses their teachers will credit.
Questions starting with “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “name”, “list” are avoided as these terms limit the response. Questions demanding higher order skills, such as those indicated in the following table are characterised as essay questions.

Note: Special considerations in assessing students with disabilities
When setting papers, teachers must pay attention to individual differences
among students, particularly to disabilities that might interfere with
performance. The following examples clarify this issue:
- Students who have skill deficits in remembering things for short periods of time may need multiple-choice tests with fewer distractors.
- Students who have difficulty with the organization of visually presented material may need to have matching questions rewritten as multiplechoice questions.
- Students who write very slowly can be expected to have difficulty with essay questions, they will need much more time than other.
The above examples show clearly that teachers should make sure that they have included the adaptation and accommodations required depending on the student special needs.
Teachers should remember that it is important to assess the skills that students have, not the effects of disability conditions.
2.5.3. Setting tasks for formative and summative assessment
Activity 2.5.3
Revise the Bloom taxonomy seen in Year One and indicate at which level
you can classify the following questions:
- Define assessment.
- Explain the difference between formative assessment and summative assessment.
- Set questions for end-lesson assessment on prepositions in P1.
- Between multiple-choice questions and essay questions, which ones do you think are easy to answer? Explain
- Compare and contrast knowledge-based assessment and competence-based assessment.
a) Definition
Tasks are activities designed in the learning environment by the teacher in order to enable learners to develop and display their knowledge and understanding, and demonstrate the acquired skills, competences, attitudes and values.
b) Development of tasks: Use observable action verbs consistent with the level of learning expected, considering all the low, medium and higher order thinking skills and competences.
Examples of verbs used in setting tasks and criteria:
- Low order (knowledge and understanding): define, name, list, identify, label, match, outline.
Eg: Label the parts of the flower indicated on the drawing provided.
- Medium Order: explain, describe, examine, classify, express, summarize, compute, relate, show, solve, use. Eg: Using a lens, examine the specimen provided and describe its external features.
- Higher order: compare, analyze, illustrate, differentiate, compose, construct, design, formulate, evaluate, justify, and interpret.
Example:
- Compare and contrast education system of Rwanda before and after 1994.
- You are provided with a dissection kit and a dead rat, dissect the rat longitudinally and draw what you see. Label the drawing with the function of each part.
c) Setting integration situations for summative assessment
Integration Situations are a tool that teachers and schools should use to evaluate learners’ acquisition of competences at every level according to the National Assessment Standards.
The integration situation helps to highlight difficulties the learner has encountered while learning, as well as areas of strength and weakness, which the teacher can use to enhance methodology and tools (how to accomplish the tasks).
No new knowledge, skills, attitudes or values should be introduced during the Integration Situations.
It deals with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values already acquired during the learning process (during the lessons).
Characteristics of Integration Situations
- The Integration Situation utilizes acquired content and competences and not any new content.
- The Integration Situation is task-oriented and significant. It is based on learners’ everyday life context or for continuation of her/his study, social and professional goals. It is not limited to the school life.
- The Integration Situation refers to the problems that are specific to a given subject or a set of subjects whose parameters are specified.
Components of the integration situation
- The Context/Content of the situation: a set of materials available like the basic content which will help the learner accomplish the task and the context in which the task has to be performed
- The Task: The clear description of what the learner is expected to do in her/his Integration Situation.
- Instructions: A set of essential ideas to clearly guide the learner in accomplishing his/her task.
- Marking Rubric: A clear guideline of expected results for the given task.
Examples of integration situation
Example 1
An ECD week is being organized by key Ministries in collaboration with International and local Organizations working in ECD area. The launch will take place in one of the rural Districts. As an ECD expert you have been selected as one of the speakers during the launch and as a key resource person during the preparation of the launch. Your speech will focus on two main points: Benefits of ECD programs and the role of parents in early learning in a rural area. As part of the preparation of your speech:
a) Give 7 key messages on benefits of ECD programs (home-based and/or school based)
b) Give 4 convincing examples highlighting the parental support in early learning in both formal and informal settings.
c) Give names of 3 Ministries involved in organization of the ECD week.
Explain briefly the roles and responsibilities of each Ministry in the implementation of ECD policy. (9 marks)
Example 2
The local leaders in Gakenke District in Northern Province are very concerned with the increasing occurrence of landslides, deep gullies that are now common in the area, flooding in valleys and destruction of crops and property.
The land officers in the district are worried about the nature of land that is made up of unconsolidated (loose) soils.
The district has had a number of intervention measures that include: afforestation, reforestation, and promoting better
methods of farming. However, the problem is still worrying. The relief or nature of the landscape is described by steep slopes associated with scars left behind by numerous landslides during the rainy season. While other parts of the district
have gentle sloping areas that are appreciated for having stable soil conditions.
Local leaders have embarked on an environmental conservation campaign at the grass root level or in all villages.
This has called for the training of the village representatives on the importance of environmental conservation.
The community leaders of your village (Umudugudu) have nominated or selected you to be part of the trainers at the district level.
1. Suppose the district land officer asks you to address the trainees:
a) Prepare how practically you would address the problem of landslides, severe soil erosion and flooding in your village.
b) Address one of the participants who asks the following question: “I planted trees but recently the whole land was affected by land slide.”
2. In spite of the hard work and serious land conservation measures the district has used, still landslides are common as per the case study above.
a) Referring to the short story entitled “Save our mother Earth” how would you advise the land office of Gakenke District on how practically it is possible to solve the environmental concerns in the district.
b) Show how you would creatively use local available resources to assist local farmers to conserve natural resources.
2.5.4. Designing a marking scheme
Whether you are marking exam answers or students’ assignments, the time spent making, a good marking scheme can save you hours when it comes to marking a pile of scripts. It can also help you to know (and show) that you are doing everything possible to be uniformly fair to all students. As you may be required to show your model answers to some people including external examiners and quality reviewers, it is important to design schemes in the first place so that they will stand up to such analysis.
The following suggestions should help:
- Write a model answer for each question, if the subject matter permits. This can be a useful first step towards identifying the markbearing ingredients of a good answer. If you have difficulties answering the questions, the chances are that your students will too! Making model answers and marking schemes for coursework assignments can give you good practice for writing exam schemes.
- Make each decision as straightforward as possible. Try to allocate each mark so that it is associated with something that is either present or absent, or right or wrong, in students’ answers.
- Aim to make your marking scheme usable by a non-expert in the subject. This can help your marking scheme be useful resources for students themselves, perhaps in next year’s programme.
- Aim to make it so that anyone can mark given answers, and agree on the scores within a mark or two. It is best to involve colleagues in your piloting of first-draft marking schemes. They will soon help you to identify areas where the marking criteria may need clarifying or tightening up.
- Allow for ‘consequential’ marks. For example, when a candidate makes an early mistake, but then proceeds correctly thereafter (especially in problems and calculations), allow for some marks to be given for the ensuing correct steps even when the final answer is quite wrong.
- Pilot your marking scheme by showing it to others. It’s worth even showing marking schemes to people who are not closely associated with your subject area. If they can’t see exactly what you’re looking for, it may be that the scheme is not yet sufficiently self-explanatory. Extra detail you add at this stage may help you to clarify your own thinking, and will certainly assist fellow markers.
- Look at what others have done in the past. If it’s your first time writing a marking scheme, looking at other people’s ways of doing them will help you to focus your efforts.
- Learn from your own mistakes. No marking scheme is perfect. When you start applying it to a pile of scripts, you will soon start adjusting it. Keep a note of any difficulties you experience in adhering to your scheme and take account of these next time you have to make one.
2.5.5. Administration role during examination
The administration has a great role in making assessment effective. Below are enumerate some of its attributions:
- Preparing rooms for examinations
- Sitting arrangements (Creating seating plans)
- To provide a lead invigilation service including the provision of support and guidance to other invigilators including the invigilation of examinations.
- Setting invigilation timetable
- Ensure copies are available in required quantities
- To maintain student files to agreed standards within the record management procedures.
- To record notifications of student absence and maintain the student absence reporting system.
- Creating examination entries
- Updating notice boards
- Assisting students with queries
- Packing examination scripts
Application Activity 2.5
Depending on your option, choose any topic from the pre-primary or primary syllabus, read the content material for that topic, set 10 questions to assess that topic and then set a marking scheme.
Tips for doing that activity successfully:
- Respect revised Bloom Taxonomy when setting questions.
- Consider the pupils’ age
- Vary formats of questions.
2.6. Marking, records keeping and results analysis
Activity 2.6
Question1
Read the following scenario and answer the question that follows:
Butera and Dusenge teach P3. Butera teaches P3 A and Dusenge teaches
P3 B. By the end of the unit, they give assessment that covers the whole unit.
When marking Butera marks one by one question for all copies. Dusenge
marks one copy, when he finishes marking all questions, he takes another copy.
── Between Butera and Dusenge, who do you think has good practice of marking? Why?
── What do you think both teachers have done before, to make marking effective?
Questions 2
Both teachers record marks after marking. Below, there are their marks records sheets.
Questions 2
Both teachers record marks after marking. Below, there are their marks records sheets.

