7.2: Observation and Assessment

Observation and Assessment

Observation and assessment go hand-in-hand with each other. In order to assess a child based on where they are at, you have to first observe the child to gather information about them. Both observation and assessment should be ongoing components and processes in order to support children's development.

Observation should occur in a natural setting, where children are comfortable and familiar. These settings should be familiar so that children can be themselves without any interference from learning a new environment. This allows the observer to get to know the child and where their development is at without having to account for any new factors. While observations can be planned or spontaneous, observation should help educators to track individual children's development and progress.

Assessment can be formative or summative. Formative assessments are ongoing checkpoints to understand a child as they learn a new skill or work towards a goal. Formative assessments should tell an educator if their teaching methods are working or if there needs to be alterations to how they are teaching the child. Summative assessments are a checkpoint at the end of a learning period to report if children have met their goal.

Observation is frequently used as an assessment tool, especially when Anecdotal or Running Records (see 7.3 and 7.4) are used as observational methods to create an assessment. While observation gathers the data needed on the child and answers questions such as where they are in their development, assessment is taking the tool that was used and analyzing to understand where the child is at and where they need to be. An initial observation and assessment of the observation allows for teachers to understand where children are beginning with them and allows teachers to set goals for the child.

Types of Observation Tools and Assessments

There are a variety of types of observation tools and assessments that teachers can use in their practices. These methods assess children in different ways, depending on the needs of the observer. Here are some of the common types of observation and assessment methods:

Checklists-Checklists are used to measure if a child is meeting or not meeting a milestone. Checklists are clear way to distinguish if a child has mastered a skill or if they have not. Some checklists will have an option to note if a child is working towards the skill. Checklists are a great way to be objective as they mostly ask for a yes or no response from the individual completing the list.

Records-There are different types of record keeping, however records are written narratives by an observer that track children's development. Records can be done over a long period of time, or in short written notes for a moment. (More information on records in 7.3 and 7.4.)

Photographs-The age old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is exemplified through using photographs to track children's development. Photographs show what is happening in the moment, allowing for teachers to use the information to show families what their child did or may be working towards doing.

Work Samples-In early childhood, work samples show what a child is learning by looking at what they created. While older children may have varying types of work samples, infant and toddler work samples may include what they built with blocks or legos, early experiences with drawing and painting, or what they create with clay.

Portfolios-Portfolios are varied documentation of a child over a period of time. The portfolio for an infant or toddler should show examples of what they have created, checklists and records that the teacher has completed, as well as photographs of the child engaging in learning.

Sharing with Parents

Observations and assessments should always be shared with parents as teachers work with them to support their child. While not every observation will be shared with parents, it is important to keep parents in the loop as you set goals to support the child. This is particularly important in infant and toddler care as parents may have concerns about their child's development, may be looking for resources, or may want to know how to best support thier child.

It is important to note that while teachers are observing and assessing, we do not want to label children and we want to extend caution into how we discuss child behavior. Autism and ADHD (though ADHD is often not diagnosed until children are in preschool or older) should always be diagnosed by those who have the credentials to do so. If you ever experience an instance where you notice that a child is experiencing symptoms that remind you of something, such as Autism, it is important to always talk about what you are observing, rather than labeling these as the symptoms of Autism. This allows the parents to process in the way that they need to, as sometimes a diagnosis can come with changes for the family.

Labeling extends past a diagnosis of a learning disorder into how we talk about children's actions. For example, if we label children's actions as "good" or "bad" parents may perceive these as labeling their child, rather than labeling the behavior. It is always best to be direct about what happened. For example, if we say that a child was bad and hit a friend, this may place our labeling of the child as bad. If we flip it to simply say that the child hit and why they may have done so, this re-centers the issue as being hitting, rather than the issue being the child.