Observing Development of Young Children –
Textbook’s point of view –
answer 2 questions
1. What’s right with the child?
2. How can we use the child’s strength(s) to help continue
his/her development?
Best method – observe the young child in the regular
classroom/center
Definition of assessment (p. 4)
“the process of
1. observing,
2. recording and
3. otherwise documenting
the work children do AND how they
do it
as a basis for a variety of
educational decisions that affect the child”
Purposes for assessment
1. Plan instructions for individuals and groups
2. Communicate with others – parents, staff, support people
3. Identify children who may need specialized services or
intervention
4. Evaluate how well the program is meeting the needs of
children and program goals
Systematic observation should be an important part of a
staff’s daily responsibility
Advantages of systematic observation
Fig. 1-1. p. 5
Problems for preschoolers
1. Children have little interest in tests
2. Tests do not predict academic performance
3. Hard to distinguish “I don’t know” from “I don’t want
to.”
Tests should be used
to identify areas of strengths
Use “areas that
need strengthening” not “weaknesses”
“areas that need improving or changing”
not “problems”
If testing is
done
1. Help
“tester” become familiar and comfortable with the child
2. Be aware of the problem of questions that demand immediate
answers
Summary
1. The
classroom teacher should be the main person who does the assessing
2. Assessment
should be based on activities the child typically does
3. Assessment
should not
a. threaten the child
b. focus on wrong answers
c. focus on what the child can not do
Child is observed
doing whatever they typically do
Observer
records interaction with materials and people
Advantages are
listed on page 11
Chief
disadvantage is amount of time needed
Should
be conducted informally during a free-play time. Information
recorded at a later time.
Reading
carefully selected books can be used to gather information. (Example and list
of books – p. 12)
Using the form on
page 14, observer records a child’s behavior at regular intervals.
Observing the
same child for more than one day gives the best results.
Use them to record
child’s activities to be included with later written observations
Photos can be
used for interviews with the child pictured
Digital cameras
are useful tools since many copies can be made
Using pictures
of a child’s “area for strengthening” can help teachers plan for intervention
and evaluate the plan
Good for staff discussions
*** Parents/guardians should be notified that photos and
videotapes will be used for assessment.
If pictures are displayed for public viewing, parents/guardians should
sign a release form.*****
Audiotapes
Place a running tape near a child after saying the child’s
name, your name, and date into the recorder
The reason for the
child’s assessment should help determine the instrument used.
The Child
Skills Checklist in the second chapter is to be used to find out where a child
is in the developmental sequence.
Collecting and Recording
Observational Data
1. has a specific purpose for
gathering the information
2. uses a particular method for
collecting and recording the information
3. always involves recording the
information
Narratives – written descriptions of children’s
actions
Describe briefly an
incident that is important to the observer.
Is factual and
objective
Tells: who,
what, where, and when
Often uses
children’s words
Recorded after
the incident by someone who saw it
A series of anecdotes
written over a period of time can be a fairly accurate picture of the child
Advantages and
disadvantages – p. 19
Example of
anecdotal record – p. 21
It is helpful
to include the reason for the observation
Detailed account of
behavior as it happens
Running record
1. includes everything the child does or is involved with
2. is for a specific period of time
3. is written as it happens
4. is factual
and objective
5. often uses abbreviations
Advantages and
disadvantages – p. 21-22
Example – p. 23
Objective recording
of Narrative Data
Need
to keep the facts separate from judgments, inferences, and conclusions
1.
Record only the facts.
2.
Record every detail without omitting anything.
3.
Do not interpret as you observe and record.
4.
Do not record anything you do not see.
5.
Use words that describe but do not judge or interpret.
6.
Record the facts in the order that they occur.
Samples
Looking
at samples of certain behaviors
Time Sampling
Recording
an observable behavior that occurs frequently
Recorder
determines ahead of time
1.
the specific behavior
2.
time interval
3.
how to record the presence or absence of the behavior
2
types of Time sampling – ex. p. 27
1.
Duration recording – indicates the presence or absence of the behavior
2.
Event recording – shows frequency of behavior; can also show the type of
behavior
Advantages
and disadvantages - p.
27
Event Sampling
Recording
a specific preselected behavior that has been clearly
defined
Sample
on p. 29, F 1-6
Advantages
and disadvantages, p. 28
Rating Scale
Tells
the degree to which a person possesses a certain trait or behavior
Current
behavior is rated on a
continuum from lowest to highest (or vice versa) level of that
behavior
Often
has 5 points on scale
3
types of Rating scales
1.
Graphic – uses words to describe the points; Fig. 1-7, p. 30
2.
Numerical – numbers are assigned to descriptions of behavior; Fig. 1-8, p. 31
3. Semantic Differential – 7 points
on the scale with opposites at each end;
Fig. 1-9, p. 31
Rating Scale Observer Errors
Rating
scales call for on-the-spot judgments
Hard
to be objective
Having
someone else rate the child for comparison is helpful
Advantages
and disadvantages – p. 31,32
Checklists
Lists
of specific traits/behaviors
arranged in a logical order – used to note whether a behavior is
present or absent
They
can be used for
1.
individuals or a group
2.
at individual observations or over a longer time
3.
by individual teachers or by a group
4.
information gained by other means may be transferred
to a checklist
List
of suggestions for checklists – p. 33
Checklist
items not observed should be left blank, unless there was no opportunity to see
the trait. Then an “N” can be used
Chapter
2 has a checklist
Advantages
and disadvantages – p. 33, 34
Pages
34 and 35 has a comparison Table