2.6.1 Marking
Marking is defined as the process of judging the correctness of a student’s academic work based on a specified criterion.
Marking should be always conducted in such a way as to ensure validity of result. Marking schemes should be well elaborated so that teachers mark in similar ways and learner results can be comparable.
Guiding principles for effective marking
- Timely Feedback: Students need timely feedback. If feedback is not given within a couple of days the meaning and value is lost.
- Specific: The commonly used phrase “Great work” is not particularly powerful in providing constructive and purposeful feedback to students. Try to give feedback that is pointed and personal. For example “Good imagery at the beginning of your story. Try to keep that imagery throughout” or “Remember capital letters for every sentence start.”
- Positive and constructive: Positive reinforcement is far more motivating for students than a list of errors. Always try to find a point of praise when recording feedback. It is important to provide some point of constructive feedback to inform future work.
- Student reflection: Students should always reflect on their work. Intrinsic motivation is far more effective than extrinsic and personal motivation for improvement is vital for student progress. Once you have marked student work provide time in the subsequent lesson for students to look over your feedback and provide their own personal reflection.
Factors that influence subjectivity in marking
The following are common factors that may interfere with the attribution of marks during the marking process:
- Stereotypes effect: Marker (examiner) maintains a constant judgment on students’ activities despite progress that he/she has made.
- Hallo effect: This is when the marker is influenced by the way the candidate has presented his/her work.( handwriting, spelling) or information he/ she has about the candidate’s background.
- Contrast effect: Examiner is influenced by the quality of the previous work. Eg: a good work following an excellent one will appear as mediocre compared to the previous one.
- Pygmalion effect: The work of candidate, who is well known, will be marked not according to its content but instead according to the way the candidate is treated.
- Assimilation effect: There is tendency that examiner attribute high marks to the brilliant students though their work deserved less marks.
- Relativation effect: The value (quality) of a given work is judged according to the set or group of work in which it is located.
- Central tendency effect: Examiners tend to take a middle position when attributing marks to students’ work as they fear to over or under evaluate them.
- Contamination effect: The marks attributed successively to different aspects of a work influence one another.
Some tips to reduce subjectivity
- To reduce contamination effect you may mark one question for all copies until all questions are finished.
- Hallo effect and contrast effect should be reduced by marking without consulting the name of the candidate and marks attributed to previous work. Changing the order in marking, mixing copies and anonymous marking are other strategies.
- Marking anonymously help teachers to be objective in marking. If the teacher knows the identity of the student, his overall impressions of that student's work will inevitably influence the scoring of the test. The teacher can fold the part of the paper to make student’s names not visible or ask students to use their student identification numbers rather than their names.
- Ensure a marking rubric is well elaborated before marking especially for essay questions. Marking rubrics, or grids, is a typical way to do avoid subjectivity during marking. Having received the criteria with an assignment, students are able to answer toward specific goals. Later, when they look at their grades, they can see at a glance the strengths and weaknesses of their work.
- Segment your marking session into more manageable chunks of time to avoid marking when you are tired, bored, or frustrated.
Marking criteria
A detailed set of Marking Criteria must be submitted with each paper. A satisfactory set of marking criteria would allow:
- Someone other than the setter to mark the students’ answers fairly,
- Teachers in future years to see what was required as an answer to that question, and
- The external examiners to confirm the cognitive level required by the assessment.
These marking criteria will normally include:
- Model solutions to problems, annotated with how many marks are to be awarded for each stage.
- Marking schemes for essays indicating how marks are to be awarded.
- Within a question, marks must be allocated according to the mark distribution indicated on the question paper and the approved marking criteria.
- The marker must use a pen (not a pencil) which writes in red or green ink.
- Unless annotation within the text of an answer is unavoidable, the marker should write only within the margins of the answer sheet.
- Marks for individual parts of the question should be written in the outer margin. The total mark for the question, ringed for ease of identification, should be written in the outer margin at the end of the answer. The total mark should be copied into the mark table on the front of the answer book and into the module mark sheet.
- Half-marks may be allocated to component parts of questions but the total mark for each question must be rounded to a number. In all cases, the final mark for the examination script must be returned as a numeral percentage. To facilitate checking, marks must not be indicated by ‘+/−’ symbols, or any other cryptic notation.
- The marker must inspect all rough work (generally at the back of the answer book) for material which deserves credit. If the mark table on the front page includes marks derived from rough work, this should be indicated by a note next to the mark table.
- Each page that has been considered by the marker (including all rough work) must have some indication to this effect. If a page attracts no mark or comment, the marker should put a line down the outer margin to indicate that the page has been seen.
- For the benefit of external examiners and checkers, in cases where the rationale for allocation of an individual mark may not be self-evident, the marker should provide an explanatory note in the outer margin.
- All answers submitted by a candidate must be marked. If the candidate has answered more questions than indicated by the examination rubric, the marks from one or more questions must be disregarded in order to obtain the appropriate number of question marks.
2.6.2. Record keeping
This is gathering evidence from assessments and using them to judge the learner’s performance by assigning an indicator against the set criteria or standard.
Purposes of recording
- Tracking each learner’s performance and for remedial actions.
- Evaluating the extent to which learners’ progress matches their potential.
- Providing learners with feedback about their performance and guidance as to how to improve.
- Informing strategic planning of teaching and learning.
- Informing parents about the learning progress of their children and give advice accordingly.
What to record and when to record?
Frequency of a particular behaviour or a particular competence may be recorded for the duration of a lesson, or for a set time of period within a lesson or within the learning unit. At times the teacher may need to record the learner’s response for the teacher to analyse these responses to redirect future instruction. At times anecdotal comments which refer to written notes describing events or incidents that occur about the learner’s behaviour might be helpful.
Methods and formats of recording
For informal assessment of generic competencies, attitude and values, either a simple check list method or a rating scale or grade or both can be used to show the extent to which a learner has achieved a task against the set criteria.
2.6.3. Assessment results analysis and strategies
The assessment results need to be analyzed to learn whether or not, the criteria on the student learning outcomes were met. To give meaning to the information that has been collected, it needs to be analyzed for context, understanding, and to draw conclusions. This step gives the information meaning; it is essential to effectively communicate and utilize the assessment results.
Analyzing assessment results includes determining how to organize, synthesize, interrelate, compare, and present the assessment results. These decisions are guided by what assessment questions are asked, the types of data that are available, as well as the needs and wants of the audience/stakeholders. Since information may be able to be interpreted in various ways, it may be insightful to involve others in reviewing the results.
Assessment results can be compared to findings from previous assessments, baseline data, existing criteria/standards, etc.
Assessment results analysis can be done quantitatively or qualitatively.
Quantitative analysis: Assessment results are measured numerically (counts, scores, percentages, etc.) are most often summarized using simple charts, graphs, tables, and descriptive statistics- mean, median, mode, percentage, etc.
Qualitative analysis: Assessment results focus on words and descriptions and produce verbal or narrative data. Descriptions or words are more difficult to quickly summarize and present.
Once an appropriate analysis technique is applied to the assessment results, the next step entails making decisions based on those results.
By taking decisions, consider the extent to which your findings can help you answer the following questions:
- What does the data say about students’ mastery of subject matter, research skills, or writing?
- What does the data say about your students’ preparation for taking the next step in their careers?
- Are there areas where your students are outstanding?
- Do you see weakness in any particular skills, such as research or critical thinking skills?
- Are there any student who needs remedial activities?
- Etc
Application Activity 2.6
1. Did you have some issues about how your works were marked by teachers in primary or O’ level?
If yes what was the issue and how can you avoid that once appointed as a teacher?
2. If you return to your former schools, do you think you can find your assessment results? Explain.
2.7. Providing feedback
Activity 2.7
Did your teachers show you your results after quiz or exam? What did your teacher write on your copy? Did they tell you anything? Were you interested in the feedback given? Why? Are you the only one to see your results?
2.7.1. What is feedback?
Feedback can be defined as any comment or reflection (written or oral) provided by others (i.e. teachers, peers) on learners’ work so they are given opportunities to improve. Although teachers are most often the ones who provide feedback to learners, peers can also be excellent sources of feedback. Feedback can be given in different forms or ways. It can be in the form of oral, written, or facial expression or gesture (clapping etc).
2.7.2. Purposes of feedback
The main purposes of feedback are to:
- clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards),
- facilitate the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning,
- deliver high quality information to learners about their learning,
- encourage teacher and peer dialogue around learning,
- encourage positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem,
- provide opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance,
- provide information to teachers that can be used to help shape teaching,
- help students understand the subject being studied and gives them clear guidance on how to improve their learning.
2.7.3. Giving and receiving feedback
Giving constructive feedback in the form of verbal or written comments is a vital aspect of ongoing classroom assessment. Feedback can be provided in a range of situations: from an instant, informal reply to a more formally planned review. While giving oral feedback, the teacher should:
- Emphasize the positive. Always give specific feedback on what a learner has done well.
- Appreciate what has been achieved and be clear about exactly what needs to be improved next and how.
- Seek learners’ views and value their contribution. This will help them to get better at assessing their own work, which is vital to them to become independent learners.
- Invite the learner to comment on what the teacher does as well. Feedback is not a one- way process.
- Frame questions carefully. Use open questions and resist asking more than one question at a time.
- Use prompts/cues such as ‘Would you like to say more about that?’
- Give a few seconds after posing a question or a response has been given, to encourage learners to carefully consider and expand on what they have said.
- Avoid generalizations such as ‘There are a lot of inaccuracies. Instead focus on specific areas for development which you can discuss with the learner.
- Focus on things that each learner can change, and avoid overloading them with too much feedback at once.
- Be sensitive if the teacher has to give feedback to one person in a group. The learner might feel undermined if others hear.
- Look for ways forward together. Share ideas and explore solutions rather than always putting forward teacher’s own suggestions.
- Create a situation on how learners agree on the given feedback. This could include agreeing new targets or planning learning opportunities.
2.7.4. While giving written feedback
- Don’t jump straight to the errors. Praise first the strengths.
- Respond to the content and the message rather than focusing on writing is poor, select one or two particular areas to draw attention to. Don’t cover work in red ink.
- Be specific. Indicate what action the learner should take in relation to weaknesses that have been marked.
- Encourage the learner to make corrections. Don’t simply write correct answers, spellings and so on.
- Link the comments to the competences.
2.7.5. Strategies for effective feedback
.Using Positive comment
- Negative information should be ‘sandwiched’ between positive information;
- Constructive criticism with explanation of how to improve
• Using Contextual statement
- I liked….because….
- Now/Next time…
- Interactive statement e.g. a question based on the work
• Giving the feedback as soon as possible after performance
- Reducing uncertainty for learners by increasing knowledge and by eliminating alternative or competing explanations
for behaviour
- Allowing learner to act on feedback
- Use lesson time to redraft work
- Allow learners time to focus on the feedback for improvement
- Reinforce the value of the feedback and working in a supportive environment
• Following-up
-Time in the lesson to talk individually
- Have a written dialogue in learners’ books
- Use a comment tracker or target sheet to formalize the dialogue in a workbook
2.7.6. Ways of giving feedback
There are three ways of giving feedback:
- Feedback that compares a learner with others
- Feedback on the outcome a learner produces, or the thinking process a learner uses
- Feedback that describes or evaluates the learner’s work
• Feedback for target users and stakeholders
Feedback to learners
Assessment results should be conveyed to learners and used to strengthen
successful performance and assist in the remediation of weak performance.
This feedback should be:
- Immediate
- Detailed (showing where the learner went wrong or what should have been right)
- Emphasize strengths and weaknesses of performance
- Indicate remediation
- Be positive in nature
- Only on minor errors
- Further develop their knowledge, understanding and skills
- Support their future learning
- Indicate areas of success in their work
- Indicate areas for future improvement
- Enable them to improve and plan their next steps
Example of feedback to learners

Feedback to teachers should:
- Help them to check the effectiveness of instruction
- Make decisions about learners’ needs to carefully plan for the next lesson
- Help them to know how well their learners could reach the stated competences
- Provide them opportunities to be reflective about the academic and social progress of their learners
- Support them to gain a deeper understanding of each learner’s strengths and needs
Feedback to parents should:
-Provide them with clear and concrete evidence of their children’s progress
- Provide adequate information to them to monitor, supervise and support their children’s work and assignments
- Increase parents’ involvement in school activities
- This feedback to parents is provided when giving reporting to them. The wider range of learning in the new curriculum means that it is necessary to think again about how to share learners’ progress with parents. A single mark is not sufficient to convey different expectations of learning relating to competences and in the learning objectives. The most helpful reporting system is to share what learners are doing well and where they need to improve. Further guidance will also be produced in relation to reporting to parents in due course.
Application Activity 2.7
Describe the qualities of assessment feedback for learners
2.8. Special considerations when assessing young children
Activity 2.8

