NDEJJE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION-KAMPALA CAMPUS

END OF SEMESTER EXAMS

NAME: TUNGWAPE MIRIAM

REG NO: 19/2/358/W/022

COURSE: BECE

COURSE UNIT: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

COURSE UNIT CODE: BEC 1201

YEAR: I

SEMESTER: II

PROGRAM: WEEKEND

FACILITATOR: MADAM NAMUYABA ROBINAH

QUESTIONS ANSWERED; 1, 2, 3

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1.(a)

A resource center is a defined as a space where materials are organized in such

a way that children learn without the teacher's constant presence and direction.

They are designed to actively engage children in their own cognitive, language,
physical, social, and emotional development. A resource center contains art,
music, and dramatic play and all children are invited to pursue their interests,
learn to make meaningful choices and build their skills.

These equipment and materials are purposeful. They are designed and included
to engage children in deliberate investigation and discovery.

Resource centers are important in the following ways;

Children who participate in learning centers during the school day have the
opportunity to use hands-on activities to learn from. They are able to manipulate
blocks or other objects to help with math skills. They are able to play with clay or
play dough to help with their fine motor development.

Resource center projects can be great hands-on reinforcement activities to

support a new skill taught

when a child learns something new it needs to be repeated often so it is not

forgotten. physical, hands-on learning, eye-hand coordination activities, auditory
and visually stimulating environments and consistent daily routines that are
engaging for young students help them learn in the school setting.

learning centers are developmentally appropriate for kindergarten students.

Being an active participant in learning is important for children and by having
appropriate activities for them helps them learn better than doing worksheets.
Children are encouraged to explore the learning center by taking part in the
activities provided. Children can play and learn with their peers by using shapes

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to discuss math goals. They can examine plants growing and what a plant needs
to survive for a science center.

Resource centers develop children’s social skills.

center time allows children to grow in their social skills. They navigate interactions
with their peers during this time, and it is happening almost constantly.

Learning centers help children with problem solving skills. When children are
playing together, they often get into conflicts. When a conflict happens, each
child has to decide what to do to solve the problem. The teacher is there to help
give student’s support about the situation but lets the students figure out what to
do. Social skills develop while children play together.

Resource centers help students with cooperation and teamwork

children have to learn to work together when they are in each center. They need
to learn how to take turns and communicate with one another to help decide
how they are going to play in the center. When it is time to tidy up, they have to
use teamwork so the job gets done correctly. They have more opportunities for
social interaction with their peers that leads to cooperative learning.

Resource centers helps children with literacy skills

Teachers must nurture literacy development during the kindergarten year by

giving children the most beneficial activities, such as play. literacy skills such as
decoding, oral reading, fluency, reading comprehension, and writing can be
developed just by giving children the opportunity for pretend play

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For example, in a reading center child are able to look at many different types of
books and pretend to read them. They learn about book handling and print
awareness skills. They study the pictures in the book and start to pretend read or
make-up the story. This is the starting stage of reading. Since children enter school
with many different learning experiences with literacy it is important that this
center is full of a print rich environment. Literacy props such as stuffed animals and
puppets are a useful tool when helping children with their verbal expression and
social interactions. Children can listen to songs, poems, and nursery rhymes to
help with phonemic awareness skills and to learn letter names and sounds.

Resource centers enable children to develop math and science concepts.

Building blocks should be available in a center. working with blocks helps children
build a foundation in mathematics. Children are able to explore and understand
shapes, measurement, geometry, and spatial relations. Children can count, sort,
and classify blocks; they are able to compose and decompose with blocks; they
can create patterns; they can see the difference between a two and three-
dimensional shapes just by touching and playing with them.

Working with blocks has many benefits. When children are building with blocks,
they are solving problems with spatial visualization and spatial orientation. They
are exploring the blocks and creating structures that inspire engineers, architects,
and artists.

Resource centers allow children to express themselves.

Having an art center lets children use their imagination and be creative. They get
to explore the materials to make something new. Children can express themselves
by using different materials and different art supplies that are provided in the art
center. Play helps with the development of creativity. Children can mix colors,

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express feelings by using colors, they practice their fine motor development by
painting and other writing tools.

