interacting with and observing young children
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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?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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