Confidential Teacher Recommendation Form Kindergarten, 1 & 2: Fill & Download for Free

Table of Contents1. Introduction 32. Need Analysis 43. Action Plan and Implementation 54. Methodology 5a) Surveys 6b) Interviews 6c) Observation 65. Post Test Findings 66. Analysis and Discussion 7Action Plan 1: Examining a Child’s Interest and Focusing on their Learning Styles 7Action Plan 2: Examining a Child’s Inter Focusing on their Learning Styles 997. Conclusion 9Tabulation of Results for K2 10Graph 108. Reflections 11Recommendations 129. References 1310. Appendices 15Teachers’ Interview Sample Questions 15Children’s Observation Checklist Table Sample 16Parent’s Survey Sample 19IntroductionYoung children often struggle with crucial motor skills such as grasping pencils and utensils, moving items with their fingertips and using common tools such as scissors. In adopting these exceptional motor skills, kids develop them at different rates (Bruni, 2006). If a child has difficulty in such crucial skills, they may need extra assistance to promote facilitation of such skills. Therefore, it is essential to introduce, show, teach them and provide as many opportunities for practice during their early childhood. When a child develops these abilities, they may achieve independence at an early stage which will save parents and teachers’ time from close supervision.Children possessing the gross and motor skills are adventurous, and they always explore the environment which progresses the cognitive abilities. The distinction between fine and gross motor skills lies in the number of muscles the two movements trigger in a kid. Exceptional motor skills entail the smaller muscles such as the wrist and hand while gross motor skills involve the larger muscles groups which include the arm and leg. Self-help skills help a teacher when teaching the kindergarten students to have minimal errands in observing the students. Bruni (2006) expounds further that avoidable accidents such as spillage and toileting can be evaded if the cultivation of motor skills starts at an early age with the support from kindergarten teachers and parents. According to a literature review from Ali, Clarke, & Mclachlan, (2017), the physical activity and motor skill proficiency of young children may be a vital predictor of physically active behaviors in their later life. Ruling out interventions in early childhood education could support their academic performance including physical skills and behaviors.Owing to the immense contribution of motor skills coordination, I developed a research question on how to plan activities that improve motor skills coordination in children. My primary focus is to enhance the self-help skills through specific activities which need the involvement of the three parties; parents, teachers, and students at the kindergarten 2 level. Teachers need to modify or adapt activities and select props or equipment that is appropriate for kindergarten age. Teachers will teach the kids and make them learn skills from simple to complex tasks and break down the instruction into smaller steps. I realized the lack of exercise in particular activities led to poor motor skills coordination. Hence, the original essence for this research is to develop an action plan for children which will, in turn, improve their motor skill coordination and reduce dependency on adults. The timeline of the action plan is to be completed before 5 August 2018 and the parents meet up event day is carried out on 24 July 2018, workshop date for teachers is set at 30 July 2018.2.0 Need AnalysisDuring the initial findings that were performed through surveys, interview, and observation. The data collected indicated that parents did not have adequate knowledge on how to support their kids in developing motor skills. They do not know the importance of their role and the general development of their kids. There was a lack of standard abilities and aptitude tests which teachers attributed to their inability to determine the progress of motor skills. Evaluation of the skills was a difficult task since there was no in-between, it is either the child knew how to perform the skill or not. From observation, other children performed better than the others who were still learning. With all the above fundamental flaws, there is a need for training and awareness else it will reduce the effectiveness of motor skill intervention.3.0 Action Plan and ImplementationPlan 1: Examining a Child’s Interest and Focusing on their Learning Styles with a parent’s event.The administrative department started calling all parents two days ago before the event to remind them. The central planner is in charge of the preparation and the overall event. The family room that is centrally placed should be the one to offer a place that is comfortable, where meetings can be held. On the other hand, the conference should be started with positive information about the kid’s development and progress. The parents' event is designed specifically to equip teachers to enhance their understanding of children with motor skills developmental issues and the strategies to work effectively with parents. To understand each child’s interest, some activities will be set up to discover the child’s abilities; parents will be able to explore and get their child to engage in a wide variety of dramatical activities. The parents are expected to engage in meaningful