PresEd 19: Chapter 5 (Observing and Assessing Young Children: Guiding, Teaching and Learning)

I pay attention to my students action and
feelings. I evaluate students using appropriate
and authentic measures. I used observation
and assessment to guide my teaching.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
GOAL
OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT

WHAT IS ASSESSMENT?
• Assessment is carried out to see what children and
young people know, understand and are able to do.
• Assessment is very important for tracking progress,
planning next steps, reporting and involving parents,
children and young people in learning.
• The ways teachers support and assess children's
learning and monitor progress and identify next steps
in learning.

• Assessment is the process of collecting information
about children’s development, learning, health,
behavior, academic progress and need for special
services in order to plan and implement curriculum
and instruction.
• The term assessment and evaluation are often used
interchangeably.

 Assessment is important for early childhood
professionals because of all the decisions they make
about children when teaching and caring for them.
 Like other teachers, you will be called upon every day
to make decisions before you teach, during your
teaching, and after teaching.
WHY IS ASSESSMENT IMPORTANT?

• All your assessment decisions taken as a whole will
direct and alter children’s learning outcomes.
• Assessment and its associated feedback are essential to
student learning. However, you may find that more of
your time is taken up with the areas of assessment
associated with quality assurance, rather than its
potential to support students' learning.

• Well designed assessment has numerous benefits aside
from the obvious one of providing a measure of
students' progress as it can be a means to engage
students with their learning. Ideally then, you should
aim to support active learning rather than
Assessment of Learning to ensure that the assessment
process is an integral part of your students' education.

PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT AS IT RELATES
TO: CHILDREN
 Identify what children know
 Identify children’s special needs
 Determine appropriate placement
 Select appropriate curricula to meet children’s
individual needs
 Refer children and as appropriate, their families for
additional services to programs and agencies

FAMILIES
 Communicate with parents to provide information about
their children’s progress and learning
 Relate school activities to home activities and experiences
EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM
 Make policy decisions regarding what is and is not
appropriate for children
 Determine how well and what extent programs and services
children receive are beneficial and appropriate

 Identify children’s skills and abilities
 Make lesson and activity plans and set goals
 Create new classroom arrangements
 Select materials
 Make decisions about how to implement learning
activities
 Report to parents and families about children’s
developmental status and achievement
EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS

 Monitor and improve the teaching- learning progress
 Meet the individual needs of children
 Group for instruction
THE PUBLIC
 Inform the public regarding children’s achievement
 Provide information relating to students’ school wide
achievements
 Provide a basis for public policy(e.g., legislation,
recommendations, and statements)

WHAT IS AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT?
• Authentic Assessment is the evaluation of children’s
actual learning and the instructional activities in which
they are involved. The alternative would involve
evaluating children using goals and objectives that were
not part of their instructional program.

CHARACTERISTIC OF AUTHENTIC
ASSESSMENT
• Implementing authentic assessment strategies will help
ensure that the information you gather will be useful
and appropriate for all children. One of your
assessment goals should be to try and ensure that your
assessment is as authentic as possible.

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT:
 assesses children and their actual work. Some means
for achieving this goal are: work samples, portfolios,
performances, projects, journals, experiments and
teacher observations
 is going over the entire school year.
 is curriculum-embedded; that is children are assessed
on what they are actually learning and doing.

 is a cooperative process. Assessment involves many
persons- children, teachers, parents, and other
professionals. The goal here is to make assessment
child-centered.
 employs a number of different ways to determine
children’s achievement and what they know and are
able to do.

 takes into account children’s cultural, language, and
other specific needs.
 assesses the whole child rather than narrow set of
skills.
 is a part of the learning process.

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
USING PORTFOLIO TO ASSESS
 Portfolios
-purposeful compilation of children’s work
samples, products and teacher observations collected
over time.

SOME CRITERIA FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE ARE:
 How will students participate in decisions about what to
include?
 Do the materials demonstrate student learning of
program and district standards and goals?
 Can you use the materials and products to adequately and
easily communicate with parents about children’s
learning.
 Do the materials include examples to positively support
students efforts and progress?