When assessing young children, the following should be considered:
- Complete and meaningful assessment in early childhood necessitates an understanding of family context, including getting to know family language and culture, gathering developmental information from parents, and conducting home visits with parent approval. Understanding family expectations and experience places a child’s behavior in context and can prevent harmful decisions that result from misinterpretation of assessment data.
- Younger children present some complex challenges and require flexible procedures for gathering meaningful and useful assessment information. Constitutional variables such as fatigue, hunger, illness, and temperament can easily overshadow the abilities of a young child. Time of day, setting, testing materials and other situational factors also affect performance.
- The younger a child, the more likely he or she is to fall asleep, become distressed, and refuse to comply with directions, or be distracted from assessment activities. Professionals should be prepared to modify activities, explore alternative procedures, and/or reschedule rather than risk gathering faulty information that compromises assessment results.
- Young children learn by doing and demonstrate knowledge and skills through action-oriented activities. Authentic assessment of youngsters as they participate in daily activities, routines, and interactions generally produces the most valuable information for assessment. Assessment methods should, therefore, allow for observation of young children engaged in spontaneous behaviors in familiar settings and with familiar people.
- More assessments and increased data do not necessarily result in better assessment information. Early childhood professionals should only gather information they need and know ahead of time how they will use all the information collected. It is generally most desirable to identify a set of appropriate methods and instruments that provide necessary information and refine the use of those procedures over time.
- Some assessment instruments and procedures are better than others. Of primary importance is the quality of information gathered and the decisions made as a result of assessment. Ultimately, whatever assessments we conduct should benefit the children, families, and programs we serve.
Application Activity 2.8
Compare and contrast the assessment of pre-schoolers and primary pupils.
End Unit Assessment
1) How can formative assessment be used to establish instructional priorities?
2) What role will students play in the design of the assessment or the assessment process?
3) How can formative assessment support the curriculum?
4) How valid will the assessment be?
UNIT 3 PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (ECLPE)
Key unit competence: Design opportunities for young children to engage in different types of play and interact with them
as they play to build their thinking and language skills.
Introductory Activity
1. Compare any play of 3-5-year-old children and a match of football between two schools for interschool trophy organised at Sector level. Is there any difference between the two? Why?
3.1. Meaning of play
Activity 3.1
From the scenario of the two competing school teams, draw a table with characteristics of play that are different from those in the match mentioned above.
3.1.1. Definition of play
Play has been defined by different psychologists, but the definitions depend on their schools of thought.
According to Piaget, J (1962) play is the way the child learns about his/her environment. He continues to argue that play has an interactive nature that facilitates construction of knowledge. Anna Freud (1965), a daughter of Sigmund Freud uses the approach of the unconscious self and says that play is an acceptable behavior through which a child expresses his/her emotions and impulses. A sociologist, Groos (1901) describes play as a means through which children get an opportunity to practice the necessary life skills. For Kuffaro (1974), “play is the visible language of childhood wherein we see and hear the total child functioning, revealing his/her concerns, conflicts, information and misinformation, wishes, hopes, pleasures and questions.
In view of the different definitions, it is clear that play cannot be easily defined. Nevertheless, play can generally be described as the voluntary activities of children, which are inherently enjoyable.
It involves intrinsic motivation focused on process rather than product. It also involves pretence, implicit (implied but not expressed) and flexible rules. Play is therefore a pleasurable activity that is engaged in for its own sake.
3.1.2. Characteristics of play
- Play is pleasurable: the participants may not be necessarily laughing but there is enjoyment in any play activity. It has been found that an activity that engenders so much stress in the participant can hardly be described as pleasurable.
- Play is voluntary: this means that the activity is not a prescribed duty and the player does not expect a reward. There is no coercion into play and the player decides whether to play or not.
- Play is not goal-oriented, not focused on some product. This means that the process is more important than the end. Fergus (2010) regarded play as intrinsically motivated. This means that play is end in itself, done only for satisfaction of doing it.
- Play is actively engaged in by the player: in play, the child concentrates on the activity. The involvement could be physical, mental or psychological.
- Play involves a lot of pretence. Play portrays a “what if?” attitude. In actual fact, play has been described as the opposite of reality. Play involves a certain element of make-believe, a distortion of reality to accommodate the interest of the player. This is particularly true of the symbolic play that is so characteristic of the preschool years, when children spend much of their time experimenting with new roles and playing out imaginary scenes.
- Play is flexible. It may be modified according to the wish of the player.
The terms ‘play’ and ‘game’ are synonymous but it is important to note the difference between the them.
The difference between Play and Game is that play is an activity for amusement, especially among the young while game is an activity with rules performed either alone or with others, often for the purpose of entertainment, education, monetary gain or other reasons.
Application Activity 3.1
Reflect briefly on the nature of play and explain its characteristics.
3.2. Importance of play
Activity 3.2
Referring to the previous knowledge and information about play,
explain the importance of play in the child’s development and learning.
3.2.1. The benefits of play to children in general
Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them.
Play activities involve the child’s total self and use of all forms of energy. Play is comparable to food as a necessity for the growth and development of a child. It has been argued that play gives a child the reason for existence and gives assurance of immortality.
Through play, a child:
- Develops imagination
- Acquires skills of body and mind
- Can understand, sympathise and empathise
- Acquire competition skills and learns how to cope with failure and success
- Can persevere i.e. acquisition of the ability to struggle towards a desired end.
- Acquires healing for hurts and sadness
- Releases pent-up urges towards self-expression
- Is provided with a complex awareness of the world and her or his ability in relation to it.
Application Activity 3.2
Explain what the child benefits through play.
3.3. Adults’ support to children’s play
Activity 3.3
While playing, children should not be abandoned; they need the company of an adult. Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
3.3.1. Introduction

It is important to study the role of adults in children’s play when examining the positive effects of play on the development of children’s skills. The reason is an adult is expected to provide opportunities for children’s play through adjustments of physical and social contexts. Broström (2003) expressed the view that the full potential of play can only be unlocked by active teachers or parents There were many controversial arguments about whether adults should be involved or not involved in children’s play. But finally, it was recommended that there should be a balanced diet of free, child-initiated play, play between children and adults, and so on. This predominant view concerning a balance between adult-child play and adult-free play manifested itself most clearly in a general consensus around the view that an adult who pays attention, listens to the child and talks to them, will be more beneficial than an adult who structures and directs the child’s activity.
For adult directed/structured play not to be ‘work’ but ‘play’, it is possible for adults to operate as co-players with children, supporting and extending the play activities, while preserving the children’s freedom and autonomy to develop the play as they wish (Howard, 2010).
3.3.2. The role of adults in children’s play
In order to help a child learn and know, you need to learn to know your child,which you can do by supporting their play. You can support children’s play by
- Paying attention to environment and structure. When you structure an environment (either indoors or outdoors) based on a child’s strengths, abilities and needs, you can enhance their normal play and help them be successful and independent.
- Building and extending. Challenge a child’s current knowledge or understanding through opportunities or materials that extend upon their current experiences or understanding.
- Providing choices. Giving children the freedom to make their own choices is not only empowering but helps them to lead their own learning experiences based on their interests and abilities.
- Talking about play. Adults can extend and support a child’s play simply by engaging with children during play. Adults can talk to children about their play. By being involved, children learn that adults are invested in them and respect their play decisions.
- Validating their efforts. Participating in play with your child is fun for them and shows them you value what they are doing. Your presence and proximity to children can communicate a lot to them.
- Adding to children’s play. In actively participating in play, when invited, adults can extend upon a child’s current knowledge and help them make new connections. This can be done by modeling positive behaviors or interactions.
Preventing problems. By being actively involved in the process of play, adults are in a good position to intervene if a situation arises when a child might need help, whether it is an interpersonal conflict, a problem or a safety concern. It’s important to remember children need opportunities to practice problem solving and conflict resolution independently as well. Make sure to give children ample opportunities to practice these skills on their own and only intervene if necessary.
• Building children up. Sometimes children may need help engaging in activities or joining an activity, and when adults are regularly a part of their play, they can be a good bridge to help children feel comfortable initiating and participating in play.
3.3.3. Adult’s positive interactions in children’s play
Responsiveness is an approach to conversation and play that is meant to help promote positive interactions between adults and children. Adults join in play and follow the child’s lead, while promoting turn-taking in conversation and play. Additionally, adults provide verbal models of target language, but do not prompt expressive language from the child. There are several strategies to use during responsive play. A few are listed below
- Imitating language: Imitation involves repeating what a child says. For example, if the child picks up a toy train and says, “train”, the adult could point at the train and say, “train.”
- Expanding language: Expanding involves repeating what the child says and adding an extra component. For example, if the child says “train”, the adult could say “red train.” Or the adult can pick up another train and push it forward and say “The train is fast!”
- Imitating play: Imitation in play involves doing exactly what the child does. For example, if the child puts a piece of play food on a plate, the adult could pick up a similar piece of play food to put on a plate.
- Expanding play: Expansion in play involves doing what the child does and adding an extra behavior. For example, if the child holds a baby, the adult could hold a baby and feed the baby with a bottle. Similarly, if the child stacks blocks and says “I made a house!” an adult could make a similar structure and add an extra block and say “I put a chimney on my house!”
Following a child’s lead: During play, allow the child to take lead and follow what they do. If they change toys, change toys with them instead of trying to re-engage them with the previous toy. For example, if the child is building a house and then picks up a matchbox car, the adult might choose to get a similar vehicle rather than saying “Don’t you want to play with your house?”
Application Activity 3.3
1. From the discussions about adult’s role what should the caregiver do for children to benefit from play activities?
2. Choose a strategy that a caregiver could use to motivate children during play and explain why you chose the specific strategy
3.4. Types of play
Activity 3.4
Associate play activities to where they are organized, characters involved and stages of development concerned.
3.4.1. Types of play by organization
• Structured play
Structured play is generally adult led providing direction, and a specific task in order for a child to learn a new skill. It’s usually an activity on offer at playgroup with a specific purpose and adult input, for example a game shared between
preschoolers, a challenging puzzle, etc.
During structured play, children are introduced to new ideas and opportunities, enhancing their development and learning abilities, such as setting the foundations for learning to focus, pay attention, take turns and follow instructions.
- Unstructured play
Unstructured play means open ended, or creative free play with endless possibilities. It is child-led and directed and doesn’t require an outcome or product - playing in the home corner; free construction with blocks, painting on blank paper; or getting creative with various recycled materials.

