DECE

DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND

EDUCATION

Assignments 1 to 3
January 2024 & July 2024

DECE-1 : Organizing Child Care Services

DECE-2 : Child Health and Nutrition
DECE-3 : Services and Programmes for Children

School of Continuing Education

Indira Gandhi National Open University
MaidanGarhi, New Delhi -110068

ASSIGNMENTS 1-3
January 2024/ July 2024
 Programme: DECE
Dear Learners,
You have to do three assignments as part of the Diploma Programme. ALL THREE ASSIGNMENTS
ARE COMPULSORY. You have to pass in all the three assignments in order to be awarded the
Diploma.
Further, each assignment has three parts - Section A, Section B and Section C. ALL THREE PARTS
OF EACH ASSIGNMENT ARE COMPULSORY. If you do not submit all the parts of the
assignment together, your assignment will not be considered complete and will be returned to you
without being marked. You will have to repeat the assignment.
In each assignment, Section A comprises theoretical questions and Sections B & C comprise Practical
Exercises. Each assignment carries 100 marks; 60 marks for Section A and 20 marks each for Sections B
& C.
The assignments printed in this booklet contain section A of the three assignments. The Practical
Exercises for Section B & Section C of the three Assignments, are contained in the Practical Manual for
each Course which you would have received in your study material. There are 9-10 exercises in each
Practical Manual. You have to do two exercises from each Practical Manual for each Assignment.
Information about which exercises have to be done for each assignment, is given under Section B &
Section C of each assignment in this booklet.
Though you have to submit only two Practical Exercises for each Assignment, we advise you to do all
the Practical Exercises contained in the Practical Manuals. This will give you practice in applying
theoretical concepts in real life and you will develop skills of interacting with children which will help
you do the Project Work (i.e., Course 4) of the Diploma better. After doing the different exercises, you
can select the exercise which you have done best for the assignment.
Objectives of the Assignments: One of the objectives of the assignments is to assess how well you
have understood the concepts explained in the various Blocks of the Course. This is assessed through
the questions in Section A. Another objective of the assignments is to assess how far you can apply the
theoretical concepts which you have studied in the Blocks in day to day situations. This is assessed
through the Practical Exercises in Sections B and C.

SOME DO’S AND DONT’S ABOUT SENDING IN ASSGNMENTS

Some Do’s
1. Submit your assignments by the due date to your Study Centre. We have distributed the dates of
assignment submission over a period of three months, instead of giving one date for submission
of all assignments. We have done this so that you get enough time to do all assignments. Also,
when the counselor returns one corrected assignment to you, you can do better in subsequent
assignments, as you can benefit from your Counselor’s comments on your submitted response
sheets.
2. Maintain an account of the assignments sent to us and the corrected assignments received by
you. This will help you maintain the schedule of your work and avoid the possibility of sending
the same assignment a second time.
 Some Dont’s
1. Do not remind us to send back the corrected response sheets. These will be sent to you at the
earliest possible.
2. Do not misplace/ lose your graded assignments. You will need these till the Course is
completed.
3. Do not enclose doubts for clarification along with the assignment. If you want to draw our
attention to something of urgent/important nature, write to us separately. Give your roll number,
name, address, the title of the Course, the number of the assignment, etc. on top of your letter.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Write your roll number, name, full address and date on top right corner of the first page of your
response sheets.
2. Write the Course title, assignment number and the name of the study centre you are attached to,
in the center of the first page of your response sheets.

The top of the first page of your response sheets should look like this:

Enrolment No…………………………….…….
Name…………………………………….……..
Address…………………………………………
….……………………………………..……….
……………………………………………..….
Date……………………………………………..

Course Title….……………………………….…
Assignment No..…………………………..……
Study Centre…………………………….………
Please follow the above format strictly. If you do not follow this format, we will be compelled to
return your script to you for re-submission.

3. Read the instructions related to assignments printed in the Programme Guide.

4. Please note that unless your submit the assignment of a particular Course within the date
mentioned for that assignment, you would not be permitted to appear for the term-end
examination of that course.
5. Submit Section A, B & C of each assignment together, otherwise your assignment would be
returned to you without being evaluated.
 Assignment 1
(Tutor Marked Assignment)
Course Code: DECE-1
Assignment Code: DECE-1/TMA-1/2024
30th September 2024 for January 2024 session
30th March 2025 for July 2024 session
Total Marks: 100

All Three Sections – A, B and C of this assignment are compulsory.

