Final thoughts...

It astounds me that we have made it through another class already.  When I began this journey at another institution, I felt that I'd never be able to succeed.  This program through Walden University has re-ignited my desire to continue my Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. 

This class by Dr. Kien has really been beneficial, not only as a refresher of child development, but to take that basic learning and apply it to my work as a professional.  I feel that I have learned more about myself in the last weeks as well.  Additionally, I have used the articles, and topics as conversation starters with my staff as well as the families we serve.

I find it difficult to choose just two classmates blogs that I would recommend.  I believe that our dedication to early childhood education, as well as our own experiences in the field bring an immense amount of knowledge to our discussions.

I would recommend the following blogs:

Amy P.~ http://butterflychildhood.blogspot.com/
Angela S.~ http://asalasecsblog.blogspot.com/
Ashleigh W.~ http://southernsoulrising.blogspot.com/
Crystal R.~ http://crystaleducation.blogspot.com/
Rene M.~ http://musicwithmoss.blogspot.com/
Shikisha S. ~ http://developingearlychildhood.blogspot.com
Wanda M.~ http://stuckngermany.blogspot.com/


Finally, to end this class I would like to share additional quotes that inspire me to continue my work in Early childhood education:

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -- Marva Collins

"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." - Carol Buchner

My favorite:  "A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." -- Forest Witcraft

Thank you all for sharing in this journey. 

Cognitive intelligence assessment

Cognition grows substantially during the middle childhood years.  According to Berger, "there are advances in reaction time, attention, and automatization during these years" (2009, p. 321).  During the Middle Childhood years, a significant amount of testing occurs between aptitude and achievements tests for children.  Some of the aptitude tests that typically occur in school age children is the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ).  Additionally, achievement tests occur in the middle childhood years.  Although achievement tests have been done for many years, there has been a significant push for them since the law "No Child Left Behind Act".  These tests have been developed for "reading, writing, mathematics, and science and norms that are developed for children of specific ages" (Berger, 2009, p. 323).

The focus in Asian countries is that children spend the majority of there time in educational facilities.  They are required to attend school, and typically score higher on both achievement and aptitude tests.  The focus on these children's education is significant, and positive behaviors are more prevalent in Asian countries.  According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, "(these countries) benefit from a cultural emphasis on education, investments in teacher quality and equitable funding of schools regardless of family income" (Hechinger, 2010).  In addition, in Finland, the test scores are higher than other parts of the world.  Many believe that this is because Finland has made education through high school a requirement (Asia Society, 2010).  One of the most intriguing videos that I've ever seen is about the educational systems in our world.  It is called Did you know?  Shift happens (2006).

Children throughout the world are assessed to develop a better understanding of their development.  Aptitude and achievement tests enable educators to develop better curriculum for the students they serve.

References:

Asia Society. (2010).  What accounts for Finland's high student achievement rate?  Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/learning-world/what-accounts-finlands-high-student-achievement-rate.

Berger, K.A. (2009). The Developing Person through Childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Burns, K. (2010). Japan and its standardized test-based education system.  Retrieved from http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/japan-and-its-standardized-test-based-education-system.

Fisch, K. (2006). Did you know? Shift happens.  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

Hechinger, J. (2010). Asian teens ace global achievement test besting U.S. as Shanghai excels.  Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/asian-teens-ace-global-achievement-test-besting-u-s-as-shanghai-excels.html.