Unstructured play provides children with experiences in creativity, imagination, decision-making and the development of overall emotional and social skills.
- Indoor play
Indoor play is play organized in interior environments. They are specifically designed for learners to play in and have tremendous fun with. The softcontained structure and play equipment are wrapped in soft foam to absorb the impact when children fall or bounce around.
- Outdoor play
Outdoor play is one of the fundamental aspects that characterizes childhood. Children need exposure to the natural world through exploration, experimentation, motivation and manipulation of their senses.
The benefits of outdoor play are outlined as follows:
- Better physical health
- Numerous opportunities to strengthen motor skills
- Stress relief
- Greater visual-motor integration (or the ability to control hand or body movement guided by vision)
- Greater creativity
- Stronger verbal and social skills
- Production of Vitamin D (an essential vitamin for bone health) through exposure to sunlight
- Increased attention and cognitive abilities
Quality outdoor space

According to Children and Nature Network (2012), Outdoor play environments
should be free of the following:
- Missing or broken parts, glass, cigarette butts, litter, building supplies
- Protrusion of nuts and bolts
- Rust and chipping or peeling paint
- Sharp edges, splinters, and rough surfaces
- Stagnant water
- Visible cracks, ditches, holes, wells, traps
- Unstable non-anchored large play equipment (e.g., playhouses, climbers)
- Deterioration
- Broken or worn electrical fixtures or cords
- Animal excrement and other foreign material
- Surfaces that are too hot or too cold for children to touch safely
- Natural objects that might cause harm: sharp rocks, stumps, roots, branches
- Unsafe insects: anthills, beehives, or wasp nests
3.4.2. Social play
- Unoccupied play (birth-3 months)
Parten (1932) defined this as a child not engaged in play. But you could think of this as the “infancy” of play. Here, your baby or toddler creatively moves their body with no purpose other than it feels good and interesting.

It’s the most basic type of play. Your child is completely free to think, move, and imagine. Even the smallest object is full of wonder if you’ve never seen anything like it before. Choose something with lots of textures and color, and avoid bright lights or surprising noises, as they may startle your little one.
Examples: Child-friendly household objects: spoons, plates, jerrycans, etc. for the child to be familiar with the world around him/her before you introduce objects from other environments.
- Solitary, or independent play (Birth-2 years)
When a child plays alone, she learns to concentrate, think by herself, comes up with creative ideas, and regulate emotions. All of these are important things for a child to learn. Playing independently is important and normal.
- Onlooker/spectator play (2 years)
This is the type of play where a child watches other as they play and remains actively engaged though not physically.
The child plays the role of a spectator. A child who is engaged in this type of play is so involved that he/she may even ask questions or give suggestions on whatever the others do.
- Parallel Play (2+ years)
It involves a child playing alongside – but not really with -- other children. If you watch, you will notice that there is no formal interaction, but the children are often playing with the same toys and engaged in a similar activity.
This type of play is very common for children from 1-3 years of age. Parallel play is very important as it teaches children peer regulation, observation skills, how to get along with others, as well as ways to work independently.
- Associative play (3-4 years)
Here, your child plays with other children, but the learners do not organize their play toward a common goal.
Children play together interacting with one another, but they don’t seem to be harmonizing their activities.
They take part in the same activity and do basically the same thing but no attempt to organize the activity or take turns. Each child acts as he or she wishes and his or her interests are not dictated by the group interest.
- Cooperative Play (4+ years)
It is a more organized kind of play. The child plays as part of a larger group that has a collective goal such as making an art project or putting on a skit. During cooperative play, the role of leader and follower are often visible.
- Rough and tumble play
Rough and tumble play has been defined as physically vigorous behaviors, such as chase and play fighting, that are accompanied by positive feelings between the players. It seems aggressive, physical and risky even when the children engaging in it are full of joy and excitement. That is why it is sometimes challenging for preschool teachers to handle even though it is important for children’s development. Rough-and- tumble play is a social activity that usually occurs among children who have had considerable social experience with each other.
This play involves: wrestling, tickling and chasing.
3.4.3. Play by content
This is a classification according to what a child does. Content focuses on the actual play activity irrespective of the number of children involved. Some of the identified categories are physical, expressive, exploratory/manipulative, constructive, dramatic/pretend/symbolic play and games with rules. Play and children are inseparable. Play is the work of early childhood. Develop mentalists
view children’s play as a major means through which physical, cognitive and social skills are strengthened and sharpened.
- Physical play
When children run, jump, and play games such as chase, hide-and-seek, they engage in physical play. This play has a social nature because it involves other children. It also provides exercise, which is essential for normal development.
- Expressive play
Certain forms of play give children opportunities to express feelings by engaging with materials.
Materials used in expressive play include finger-paints, watercolors, crayons, colored pencils, and markers,
and drawing papers, clay, water, and sponges, beanbags, rhythm instruments.
Parents can take an active role in expressive play by using the materials alongside the child.
- Sensory motor play
This is play that captures the pleasures of using the senses and motor abilities.
For example, they develop the senses of touch, feel, smell, sight and hearing. Infants engage in
this kind of play and delights in things like kicking the side of the bed/cot and watching a turning mobile toy, objects etc.
This pleasure in sensory experiences and motor skills continue throughout childhood. Children happily explore many sensory experiences. For example, from their food they explore by feeling various textures with their hands, by watching peas float after they put them in their milk, by listening to the sound they make as they drink their porridge, or milk, by tasting unusual combinations such as cocoa mixed with juice, tea, or soda.
- Skill Mastery play
This occurs when a child is learning to do something new. Often, she uses trial and error to repeat the same skill over and over. Skill mastery play is common when learning to throw a ball, ride a bike, swim, or swing independently.
This play helps the children to master new skills. For example, as you walk with the child to the shops or the market, the child will skip, jump, walk backwards, run, and drives imaginary vehicles etc.
Hand skills are also developed in mastery play for example when they tie knots in their shoe laces, put pegs in pegboards, use a pair of scissors to snips papers, etc. Mastery play is most obvious when physical skills are involved.
The impulse to engage in mastery play comes naturally to pre-school children. Parents should encourage a child and influence the skills a child will master.
- Dramatic/Pretend/Symbolic play
The beginning of dramatic play coincides with the achievement of symbolic thinking and can be clearly seen.
For example, a child is feeding, cuddling and punishing a doll. Dramatic play helps social development especially when two or more children cooperate in creating their own drama. Simple domestic scenes are one of the standard plots of dramatic play. Other scenes include doctor, nurse and patient, a thief and a policeman. Dramatic play such as this
not only is fun but also helps children try out social roles, express their fears and fantasies and learn to cooperate.
- Games with rules
There are two types of games with rules, table games and movement games.
Each child who is involved in a game has to conform to a structure of present rules. In this kind of games, children learn how to control their behavior. Games are based on chance, skills or strategy. It is not worthy that all games involve
memory, manipulation and strategizing. The ability to play games develops as the social skills mature.
Experience makes them able change rules. Young children may not be ready to share, cooperate and to take turn.
3.4.4. Play according to the stages of development
Stage 1: Social affective play (birth through infancy)

Play begins with social-affective play, wherein infants take pleasure in relationships with people.
As adults talk, touch nuzzle and in various ways elicit a response from an infant, the infant soon learns to provoke parental emotions and responses with such behaviors as smiling, cooing, or initiating games and activities.
It is important for bonding and attachment formation. It occurs from birth through infancy and it involves cooing, touching and smiling between adult and child. The play involves no toys.
Stage 2: Sense-pleasure play (late infancy and toddler years).
Here the child explores his own body and his immediate environment using all his senses (hearing, seeing, touching, smelling and tasting). The caregiver should provide the child with a variety of opportunities for optimum sense development.
Stage 3: Skill – play ( toddler and preschool ages).
The child uses his large and small motor skills i.e. the child uses the arms, legs and fingers.
Stage 4: Dramatic play (pre-school child).
This emerges as the child makes observations and imitates his parents, siblings and friends.
Stage 5: Ritual play (primary school years).
The child’s interest moves from family to her or his peer groups. Play here involves games and the child has to conform in order to fit in the group.
Stage 6: Competitive play (preschool years to adulthood).
Here the individual plays either singly or as a member of team. This is usually from the time the child is in pre-school, to when he/she is an adult in high school or college. The individual may play as a member of a team or alone.
Application Activity 3.4
Make an association of the categories of play, based on organization, characters involved, content, with stages of child’s development.
3.5. Criteria for selection of games for children
Activity 3.5
Explain the reasons why it is recommended for teachers to prepare a game and even try it before asking children to play that game.
- Age appropriateness
Games should advance in complexity in proportion with chronological and mental age development. The content in the game must be commensurate with the children’s age. Too difficult games will put children off while too easy ones will make them lose interest.
- Area of development
Games are usually developed with a purpose. Some games may be set purposely for sheer fun while others may be geared towards the development of a specific area.
- Language to be used in the game
Since games are social activities, the language used should be a language that children understand well.
- Safety
This refers to the safety of materials to be used in the game and the safety of the activities involved.
There are some rough games which could hurt and hence not suitable for the young ones.
- Space
Games require space. There are some, which can be played indoor while others need big open spaces.
When designing games, one should consider the required space in relation to what is available.
- Cultural and religious appropriateness
Owing to the diversity of cultures and religious practices, values and beliefs vary.
Games should not contradict what is upheld in a particular setting.
- Morality
Games should be in line with what is morally acceptable. Remember that as children engage in various games or play activities, they acquire a “kit” for lifetime interaction.
- Number of children
The number of children the game is intended for should be reckoned with.
The game should involve all the children even if it means taking turns.
The waiting should not be long though. Consider children with special needs.
- Time
The duration of the game also matters. The fact that attention span advances with age should not be ignored.
Essentially, the length of the game should be in line with the development stage of the children.
- Materials
There are games that require materials. It is necessary to think about the availability of the required materials.
There should be an adequate supply of materials since young children may not be ready to share.
- Application Activity 3.5
As a specialist in play, you are invited by the school to guide caregivers in the creation and selection of play activities for children, what will you include in the guide you are going to use to come up with appropriate play activities?
- 3.6. Play and developmental domains
Activity 3.6
1. What are the aspects of child’s holistic development?
2. According to you, how ‘play’ can support child’s holistic development?
3.6.1. Play and cognitive development
This is the development of the brain and intellect. Children tend to play according to the level of their intellectual development. Through play, children acquire knowledge and form ideas about the world around them.
They also acquire or refine problem-solving skills in play. Children develop ability to make observation and refine their reasoning as they collect materials in play. Such materials include:
- Flowers – flowers are attractive, and children pick them in play. They remove the petals and as they embark on various play activities with them, their observation skills are developed.
- Seeds – children are fond of collecting and classifying seeds in their play. In order to group the seed, they must observe them. In addition to observation, children must reason and use a certain criterion as they classify them.
- Weather – children observe the changing clouds and they test the force of wind as they fly their kites. They also study the direction of their shadows as they engage in rough and tumble play (engaging too much force and not enough care or gentleness).
- Soil – children enjoy the feeling of the soil and discover the little creatures such as worms and bugs, which move on it.
- Clay – play activities that involve clay give children an opportunity to discover how moulding can change shape. As children model with clay, they make the dough and feel it. This promotes sensorial development.
3.6.2. Play and language development
In play, language is used systematically. Children play with sounds and combine them to make words. As children play individually, they practice their language performance by talking to themselves. Children tend to use a more complex language in play than in regular conversation.
Through play, children learn to communicate with each other. As they engage in social play, children need to communicate effectively so that each can perform the expected role. An example of this communication can already be seen in the common pretend play that involves household chores. Children must take different roles. They must:
- Explain – this is necessary for sharing the roles. It also helps children to follow the instructions and to know their roles and positions e.g. where the kitchen is and who is supposed
- Describe – children like describing games they have enjoyed. They will describe how different children performed in
play.
- Express ideas – as they engage in the game, children share different ideas on how to make the play more interesting.
- Express feelings – a child tells of her or his feelings while taking a role
e.g. a child who acts the mother may express her dissatisfaction with the children for having not performed the household chores delegated to them.
- Ask questions – in pretend like in most of the games and play activities, a child keeps on asking questions for example, a child who acts the baby asks question such as, “Mum where is my doll?” “Mum what shall we eat?” “Dad, I do this?” and the like.
3.6.3. Play and emotional development
The level of emotional development determines how a child reacts in different situations which may be exciting or frustrating. For example, how a child behaves after success or when he/she encounters a failure.
Some children will jump up and down with excitement while others will just smile after success.
When failure is experienced, some children will go to the extent of retreating or expressing their frustration by aggression or any other antisocial behavior.
Play releases tensions and aggression. It also sets a child free from restriction.
As the child engages in various activities in play, he/she gains self-confidence and self-esteem.
In play, the child feels that she has power over the environment.
This makes the child work for success without fear of a big and threatening world.
3.6.4. Play and social development
Children like to play with others. If a child has antisocial behavior, he/she is not accepted in other children’s play.
This makes the child seek to behave in a more acceptable manner. In other words, in play, children learn that their behavior directly affects their relationships with others.
There are many identified social skills that are learnt through play.
These include:
- Ability to make eye contact
In communication it is necessary to make eye contact in order to convey or perceive the meaning. Children do not fear their peers and make eye contact as they talk to each other. This helps them to develop the habit of looking at each other as they engage in verbal communication.
- Ability to empathize
This is the ability to “put oneself in another’s shoes” i.e. to share another’s feelings. This makes the child develop sensibility to others’ emotions and makes one competent in sustaining social relations. This is demonstrated as children
portray different emotions as they engage in “pretend play”.
- Turn taking
As children play, they learn to take turns and to respect others. Children learn that everyone is entitled to her/his chance and they willingly give each other a chance when required to do so.
- Sharing
Grabbing everything to oneself makes a person unacceptable among the peers.
Play provides a forum for practicing pro-social behaviours such as giving, inviting, and co-operating.
Play performs a major role in the development of behavior control. Children usually share materials and responsibilities in their games. This helps them to develop the spirit of teamwork and brotherhood.
- Healthy competition
In play, children compete towards arbitrary goals. In competition, there is a winner and a loser.
As children engage in this kind of competition, they learn that one must struggle to win and there are chances of losing.
In this play, they learn to lose without bitterness.
- Gender roles
Needless to point out, in traditional societies, there are prescribed roles according to sex. Studies have found that boys and girls differ in their play.
Parents and peers have been found to reward the so-called sex appropriate play.
Children learn the roles expected of them as they play. Play helps children to acquire the roles commensurate with the social gender norms. It must be noted that in sex appropriate play, traditional parents find it more acceptable for girls to play with boyish toys than for boys to play with feminine toys.
- Self-control
Through play, children practice self-control. The child realizes that he/she has limited capabilities. The child eventually learns to cope with her/his limitations and is able to act out the imminent frustrations. The development of self-control fosters a child’s acceptance among peers.
3.6.5. Play and physical development
Physical play enhances healthy physical growth and motor skills development.
All levels of physical play contribute to healthy physical growth. When children engage in physical play-act, they use all parts of the body. This promotes physical development.
In social dramatic play children learn the skills using the whole body to balance and co-ordinate their actions and speech. When children paint, play with sand, model with clay, draw or construct, they acquire fine motor skills and build their muscles. Development of body balance and co-ordination, which are important abilities, is acquired through play.
3.6.6.Summary of what research says about play for development

