Learning is not limited to schools. Many people prefer to home school their children due to many reasons.
Some do not like the curriculum being taught, others have to move around too much making formal school not feasible. During the pandemic, as the learning turned virtual, many people got a taste of home-schooling as well.
Moreover, some people might have children with different learning challenges, and the traditional schools may not be the right fit for them.
If you suspect your child to have some learning difficulty, you should then seek help from the Best Child specialist in Lahore.
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Home-Schooling: The Challenge of Assessing
While to home-school or not is entirely the parents’ prerogative, however, it is not without its own set of challenges. One of the biggest being how to assess the learning of the child, so they are not disadvantaged in the world.
Traditional tests and exams tend to work better in competitive environment at school, where the relative grading helps in understanding child’s learning. Moreover, letter grade system is also problematic, as you cannot put a letter to one’s intelligence.
To help you through this conundrum, we have rounded up interesting and effective ways to help you assess the learning of your child.
Reverse Teaching
One way to check if your child understood the problem is by reversing the role; ask them to teach you. If they are able to relay the information in a sound manner, then it means that they have understood the concept.
Oral Exams
Not everything needs to be written down, you can instead take the exams orally. Talking out concepts also helps the child with verbalization of their thought process. Some children might struggle with writing but are more eloquent when they say things.
Project Based Tasks
Rather than making boring exams, try to assess the caliber of the child by the way of giving them projects. Moreover, practical work also helps kids connect the concept to the real-world examples, thereby enabling the learning. Furthermore, projects also are good for making learning fun.
Use Digital Platforms
Utilize the digital platforms for not only teaching children but also enabling their learning. You can teach them how to make presentations. Take their friends on a Zoom call and ask your child to present information so that they gain confidence. Make their videos giving presentation and share them with family for feedback.
Don’t Fixate On The Grade
Marks are but a number. You do not need to worry about how much score your child gets but check instead how much progress they have made. If your child is not making any progress, then you need to understand why your child is not improving and change your strategy.
Try Open-Book Exams
Understanding information is more important than memorization. You can then allow your child to give open-book exams. Formulate the questions that test your child’s concepts rather than making them regurgitate the material.
However, do also test their memory, as memorization is also an important skill. Make them memorize events, dates etc.
Do Use Formal Tests As Well
For mathematics, you can use aid of different ways of teaching, instead of relying alone a black board, but the testing might have to be done in the traditional way. Working around the problem is required on paper to assess the thought process of the child, and to ascertain if they have understood the topic.
Similarly, writing is another skill that needs to be gauged through traditional examination. For example, asking your child to write an essay.
Understand Learning
It is pertinent that you be cognizant of how effective your child is learning. If they are struggling with reading, writing, are not able to understand no matter how effectively you teach them, then you should also consider talking to Best Child specialist in Islamabad to check for learning problems.