Observation

What you see is what you get

Observation

The action or process of observing

something or someone carefully or in
order to gain information.
Observation

an act or the power of seeing or taking

notice of something
Observation

the fact of being watched and studied

Observation

An act of recognizing and noting a fact

or occurrence often involving
measurement with instruments
Observation

an opinion formed or expressed after

watching or noticing
Goals and objectives

To increase
sensitivity to
children and a
heightened
awareness of the
unique qualities of a
child
Goals and objectives

To promote greater
knowledge of
individual children:
how they think, feel,
view the world, and
how this compares
to developmental
norms
Goals and objectives

A comprehensive
picture of each
child, based on
many situations that
changes as new
information added
over time
Goals and Objectives

Understanding of
the kinds of social
relationship among
children and among
children and adults
and how these can
be facilitated in
school
Goals and Objectives

Awareness of the
classroom
environment,
schedule and
program, how well
these are meeting
the needs of
children and staff,
and how they might
be improved
Goals and Objectives

Greater insight into

our own ways of
responding to
children and
situations
The Observation Process

A. Preparation
background information of
the child
context of the learning
environment
time
space
The Observation Process

B. Data Gathering

try your best to suspend

interpretation and evaluation
to look and listen carefully
try to avoid value judgment
(objectivity vs. subjectivity)
to carefully separate what you see
from what you might/might not
have wanted to see
to be aware of your own
characteristics
The Observation Process

C. Interpretation
to be aware of your own
assumptions about the childrens
behavior.
based on your professional
knowledge and experience (i.e.
child development, socio-cultural
influences, individual experience,
etc.)
to discuss your interpretations
with someone else.
to be aware of different
perspectives that can contribute
to a better understanding of the
childrens behavior
Acknowledgement of feelings and reactions

take the opportunity to reflect on your responses

without distorting the observation
These feelings and reactions dont belong in a
file on the child or in the written information
to value the process as part of professional
growth
Written Observation

1. Background information
observer
name of the child
age
sex
date and time of
observation
context/setting
Written Observation

2. Observational Data
to note some of the childs
unique personal qualities:
way of moving, facial
expression, gestures, tone of
voice, etc.
to describe the childs
activities and interactions
careful choice of words
conveys the essence of the
child and situation
avoid words that have a
strong emotional impact or
bias built into them.
value judgments about
children should be omitted
(Feeney, 2001)
Written Observation

3. Writing interpretations

being essential that

your interpretations be
based on description
to make liberal use of
the words might and
seems to in written
interpretations

(Feeney, 2001)
Written Observation

4. Reflections
to use descriptive data
and your interpretations
to substantiate your
conclusions
to use observational data
and your interpretations
to inform, plan and
improve your teaching
practices
to reflect on your
professional growth
Feeney, S. (2001) Who am I in the lives of children, Columbus,
Ohio : Merrill Publishing Co.
Logistics Challenges

Schedule observation time

regularly into the program day
Include times for doing
observations in the written
schedule.
staff are free to observe without
having to worry about the
children.
Establish a schedule for
observing children in individual
interest areas
Assemble observational
materials and put them at
predetermined observation
stations to encourage their use.
(Colker, 1995)
Logistics Challenges

Suggest staff wear clothing with

pockets containing index cards or
Post-Its so they can quickly record
observations.
Enlist parent volunteers and even
children to assist in some types of
observation. For example, parents can
complete time or event sampling
checklists of their children. Children
can track how often they use activity
areas by putting clothespins in a
bottle every time they enter the block
or art area.
Observation schedules should be
periodically reviewed
Colker, L. J. (1995) A Trainer's Guide to Observing Young Children:
Learning to Look, Looking to Learn (Washington, D.C.: Teaching
Strategies, 44.)
Tips for Observing

Time of day matters-carefully choose time.

Children are more active in morning hours.
Have materials ready-pens, paper, etc.
Dont interfere or interact with child.
Be objective-
Write only what you see, not why a child does a
particular behavior.
Dont assume anything about child.
Dont write anything for 5 minutes, just watch.
Maintain confidentiality-use first name of child
Reminders when observing

Use the present tense.

Present Tense: Peter walks into the den.
Past Tense: Peter walked from playroom to den and
yelled at Kevin.
Use quotations with correct grammar and record
exactly what they say inside quotes.
Example: Kevin, I want spesk-ghet-tti!
Notice spelling doesnt count if child pronounces word
incorrectly if it is inside the quotation marks.
Write new paragraph when next time frame starts.
Hints

I know that you cant write everything you see. Something always
happens when you look at your notes.
Write brief notes and later after the observation, translate what you
observed into paragraphs.

Example:
put shoe w/L hand
Stop yelling at me!
throws block R

Translation:
Peter put his shoe on with his left hand. He says to Kevin, Stop
yelling at me! He throws the block with his right hand.

Reread what you wrote to see if you can picture what the child is doing.
Practice observing skills. The more you observe, the better you get at
observing.
Interpreting the Data

Use your Child Growth book to determine what is

developmentally appropriate for the age group.
Subjective opinions can be in this section.
Include physical, cognitive, social and personality
domains.
Use 5 paragraph format and correct grammar
Introduction
1st idea- Physical domain
2nd idea- Cognitive domain
3rd idea- Social domain
4th idea- Emotional domain
Conclusion
Sample Interpretation

Peter is an active 9 year old boy. Peter is small and

underweight for his age. Most middle school children
are taller than Peter and weigh more than him.
According to Feldman, 9 years olds weighetc
Peters physical skills are above average for his age
group. He can run, kick, and throw a baseball with good
accuracy. Peter has good balance. He was able to walk
across the top of a play yard with good balance
etc.
In my opinion, Peters language skills are advanced
for his age. He uses adjectives and adverbs words in
the correct context. When he was doing his homework,
I noticedetc.