Resource centers allow children to be independent.

Resource centers allow children to investigate, explore, and discover things that
are new to them and make connections with things that they already know even
in the absence of the teacher.

Children are responsible for solving their own problems. In a child-center

environment, children feel they have more power and control. Children are
independent and are able to take on responsibility for themselves

They are constantly making independent choices of how they are going to use
the materials

in the center. They have to decide if they are going to create something with a
partner or are

they going to do something by themselves. Letting children have choices shows

that the teacher

is giving the child respect and trust.

Therefore, just like it has been observed above, it is important that resource
centers are included in early childhood centers.

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1.(b)

Sand and Water Play is a fully inclusive form of play and encourages groups of
children to work together, communicate and share. It's one of the most effective
methods to educate early years children and develop their understanding of
areas of learning.

Sand and water are the most basic of raw materials and children can use them
without being constrained. They promote curiosity, imagination and
experimentation. Both sand and water are completely open ended; the child is
able to determine the direction and level of their own play. And, most importantly,
sand and water play is fun.

Sand play has always held intrigue for children and adults too! They can dig, sift,
build, pour, feel, smell and explore, there are no limits. The range of skills which
can be developed through sand play are endless; it is a truly open-ended
medium. When challenged to explore and investigate with sand, there are no
restrictions or pre-conceived outcomes, and it doesn’t matter what
developmental level a child is at, sand play will always be appropriate.

Equally, water play is just as flexible, it offers the chance to develop an extensive
range of skills and is appropriate for any age or ability of child. Water as a
plaything is intriguing and absorbing; it allows children to explore its properties and
structure, whilst having a great time.

The values of including sand and water play in early childhood centers are:

Sensory Exploration.

Both of these centers allow children to learn with hands-on materials and take in
new information through their senses. These sensory experiences can assist some
children with calming down their bodies. be aware of the properties. Children are
able to feel and describe the texture of wet sand which develops their descriptive
vocabulary for example, wet, cold, damp, hard, soft.

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Mathematical Learning.

The sand and water centers are introductions to higher-level thinking concepts
like volume. When children empty two pails of sand into one larger pail, they
begin to learn about which pail has more and which pail has less. They have the
opportunity to see how many cups it takes to fill the largest bucket. Challenging
children to estimate and then count how many scoops of sand it takes to fill a
container can be great fun, or even having a competition to guess how many
scoops of sand are already in the container.

They can also see how one tall pail of sand also equals a short, large bucket.
Children can use the sand to create shapes and structures.

Scientific Concepts.

The water table introduces children to early physics concepts like motion and
flowing water. Children have the opportunity to make predictions about what
objects will sink in the water and which items will float. Sand and water areas
introduce discussions about living and non-living items, as well as animal habitats.

Language Development.

The sand and water areas of the classroom are wonderful environments to create
conversations. Young children typically play together in these areas, develop
intricate pretend play ideas, and ask one another questions. These areas also
give the teachers plenty of opportunities to talk to students about their creations
and pretend play. Teachers can get children to respond with the most creative
responses by starting their conversations with statements like “I wonder what
would happen if . . .” and “Tell me about . . .”

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Development of Social Skills.

Since so many children want to play in these areas of the classroom, children must
learn how to take turns and share the classroom materials. Children must work
together to create a castle in the sand, and young children play together to
make their sea animals talk to each other in the water table.

Creativity.

These centers are classic examples of open-ended materials that do not have
one specific purpose. Children focus on the process of playing with the sand and
water instead of trying to create an end product.

Building extravagant sand castles, making sand mountains and islands and using
fishing rods to hook magnetic fish are excellent ideas for engaging children in
pretend play. Creative play improves children’s ability to understand new
concepts and enables them to connect with their environment.

Physical development.

All that digging, scooping, sifting, pouring, building and cleaning up sure takes a
lot of energy. Sand and water play are a fun way to develop children’s larger
muscles and gross motor skills. Adding play accessories such as spoons, rakes or
toy boats will also promote children’s hand-eye coordination and allow them to
practice their fine motor skills.

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Promoting Calmness.

