Innovating Teaching Aids for Early Childhood Education through Sensory Development and Play-Based Learning: CUESORY

The creation and efficacy of CUESORY, a cutting-edge sensory-based teaching tool intended for play-based learning in early childhood education, are examined in this study. The study tackles the dearth of all-encompassing sensory teaching resources that holistically support preschoolers’ cognitive and socioemotional development, and it is based on Jean Piaget’s developmental theory. The primary tool for gathering data in this study was an observation checklist, which was part of a Design and Development Research (DDR) methodology using the ADDIE paradigm. Ten three-year-olds from a Penampang, Sabah nursery was chosen and split into two groups. One for treatment (using CUESORY) and the other for control (conventional instruction). Both pre-test and post-test observations were conducted during the two-week intervention. The results show that the therapy group significantly improved in early science, early mathematics, socioemotional development, and fine motor skills. Indeed, the greatest mean increase (1.10) was seen in early science development, which was followed by socioemotional development (1.06). These findings show that CUESORY promotes holistic child development and successfully improves integrated learning approaches. As a fundamental teaching method, the study suggests including CUESORY into the preschool curriculum. To guarantee the successful application of sensory-based learning and maximize children’s developmental results, it also emphasizes the necessity of teacher preparation, family participation, and continuous evaluations.