Tracking understanding

Assessment for children’s learning refers to the process of gathering and analysing information as evidence about what children know, can do and understand. It is part of an ongoing cycle that includes planning, documenting and evaluating children’s learning.—EYLF, p. 17

The learning by children is not directly assessed for the purposes of reporting in Kinder. However, tracking children’s questions, perceptions and reflections all paint a picture of the existing knowledge, understanding and skills of children and can indicate starting points for future inquiry or points of provocation.

In alignment with EYLF, it is recommended for the tracking of Kinder children’s learning of Good News for Living that educators use a variety of (ongoing) strategies to collect, document, organise, synthesise and interpret the information that they gather to track learning. The information gathered to depict children’s learning is to describe their progress and identify their strengths, skills and understandings, and to make the process of learning visible to children and their families, educators and other professionals (EYLF, p. 17).

Within the ‘Tracking Understanding’ section of the ‘Early Years’ (Kinder) learning sequences, there are suggested for educators some strategies for gathering evidence to track children’s learning of each of the elements of Good News for Living.