Sand and water play can be very calming, meaning that it is an excellent activity
for children who are a little hyperactive, those with attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, and those with other disabilities. When it comes to sand play, add water
and let children enjoy molding shapes. For water, try using warm water as this is
soothing, letting children run their hands through it. Add colored food dye or glitter
then mix in a large, clear container.

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2.(a)

Display refers to the art of putting classroom in a prominent place in order that it
may readily be seen by the children as well as other members of the learning
community.

Classroom displays are a wonderful way to liven up a classroom, allowing

teachers to display both their work and the children's work for everyone to see.
Classroom display boards have been an integral part of schools for many years,
allowing teachers to create a creative, encouraging classroom environment.

Displays are an important part of any classroom, as they make the room appear
more inviting which creates a better learning environment.

Displays are important in the following ways;

Displays are decorative.

They can make the classroom brighter, and a more interesting and stimulating
place. This is because children are attracted to colorful environment. Therefore,
they are motivated to explore the content that the teacher has displayed.

Displays can be used to “set the scene” for a new teaching topic.

The teacher can put some stimulating material on display to promote pupil
interest in a topic that is going to be taught. If the project was “weather”,
important displays such as a weather chart could attract learners’ attention. It
should be displayed before the teaching begins, perhaps even several days
before, not just immediately before the lesson.

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Displays can be used to stimulate and create pupil interest.

As children interact with the displayed materials, they develop different skills such
as literacy, for example written text on displays to encourage pupils to read

Display materials can include supplementary teaching aids.

That simply enriches reinforce what is being taught, helping to bring the subject
“to life”. If a foreign country was being studied as part of “our world”, a display
might include pictures of the people and their costumes, famous landmarks.

Displays can be used to communicate to others what the class is doing.

Displays enable other members of the learning community to follow up on the

children’s learning progress. This can include other students from a different class,
other teachers, the principal, official school visitors, parents, and members of the
local community.

Displays can take the form of useful reference material.

It is important that children interact and apply what they have learnt immediately.
This ensures active participation which supports pupil learning. For example, letters
of the alphabet and “number lines”.

Display material can include information that it is important for students to

memorize, such as number tables, spellings and other important factual
information. The display material can be used for “drills”. Students will also tend to
learn the material, simply because it is displayed and there to look at.

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Displays can form the central basis of a piece of class work or a topic.

They can be a means of reporting on, and recording, the work that has been
undertaken. For example, the title of a display might be “What we did in Science”,

Displays can be part of some on-going work. For example, houses are being
studied, a display might include the different types of houses.

Displays keep children busy.

Displays can be used to provide students with something extra to do, in spare
moments. For example, A “puzzle of the day” would serve this purpose well. Few
students will be able to resist trying to solve it!

Displays can be used to promote class management.

Teachers can use displays to list down what they expect from the learners. They
can include lists of routines, responsibilities, tasks, and rules. They can include
directions, labels, and instructions.

Displays can form part of record keeping.

They can be used to record pupil and class progress, and topics covered. They
might also record student awards, such as “gold stars” and bonus points.

Displays enable children to appreciate their own work as well as for others.

Display is an important way to show children that their work is valued. When
children see their work display, they feel motivated. This is because the learner’s
names are normally exposed so that they can receive recognition.

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Therefore, as seen above displays are important in the learning environment of a
child.

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2.(b)

Factors to consider when displaying children’s work may include

Type of information to be displayed.

Display should be informative, yet easy for the students to understand - a display
with lots of text can be tedious to read, even for the teachers themselves. Use
keywords and diagrams to get the message across effectively and concisely.
Having learning aids and resources on and around your display helps your
students to learn independently; and with easy access to these resources, they
can get the information they need whenever they want.

Interactivity.

Another way to improve the interactivity of your display is to include the class in
its creation. children will enjoy a display more if they have contributed to it and
feel like they are a part of it. For example, a teacher could prepare a background
to which students can add elements that they have learned throughout the year
such as color sorting activities. This ongoing display-building might also help the
students to remember the content more easily by breaking it down into smaller
chunks which then have a physical, visual representation.

Learner’s participation.

