Thriving Children Assessment Tool

Blaze

What is Thriving Children?

The TransformED team is developing a tool to better understand young children’s social and emotional development. The tool, known as Thriving Children, provides meaningful data to support early childhood research — and, most importantly, to help educators improve practices, manage challenging behavior and reduce their workload. Understanding children’s social and emotional skills allows parents and teachers to provide targeted and meaningful learning experiences. The assessment includes an interactive digital storybook for children and questionnaires for teachers and parents.

What is Social and Emotional Development?

  • Social and emotional development refers to a child’s ability to create and sustain positive relationships with others.
  • Social and emotional skills help children understand emotions, manage behavior and make thoughtful decisions.
  • Building these skills early on in life boosts self-confidence and lays the foundation for success.

We need a more holistic way to understand what social and emotional development looks like in everyday environments — such as homes and preschools. Our goal is to provide educators with meaningful insights to better understand and respond to children’s needs.

Carrie Clark

Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

What makes the Thriving Children tool unique?

The Thriving Children tool goes beyond numbers by assessing children’s social and emotional skills through real-world observations, classroom work and parent input.

Data are gathered, in part, through “Blaze’s Big Day” — an interactive, digital storybook for children featuring a curious bee who navigates new experiences and emotions.

The tool was developed with input from parents and educators to be culturally relevant, easy to use and reflect what matters most to them.

Sample pages from “Blaze’s Big Day.”

Who is involved?

  • The TransformED assessment work is led by Carrie Clark, associate professor of educational psychology, along with UNL faculty members Jenny Leeper Miller, Soo-Young Hong, Jenna Finch and Julia Torquati.
  • Dozens of early childhood teachers, children and their families across Nebraska have tested the tool to date.
  • Students and faculty from the Jacht Ad Agency at the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications are key partners in developing the interactive story book components.

Teacher Testimonials

I liked how interactive and child-friendly the assessment was. The visuals and structured prompts helped the child stay focused, and the way the questions were embedded in the story felt natural. It was a great way to assess their understanding without making it feel like a formal evaluation.

I really appreciated how natural and playful the assessment felt for the child. Rather than feeling like a test, it encouraged them to engage in the story and respond in a relaxed way. This made it easier to observe their thinking and comprehension without the pressure of a traditional assessment.

I liked that the assessment was easy to administer and didn’t require much extra preparation. The instructions were clear, and the process flowed smoothly, making it a practical tool for a classroom setting. It felt like something I could realistically integrate into my teaching routine.

I appreciated that the assessment was adaptable to different learning styles. The child responded well to the combination of verbal and visual elements, and I could see how it could be used effectively with children who have varying levels of language development or learning needs.

Interested?

If you’re interested in learning more, email the UNL Brain, Learning and Behavior Lab at blablab@unl.edu.