Application Activity 3.6
1. Children form ideas about the world around them. Which
materials in the environment can help them form those ideas and how?
2. Children tend to use a more complex language in play than in regular conversation. Which roles do they take up to develop various communication skills?
3. What social and emotional skills are developed through play?
3.7. Common childhood accidents and safety tips
Activity 3.7

Observe the picture above and explain what will happen if children play in this playground? Describe any other play circumstances that are likely to put children’s life in danger.
Observe the picture above and explain what will happen if children play in this playground? Describe any other play circumstances that are likely to put children’s life in danger.
As children play, they often get accidents. Most of these accidents are minor but there are some which could be even fatal. Many accidents are as a result of negligence or ignorance. This means that a great percentage of children’s accidents could be avoided. These include falls, putting foreign objects in the body openings, burns and scalds, cuts, poison/drugs, collisions, smothering, drowning, chocking, bites, and stings.
- 3.7.1. Falls
Some falls and tumbles are inevitable as children learn to stand, walk, run, and climb. Most aren’t serious, but falls are actually the leading cause of nonfatal injuries for children, including head injuries, fractures and sprains, and contusions or bruises.

Some of the most common places children fall from include:
Highchairs; beds, changing tables, and other furniture; stairs; slippery floors; shopping carts; play equipment; unsecured infant seats; baby walkers; windows without proper guards or stops.
Safety tips
- Swings should have something to hold the child.
- Swings should be firm.
- The ground/floor should be free from obstacles e.g. peels (bananas) maze cobs, stones etc.
- Climbing equipment should be age appropriate.
- Right size of furniture.
- Floor should be kept dry.
- There should be order to play.
- Install window guards, stair gates, and guard rails.
- Take your child to age-appropriate playgrounds with soft surfaces under the equipment.
- Never leave a baby unattended on a changing table or other piece of furniture.
3.7.2. Foreign objects in child’s body openings

It is easy for young children to put objects such as seeds into their body openings as part of experimentation and exploration. Depending on the seriousness, this can lead to severe harm and may require specialized medical attention.
Safety tips
- Give children big seeds
- Children should be accompanied by responsible adults as they play
- Toy parts should be well checked for firmness
3.7.3. Burns

Burns are caused by direct contact with heat while scalds are caused by hot fluids. Burns are skin damage and deeper tissue caused by contact with fire, heat, electricity, radiation, or caustic chemicals.
Burns are among the most common childhood accidental injuries, and they can happen in several ways:
- Sunburns
- Electrical burns and shock from inserting fingers or objects into outlets or biting electrical cords
- Flames from stoves, lamps, matches, lit cigarettes, fireplaces, and house fires
- Touching hot surfaces, such as stoves, heaters, and microwaved containers
- Hot liquid and steam from pans, cups, hot water heaters, and bath water
Safety tips
-- Ensure that there is no fire in the open areas.
-- Hot fluids should be kept away from children’s reach.
-- Corrosive materials should be kept away from children.
- Keep chemicals and matches out of children’s reach.
- Avoid smoking especially in bed.
- Children should be dressed in non-flammable clothing.
- Never leave food cooking unattended on the stove and keep pot handles turned out of reach.
- Always supervise children in the kitchen.
- Install and maintain smoke alarms on every floor of your home and near bedrooms.
3.7.4. Poisoning

A poison is a substance which is harmful to the body. In their quest to know, children use their senses to discover the environment. This makes them touch, smell and taste anything, indiscriminately. Some substances are so harmful that they can cause irreparable damage. Poisons and drugs may be swallowed or inhaled through the mouth or nose.
Accidental poisoning can happen from:
- Swallowing shampoo, soap, washing detergent or powder, cooking oil, aftershave, perfume, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, and liquid nicotine used in e-cigarettes
- Eating medication or vitamins, or taking an incorrect dose of medicine
- Exposure to carbon monoxide from gas appliances such as stoves and heaters
Safety tips:
- Get rid of expired or unnecessary medications, both prescription and over-the-counter.
- Keep medicines, personal care products, cleaning solutions, and household chemicals out of reach (and out of sight) of young children.
- Install carbon monoxide detectors.
3.7.5 Drowning

Drowning remains a leading cause of death for children through age 14, and even small amounts of water pose a danger to very young learners. Take the following precautions to reduce your child’s risk:
- Be cautious with young children around water in toilets, bathtubs, and buckets, and ice chests and coolers containing water or ice.
- Make sure hot tubs, spas, whirlpools, and swimming pools are inaccessible to your child.
- Keep your child away from fountains, irrigation ditches, postholes, and wells.
- Supervise your child closely whenever she’s playing around water.
- Children’s play area should be free from poison and any poisonous objects.
- This includes poisonous plants.

Safety tips:
- Make sure buckets and pails are empty when you’re not using them.
- Keep the toilet lid down and the bathroom door closed.
- Never leave your child unattended around water.
3.7.6. Cuts

Cuts may be caused by sharp objects such as knives, razor’s blades, sticks, edges
of blocks and the like.
Safety tips
- Ensure that there are no sharp objects within children’s reach.
- Round or curve edges of blocks to get rid of any sharp corners.
- Supervise children’s play to make sure that they do not hit one another with the play materials.
3.7.7. Chocking and suffocation

Very young children put pretty much everything into their mouths. And if there’s a way for your child to get tangled up in cords or ribbons, she’ll probably find it. Here are some examples of everyday objects that can be hazardous to your child:
- Small bits of food (including pet food), toys, batteries, bottle caps, coins, balloons, marbles, pen or marker caps, magnets, buttons, rubber bands, small barrettes or hair bows, and water beads are choking hazards.
- Necklaces, drawstrings on clothes, baby headbands, strings, ties, andribbons as well as cords on toys, household appliances, window blinds,and other fixtures could cause strangulation.
- Improperly fastened safety harnesses in a highchair or stroller could allow a baby to slip down and become trapped.
- Older cribs with drop rails can trap a baby, and blankets, pillows, crib bumpers, and air mattresses can lead to suffocation.
Safety tips:
- Keep small objects out of the reach of small children.
- Choose toys that are designed for the age of your baby or child – encourage older children to keep their toys away from your baby.
- Beware of clothing with cords, dummies on necklace cords and bag straps
– they can easily get caught and pull tightly on the neck.
- Lay your baby on their back to sleep – do not put babies to sleep in an adult bed or on the sofa and do not use pillows as they can suffocate. Never lay your baby face down on a soft surface.
- Keep plastic bags away from young children – they can pull these over their heads and suffocate.
- Nappy sacks, used to dispose of soiled nappies, can also pose a risk – keep them out of the reach of babies and young children.
- Curtain and blind pull cords should be kept short and out of reach of children.
- Keep animals, especially cats, out of your bedrooms – if they jump into cots or beds and fall asleep in the wrong place they could suffocate your child. Attach a net over prams if necessary.
- Check between sofa and chair pillow for small toys that might have slipped down where little fingers can find them.
- Keep choking and strangulation hazards away from young children.
- Discourage children from swallowing foreign objects
- Ensure that children do not eat as they play
3.7.8 .Collisions
Children’s agility is amazing. They keep on running from one place to the other.
Safety tips
-Institute safety measures to minimize incidences of bumping onto each other
- Children should be introduced to some order
- There should be enough space for children’s movement, especially in areas designed for play.
3.7.9. Bites and stings