Children may not be comfortable showing work that you believe is worthy. It’s
respectful to check before putting a piece on display. Besides showing respect
for learners, giving them a say in what is displayed has added benefits:

1) Displays will be more varied and interesting, since different students will likely
choose different types of pieces to display.
2) This variety sends the message that students are valued as individuals.
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Theme

It might be tempting to use the format of a previous display and just change the
content, but the layout and styling of the display is just as important as the
information displayed on it.

Many children are visual learners, meaning that they are more receptive to
images and color than to long paragraphs of information Including 3D elements
or games will bring your display to life and involve the students more - this is very
effective with younger pupils and could be used as a starter activity in the
classroom. For example, a display about the solar system could use paper plates
or different sized balls, such as ping pong or tennis balls to represent the different
objects in the solar system.

Attractiveness.

Color in the classroom doesn’t only need to be for early primary school. Teachers
should to use color in creative and unconventional ways, such as displaying
inspiration posters or creating themed “mood” corners.

These can provide an environment where students are more likely to express their
ideas, think outside the box, challenge problems with innovative solutions and,
most importantly, learn faster and more effectively. Color can also be an
incredibly powerful tool to aid students with absorbing information and learning
new content in general.

While it is important to choose colors and themes that will attract the attention of
the children, it’s equally as important not to overload your display with too many
colors and too much information, as this could overstimulate the learners and
become a distraction rather than an aid.

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Spacing

Teachers should create a display square for each student and let each student
decide what to display there.

Use wall space for two-dimensional work and shelf tops for three-dimensional
work. Display paintings, writing samples, book reviews, and other two-dimensional
work on bulletin boards and other wall spaces. Keep the tops of shelves clear for
dioramas, models, and other three-dimensional pieces.

Keep displays current.

Teachers should continuously be able to change displays to keep up with

children’s interests. Leaving displays for long can create a monotonous
environment which may dull the children’s learning. This is because they keep
looking at the same work over and over again which could make them lose
interest.

Position.

Teachers should Put displays at eye level, the children’s eye level. Whenever
possible, put displays no higher than the children’s eye level. They’ll become
frustrated by displays above their heads because of the constant effort in trying
to look at the materials.

Location

The location of classroom display is just as important as the information put on it.
Walls are not the only location in a school classroom that are suitable for a
classroom display.

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There are other options available such as: - Classroom doors, windows, Storage
cupboard doors, the front panel on the teacher’s desk, Mobile display on wheels
which can be wheeled away when not in use, Table top display, can be folded
down when not in use, Display boards among others.

The location needs to be easily visible so that it reaches its full potential. If it is an
interactive display board, teachers need to make sure that it’s easy to get to and
can be reached by all children. Consider the walk way to the display board and
make sure there are no safety concerns or obstructions such as furniture in the
way or directly behind the door. Finding the right display board is essential when
preparing a classroom display. While a traditional wall-mounted display board
works well, the vast array of different types of display boards available adds
another layer of flexibility and customization to displays.

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3.(a)

Impairment refers to a problem with a structure or organ of the body.

Children in our society are affected by a variety of impairment that affect their
ability to enjoy their childhood.

The most common ones include;

Physical Impairment.

Physical impairment refers to the inability to perform rapid coordinated

movements due to missing body parts or affected muscles and nerves.

Examples of physical disability include; Cerebral palsy, Spinal cord injury,

Amputation and arthritis among others.

Physical impairment may cause various degrees of weaknesses and in co-

ordination of the limbs which may affect mobility, posture and manual dexterity.
Other physical problems such as heart diseases may cause poor exercise
tolerance and low level of physical fitness. All these may directly result in the
child’s difficulty in coping with ordinary school routine and limit their ability in
exploring and understanding the environment.

Hearing impairment

Hearing impairment is the loss of proper functioning of the sense of hearing.

The concept of hearing impairment is used to refer to all hearing difficulties

ranging from mild to severe.

Individuals who have a severe hearing impairment which cannot enable them to
perceive spoken language are referred to as “deaf persons” while those who
have a hearing loss which does not completely stop them from perceiving spoken
language are referred to as “hard of hearing.”