discussion during the 7-hour event, while on the other hand making sure that they set up various activities that are required in the process. Additionally, for effective communication, the parents should come up with ways that would enable them to work with the teachers effectively.The event content covers:1. Comprehending the development issues of the motor skills and their causes.2. Understanding the challenges faced by parents with children having developmental issues when it comes to the motor skills.3. Strategies that could be used in engaging the parents effectively, for them to learn how they could support their children’s motor skills development. This may include the activities conducted at home, between the child and the parent.In the process of motor skills development and learning, it is critical to note that some kids would depend on their other children to learn effectively. It is also vital to indicate that at least every child has the primary sensory learning modality, which is quite significant in the process of learning new skills. Therefore, this means that the kids may entirely depend on the visual sense, in order to acquire information, and most importantly, to interpret the world accordingly. Other children may also do the same without necessarily learning from their colleagues. Such categories of kids are likely to make use of their feeling of sense, auditory, or the physical abilities, in order to learn most of the required things while growing.Some of the characters that build out of such a process include the personality, the learning styles, and temperance. Most of these characters are to be noticed at the point when the child is at the continuum’s extreme. Therefore, when this is the case, the teaching strategies should be adjusted accordingly, to make the children learn appropriately. Majority of the kids are also said to be having at least one specific interest, whereby some are fascinated by the trucks, certain sports, machines, and others by particular activities, which they undertook in kindergarten. Once the teacher has identified one of the interests, he/she should ensure that they incorporate the activities in such a way that would enable the kid to learn effectively. Sometimes children express and pursue their interests only at home, so it is necessary to ask parents during the event.Plan 2: Parents and Teachers Partnership with a workshopThis approach aims to provide the preschool educators to build fundamental motor skills in young children that include loco-motor, object control, and stability skills. In this 8-hour hands-on practical workshop, it offers the teachers fun activities throughout the session to integrate motor skills development and the other learning areas. Through hands-on activities, participants will get to identify strategies for successful execution of gross (fundamental) motor skills activities. Participants will plan games and activities that develop fundamental motor skills in young children.At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:• Identify the importance of (fundamental) motor skills in young children• Ages & stages: how children develop motor skills• To plan integrated activities to help young children develop motor skills• Effectively and efficiently manage a classroom during lesson using various appropriate teaching strategies to support gross motor skills development in young children• To recognize and identify at least one movement difficulty in skill executionLed by a physical therapist, the workshop would be quite crucial as it would give the teachers a more in-depth and new perspective on the kid’s motor skills development. This can also be described as an informative and practical session, which is designed in a way that would help boost the teacher’s awareness of the various stages that are involved in the motor skills development. Through this move, the teachers would be able to analyse and address the lags in each person’s development.Through the application of an appropriate set of strategies, information, and various extension activities, it would easy on the teachers’ side to ensure that the kids’ motor skills development needs have been addressed. Teachers should also realize when to monitor and when to refer to a visit that appears more professional specifically. Additionally, the symptoms of the Motor Coordination Disorder (MCD) should be carried by the teachers. By identifying, planning and integrating the entire needs of the students, the teachers are likely to become more confident.Post FindingsTo compare the effectiveness and results before and after action plan, the same methodologies were utilized during the process for data collection:a. SurveysData collected was from the kid’s parents. This method of data collection was in writing form, and there was no contact between the researcher and parent. All parents have indicated improvement motor skills of their children at home settings in the survey. Some of the skills that their children do not know how to do, they have acquired it now. The pamphlets, leaflets, and brochures act as a resource kit for the parents. The results of the survey are better than the previous one as most parents called in to the school for the feedback that the resource kit provided tips in addressing to the child’s learning needs. They understand their role to keep monitoring their child to the next milestone and