Assessing Young Children’s Learning and Behavior in the Classroom: A Complexity Approach

Abstract

This chapter provides a complex dynamic systems view on curriculum-based learning in early education. We first discuss the general notions of curriculum, assessment, skills, and learning in early education and give a short overview of curriculum-based assessment in early childhood education (ECE) in the Netherlands. We conclude that for assessment to be usable in an educational context, an understanding of the process of learning is crucial. We then present the theory of complex dynamic systems as a general framework for defining learning, skills, and assessment. A complex dynamic system is defined as any network of interacting components (e.g., cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components in an agent, such as a learning child, and components of the teaching process in a teacher). As a consequence of their interactions in a network of dynamic connections, complex dynamic systems undergo typical change in the form of self-organization, variability, temporal stability, and so forth. These patterns of change characterize the processes of learning and associated teaching in young children and educators. In spite of the abstract nature of this theoretical framework, we show that its basic concepts are intuitively appealing in educational contexts and provide concrete and usable ways for assessment in early childhood education. To this end, we present a taxonomy of assessment forms based on complexity thinking and provide two practical, complexity-based examples of the assessment of learning processes in early childhood education: a web-based program for assessing students’ learning and behavioral goals and a video feedback coaching program for teachers giving science lessons for young children. We conclude with practical recommendations for early childhood curricula and for early childhood assessment.