Observing and Assessing

Discuss What do you note about the observation taking place in The picture?

Vocabulary: Page 53 Define in your notes the following terms: Assessment Developmental milestones/norms Anecdotal record Checklist Participation chart Rating scale Visual documentation portfolio

Why Assess? We assess children to better understand their developmental needs Information should be collected over time and in all developmental areas

Assessment Defined: Assessment comes from the Latin word meaning to sit beside and get to know It is the process of recording, observing and documenting children's growth and behavior.

Purpose of Assessment (LEQ #1) During the assessment process, you, as teacher, gain insights into children’s learning styles and needs. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What does the group know? What are they able to do ? What are their interests and dispositions? What are their needs? Classroom problems can be identified through assessment. Assessment allows you to identify children who might have special needs. You will be able to find out where children are in their development. Information can be used during parent/teacher conferences. You can evaluate your program. Is it effective in meeting goals?

When to do assessments… (LEQ #2) At the beginning of the year (initial assessment). Get a “snapshot” of each child in the group. Then you will need to do ongoing assessments on individual children and the group. Gather assessment data during classroom activities.

Assessment When we create lessons, measurable objectives must be present. Why am I creating this lesson? What am I hoping students will learn? What growth am I measuring?

Common Misunderstandings about Assessment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P7hOPJ1Pb4 Write down the common misunderstandings about assessing young children

Formal Vs. Informal Two different methods of observation are used for assessing young children- Formal and Informal As a result of such research, developmental milestones for children have been identified

Developmental milestones- characteristics/ behaviors that are normal for children of a certain age group (some educators refer to these as emerging competencies)

Choosing a Method of Assessment (LEQ #3) There are 3 things to think about when choosing a method of assessment: It depends on the type of behavior you want to assess and the amount of detail you need. What information needs to be collected for one child or the entire group. The amount of focused attention required by the observer needs to be considered.

Formal Assessment vs. Informal (LEQ#4) Formal assessment- standardized test Informal assessment- observing the child, collecting samples, interviewing parents, polling students

Lets Read! We will read a story together as a class As a group, lets discuss some concepts that we could assess

Example: Formal and Informal 1. Select two books from our Reading Center 2. READ your selection and become familiar with the story. For both of these books, you will determine two methods of assessment. One must be formal and the other will be informal Students are three years old. They can talk in full sentences and express thoughts to adults They are beginning to write their names They are familiar with the letters A-Z They are familiar with the letters 1-10

Day 2 Agenda Warm Up: Advantages and Disadvantages of various assessment tools. Observation and Anecdotal Record Activities Children’s Portfolios Guidelines for observing children

Why Observe? An observation is watching children with the clear goal of studying a specific behavior or ability develop realistic curriculum and goals in order to challenge and support the children

Assessment Tools: Anecdotal records Advantages Used to develop an understanding of child’s behavior Do not require charts or special settings Needs no special training Open-ended observation Shows evidence of a child’s growth over time. Disadvantages Needs a careful eye and quick pencil to capture everything. Needs to be done promptly and accurately A complete picture may not be provided. Records may not always be accurate Information may be missed if observer forgets

Writing Anecdotal Records, Handout Activity A

Interpreting the Data from Anecdotal Records Once the narrative data is recorded, a second process begins. This process involves interpreting the data. Why did the child behave as he/she did? Did something or someone cause the child to act in this way? Interpretation should NOT be attempted before you have a thorough understanding of how children grow and develop. Though an observation may be factual and unbiased, various interpretations are sometimes made. Example from text about “Tony”. How would a thorough understanding of child growth and development help you interpret the example of Tony? What additional info would you need to make a factual interpretation?

Assessment tools: Checklists Advantages: Easy to use Helpful when many different items need to be observed May be developed to survey one or more children No time constraints Can be quickly recorded Data can be easily analyzed Disadvantages Require structuring The lack of detailed information Lack the richness of descriptive narrative. Only particular behaviors are noted Only the presence or absence of a behavior is noted in a checklist

Assessment Tools: Participation Chart Disadvantages: Doesn’t allow for a large variety of data to be collected. Advantages Quick and easy to use Gives important information Reflect: A participation chart showed a child spent all of his free time at the puzzle table yet a checklist and anecdotal records showed he was lacking in social skills. How might you use

Assessment Tools: Rating Scales Advantages Planned to record something specific Easy, require little time to complete Some scales contain only a numerical range Disadvantages Only fragments of actions are included The observer should have a good understanding of the behavior he/she is rating.

Technology Video and audio tapes are very helpful in preserving information. Tapings may focus on individual children, or groups. You can note progress in language and speech. Digital cameras preserve photographs of children in creating art, participating in dramatic play, or taking part in field trips. It can take pictures of children’s accomplishments and to record ability levels of children.

Children’s Portfolio (LEQ #5) Collection of samples of children’s work. Records may be kept in different forms. Some may be photos, sketching, diagramming the children’s products. What should be in a portfolio? Anecdotal records, checklists, questionnaires, children’s work samples, stories that have been dicated

Guidelines for Observing (LEQ#6) How to Observe It is best to observe from a distance without the child knowing they are being observed. Why??? Confidentiality must be maintained Personal items must be put away Avoid talking to children, other observers or staff.

Remain objective-Avoid making assumptions: which statement is correct? Annie has difficulty sharing. Annie never shares. What is the difference between objective and subjective?

Avoid labels: Which statement is correct? Tommy often acts out his Aggressive feelings. Tommy is mean.

Avoid conclusions you are not qualified to make Billie can’t do anything by himself because he is the youngest in a large family and they do everything for him. Billie needs to develop the ability to do things for himself

Don’t compare children: They develop at different rates. Which statement is correct? Tommy falls off his bike a lot Tommy must be backward. He does not ride his bike as well as the other children

Anecdotal Statements: Record 2

Record one anecdotal statement for each child

Record one statement For the boy standing up in blue Record one more For the boy in navy blue

Anecdotal Records Anecdotal records- narrative on a specific events, fact based incidents, not opinion Example: Sophie took the toy from Andie. NOT Anecdotal- Sophie was being a brat and took the toy from Andie

Anecdotal Record Lets do some observations! Toddler Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nQxWCn_dBg Kindergarten Circle Time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsgoz9_c21w

BE OBJECTIVE Objective observations simply state the facts. It is important but difficult to remain objective at all time. The first thing to record when observing is an objective list of behavior patterns

Checklists designed to record the presence or absence of specific traits or behaviors They are easy to use and are especially helpful when many different items need to be observed Checklists can be used in any developmental domain: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional or Social

Checklists can be used to survey one child or a group of children. The targeted behaviors are listed in logical order with similar items grouped together This way, you can quickly record the presence or absence of a behavior.

Using Checklists Review Checklist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Egr2Xxr95k

Compare and Contrast Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the use of Anecdotal Records and Checklists. Make sure to include the strengths and weaknesses of anecdotal records versus checklists Which method do you prefer and why?

Participation Charts A participation chart can be developed to gain information on specific aspects of children’s behavior Examples include children’s activity preferences during self-selected play or recording the time each child falls asleep at nap time.

Why use Participation charts? Sometimes teachers realize that children’s preferences do not match their needs Example: Jimmy has weak hand-eye coordination skills. A chart would show he spends most of his time listening to stories and music and watching other children play. To meet Jimmy’s needs, the teacher could introduce him to interesting art activities, puzzles and other small manipulative learning aids.

Participation charts- can help determine what the child enjoys doing, can gain specific info on behavior http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgKkfzMPpaE

Rating scale- similar to checklists, but determine how frequently something occurs