Children can get stings from bees and wasps. They can also get bites from creatures such as snakes and spiders.
They can also put their fingers in holes obvious of the fact that poisonous animals like snakes can hide there.
Safety tips
- It is necessary to block all the holes in the playground.
- Children must be discouraged from putting their hands or fingers in holes.
- Beehives should not be within children’s play area.
- Children should be discouraged from playing with harmful animals.
3.7.10 Car safety

Collisions aren’t the only thing to worry about when it comes to cars. Other dangers include:
- An incorrectly sized or improperly installed car seat (or not using a car seat at all)
- Heatstroke from leaving a child in a closed car
- Getting accidentally run over
Safety tips
- Make sure your child’s car seat is in good condition and properly installed.
- Always fasten seatbelt.
- Place your cell phone or another essential item next to your child’s car seat so you won’t forget to take your child with you after you park.
- Walk all the way around your car before getting in to make sure no children are playing nearby.
- Keep your parked car locked with windows up so children can’t climb inside.
- Do not allow the child to seat at the front seat.
- Lock the doors and windows to avoid the child get out when the car is moving.
Application Activity 3.7
What safety measures will you take to prevent children’s accidents or minimize injuries during play activities for every circumstance previously discussed?
End Unit Assessment
1. Your preschool head teacher sends you in another preschool to investigate their children’s games in order to select the best ones to be used in your preschools. What details will you focus on in your investigation?
2. Parents in your community want to establish a preschool and want you to assist them in setting up the play area, how will you design that play area to prevent accidents?
3. Based on examples, analyze the importance of play in child’s holistic development.
UNIT 4 INTRODUCTION TO CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Key unit Competence: Use effective strategies for classroom management
Introductory Activity
A teacher plays different roles in the classroom and the teaching and learning process will involve classroom dynamics. During the process, different behaviors are manifested by learners.
What do you think the teacher needs to do in order to be successful during teaching and learning process?
Describe strategies or techniques that the teacher will use in order to be effective in teaching and learning process.
4.1. Key concepts for classroom management
Activity 4.1
Bearing in mind the work and the role of a teacher, brainstorm and define different terminologies related to what the teacher does as a manager of the classroom.
Classroom management
Classroom management is “the actions and strategies teachers use to solve the problem of order in classrooms” (Doyle, 1986, p. 397). Brophy (1986) cited in Sanchez (2011, p. 2) defines classroom management as a teacher’s efforts to establish and maintain the classroom as an effective environment for teaching and learning.
This concept encompasses how teachers deal with issues of supervision, facilitation, and manipulation of the environment and class activities inside another dimension of management: student’s actions (misbehaving), maintenance of discipline and orchestration of the general dynamics of a class. Effective teachers also use rules, procedures, and routines to ensure that students are actively involved in learning (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003).
They use management not to control student behaviour, but to influence and direct it in a constructive manner to set the stage for instruction (McLeod, Fisher, & Hoover, 2003).
The following are terminologies related to classroom management:
- Academic learning time: the portion of engaged time where students are learning.
- Allocated time: the amount of time students and teachers spend at school.
- Asynchronous: form of communication that does not involve immediate feedback from each other.
- Authoritarian teacher: a teacher that emphasizes behavioural control.
- Authoritative teacher: a teacher that emphasizes the importance of providing firm direction, which recognizing the unique contributions of each student to the learning process.
- Conflict resolution: is a way for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them.
- Congruent communication: a communication pattern in which the person sends the same message on both verbal and nonverbal levels.
- Emphatic listening: where the listener moves beyond sympathy, which strives to console, and tries to connect and genuinely understand the other’s perspective.
- Engaged time/Time on task: that portion of allocated time spent participating in learning activities.
- Functional assessment: comprehensive set of assessment procedures used to determine the function that problematic behaviours serve in the life of the student.
- Interpersonal collaboration: a style of direct interaction between at least two co-equal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision making as they work toward a common goal.
- Learning center: a specific location within a classroom designed to meet a specific educational objective.
- Non-verbal communication: communications without words that involves tone of voice, eye contact, hand gestures, facial expressions, touching, etc.
- Paralanguage: characteristics of language involving volume, rate, pitch, and pronunciation of spoken words.
- Participation structures: lecturing, question and answer, discussion, group work.
- Peer mediation: technique of using a trained student to act as a facilitator in the conflict of other students.
- Positive behavioural supports: activity or technique designed to help students develop appropriate and adaptive behaviours and to overcome existing behaviour challenges.
- Positive learning environment: environment characterized by a fundamental respect for all persons, explicit standards for appropriate conduct, positive emotional experiences, and a collaborative recognition that everyone contributes to the success of the learning environment.
- Procedures/Routines: guidelines for classroom activities.
- Rules: a set of behavioural standards.
- Self-management: management of or by oneself; the taking of responsibility for one’s own behaviour and well-being.
- Social skills: socially acceptable patterns of behaviours that support positive outcomes and avoid aversive situations.
- Synchronous: form of communication that involves two-way communication in real time.
Application Activity 4.1
Outline terminologies related to classroom management.
4.2. Components of classroom management
Activity 4.2
With the experience you have got from your first time of entering the classroom until now, you have observed the works of the teachers.
Describe the key elements on which classroom management is based.
Classroom management is the use of procedures and teaching techniques that promote a safe and efficient learning environment. For primary school teachers, disciplinary method and behavioural expectations are central to this system.
As students age, the managerial style of instructors may change to assist students in the development of self-guided learning.
Although every teacher will have a unique style of management to meet each class’ needs, the same elements can be found consistently and some of them are described below:
- Classroom design
Although often overlooked, the first element of classroom management is intentional design. Use the positioning of your desks, displays, storage and equipment to create a warm and welcoming room. Make sure you have removed all unnecessary and distracting items from your classroom.
Here are some examples of seating plan that will help the teacher access and control learners’ behaviour easily.
- Rules
Develop rules that foster respect, caring and community in your classroom. Make your expectations for behaviour clear at the beginning of the year by reviewing these rules with students. Continue to reinforce your rules throughout the course, and post them in a visible location.
- Discipline
Classroom rules must have concrete consequences. Students will test the limitations of each teacher from the very first day of school. Be firm, fair and consistent. Begin by warning a student and having them confirm their knowledge of the classroomrules. Follow-up continued disruption by issuing demerits, detention, or other official
reprimands. Never hit, harass, embarrass or yell at students-this is counterproductive and unprofessional.
- Scheduling
Keep your class in order by staying on time and on task. Do class work during class time, leaving plenty of room for in-class assignments. Cramming work and instruction too close to other activities can lead to disruptive behaviour and poor comprehension. There should be space before and after every room change, lunch, and recess for students to settle down. Having a regular daily schedule helps you and your learners prepare for upcoming tasks. Be firm but fair with due dates. Always leave room for extenuating circumstances. Never leave room for procrastination.
- Organization
Stay organized inside and out. Keep your student files, assignments, lessonplans and administrative paperwork in order.
It sets a good example for your students and keeps you from wasting instructional time looking for materials.
Share this system with your students. Post the classroom calendar, homework schedule and assignments on the board. Allow students to see how you take notes. It helps them distinguish irrelevant information from essential details.
Encourage self-directed learning by providing students with their own agenda (notebook). You may require students to have their notebooks checked at home or during class.
- Teaching and learning methods and techniques
Use active methods and techniques and vary them to meet students ‘needs.
Learn a lot about each of your student. What are their learning styles? How do they learn best?
Do they work well in groups? These observations are crucial when fitting your teaching style to your students’ needs.
- Communication
Communication is the most important aspect of classroom management. It is essential to have clear and consistent lines of communication with your administration, colleagues, students and parents. Without it you will lose the respect of peers, the attention of students, and the cooperation of parents. Be responsive to the concerns of others. Be flexible and willing to accommodate reasonable requests.
Application Activity 4.2
Describe the components of classroom management for effective teaching and learning process.
4.3. Strategies for classroom management
Activity 4.3
In the previous lessons you have learned about the meaning of classroom management and its components. Explain what and how a teacher can do in order to manage effectively his/ her classroom.
4.3.1. Classroom management strategies and techniques
Marcus Guido (2018) proposed 20 classroom management strategies and techniques. As a teacher, you are advised to use the ones that best appeal to your situation and teaching style. Universal classroom management strategies include:
• Model ideal behavior
Make a habit of demonstrating behavior you want to see, as many studies showthat modeling effectively teaches students how to act in different situations.
A straightforward way to model certain behaviors is holding a mock conversation with an admin, other teacher or student helper in front of the class. Talking about a test or other relatable topic, be sure to:
- Use polite language
- Maintain eye contact
- Let one another speak uninterrupted
- Raise concerns about one another’s statements in a respectful manner
- After, start a class discussion to list and expand upon the ideal behaviors you exemplified
• Let students help establish guidelines