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Untreated hearing loss causes delays in the development of speech and
language, and those delays then lead to learning problems, often resulting in
poor school performance in children.

Visual Impairment

Visual impairment refers to any kind of vision loss, whether it's someone who
cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss.

Some children are completely blind, but many others have what's called legal
blindness. They haven't lost their sight completely but have lost enough vision that
they'd have to stand 20 feet from an object to see it as well as someone with
perfect vision could from 200 feet away.

The presence of a visual impairment can potentially impact the normal sequence
of learning in social, motor, language and cognitive developmental areas.
Reduced vision often results in a low motivation to explore the environment,
initiate social interaction, and manipulate objects.

Speech and Language impairment.

Speech and language impairment disorders of language that interfere with

communication, adversely affect performance and functioning in the student's
typical learning environment, and result in the need for exceptional student
education.

Speech and Language impairment affects the child's ability to talk, understand,
read, and write.

Speech impairment may include an articulation disorder, characterized by

omissions or distortions of speech sounds; a fluency disorder, characterized by

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atypical flow, rhythm, and/or repetitions of sounds; or a voice disorder,
characterized by abnormal pitch, volume, resonance, vocal quality, or duration.

Language impairment may include reading disorders such as dyslexia, as well as

writing disorders like dysgraphia.

A child with a speech-language delay is likely to have difficulty following

instructions, especially if the instructions are only given orally and if they contain
multiple words and/or steps. In addition, children who have problems with
speech-language skills may also have difficulty learning how to read and spell.

Mental retardation

Mentally retarded children have problems in intellectual functioning and in other

adaptive skills such as communication skills, talking care of him or herself, and
social skills. They have a poor memory, slow learning rates, attention problems
and applying knowledge they have learnt in different situations.

Children with mental retardation learn at a slower pace and differently. They may
have difficulty in doing certain activities and need a longer time for learning and
participating in activities. Some of these may have other additional difficulties like
epilepsy, speech and language difficulties.

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3.(b)

Some of the learning related difficulties that may be experienced by children with
mental retardation

Bad Memory.

memory refers to the ability to take in oral information and to hold it in mind.
Children with mental retardation are unable to retain learnt information for a long
time. They are unable to remember learned concepts. This affects their ability to
recognize basics such as shapes, numbers, sounds and even colors.

Slow Learning

Children with mental retardation find it hard to understand whatever they have
been taught. Their ability to process new information is relatively lower than the
normal, but that does not mean they are incapable of learning. In order for
complete learning to take place, a teacher needs to invest extra time and effort
to ensure that the child makes academic progress.

Difficulty in Understanding and responding to instructions.

Children with mental retardation have a hard time in understanding and

responding to instructions. This is because the brain takes a long time to interpret
what has been commanded. For example when given instructions, he will take
long to respond what has been said and by the time he is ready to perform, he
has forgotten what he was told to do.

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Attention Deficiency.

Children with attention difficulty are unable to focus their attention on a given
task for long. They easily loose concentration and cannot follow up on learning
procedures such as experiments, storytelling which makes it difficult for them to
fully understand what is being taught during lessons.

Associating things and situations

Children with mental retardation may have a hard time connecting occurrences
to their implications. For example, he may not understand that when the bell rings,
children go out for lunch. Therefore, the bell may ring and he remains sitting alone
in the classroom,

Difficulty in doing a task for a long time

Due to repeated failures, some children with mental retardation don’t trust their
skills, even if they are correct. Over time, they lose faith in their abilities and
become disinterested in learning.

Inability to Restrain Emotions.

Children with mental retardation normally lack the capacity to express

themselves emotionally. One of the most common expressions are tantrums and
crying. Instead of speaking out what they feel, low levels self-expression causes
them to hurt themselves while throwing tantrum or to hurt others to prove a point.

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Poor Social Skills.

Children who are mentally retarded are unable to have healthy social
interactions. Some of them do not have fully developed language skills and so
they have a hard time communicating to their peers.

At times, other children may make fun of them due to outward manifestation of
their condition such as slow learning. This brings about low self-esteem which
makes them isolate themselves from others and mostly stay alone.

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