is a reasonable response of the awareness of the parents.b. InterviewsThe participants were the teachers. The results collected were the average percentage based on the primary curriculum from the two sets of 8 questions. The teachers will be asked to name the potential barriers that can prevent the child from achieving after the workshop. The feedback received that partnership with parents’ aid in the motor skills development is very successful in the workshop. The teachers can better evaluate and have a right track of the children after inflicting the skills on them are divided into three phases. The Teacher’s response to highly confident with children in nurturing motor skills based on their new knowledge and skills gained from the workshop. The results collected from the interview is better before the event.c. ObservationThis method of data collection entailed children who were observed using the standard motor skills development checklist. Additional complex activities were set up to be examined in the study after the purchase of new equipment. Teachers managed to describe the behaviors they record accurately, without subjective interpretation or labelling. When teachers have observed that several children have difficulty using scissors, they have plan activities that use small muscles, such as fishing for objects with tongs or placing pegs in a board, then move to tear paper and, finally, to use the scissors. Teachers use many techniques to record and organize their observations. The first technique, in this case, is to ensure that one keeps a pad of paper and a pencil to put down the critical sets of information in the entire interaction. Later on, the short notes would be used in making a clear and coherent notebook, which could be stored in files for future reference. Some of the teachers are also likely to spend most of their time putting down particular observations and the impressions, which they made during the sessions.If all these information is put down into a diary, it will become advantageous for future reference. Another strategy that could be used correctly by the teacher is that of rotating the cards for different students. If such cards are rotated, this will make the teachers work easier as he/she would be able to assess every student in the class. On the other hand, the teachers could try and place some checklists on the walls of the classes, which would enable them to track the choices that the kids made during the day. By setting obstacle courses outside the classes, the teacher would be able to observe the children more appropriately, while using the developmental checklists. The checklists are essential as they would help individual kids to showcase their various capacities. The photographs and the tape recorders do offer long-lasting records of the children, which would help in the tracking process of how the children are developing.Teachers' observations, assessment data, and information provided by parents can be used to understand and plan for each child now.Post Findings AnalysisAfter the implementation of the action plan, 80% of the children in the study reported significant improvement in their motor skills coordination. From the graph above, it shows how the K2 students made a tremendous improvement in their abilities as time went forward. The children began to develop motor skills such as catching a ball after it had bounced. They also exhibited the ability to run around obstacles which they were unable to perform before the study. Besides, since during observation some students did not interact fully with others since they preferred solitude, the action plan enabled them to start doing things with others such as jumping in a row. Moreover, they were able to walk in a line and tiptoes which proved the action plan was successful.The kindergarten teachers became more involved in motor skills development in coordination with their parents. A collection of drawings, arts and attempted writings done by the children have been pasted on the walls. Teachers have since started to review the works with the children after attending the workshop. Most children enjoy reviewing work and getting praise from their teachers. It builds up their confidence and may even work harder to get noticed by the teacher. The classroom is filled with photographs of children doing activity in class, and it provides a visual picture of the children. Parents can look at the diversity of their child's work when teachers share the portfolios during the parent’s meeting. Teachers increased their time to build these crucial fine and motor skills which made the children more independent than before. After successful setting of a specific way of measuring the aptitudes and the abilities of children as aforementioned in the action plan, parents and teachers could track the progress of their children without any difficulties. The teacher noticed that majority of the children could button their shirt and learning to wear shoes themselves. Parents’ feedback that they have signed up further professional training course and seek advice from non-profit organization hotline found in the pamphlets.Analysis and DiscussionWhen comparing the baseline data findings and post action findings, a similar programme and activities are used in the intervention of study. Children examined during the play and study times; the programme is showed to have slight