Encourage all students to help you build classroom rules instead of dictating them what they are not allowed to do: near the start of the year or semester, start a discussion by asking students to define acceptable and unacceptable behaviors during lessons? The teacher may be shocked at the strictness of some proposed rules.
Avail rules
Avail printed copies of list of classroom rules that the class discussion generated.
This an evidence that that you respect their ideas which motivate students to adhere to them.
- Avoid punishing the class
Address isolated behavior issues instead of punishing an entire class, as the latter can hurt your relationships with students who are on-task and thereby jeopardize other classroom management efforts. Instead…., call out specific students in a friendly manner. For example:
- “Do you have a question?”, instead of “Stop talking and disrupting other students”.
- “Do you need help focusing?”, instead of “Pay attention and stop fooling around while I’m talking”.
This basic approach will allow you to keep a friendly disposition, while immediately acknowledging poor behavior.
- Encourage initiative
Promote growth mindset, and inject variety into your lessons, by allowing students to work ahead and deliver short presentations to share take-away points.
Almost inevitably, you’ll have some eager learners in your classroom. You can simply ask them if they would like to get ahead from time-to-time. For example, if you are reading a specific chapter in a textbook, propose that they read the following one too. When they deliver their subsequent presentations to preview the next chapter on your behalf, you may find that other students want a bit more work as well.
- Offer praise
Praise students for jobs well done, as doing so improves academic and behavioral performance, according to a recent research review and study (Some examples of these researches are needed here).
When it is sincere and references specific examples of effort or accomplishment, praise can:
- Inspire the class
- Improve a student’s self-esteem
- Reinforce rules and values you want to see
Perhaps more importantly, it encourages students to repeat positive behavior.
Let’s say a student exemplifies advanced problem-solving skills when tackling a math word problem.
- Use non-verbal communication
Complement words with actions and visual aids to improve content delivery, helping students focus and process lessons.
Many differentiated instruction strategies and techniques are rooted in these communication methods. For example, running learning stations- divided sections of your classroom through which students rotate - allows you to deliver a range of non-spoken content types. These include videos, infographics and physical objects such as counting coins.
- Give tangible rewards
Reward specific students at the end of each lesson, in front of the class, as another motivational and behavior-reinforcement technique.
- Make positive letters and phone calls
Keep students happy in and out of class by pleasantly surprising their parents, making positive phone calls and sending complimentary letters home. When the occasion arises, from academic effort or behavioral progress, letting parents know that their child has a trickle-down effect. They’ll generally congratulate their learners; their learners will likely come to class eager to earn more positive feedback. This can also entice parents to grow more invested in a child’s learning, opening the door to at-home lessons. Such lessons are a mainstay element of culturally-responsive teaching.
- Build excitement for content
Start lessons by previewing particularly- exciting parts, hooking student interest from the get-go.
As the bell rings and students settle, go through an agenda of the day’s highlights. The goal of this classroom management technique is to immediately interest students in your agenda and thereby dissuade misbehavior.
- Offer different types of free study time
Provide a range of activities during free study time to support students who struggle to process content in silence, individually. You can divide your class into teams to carry out different activities. By running these sorts of activities, free study time will begin to benefit diverse learners. This should contribute to overall classroom engagement.
- Write group contracts
Group contracts should be based on expectations that students have for each
other, and you have for them. You can gather the class’s thoughts by holding
a discussion about what the ideal group member does, and how he or she
acts. Once you’ve written the contract, encourage students to come up with
consequences for violating expectations.
By having them sign a fresh version of the contract before each group task and project,
you’re empowering them to hold each other accountable.
• Assign open-ended projects
Encourage students to tackle open-ended projects — projects that don’t
demand a specific product — to allow them to demonstrate knowledge in
ways that inherently suit them.
This starts by giving the class a list of broad project ideas, asking each student to choose one.
Be sure to provide a rubric for each project that clearly defines expectations. By both enticing and challenging students, you should notice that they’ll:
- Work and learn at their own paces
- Engage actively with appropriate content
- Demonstrate knowledge as effectively as possible
With these benefits, students may actually look forward to taking on new projects.
4.3.2. Classroom management strategies for individual students
- Use educational technology that adjusts to each student
Give students who struggle to process your content opportunities to try educational technology that adapts to their needs. It also offers feedback to help them solve specific mistakes, as they answer questions that use words, charts, pictures and numbers.
- Interview students
Interview students who are not academically engaged or displaying prosocial behavior to learn how to better manage them.
Set time to be aside with each student and ask those students about:
- What helps them focus?
- Who they work well with?
- Their favorite types of lessons.
- Their preferences in-class activities
- Which kinds of exercises help them remember key lesson points
Note their answers to come up with activities and approaches that engage them, thereby limiting classroom disruptions.
- Address bad behavior quickly
- Avoid hesitation when you must address bad behavior, especially when a student breaks a documented rule. Acting sooner than later will help ensure that negative feelings — whether between students or you and a student — won’t fester. Failure to act can result in more poor behavior, leading to needlessly difficult conversations.
- Keep in mind that it is valuable to talk to the student in private. Emerging research shows that punishing students in front of peers has “limited value.”
- Consider peer teaching
Use peer teaching as a classroom management strategy to allow the top performers to engage and educate disruptive and struggling students. Peer teaching activities, such as pairing students together can be especially beneficial for students who suffer from low confidence and poor interpersonal skills.
If these strategies work especially well for individual students, you should see similar success by using them as class-wide student management techniques.
Application Activity 4.3
Describe different techniques of classroom management
4.4. Importance of classroom management
Activity 4.4
With the knowledge you have about classroom management and other information such as: When teaching, the teacher needs to achieve his or her learning objectives. Learners in the same process also need to benefit from the same activities. There will be different movements, behaviors which may be good or bad; within a lesson - period, the teacher and learners will also use different teaching and learning resources. In consideration of all the above elements, justify the reasons why a teacher needs to have classroom management skills.
Effective classroom management paves the way for the teacher to engage the students in learning.
The following highlight the importance of classroom management:
- Effective teaching
Classroom management strategies help to create an organized classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Learners know the expectations in different types of learning situations. For example, learners would know that when working in small groups, they talk in quiet voices and take turns talking. They might each have a specific job within the group.
- Efficient use of time
Taking time before school starts to create routines and procedures saves you time in the long run. When the children know what to do, it becomes a natural part of the routine. After a few weeks, you don’t need to tell them what to do.
The students know they get their planners out, write in homework assignments and gather all of their materials at the end of the day, for example.
- Consistency
A teacher with strong classroom management skills creates consistency for his students. The learners know what to expect every day when it comes to the routine activities. Your students may fare better when you’re gone if you have set expectations for everyday tasks. They know how the classroom runs so they are able to help the substitute run the classroom. For example, if the learners know they’re supposed to enter the room and start working on a math problem on the board, a substitute doesn’t have to spend his time corralling the learners or trying to keep them occupied while everyone arrives.
- Fewer behavioral problems
The main goal of classroom management is to reduce misbehavior in the classroom. Effective classroom management gives the students little time to misbehave. Because the expectations are clearly explained, the students know what they need to do. Transitions in particular sessions are easier to control when a teacher has strong classroom management skills. The expectations for behaviors that are part of a classroom management plan give students boundaries, as well as consequences.
- To optimize student learning and achievement
Effective classroom management is a crucial component of ensuring that all students achieve in your classroom where children feel safe and appropriately challenged.
- • To maintain a positive classroom atmosphere
This is done when there are well established rules, procedures and standards, and well implemented classroom routines. There is also a sense of respect and community among students and teachers.
- To manage classroom resources effectively
School management will instill in learners the ability of having all resources well-arranged and managed.
Application Activity 4.4
With clear examples, discuss the significance of classroom management for effective teaching and learning process.
End of unit Assessment
To this end you have knowledge about classroom management. As a future teacher, think of any behavioral problem that can arise in the classroom. Suggest and explain strategies you can apply to prevent and or handle it.
UNIT 5 POSITIVE DISCIPLINE
Key unit competence: Apply a range of strategies to prevent and respond to misbehaviour in a positive and respectful
manner.
Introductory Activity

Observe the above image and explain what is happening? What can you see on the image?
What do you think the adult people are doing? What is the difference between the two pictures?
5.1. Concepts of positive discipline
Activity 5.1
Suzanne and Tom are in P3 A. On an examination day, they arrived 30 minutes late to school for their after-noon session. They fear to enter and stayed outside. When the teacher saw them, she called them to come closer.
She asked them why they were late. After hearing their explanations, the teacher allowed them to pass the exam.
After two hours, all students submit their copies except Suzanne and Tom because the teacher gave them additional 30 minutes. In the other class P3 B, two pupils were also late about 5 minutes, their teacher refused them to pass exam. She chased them and gave them 0 out of 50 (fifty) marks.
- Those two teachers have reacted after noticing the latecomer.
Which one do you think have done it well? Justify your answer.
- Based on the above story, try to name and explain what teacher Suzanna has done.
5.1.1. Definition of positive discipline
The idea of discipline being synonymous with punishment is ingrained in our psyche.
The first thing we think of when we hear the word “discipline” is usually something negative.
However, the word discipline originates from the Latin word ‘disciplina’ which means teaching, which in turn comes from ‘discipulus’ which literally translates to pupil.
For whatever reason, over the years, discipline has gone from meaning “to teach” to “to punish”! Today we explore “positive discipline” an idea that focuses on reverting things back to the roots. The following are ideas about positive discipline:
- When children do something wrong, instead of punishing them, teachers or parents teach and guide them to set the behavior right.
- Positive discipline is non-violent and is respectful of the child. It is an approach to teaching that helps children succeed, gives them information, and supports their growth and their learning.
- Positive discipline is based on children’s rights to healthy development, protection from violence and participation in their learning and environment.
- Positive discipline is a tool for parents, caregivers, teachers and community members to use to assist them in managing children’s behavior without abusing them emotionally, physically, socially, mentally or spiritually.
The way children learn and develop differs, because no two children are the same.
Children grow and develop patterns but at their own individual pace. There are set ages and stages for child development.
To sum up, ‘Positive Discipline in the classroom’ is, according to Nelsen (2017), a program that teaches important social and life skills, in a manner that is respectful to both the adults and the children in the situation; raising young people to be responsible, respectful, and resourceful members of their community.
It is based on the theory that children who have a sense of connection to their community (home and school) and whose input is regarded as meaningful are less likely to engage in misbehavior. To be successful members of the community children need to be taught the necessary social and life skills.
Positive Discipline is based on the understanding that discipline must be taught and that discipline teaches.
5.1.2. Understanding discipline versus punishment
Punishment is an action or penalty that is imposed on a student for misbehaving or breaking a rule.
However, the impact on students can be very harmful, from inducing physical or emotional pain to not being effective in reducing future misbehaviors. Punishment is used to control the behavior of students, in two different ways:
- Negative discipline involves verbal disapproval and reprimands.
- Corporal punishment involves severe emotional or physical pain.
Unfortunately, both forms of punishment focus on the misbehavior and may do little or nothing to help a child behave better in the future. Moreover, the child learns that the adult is superior, and the use of force – be it verbal, physical, or emotional – is acceptable, especially over younger, weaker persons. This lesson can lead to incidents of bullying and violence in school, where older children dominate younger ones and force them into giving the bullies money, food, homework, or other valuable items.
Furthermore, rather than leading to a child with inner control, such punishment makes the child angry, resentful, and fearful. It also causes shame, guilt, anxiety, increased aggression, a lack of independence, and a lack of caring for others, and thus greater problems for teachers, caregivers, and other children.
Alternatively, positive discipline is the practice of training or teaching a student to obey the code of behavior or rules in both the short and long term. Instead of controlling the behavior of students, teachers can use positive discipline to develop a child›s behaviors through self-control and making positive choices.
The following table summarizes some of the positive features of discipline as opposed to what a punishment-oriented environment is like:

5.1.3. Criteria for positive discipline
The following are the criteria for an effective positive discipline:
- Helps children feel a sense of connection (Belonging and significance).
- Is mutually respectful and encouraging (Kind and firm at the same time.).
- Is effective long - term (Considers what the child is thinking, feeling, learning, and deciding about himself and his world – and what to do in the future to survive or to thrive.).
- Teaches important social and life skills (Respect, concern for others, problem solving, and cooperation as well as the skills to contribute to the home, school or larger community.).
- Invites children to discover how capable they are (Encourages the constructive use of personal power and autonomy.
5.1.4. Importance of positive discipline
The purpose of positive discipline is to teach in such a way that children can develop their inner guidance system so they can function responsibly by themselves. Because adults won’t always be around to tell children what to do, we must instill inner discipline and help children develop the ability to think, judge, and make decisions on their own.
Youth need to learn self-discipline with little issues, so they have the experience and confidence to deal with larger issues later. This process takes time, but the end product is worth the investment.
Using positive discipline techniques help teachers to overcome the many challenges in the classroom and help students learn and make better choices in the future. In fact, using positive discipline in the classroom not only increases academic success in the classroom but provides many other benefits, including:
- Students show respect for the teacher
- Students are on task and engaged
- Less disciplinary measures are needed
- Fewer suspension and expulsions
- Students see rules as fair
- Attendance improves
Application Activity 5.1
Differentiate Positive Discipline and Physical and Psychological Punishment
5.2. Principles of positive discipline
Activity 5.2
Explain how a positive discipline should be.
The positive discipline approach is based on several education principles. As explained in the following paragraphs, positive discipline is:
- Holistic: The approach recognises that all aspects of children’s learning and development are connected to each other. For example, understanding children’s social development helps to understand why their behaviour and motivation levels may change. The positive discipline approach is based on understanding the links between individual development, learning, behaviour and academic achievement, family relationships and community health.
- Strengths-based: It recognises that all children have strengths, capabilities and talents, and aims to emphasise and build on their abilities, efforts and improvements. Mistakes are not seen as failures, but as opportunities to learn and improve. Takes children’s developmental stages into account and aims to discipline in an age-appropriate way.
- Constructive: Positive discipline emphasizes the educator’s role in building learners’ self-esteem and confidence, developing independence, and fostering their sense of self-efficacy. Rather than punishing learners’ academic or behavioural mistakes, the educator explains, demonstrates and models the concepts and behaviours to be learned.
Rather than trying to control learners’ behaviour, the educator seeks to understand it and to guide it in a positive direction. Positive discipline focuses on achieving educational goals in a safe learning environment.
- Inclusive: Positive discipline is respectful of children’s individual differences and equal rights. All children are included in the educational process, and all are entitled to the same standard of education. In positive discipline, the emphasis is on teaching children’s individual needs, strengths, social skills and learning styles within an integrated classroom – to the best of the school’s ability. This includes identifying and understanding learning challenges, finding ways to teach every child effectively and adapting the classroom environment to ensure each one’s success.
- Proactive: The focus is on helping children to succeed in the longterm. Rather than responding to problems with immediate or shortterm reactions, the focus is on understanding the roots of learning and behaviour difficulties and putting in place strategies that will help to address issues in the long-term.
- Participatory: It works on the principle that children are more interested in learning when they feel part of the process. Learners are motivated to learn when they feel engaged in the learning process. Positive discipline involves learners in making decisions. Rather than force and control, this approach seeks out learners’ opinions and perspectives, and involves them in creating a classroom environment that supports learning.
- Dignity: Positive discipline invites teachers to respect the child’s dignity and ensure mutual respect.
- Understanding: Positive discipline invites teachers to respect the child’s motivation and life views, to understand the reasons behind their behaviour and tackle the negative beliefs behind their behaviour rather than trying to change the behaviour itself.
- Fairness: Positive discipline promotes justice, fairness and nondiscrimination among children.
- Personal development: teachers should respect personal development stage when using positive discipline. That means positive discipline respects the child’s developmental needs and quality of life.
- Social and life skills: Positive discipline promotes active participation and aims at developing the child’s character with a set of personal skills such as: self-discipline, social skills, cooperation, effective communication, problem solving, respect, solidarity, and concern for others.
- Potential and autonomy: Positive discipline encourages children to discover their potential and capacities and to make a constructive use of personal power and autonomy. Positive discipline respects the child’s motivation and life views
- Encouragement instead of praise: this shifts the focus from success to effort and improvement and builds long-term self-esteem and empowerment. The child’s participation is maximized.
Application Activity 5.2
Read this case study and say whether the reaction of the teacher respects principles of positive discipline. What could the teacher do differently?
Sabina: I live two kilometers from my school. In the morning, sometimes I have to fetch water and sweep the compound around our house before I can go to school. I have no money for transport, so I walk to school. I know that being beaten is just the way things are at our school. Sometimes, because I am tired, I take it easy. I will just take the three canes. Sometimes, I try to hide in the bush until the teacher leaves, but most of the time there is no escape. I just have to take the beating.
Sabina’s teacher: I have to make sure the children understand that coming late to school is not acceptable. They have to know that there are consequences for their lateness. I always give them three canes. Some of them are even used to it. They just offer themselves up because they know I don’t listen to any excuses.
5.3. Positive discipline approach
Activity 5.3
Read the case study below, and answer the questions that follow
MUHIRE is the youngest of eight children in his family. His mother died when he was a baby. His father works away.
From a young age MUHIRE was a burden on those who looked after him. He lacked the nurture of his mother and his brothers beat him for behaviour they found annoying, such as spilling food or wetting the bed. He struggles in school.
He often feels embarrassed about finishing last, but he is proud of his physical strength. At the start of class, one of the smartest, KALISA made a joke about MUHIRE’s school shoes, which were in a bad condition. Others laughed. Feeling embarrassed and wanting to recover his self-respect, MUHIRE hit KALISA, pushing him over.
The teacher ordered MUHIRE to kneel. Upset and humiliated, MUHIRE swore under his breath. The teacher responded by striking him across the back with a stick.
1) How the teacher punished MUHIRE?
2) What do you say about the approach used by that teacher when handling MUHIRE’S bad behaviours?
3. What are the best strategies that the teacher could have used to address the situation?
5.3.1. Positive discipline strategies
There is no magic formula that will answer all disciplinary questions. Nor is there one perfect way to discipline.
No method is going to work with every child or in every situation. What we can do is to commit ourselves to a positive approach in our discipline...one that includes respect, clearly defined expectations, setting limits, and using reasonable consequences.
A positive approach to discipline helps adults and children work together rather than against each other. It preserves a child’s dignity and self-esteem while encouraging cooperative, positive, and loving relationships. Learning to use positive discipline is based upon mutual respect and cooperation, which can have a powerful effect on helping a child develop confidence and a strong self-image.
The short-term goal of discipline is to guide behavior on a daily basis and to protect children from hurting themselves and others. The long-term goal is to help children become self-disciplined and responsible for their own behavior.
They need to be able to rely on themselves.
Motivating a child to cooperate is the key to effective discipline. When teacher’s relationship with a child is a series of power struggles, the teacher is bound to lose. We want children to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. To accomplish this goal, teachers don’t have to humiliate or harm a child’s self-esteem or body. Teachers can guide children with love and firmness toward the goal of self-discipline and stable self-esteem.
Here are a few positive discipline strategies to try:
- Use the power of the positive. Positive statements tell a child what to do rather than what not to do, and they promote a more positive environment for learning and nurturing self-esteem. Given half a chance, children want to please teachers. By using encouragement as an incentive for behaving appropriately, we can build a child’s positive self-image and sense of individuality because we are placing the power in their hands.
- Hold a positive expectation. Children are very sensitive to teachers’ attitudes about them. If teachers perceive a child as responsible and cooperative, teachers unconsciously give them more opportunities to demonstrate their competence and develop a sense of responsibility. The more trust and confidence you place in a child, the more the child learns that they are worthy of trust, and, in turn, the more trustworthy they become.
Give directions in a positive way. Teachers request children what to do in a clear and respectful language.
- Acknowledge positive behavior. Perhaps the most significant element of a positive approach to guiding behavior is acknowledging behaviors we want to be repeated. Most children spend great stretches of time behaving well.
This deserves recognition. Positive recognition shows a child they can get the attention they need without misbehaving.
If teachers focus their time, attention, and energy on the positive, negative behavior will soon decrease and the positive will increase. By noticing children doing things right, teachers bring out the good that is already there.
By acknowledging positive behavior, teachers offer encouragement in the form of descriptive praise.
- Be specific in your encouragement -- describe in concrete terms what you see and how you feel. Rather than “You’re doing a good job.” tell the child, “I like the way you cover your notebook by yourself this morning.” The child’s conclusion: “I’m responsible and can take care of my things.”
- When giving encouragement, focus on the action, not the doer. Avoid statements like “You’re an angel.” or “You’re terrific!” that set unrealistic standards for a child to live up to. Effective praise should be a way of celebrating rather than evaluating a child.
Some practical strategies to be used in behaviour management
- Teacher–child relationship
The heart of effective behaviour management is building positive relationships with children. This allows the teacher to connect to the children forming a strong foundation from which behavioural change can take place.
The following are ways of building relationships:
- Welcome the children as they enter the classroom.
- Ensure all children understand what is expected of them.
- Create a positive environment where each child feels relaxed and accepted.
- Show an interest in each child’s family, talents, goals, likes and dislikes.
- Engage with the children during lunchtime and playtime.
- Treat each child with respect, never embarrass or ridicule.
- Share all successes with the class.
- Believe by recognizing their strengths that every child has the ability to learn and achieve.
- Involve the children in making decisions regarding rules and activities within the classroom.
- Language used in positive approach
It is important to focus on positive rather than the negative statements when interacting with children, guiding them towards positive outcomes rather than highlighting their mistakes.
- Children’s manners and respect
Many children do not have good manners modeled at home. It is therefore important for teachers to model and reinforce manners to help develop children’s social skills. Manners not only make a good impression on others but also make us feel good about ourselves.
Examples:
- Always acknowledge and reinforce when a child demonstrates good manners.
- Encourage children to treat others with respect by modeling the desired behaviour.
- Inform the children of the importance of treating others the same way they like to be treated.
- Role play various situations to demonstrate appropriate responses.
- Understand the roots of child’s behavior.
• Rules
Rules create clear expectations for the children and need to define what acceptable behaviour is.
These must be reinforced on a regular basis and placed in a visible place on the classroom wall. Include the children in developing the rules as this will give them ownership and they will be more likely to accept their terms and conditions and therefore comply.
In general, there are a number of difficulties in laying down formal written rules many people would argue that the behavior of class, like that of most primary, face to face groups, should be governed by conventions rather than by edicts. Rules require to be expressed in children’s behavior.
Tips to be considered when designing classroom rules:
- When designing your classroom rules, they should be: – clear – comprehensive – enforceable.
- Write the rules in a positive way and avoid using ‘don’ts‘. For example, ‘I will walk sensibly around the school’ rather than ‘Don’t run around the school‘.
- Children require understandable directions. Hence, the rules need to be specific and explainable, e.g. telling children to ‘Be good‘or ‘Don‘t do that‘ is too vague.
- Display the class rules and go over them with the children on a regular basis.
- Check children’s understanding of the rules.
- Explain the rationale behind the rules.
- Be consistent in enforcing the outcomes for breaches of the rules when an incident occurs.
Note:
Even if the above strategies may work to shape the positive discipline, teachers should remember that teaching by example is powerful! Teachers as role models.
Teachers are an extremely important role model in children’s lives. Children will notice how they approach stressful situations, resolve conflicts, solve problems, and conduct yourself, in general, around other children and adults.
Teachers need to recognize that the easiest way to reinforce positive discipline is to serve as a role model of appropriate behavior.
Teachers must model the behavior they want to see in children. When teachers lead, guide, and help children improve their choices, they are literally guiding children along paths that will give them the best chance for growth, happiness, and success. Deciding to use a positive approach to guiding young children can create a bond and an understanding that can last throughout a child’s entire life!
5.3.2. Strategies for handling positively the unwanted behaviors
Activity 5.3.2

Observe the above illustrations and explain what is happening?
What strategies can you use to handle those bad behavior?
Helping children correct behavior is taking the time to give feedback on the choices they made and discussing why their choices are important so they can make a wiser choice next time.
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