CHECKLISTS
-are excellent and powerful tools for observing and
gathering information about a wide range of student
abilities in all settings. It can be a regular part of your
teaching and can be used on a wide variety of topics and
subjects.

 Each checklist should contain the qualities, skills,
behaviors, and other information you want to observe.
 Make sure you arte observing and recording
accurately.
 File all checklists in students 'folders for future
reference and use.
 Use checklists as a basis for conferencing with
children and parents.
 Use the information from checklists to plan for small
group and individual instruction.

SCREENING
Give you and others a broad picture of
what children know and are able to do,
as well as their physical and emotional
status.

SCREENING INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
 Gathering information from parents about their children's health,
learning patterns, learning achievements, personal habits and
special problems.
 Conducting vision, hearing and speech screening.
 Collecting and analyzing data from former programs and teachers,
such as preschools and childcare program.
 Using commercial screening instruments to help make decisions
regarding children's placement in programs and need for special
services.

 Observation is one of the most widely used methods of
assessment.
 Professionals recognize that children are more than what is
measured by any particular standardized test.
 Observation is an authentic “means” of learning about children.
 Observation is the intentional, systematic act of looking at the
behavior of a child or children in a particular setting, program, or
situation.
USING OBSERVATION TO
ASSESS

METHOD PURPOSE GUIDELINES
OBSERVATION
”kid-watching” –looking at children in
a systematic way
Enables teacher to identify children’s
behavior, document performance and
decisions.
Plan for observation and be clear
about the purposes of the
observation.
AUTHENTIC
Is performance-based and is based on
real-life activities.
Helps determine if children are
applying what they have learned to
real-life situation (e.g. applying math
skills such as making changed.
Make sure that what is assessed
relates to real life events, that the
learner is involve in doing something,
and that instruction has been
provided prior to assessment.
ANECDOTAL RECORD
Brief narrative account of an event or
behavior.
Provides insight into a particular
reason for behavior and provides a
basis for planning a teaching strategy.
Record only what is observed or
heard ., should deal with the facts
and should include the setting (e.g.,
where the behavior occurs) and what
was said and done.

RUNNING RECORD
Focuses on a sequence of events
that occurs over time.
Helps obtain a more detailed insight
into behavior over a period of time.
Maintain objectivity and try to
include as much detail as possible.
EVENT SAMPLING
Focuses on a particular behavior
during a particular event (e.g.
behavior at lunch time, behavior on
the playground, behavior in reading
group).
Helps identify behavior during a
particular event over time.
Identify a target behavior to be
observed during particular times
(e.g. bullying during transition
activities).
TIME SAMPLING
Record particular events or behavior
at specific time intervals (e.g. five
minutes, ten minutes).
Helps identify when a particular
child demonstrate a particular
behavior. Helps answer the question,
“Does the child do something all the
time or just at certain times and
events.
Observe only during the time period
specified.

METHOD PURPOSE GUIDELINES
CHECKLIST
A lot of behaviors identifying what
children can and cannot do.
Enables teachers to easily observe
and check off what children know
and are able to do
Make sure that the checklist includes
behavior for the program and for
learning (e.g. counts from 1 to 10,
hops on the foot).
WORK SAMPLE
Collections of children’s work that
demonstrate what they know and
are able to do.
Provides a concrete examples of
learning, can show growth and
achievement over time.
Make sure that the work samples
demonstrate what children know
and are able to do. Let children help
select what items they want to use
as examples of their learning.
PORTFOLIO
Collections of children’s work
sample.
Provides documentation of a child’s
achievement in specific areas over
time. Can include test scores, written
work samples, videotapes, etc.
A portfolio is not a dumpster but a
thoughtful collection of materials
that document learning over time.
INTERVIEW
Engages children in discussion
through questions.
Children can be asked to explain
behaviors, work samples, or
particular answer.
Ask questions at all levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy to gain insight into
children’s learning at all level.

PURPOSES OF OBSERVATION
• Observation is designed to gather information on
which to base decisions, make recommendations,
develop curriculum, plan activities, and learning
strategies, and assess children’s growth, development,
and learning.
• Intentional observation is a useful, informative, and
powerful means for informing and guiding teaching
and for helping ensure that all children learn.

