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Observations support educators in sharing information about a child's development with parents and carers, underpinning that all-important partnership between educators and parents.
So what makes a great observation?
Let's get into it.
In essence, it’s all about understanding the children in your setting, including how they’re developing, what they've been up to, and what they're learning through their play. But observations also
Although your center may have its own guidance for how you should write observations, these tips provide some general, good practice advice.
An observation should be descriptive. It doesn’t need to be a novel, but it should tell the full story of the interaction. Take this example from Dr. Julian Grenier’s piece on observations in Nursery World:
"Clive said to Jason, ‘Jump!’ Jason jumped and landed in the puddle. ‘I do it,’ said Clive, and he had a turn but missed the puddle. Jason said, ‘Oh no, Clive, you have to do it like this.’ He jumped again. ‘You look at the puddle and jump on it.’ Clive said, ‘OK, Jason.’ He got on the step and had another go.
‘Look at the puddle, Clive. Ready, jump!’ said Jason. This time Clive landed in the puddle. He laughed."
It's short but descriptive and tells you the story of the interaction. You can clearly see the value here over ‘Clive loved jumping in the puddle’, for example.
The use of quotes is a great way to show the child’s own voice very clearly.
Reflection point: In your latest observations...
Elsewhere, Dr. Grenier has talked about focusing on some key things in your observation:
Reflection point: In your latest observations...
A skilled educator who knows the children well, will be able to interpret what is going on as children learn and play. This adds a rich layer of detail to your observations.
This might be recognising certain skills emerging in the child, it might be noticing a schema that the child is displaying an interest in, or you might be explaining the thinking behind their actions.
Reflection point: In your latest observations...
It's important to note how you interacted with the child during the event you're observing to show how you're helping to scaffold that child’s play and learning.
Reflection point: In your latest observations...
Let’s look at some ideas to boost your educators' confidence and help deliver better-written observations.
All these ideas are useless if you can’t give staff the time they need.
Some educators may prefer to have time away from the children to write their observations, so that when they are with the children, they are fully present and engaged. Others may prefer to write observations while they are with the children.
There is no right or wrong way, but instead, it is whatever enables the educator to write the most insightful and useful observation.
One great framework for educators is to think of ‘What? Why? How?’. It goes like this:
This can help staff to focus on everything we talking about in the beginning of the article. The description, the thinking behind the action, and the adult’s role.
If ‘‘What? Why? How’ isn’t working for you, here’s a handy little acronym that might do the trick. SHARE stands for:
No child’s learning was ever helped simply because something was written down. With fewer, but more meaningful observations, it’ll feel much more manageable for staff, and better for the children who get more time back with their teachers.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
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