Observation Reflection-Value of Observation Techniques
Originally posted on March 2, 2019 on Facebook Notes on my Facebook page
When I was taking my Observing and Recording Behaviors of Young Children course at Bucks County Community College, I had to write a research paper about observing young children. The prompt was to discuss the purpose of assessment, assessment strategies, observer skills, assessment methods, the importance of confidentiality, and my conclusion about the importance of observation to the assessment of young children. Since the information in this essay can be very beneficial to young children with disabilities/disabled young children/differently-abled young children, their families, and observers in the education or psychology field and since certain types of assessment are used for children with disabilities/disabled children/differently-abled children and I wrote about those, I thought that this research paper would be beneficial to upload as a blog post.
CONTENT WARNING: I would like to mention that I am not a medical doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist and I am sharing this content for educational purposes only. Social media should never be used as a substitute for mental nor medical health care. If you have any developmental concerns about your child, it is okay to get help, and I highly recommend seeking help from a medical doctor, psychologist, therapist, and/or other professional who is qualified to do so.
All young children are assessed for many reasons. Some of the main purposes of assessment are "to determine a child's strengths" and "progress", "to become aware of the individual characteristics of young children", and "to help a teacher plan the curriculum and set up activities for individuals" (Beaty 2014). One of the other most important purposes of assessment is to determine if a child needs specialized services. Observers can be anyone in the education or psychology field or families of children and use many different methods to observe depending on the reason for assessment. There are many pros and cons of different types of assessment.
There are several different types of assessment strategies. One of the main types of these strategies is called diagnostic assessment, also known as screening. Diagnostic assessment is used to determine if a child needs Early Intervention (EI) services or Special Education. EI services are provided to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities to help them in the areas that they struggle in as part of their disability "to prevent more severe problems later" (Beaty 2014). If a child's disability or disabilities are more than a developmental delay, "further assessment and evaluation" is needed to be conducted (Beaty 2014). Another type of assessment is formative assessment which is an evaluation completed mid-school year to meet the needs of students of all abilities when instructing them. For example, if a teacher notices that from these observations that most of their students are visual learners, they will modify the way they instruct by providing visual aides to teach their students in the way that they learn. In addition to these two types of assessments, there are also summative assessments. Summative assessments are evaluations of children that are conducted at the end of the school year. Besides finding out the areas that children need improvement in, assessments should also include the areas that the children are gifted in. Play-based assessments, child interviews, and visual documentation can be helpful with this. Children of all abilities receive assessments and can help them grow in their development.
There are many skills that are helpful to have when conducting observations. When assessing children, the teacher must temporarily "step out of the role they normally hold" to pay close one-on-one attention to the individual child that they are observing; when doing this, their head or assistant teacher must take the observer's role in the meantime (Beaty 2014). Being knowledgeable about child development when it comes to assessing children can help the observer know what to look for. It is also good for observers to know what to say to children when they question them about what they are doing or their presence. Observers should be honest with the children about what they are doing. They can tell them something such as, "I am watching children play" and redirect them back to activities in a positive manner. For example, "if they persist in wanting to write with your tool, direct them to the classroom writing center, where you can keep a similar clipboard with pencil and paper" (Beaty 2014). It is important to keep all children's observation information confidential because it is personal information between only the child, their family, and all those involved in their educational process. These skills are very important to have when it comes to assessing children.
There are a variety of methods that can be used to assess young children. Three types of assessment methods are anecdotal records, running records, and logs. Anecdotal records are observation reports describing what, how, when, and where "an incident of child behavior" happened "that is important to the observer" (Beaty 2014). For example, an observer might write an observation report on how a child is constantly defiant towards their teachers. Running records are detailed reports of children's behaviors that are recorded in a sequence of events. Unlike an anecdotal record, running records include descriptions of all behaviors; not just certain incidents leading to less of being "taken out of context", "interpreted incorrectly or being used in a biased manner" (Beaty 2014). So, this means that a running record of a child with a challenging behavior will also include descriptions of the areas that they achieve in as well as that they need to improve their behavior. While running records are helpful to children of all abilities, one of the cons of them are that they only "work best when observing an individual, but are inefficient when observing a group" (Beaty 2014). Logs are dated assessment reports of what the observer saw a child doing in a "learning center" (Beaty 2014).
From this information about assessments of young children, I believe that assessments can really help families know what areas that their child is gifted in and needs to improve in. Knowing what areas that a child needs improvement in helps their families know what they need help with and can prevent worse future problems. Knowing what areas that they are good at helps their families know what their child is doing well at. It can also be used to incorporate their interests into helping them with their development because it can motivate them to try working on their struggles. For example, if the child struggles with their fine motor skills, but loves art, they can make arts and crafts with them when practicing fine motor skills. When sharing concerns with families about their children, they should also provide positive information, encouragement, and empathy because concerns about development can be hard for families to hear. As an educator, I will always do my best to help children succeed in their development through assessments.
You might also enjoy and gain a better understanding of child development by reading:
- Building Young Children's Development Through Play and Conversation
- Incorporating Nursery Rhymes Into Early Childhood Games
- Infant/Toddler Teachers Need to be Valued More as Teachers
1. Beaty, J. J. (2014). Observing Development of the Young Child. (8th ed.). Pearson.
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