• Observation is one of the most frequently used
methods for finding out more about children.
Systematic observation each day will enable you to
meet children’s learning needs and be a more effective
teacher.
• Observing is an excellent way to find out about the
child’s behavior and how well he is learning.

• Determine the cognitive, linguistic, social,
emotional, physical development of children.
Using a developmental checklist is one way
professionals can systematically observe and chart
the development of children.

• Identify children’s interests and learning styles.
Today, teachers are very interested in developing
learning activities, materials, and classroom
centers based on children’s interests, preferences
and learning styles.

• Plan. The professional practice of teaching requires
planning on a daily, ongoing basis. Observation
provides useful, authentic, and solid information
that enables teachers to intentionally plan for
activities rather than make decisions with little or
no information.

• Meet the needs of individual children. Meeting the needs
of individual children is an important part of teaching and
learning.
• Determine progress. Systematic observation, over time,
provides a rich, valuable, and informative source of
information about how individuals and groups of children
are progressing in their learning and behavior.

• Provide information to parents. Professionals report to and
conference with parents on an ongoing basis. Observational
information adds to other information they have, such as test
results and child work samples, and provides a fuller and
more complete picture of individual children.
• Provide self-insight. Observational information can help
professionals learn more about themselves and what to do to
help children.

THE ADVANTAGES OF
GATHERING DATA
THROUGH OBSERVATION

 Enables professionals to collect information about children that
they might not otherwise gather through other sources.
Observation enables you to gather data that cannot be assessed
by formal standardized tests, questioning, and parent, and child
interviews.
 Is ideally suited to learning more about children in play setting.
Observation affords you the opportunity to note a child’s social
behavior in a play group and discern how cooperatively he/she
interacts with peers. Observing a child play gives professionals a
wealth of information about developmental levels, social skills,
and what the child is or is not learning in a play settings.

• Allows you to learn a lot about children’s pro-social behavior and
peer interactions. It can help you plan for appropriate and inclusive
activities to promote the social growth of young children.
Additionally, your observations, can serves as the basis for
developing multicultural activities to benefit all children.
• Provides a basis for the assessment of what children are
developmentally able to do. Many learning skills are developed
sequentially such as the refinement of large motor skills before
small motor skills. Through observation, professionals can be
determine whether children’s abilities are within a normal range of
growth and development.

• Is useful to assess children’s performance over time.
• Helps you provide concrete information for use in
reporting to and conferencing with parents.
Increasingly, reports to parents about children involve
professional’s observations and children’s work
samples so parents and educators can collaborate to
determine how to help children develop cognitively,
socially, emotionally, and physically.

EFFECTIVE WAYS TO RECORD
OBSERVATIONAL DATA

• Use post-it notes to record observation.
These can be easily added to student’s
notebook’s, folders, etc.

• Use tape recorders, videotapes, and digital
cameras to gather information. A problem with
using a tape recorder is you have to transcribe
your notes. Video recorders are probably best
reserve for group observations. On the other hand,
digital cameras are an excellent means of
gathering and storing

STEPS FOR
CONDUCTING
OBSERVATIONS

Step 1:
Plan for observation.
Why do you want to observe?
Example: Determine how
Diana is child with
disabilities is accepted by
peers.
Step2:
Conduct the observation.
Example: how children react.
What do they say and do to help.
Diana in her efforts to use materials
and centers in the classroom?
Step3:
Interpret the data.
Example: Reflect on your
observation. Write conclusion s and
make recommendations for what
you are going to do.
Step 4:
Implement the data.
Example: Rearrange the classroom
to accommodate Diana and her
wheelchair. Begin activities to help
children be more responsive to the
needs of others.

STEP1: PLAN FOR OBSERVATION.
Planning is an important part of the
observation process. Everything you do
regarding observation should be planned
in advance of the observation.

• Setting Goals for observation is a crucial part of the
planning process. Stating a goal focuses your
attention on the purpose of your observation.
Goals might:
Goal1:
To determine what modifications might be
necessary in the classroom to facilitate access to all
parts of the classroom.

