Some parents can find this expectation intimidating and scribing their comments can be an effective way of gathering information. Practitioners can scribe the information during the conversation or record comments later.
What is of paramount importance in these circumstances is the sharing of information. Some parents welcome a simple format to help them organise their comments on paper and copies of this should be readily available. Observations should document what the child has achieved - not what they have failed to do. Depending on the type of observation, practitioners may decide to use a format or a blank sheet.
Formats offer a framework that can prompt adults into including important elements in their observation. They can be a particularly useful support as practitioners develop their skills in recording observations. Some practitioners prefer to make observational notes in a notebook and to organise these into written observations later. This system can offer a valuable opportunity for reflection. However, practitioners should guard against spending long periods rewriting large amounts of material.
Short observations recorded straight onto white sticky labels are easily transferred into individual profiles and can save a lot of time. Which area of provision? Other types of observation may require slightly different formats. For example, a narrative observation would probably identify more than one key area of learning, but a margin may be useful for referencing particular aspects of learning at appropriate points in the observation, either at the time or during assessment later.
Date and context are always important and even where a format is not used, these elements should be included in the observation. Samples of work are sometimes included, with the child's permission, for assessment purposes.
Photographic observations Still photographs and video observations are an effective way of documenting the child's learning process. Photographs should always be annotated or cross-referenced to relevant written observations. Where practitioners use digital photography they can print images almost instantly and perhaps with the children. Practitioners should request written parental permission for using photography to record and document children's learning.
Observations are pivotal to the planning process in the nursery class at Baring Primary School, south London, where teacher and nursery nurse undertake three different kinds of observation every day.
The observations are assessed as an on-going process and during dedicated planning time and then fed into the planning process. A good starting point is to consider times that already exist within your day. Here are some examples:. California Department of Education. Carter, M. Becoming a reflective teacher.
Teaching Young Children, 3 4 , 1—4. Parlakian, R. Look, listen, and learn: Reflective supervision and relationship-based work. Skip to Main Content. Agency links U. Observation, Documentation, and Reflection. Download the article Observation, Documentation, and Reflection.
Article - Observation Skills. In the following video clip, a teacher gently engages with toddlers as they explore outside. What are some ways the teacher was responsive to the toddlers?
Depending on the style of teaching or curriculum there may be other areas of focus but these will always be key areas of focus. Each of these areas of development impact one another and when a child is learning and playing. Well as the children learn more skills and adapt to different situations, you have evidence gathered to prove this. Now there are many different types of assessments you can choose to do, but make sure you have been trained on how to assess properly.
Some assessments are as simple as a checklist and some require certification. Also, make sure the assessment you use is approved to be used in your area and also ties to the values and teaching style of your center.
The final piece to observations is bringing this information back to parents and working with them directly to make sure the child is supported both at home and in the classroom. With a good working relationship with parents, a child can be very successful. Tying these all together is no easy task and for many educators, it is very time consuming, but it is a very important piece.
Many centers have made the switch to HiMama because of this. Within the app, teachers can tag skills, observe, reflect, and then assess using work sampling or ounce. All the while sharing updates with families! Today with COVID on the doorstep, having open communication with parents is very important as many can not come within the center to observe how the classroom is growing. Download our ebook full with extra tips on how to observe childen in the classroom! Download Free Ebook. Originally published in January 5, Updated by Ria Simon.
Photo Source — University of Alaska. In , parents are looking for centers that offer digital parental communication, observations and assessments, shared photo and video updates, and contactless check-in and billing. HiMama is an all-in-one app to help you with all that, and boost your enrollment! Based on whether the children mastered the goals, expectations, and met the learning outcomes will determine your next step. For example, if the children can quickly and easily complete the task, you may have to consider adding more steps or extending the activity to challenge the children.
If some children were unable to complete the task or appeared uninterested, you may consider how to better scaffold their learning either through peer interactions or by redefining the steps to complete the activity. As you evaluate your implemented activities here are some questions that you want to think about:.
Assessment is, however, a critical part of a high-quality early childhood program and is used to :. What is assessment and why is it important? The key to a good assessment is observation. To start the assessment process, here is a road map for you to follow:. As you track the behavior, you begin to see a pattern that when a teacher sits with the child and they read a story together, the child warms up much faster than when left alone.
Baseline information provides you with a starting point that can help you build a respectful relationship with each child in your class. With every observation, we can begin to see how all the pieces fit together to make the whole child.
Once you have gathered an array of evidence, it is time to organize it. There are two different types of assessment systems:. Whichever system is in place at your program, you will need to be trained accordingly. Portfolios help teachers organize all the work samples, anecdotal notes, checklists, and learning stories that they have been collected for each child throughout the school year.
A portfolio is similar to a traditional photograph album, but it is much more than an album. A portfolio is not an assessment tool in and of itself, it is a collection written observation notes for each photo and work sample.
Portfolios are important tools in helping to facilitate a partnership between teachers and parents. Parents and children enjoy seeing all the achievements and chronological growth that has occurred during the school year. Digital portfolios or e-Portfolios are trending now as technology has become more accessible.
Not only do e-Portfolios enable teachers to document children's activities faster, but teachers can also now post information and communicate with families on a regular basis, rather than waiting until the end of the school year for a traditional family conference. Learning Stories are written records that document what a teacher has observed a child doing. It becomes an actual learning story when the teacher adds his or her interpretation of the child's dispositions toward learning - such as grit, courage, curiosity, and perseverance.
The story may be as short as one paragraph or as long as one page. Much like an anecdotal record, teachers observe and document brief moments as a child engages with peers or completes a task. With the learning story, however, the teacher connects learning goals and highlights developmental milestones that the child is mastering. With learning stories, teachers tend to focus on what the child can do rather than what they can't do.
With almost all learning stories, teachers will take photographs or video to include with the written story. What are your thoughts about using portfolios, learning stories, and the DRDP? Which are you most drawn to? To Improve Teaching Practices As we watch and listen to children throughout the day, we begin to see them for who they are.
To Plan Effective Curriculum When I was a teacher some years ago, I planned activities and set up the environment based on my interests and ideas of what I thought children should be learning. Observe To gather useful information about each child, we must first remember to use an objective lens. As you begin to incorporate observation into your daily routine, here are a few things to think about: Who should I observe? Quite simply - every child needs to be observed. Some children may stand out more than others, and you may connect to certain children more than others.
In either case, be aware and be mindful to set time aside to observe each child in your care. When should I observe? It is highly suggested that you observe at various times throughout the day — during both morning and afternoon routines.
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