improvement with extra activities added to the new action plan. The results from this study provide evidence that the Primary Movement programme, similar to the motor skills improvement programme had a significant effect on improving the motor skills of the children. This research provides further evidence to support the use of the programme within the Early Years curriculum (Brown, 2010). While differences after the implementation, the parent’s reported improvement in the survey after participation in motor skills development. Instead of leaving a child to undertake a specific motor skill independently, the guardian should help the child (Marcon, 1999). When we watch someone acting, our brains may simulate the performance of the action we observe (Jeannerod, 1994). With the pamphlets, leaflets, and brochures were given out to parents to teach the kids at home. The repetition of practice and assistance of parents is the key to success.According to Mahoney, Perales, Wiggers & Herman (2006), the role of parents in early childhood learning are the people with the most significant opportunities to promote children's motor learning. Parents should be active participants in their children's motor intervention. When the first observation where most children were unable to do essential activities such as climbing the ladder and peddling a tricycle, most of them can achieve now. Previously the procedure is not divided into stages as a teacher has limited knowledge. Now, the children are divided into three stages where they will be grouped in cognitive stages, associative stage and autonomous stage have a better way for evaluation. This article covers the growing evidence that motor skill learning advances through stages, in which different storage mechanisms predominate. The acquisition phase is characterized by fast (within a session) and slow learning (between sessions). Evidence for stages in motor skill learning is provided by experiments using behavioural, electrophysiological, functional imaging, and cellular/molecular methods (Luft & Buitrago, 2005). After the teacher finished attending the workshop, they had a specific way of measuring the aptitudes and the abilities of children; they were able to identify and recognize correctly that children had motor skills difficulties.Additionally, after the workshop, the teachers should be able to highlight the areas, which he/she needs to be improved. Through such an action, it would be possible to make the necessary changes that are required. Further data analysis revealed that there was no significant correlation between years of previous work experience and specific knowledge. Studies expressed their belief that they would benefit from specific ongoing education and training (Anastasiadis, Kourtessis & Zachopoulou, 2017). According to the statistics collected, it can be concluded that when teachers and guardians put their efforts together in developing motor skills in children, the results are significant. As a product of their collaboration, children will have the confidence to undertake their activities independently (Ulrich, 2013). The communication between the teachers and parents was critical in ensuring that they were conscious to allow the children to develop these self-help skills. The action plan provides a guide for parents to ensure their role in promoting motor skills. The parents commenced giving tasks such as grooming and toileting to their kids as well as giving them time to finish up.The best thing about communication between the teachers and the parents is that it would bring about an effective way of handling the children. Through this action, children are more likely to develop the motor skills more appropriately, considering that the teachers and the parents to understand them fully. It should also be noted that apart from the schools, research has that most of the kid’s activities do rely on the parents. Out of this, the parents should be able to understand their children well, even before taking them and handing them over to the teachers.Gross Motor Development ChartAge GroupMilestoneBirth- 3 monthsWhile being moved, they hold firmlyLifts their heads up only when lying on the belly4-6 monthsSits with support, rolls from belly to back, starts to crawl gradually, and tries to stand while holding the parent’s hand.7-9 MonthsStarts to pull towards a proper sitting positionAttempts to walk while holding parents hands.Takes coordinated but small steps.10- 12 monthsBegins to stand aloneBends downwards in order to pick thingsStarts to walk alonePushes small obstacles out of their way.13-15 monthsMoves around even the large obstacles22-24 monthsBegins to squatTabulation of Results before and after for K2GraphEthical ConsiderationsThe parents have informed the objectives of the research which was to develop an action plan that promotes motor skills coordination in children. In addition to the objectives, the guardians were briefed on the expected duration of the study which could enable them to incorporate a specific time in the study. Bunker (1991) mentions that procedures in the study should be clearly outlined before the actual process. As the survey entailed data collection from their opinions, consent was first sought before any assessment. They were allowed the right to withhold or withdraw their opinions from the research in case they felt any uneasiness.Their parents legally