Goal2:
To assess the development of pro-social
behavioral characteristics.
Goal setting sharpens your observation and
makes it more effective.

STEP2: CONDUCT THE OBSERVATION
While conducting a observation, it is
imperative that you be objective, specific, and
as thorough as possible.

STEP3: INTERPRET THE DATA
All observations can and should results in some
kind of interpretation.
Interpretation serves several important functions. First, it puts your
observation into perspective- that is, in relation to what you already
know and do not know about events and the behavior of your
children. Second, interpretation helps you make sense of what you
have observed and enables you to use your professional knowledge
to interpret what you have seen. Third, interpretation has the
potential to make you learn to anticipate representative behavior.
Forth, interpretation forms the foundation for the implementation,
necessary adaptations, or modifications in a program or curriculum.

STEP4: IMPLEMENT THE DATA
 The implementation phase means that you
commit to do something with the results or the
“findings” of your observation.

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
• There are many ways to make a difference in
child’s life. As a teacher, each year you are
given the enormous honor of spending 8 hours
a day creating with in a child a burning desire
for learning.
• The use of various assessment tools provides
me with a wide range of knowledge about
each student.

• Some assessments can be as easy to use as a book
discussion to determine my students comprehension
or a game to show knowledge gained. Assessment
can also take the form of a Venn diagram for
comparison or a poster giving facts about the animal
students research.
• No matter how you choose to assess your students,
the most important thing to remember is that the
assessment is only as good as the teacher using it.

• Good assessments gather meaningful
information that enhances children’s learning.
• Creating an environment where learning
occurs is a huge key to successful students.

• We use these lifelong guidelines:
- Be truthful
- Be trustworthy
- Do your personal best
- Appreciate others
- Be an active listener

REPORTING TO AND
COMMUNICATING WITH
PARENT S

KEY POINTS:
• Effective communication is key to positive
partnerships with parents.
• Effective communication involves active
listening and clear, respectful speaking.
• When professionals and parents share
knowledge and experience, it’s good for
children’s wellbeing and development.

v
• Listening is the foundation of effective
communication.
• When you listen well, you get more information
about children and their families. You also get the
full benefit of parents’ in-depth knowledge of their
children. And you show parents that you value their
experience, ideas and opinions and take their
concerns seriously.
Here are some ideas for listening well:
• Let parents know you’re listening and interested by
nodding or saying ‘Uh huh’ occasionally.
Listening to parents

• Let parents finish what they’re saying before
you speak. Then summarize what parents
have said, and check that you’ve understood
correctly.
• Check on the feeling as well as the content of
what parents have said. For example, ‘Am I
right in saying that you felt upset when the
other parent told Taj to stop shouting?’

• Use open-ended questions to get more
information if you need it. Open-ended
questions give people a chance to expand on
what they’re saying rather than just saying ‘yes’
or ‘no’. For example, ‘What sort of things did
Taj do when he was being naughty?’
• Try to understand parents’ perspectives, even if
you disagree with what they’re saying. Put
yourself in their shoes. For example, ‘It sounds
like you felt judged as a parent’.

Speaking with parents
• In every interaction with parents, one of your goals is to
strengthen your partnership with them. You’re more
likely to achieve this goal if you consistently speak to
parents in a clear, respectful and considerate way.
Here are some ideas for this kind of speaking:
• Find and share the positives about a child’s learning,
behaviour and experiences. For example, ‘EJ did a great job of
sitting still for two minutes in class today. It’s a big step
forward for her’.
• Be open and honest. Give parents accurate information on
what you observe. For example, ‘After a couple of minutes,
EJ started pushing the child next to her’.

• Think before you speak, especially when
you’re talking with parents about difficult or
sensitive issues.
• Ask for parents’ input. For example, ‘How can we help
EJ learn to take part in group work without distracting
other children?’
• Let parents make the decisions. You can suggest ideas,
but it’s up to parents to decide what to do next. For
example, ‘We could try a behaviour chart. Or EJ could
start with short group activities and build up to longer
ones. What do you think?’

