Organizing Experiential Learning Activities to Develop Competency in Childhood Development Assessment for Early Childhood Education Students in Vietnam
Keywords:
competency in childhood development assessment; Early Childhood Education students; experiential learning activities; experiential learningAbstract
Assessing children’s development plays a crucial role in Early Childhood Education, enabling teachers to identify children’s progress across physical, cognitive, language, emotional, social, and aesthetic domains. Assessment enables teachers to design educational plans tailored to each child’s needs, create a positive learning environment, and support holistic development. In addition, assessment provides information for educators, schools, and parents to collaborate effectively in fostering children’s growth and learning. Despite its importance, the integration of experiential learning activities to develop competency in childhood development assessment for Early Childhood Education students in Vietnam remains underexplored. This study investigated the impact of organizing experiential learning activities to develop competency in childhood development assessment among third-year Early Childhood Education students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. We employed a one-group pretest-posttest experimental design involving 87 randomly selected students during the second semester of the 2023–2024 academic year. The methods employed included questionnaire surveys and an analysis of student activity products. The results showed significant improvement among students in competency in childhood development assessment after the intervention. This finding underscores the effectiveness of targeted instructional strategies—particularly experiential learning activities such as observation, problem-solving scenarios, and practical assessments—in enhancing students’ evaluative skills. This study provides valuable insights into teacher training reforms in Vietnam, emphasizing the need for practice-based pedagogical approaches to better prepare future preschool educators.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.5.6
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