Interacting with and Observing Young Children

What will we learn today?

• Standard:– ET-ECE-8: Explore the growth, development, and

care of the preschool child– ET-ECE-9: Survey the growth and development of

the school age child, 6-12 years old• EQ:– How do we learn about and observe children?

Observing Young Children

The BEST way to learn about children is to observe them!

Formal• Set up and arranged

beforehand • Children are aware of

being observed

Informal• Don’t make yourself

obvious• Children may or may

not be aware of you observing them

Whether formal or informal, you DON’T want to be noticed by the children!

Why would you observe children?• To understand their typical behaviors– Helps people respond to children appropriately

• See how they develop• Identify children with disabilities• Get to know a child’s unique personality• Provides caregivers with useful feedback

How to observe young children:

• Observing means more than just watching!• You must follow certain steps so that your

observations will be useful.• FIRST, you must learn to separate fact from

opinion– Fact: • something that actually exists/reality/truth

– Opinion: • personal view/attitude/belief

Examples of Observations

Observation A• Ethan is feeling selfish.

He won’t let anyone play with the toys in the sandbox. He gets mad at Cody a lot.

Opinion

Observation B• Ethan is sitting in the

sandbox. He reaches out and takes a truck away from Cody. Cody grabs for the truck, but Ethan pulls it away. “It’s my truck now,” says Ethan, looking Cody straight in the face.

Fact

Examples of Observations

Observation A• Subjective– Personal opinions and

feelings– No facts– It is hard to tell what

really happened between the two boys

Observation B• Objective– Factual– Leaves aside personal

feelings– The observer descries

only what is actually seen/heard

Types of Observation Records:

• Running Record• Anecdotal Record• Frequency Count• Developmental Checklist

Begin each observation by recording:– The date and time– The number of children and adults present– Names and ages (include months if they are really

young. EX: 2 years and 2 months old)

Running Record

What do you do?• Write down everything

observed for a set period of time

What is this observation used for?• Observers who are just

getting to know a child or group of children

• Concentrating on a certain area of development

Anecdotal Record

What do you do?• Write down everything

observed with no time limit

• Similar to a running record EXCEPT there is no time limit

What is this observation used for?• Concentrating on a

specific area of development for long periods of time

• EX: Area of development: how a child adjusts to a new daycare center. – An observer writes down

how a child behaves every day for two weeks

Frequency Count

What do you do?• Keep a tally of how

often a certain behavior occurs

What is this observation used for?• MOST useful for trying

to change an unwanted behavior

• Start, by making a list of behaviors that need to change

Developmental Checklist

What do you do?• A list of skills children

should master, or behaviors they should exhibit at a certain age

• Observers simply check off the skills or behaviors they see

What is this observation used for?• Recording skills the

child has mastered• Analyzing skills that

have not been mastered yet

How to Act While Observing• Try to blend into the

environment as much as possible

• Avoid calling attention to yourself

• Sit or stand slightly outside the area where the children are

• Be ready to take notes

• Make sure you understand your observation record before you begin

• What if a child talks to you?– Briefly answer question– Do not ask them

questions– Encourage them to

return to their activities

Observation Project: Day 1

Your goal will be to learn about the various methods of observation by:– Researching observations– Creating observations– Observing REAL students in a classroom setting

Types of observations you will use for this project– Running Record– Frequency Count

What you will do today:

• Practice running record (alone)• Define (alone): Running Record, Anecdotal

Record, Frequency Count, and Developmental Checklist– Then, write a sentence describing why or when

you might use that observation • Create your frequency count observation

(with a partner)– Think about things that high school students do in

class that a teacher may want to change (at least 20)

Example Frequency Count Observation Ideas

• Using cellphone• Eating• Talking while the teacher is talking• Not raising hand• Playing games