• If you’re not sure about what to say next or how to
say it, you don’t have to respond straight away. For
example, ‘I’d like to think about that more. Can I
get back to you tomorrow?’
• Use ordinary, everyday language that parents can
understand. Parents are likely to find professional
jargon daunting and alienating, so it’s best avoided.

Raising concerns with parents
As a professional, there might be times when you need to
raise concerns with parents about a child’s behaviour,
wellbeing or development.
• A problem-solving approach will help you and parents work
together to address concerns. This approach involves:
• identifying the problem
• brainstorming as many solutions as possible
• jointly evaluating the pros and cons
• deciding on a solution to try
• putting the solution into action
• reviewing the solution after a period of time

• Prepare for conversations about difficult issues. This is because
parents can feel upset and stressed by these conversations. If
you think ahead about what you need to say and about the most
sensitive and respectful way to say it, it can help your
discussion go well.
• Try to schedule a time when parents are most available. For
example, if you’re a child care educator or a teacher, this might
be at pick-up and drop-off times. Or it might be best to call
parents during the day.
• Discuss concerning behaviour without judgment. Try to focus
on facts and whether the behaviour is appropriate. For
example, ‘Ben drew on the wall and said that another child did
it. This behaviour isn’t OK’.

• Explain what might contribute to the behaviour. This can help
you and parents work out how to change the behaviour. For
example, ‘Starting school can be challenging. Children often
feel worried about getting into trouble’.
• Check what parents think about the issue. Remember that
perceptions of what’s appropriate can differ between cultures or
contexts. For example, ‘How does your family handle it when
children don’t tell the truth?’
• Offer realistic strategies suited to each family. For example, if a
child needs to make new friends but she gets stressed in public,
parents might start by inviting other children for playdates at
home.

• When parents raise concerns with you, the basics of listening and
speaking still apply. And respect and sensitivity are still key to
effective communication.
• Also, if you focus on the issue that parents are raising
and remember that your shared goal is supporting their child,
it can help you avoid defensiveness or justifications.
• Sometimes the best way to help is simply listening to parents.
Parents might just need to feel that their concerns have been
heard. You don’t always need to look for a solution straight away.
Dealing with concerns that parents raise

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES IN THE ASSESSMENT
OF YOUNG CHILDREN
ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
HIGH-STAKES TESTING
Occurs when standardized tests are used to
make important, and often life-influencing,
decisions about children.
AT-HOME TESTING

Activities for Professional
Development

Peer Coaching
• Teachers and school and administrators solicit and
receive feedback about their practices after being
observed by a peer or other observer.
• Observation and assessment encourage educators
to reflect on their everyday professional lives.
• Reflective writing and discussion allow educators to
develop ideas that can be integrated into their
evolving personal pedagogy and professional
practice.

Mentors and Mentorship
Mentoring is a confidential process through
which an experienced professional provides
another with information, support, feedback
and assistance for the purpose of refining
present skills, developing new ones and
enhancing problem solving and decision
making in a way that promotes professional
development.

Classroom/ School Visitation
Teachers visit the classrooms of
colleagues to view innovative
teaching practices and expand and
refine their own personal pedagogy.

Conferences
It can provide very effective
professional development
opportunities, particularly when
they are part of a teacher’s ongoing
professional development plan.

Continuing Education
•Enrollment in formal degree programs,
courses, or workshops
•Pursuing certificates, accreditations or
other credentials through educational
programs.

25 reasons to be proud
• It is a positive activity that will have you all talking about
the things that are working well in your school.
• Activity:
After teachers have individually identified the reasons they
are proud of their school, a master list of the top 25
reasons can be compiled.
The master list can be signed by all of the teachers and
building administrators and displayed so that students,
parents, and visitors become aware of all the good things
happening at the school.

PresEd 19: Chapter 5 (Observing and Assessing Young Children: Guiding, Teaching and Learning)

PresEd 19: Chapter 5 (Observing and Assessing Young Children: Guiding, Teaching and Learning)

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PresEd 19: Chapter 5 (Observing and Assessing Young Children: Guiding, Teaching and Learning)