SECTION A

Answer all questions of Section A. 60 Marks

1. (a) Explain how heredity and environment influence the physical and motor development of child?
(300 words = 3 marks)
(b) State the milestones of gross motor development in the age group birth to one year? (4 marks)

2. Describe one activity each for fostering the abilities in the following areas of development in three-year-
old children.
(a) Language development
(b) Social development
(C) Cognitive development

For each activity, mention its goals, material(s) required, if any and procedure to carry out the activity.
(300 words per activity; 4x3=12 marks)
3. (a) Explain the terms stranger anxiety and separation anxiety?

(b) How can parents foster the development of altruism and empathy in children?
(200 words + 400 words = 3+5= 8 marks)

4. Explain any two styles of parental behaviour. Discuss how each style of parental behaviour influences the
child’s personality. (500 words; 5 marks)

5. (a) Explain the different ways in which story telling fosters the development of children during
preschool years?

(b) State any three play-way activities you can organize with preschoolers to help them develop a
concept of time?
(400 words + 400 words; 4 + 4=8 marks)
6. a) Explain the importance of participation of the family and the community for the success of a child care
programme.

b) Explain any three ways of involving the parents in the activities of the child care centre?
(400 words + 400 words; 4 + 4=8 marks)

7. Differentiate between the following in about 250 words each.

(a) Self-esteem and self-concept
(b) Matching and classification activities
(d) Dramatic play and dramatization
(4x3=12 marks)
 SECTION B

20 Marks

In this Section you have to do any one of the Practical Exercises related to observing children. Choose
any exercise out of Exercises 4, 6 and 7 described in the practical Manual of this Course i.e., DECE-1
and submit it to the counselor for evaluation.

It would be useful for you if you were to do all the three exercises. This would give you practice in
observing children, recording your observations and interpreting them. You can then choose the exercise
which you feel you have done the best and submit it for evaluation.

The marking instructions for the exercises are as follows

Exercise 4 Total marks: 20

Break-up of marks:

Observing the child and the parents and recording the observations 10

Analysis of observations and conclusions 10

Exercise 6 Total marks: 20

Break-up of marks:

Observing the child and recording the observations 10

Analysis of observations and conclusions 10

Exercise 7 Total marks: 20

Break-up of marks:

Carrying out activities related to matching and conservation and recording observations 5+5
Analysis of observations and conclusions related to matching and conservation 5+5
 SECTION C
20 Marks

In this Section you have to do any one of the Practical Exercises related to planning play activities for
children and conducting them. These are Practical Exercise number 5, 8 and 9, described in the Practical
Manual of this course i.e., DECE-1. Choose any one of the exercises and submit it to the counselor for
evaluation.

It would be useful for you if you were to do all the three exercises. This would give you practice in
planning and organizing play activities. You can then choose the exercise which you feel you have done
the best and submit it for evaluation.

The marking instructions for the exercises are as follows:

Exercise 5 Total marks: 20

Break-up of marks:

Playing with the infant with the toy that has been made, and recording the observations 10
Evaluating the play activity and writing the conclusions 10

Exercise 8 Total marks: 20

Break-up of marks:
Planning the two activities 5+5
Carrying out the two activities and analyzing and evaluating them 5+5
Total marks: 20
Exercise 9

Break-up of marks:
Describing the festival 2
Suggesting re-organization of the room 6
Scheduling activities over a week 6
Brief description of scheduled activities 6
 Assignment 2
(Tutor Marked Assignment)
Course Code: DECE-2
Assignment Code: DECE-2/TMA-2/2024
Total Marks: 100
Late date of submission of assignment to the study centre:
30th September 2024 for January 2024 session
30th March 2025 for July 2024 session

All three sections - A, B and C of this assignment are compulsory.

SECTION A

Answer all questions of Section A 60 marks

1. Explain how the concept of health has changed over the years and describe its various
dimensions. (500 words) (5 marks).
2. List the major sources and functions of any two vitamins and two minerals.