approved the observations which involved children since they were below the legal age. All the participants in the study were given full anonymity, and the information collected away from the central point of discussion was to remain confidential (Grissmer et al., 2010). Moreover, the views offered by the parents were respected and not biased by the researcher’s perception. All the parents were handled in a fair and justified manner as well as the researcher collected their information truthfully with no alterations. Additionally, the participants were told how the study would benefit other people in the community.7. ConclusionConclusively, most of the kids who possess the gross and motor skills are said to be quite adventurous, and should, therefore, be given the opportunity to explore the environment. It is vital to state that by virtue of these children being given the opportunity to explore the environment, they would be able to acquire more skills, compared to those who are not offered the same opportunities. Teachers and parents have the responsibility of ensuring that the kids’ motor skills have developed exclusively. Self-help skills help a teacher when teaching the kindergarten students to have minimal errands in observing the students. It should also be noted that most of these strategies should be laid down when the child is at his/her tender age, with the maximum age being 2.ReflectionReflecting on this action research, I was able to investigate how motor skills coordination could be enhanced in kindergarten two children. The time needed to carry the research is a big challenge while struggling with work and family. Eventually, I managed to overcome by setting up a schedule with at least 2 hours every day to do the assignment. The actions of setting up the schedule were quite significant since it would bring about a better way of training the children.On the other hand, if proper research is carried out, it would be easier to come up with better techniques that would be used in ensuring the learning process is smooth. Through this action, it was possible to drive towards the goals that have been set. Learning the best approach when it comes to the motor skills development was quite advantageous as I believe that this would enable one to train the children adequately. On the other hand, the entire set of notes that were taken during the interaction were quite useful. If every step is taken as it had been indicated in the conference, it would be able to achieve the goals of training the children more appropriately. Additionally, I realized that since most of the children had different capacities, which they could operate under, it was vital for every teacher to focus on this before embarking on the training sessions.LimitationsAs the research is not based on the longitudinal study, the cross-sectional study cannot help to determine the cause and effect. The study used in the sample size is small, so we cannot use the same results to represent for a larger population. Thus it increases the risk of sampling error. The findings used is based on self-report data so, not all the information provided is 100% accurate. Some parents might even think that giving the correct information will admit their child is having problems. Another challenge emanated from the difficulty when it came to parents-teachers cooperating. Since a majority of parents would give excuses for how busy they were, it, therefore, became a difficult task trying to make the processes go through. Some of the parents did not trust that the process would enable their kids to achieve the motor skills significantly, therefore making the process quite tedious. Lastly, the biggest challenge came as a result of the young age of the children. Most of them could not comprehend what was being carried out at the time, therefore making the entire process to be challenging.Recommendations and ImprovementMy recommendations based on the research is that teachers should identify these K2 children’s needs in every academic year. The teachers should utilize observable prompts to facilitate better listening and sitting abilities as well as set specific activities to be carried out both at home and in schools. The teacher could also ensure those who are strong in one skill to partner with the ones who are weak in those skills which will reinforce their ability to learn the new skill. Besides, there should be close monitoring of the children’s activities and their progress. The exceptional motor skills which seem a little challenging to undertake should also be developed along with the gross motor skills. Hence, I would like to suggest action research which is explicitly based on exceptional motor skills to enable the children to attain full motor skills coordination. Half yearly home visits are also recommended because they give teachers some insight into family and culture.8.ReferencesAli, A., Pigou, D., Clarke, L., & Mclachlan, C. (2017). Literature Review on Motor Skill and Physical Activity in Preschool Children in New Zealand. Advances in Physical Education, 07(01).Anastasiadis, M., Kourtessis, T., & Zachopoulou, E., (2017). Educator’s ability to identify students with coordination disorders: A review of literature. Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise (AJNE), 2(3), 139.Barnett, L., Van Beurden, E., Morgan, P., Brooks, L., & Beard, J. (2008). Does childhood motor skill proficiency predict adolescent fitness?. Medicine+ Science in Sports+ Exercise, 40(12), 2137.Bruni, M. (2006). Fine Motor Skills for Children with Down syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (Topics in Down syndrome). Woodbine House.Bunker, L. K. (1991). The role of play and motor skill development in building children's self-confidence and self-esteem. The Elementary School Journal, 91(5), 467-471.Clark, J. E. (2007). On the problem of motor skill development. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 78(5), 39-44.Gabbard, C. P. (2016). Lifelong motor development. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Grissmer, D., Grimm, K. J., Aiyer, S. M., Murrah, W. M., & Steele, J. S. (2010). Fine motor skills and early comprehension of the world: two new school readiness indicators. Developmental psychology, 46(5), 1008.Luft, A. R., & Buitrago, M. M. (2005). Stages of Motor Skill Learning. Molecular Neurobiology, 32(3), 205-216.Marcon, R. A. (1999). Positive relationships between parent school involvement and public school inner-city preschoolers' development and academic performance. School psychology review, 28(3), 395.Mahoney, G., Perales, F., Wiggers, B., & Herman, B. B. (2006). Responsive Teaching: Early intervention for children with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 11(1), 18-28.Russell, D. J., Rosenbaum, P., Wright, M., & Avery, L. M. (2002). Gross motor function measure (GMFM-66 & GMFM-88) user's manual (Vol. 159). London: Mac Keith Press.Ulrich, D. A. (2013). The test of gross motor development-3 (TGMD-3): Administration, scoring, and international norms. Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 24(2), 27-33.Appendix 1PARENTS SURVEY SAMPLEDear Parents,The use of the survey is to collect data from the parents will be crucial in ensuring that statistical data is collected about the motor skills development of their children. Thank You for your participation and support!Survey Questions1. What of the parents/guardians below are you?Single ParentFather Male GuardianMother Female Guardian2.Do you have good knowledge of the specific roles after the participation with the school on handling with regards to your child motor skills development?Yes or No3. Do you think your help has assisted your child for the improvement, which positively assists them to advance their motor skills?Highly HelpfulHelpfulDoes not offer any help4. Did you noticed any improvement areas about the development of your child's motor skills at home? Yes or No5. How confident are you to bring your child to the next milestone in supporting their motor skills development process?Highly ConfidentModerately confidentConfidentLowly Confident6. Do you view your roles in the child development of the motor skills as important after the workshop? Yes or No7. Do you keep a record of your child’s performance after each activities performed at home to keep track of their motor skills development?Yes or No8. Does the pamphlets, leaflets, and brochures help you understand and assist to train your child at home?Yes or NoTeachers’ Interview Sample Questions1. How engaged are you in K2 class motor skills activities after the training?Highly EngagedModerately EngagedEngagedNot Engaged2.Are you able to name the potential barriers that can prevent the child from achieving their potential after the training?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3.How confident are you to help the child reach to their full potential during the class?Highly ConfidentModerately confidentConfidentLowly Confident4. How does the partnership with parents aid in the child motor’s skills development.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4.Does the center new curriculums, social climate, and the organizational structure with additional new equipment match the needs of the child? Yes or No5.What specific improvements have you seen the children develop which have shaped their motor skills development?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6. Do you have a good track of the motor skills development of the children after inflicting the skills to them are divided into three phases? Yes or No7. Do you understand the new specific ways of measuring the abilities and the aptitudes of the children to guide adapted education? Yes or No8. How do you use the knowledge and skills gained from the workshop to stimulate the child to learn and to work hard?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________PamphletsDual Colored Laces Can Help Your Child Learn How To Tie Shoelaces!·Parents can try Bean bag games and activities at home with kids to develop gross motor skills.·Beanbags is easier to handle than a ball as they don’t roll away, It is less frustrating for the child with poor coordination skills.StepsGet your child to balance a bean bag on the head while walking along a balance beam, a length of rope, or along a line marked out on the ground.Increase the challenge by asking your child to keep the bean bag on their heads while:doing a heel-toe walkwalking around obstacleslowering the body to touch an object on the ground!Put a pile of beanbags at one side of the yard and a bucket at the other, and have your child hop, run, jump, crawl or skip to take the bean bag to the bucket – your child can either hold the beanbag, balance it on the head, or balance it on an outstretched arm or even a spoon!