Problem Solving

Each child should be individually assessed. The purpose of assessment is to find out what children know and what they can do before instruction is planned. Observe during their regular activities is a very common method for this. Very often, children come up with new ideas as a educator never thought about, educators are learners as well from the children. Through observation, the educator can find out if the child can apply concepts to real life problems and activities. By keeping a record of these observations, the educator builds up a more complete picture of the child's strengths and weaknesses.

Once the child's level of knowledge is identified, objectives can be selected. So that, a decision can be made as to what the child should be able to learn next. For example, a five-year-old child counts 50 objects correctly. The objective for this child would be different from the one for another the same age child who can count only 5 objects accurately. Therefore, the first child does not need any special help with object counting. The second child will need some help and specific activities with counting objectives.

Young children construct concepts through naturalistic activities as they explore the environment. As they grow and develop, they feel the need to organize and understand the world around them. Children have a need to label their experiences and the things that they observe. They notice how older children and adults count, an instinctive knowledge of math concepts develops before an abstract understanding. Abstract experiences can be introduced gradually during the preoperational and transitional periods and increased in frequency as the child reaches concrete exploratory operations, but they should always be preceded by concrete experiences.