(800 words; 12 Marks = 3 marks per nutrient)

3. Suggest a balanced day’s menu for a 3 year old child, stating what the child will eat at breakfast,
mid morning, lunch, mid-afternoon and dinner. Also state what nutrient the toddler will get from
each food item mentioned in the menu at different times in the day.

(500 words; 5 marks per meal = 20).

4. Write about the immediate care of a newborn and minor disorders. (300 + 300 words) 3+3= 6
marks
5. Explain how to use mid upper arm circumference for growth monitoring

(500 words each; 5 marks).

6. Write about any one food supplementation programme (400 words; 4 marks)

7. Write about the symptoms, causes and treatment of any two of the following:

(300 words each; 4 x2 = 8 marks)

a. Scabies

b. Earache
 SECTION B
20 Marks

In this Section you have to do either Exercise 2 or Exercise 3 given in the Practical Manual of this
Course, i.e. DECE-2.

It would be useful for you to do both these Practical Exercises. You can then choose the exercise which
you feel you have done the best and submit it for evaluation.

The details of these exercises have been described in the Practical Manual. Read each exercise carefully
and do the exercise as indicated. The marks for the various components of each exercise have been
mentioned in the Manual itself. Incase the total marks for an Exercise are more than 20 in the practical
manual, the evaluator will grade the exercise and convert the total marks from 20.

SECTION C
20 Marks

In this Section you are required to do any one Exercise out of Exercise 5, 6 or 7 given in the
Practical Manual of this Course, i.e. DECE-2.

It would be useful for you to do both these practical exercises. You can then choose the exercise which
you feel you have done the best and submit it for evaluation.

The details of these exercises have been described in the Practical Manual. Read each exercise carefully
and do the exercise as indicated. The marks for the various components of each exercise have been
mentioned in the Manual itself. Incase the total marks for an Exercise are more than 20 in the practical
manual, the evaluator will grade the exercise and convert the total marks from 20.
 Assignment 3
(Tutor Marked Assignment)
Course Code: DECE-3
Assignment Code: DECE-3/TMA-3/2024
Total Marks: 100

Late date of submission of assignment to the study centre:

30th September, 2024 for January, 2024 session
30th March, 2025 for July, 2024 session

All Three Sections- A, B and C of this assignment are compulsory.

SECTION A 60 marks

1. Explain each of the below mentioned in 500 words each:

a) Special Education

b) Basic concepts of educational philosophy of Maria Montessori

c) Features of kindergarten (3x5=15 marks)

2. Discuss about the rationale behind the approach of community based rehabilitation?
(500 words: 5 marks)

3. a. Describe the features and characteristics of a child with mental retardation

(600 words: 6 marks)

4. Describe three societal attitudes that come in the way of child’s adjustment to the

disability. (500 words: 5 marks)

5. a. What do you understand by the terms:

i) Lip reading ii) Finger spelling

b. Describe the negative effects of labelling a child with disability.

(300 words each: 4+4= 8 marks)

6. Write about each of the following in 500 words each.

a. Components of effective communication (5x2=10 marks)

b. Communication Aids
 7. a. Explain the woman-to-woman strategy of communication and the principles upon
which it is based. (500 words; 5 marks)

b. State two messages that you can transmit through this strategy. (6 marks)

SECTION B
20 Marks

In this Section, you have to do any one exercise from among exercises 1, 2, 9 or 10 given in
the Practical Manual of this Course, i.e. DECE-3.

It would be useful for you to do all these practical exercises. You may then choose the exercise
which you feel you have done the best and submit it for evaluation.

The details of these exercises have been described in the Practical Manual. Read each exercise
carefully and do the exercise as indicated. The marks for the various components of each
exercise have been mentioned in the Manual itself.

SECTION C
20 Marks

In this Section, you have to do any one exercise from among exercises 6, 7 or 8 given in the
Practical Manual of this Course, i.e. DECE-3.

It would be useful for you to do all these practical exercises. You can then choose the exercise
which you feel you have done the best and submit it for evaluation.

The details of these exercises have been described in the Practical Manual. Read each exercise
carefully and do the exercise as indicated. The marks for the various components of each
exercise have been mentioned in the Manual itself.